Job 33:18

Job 33:18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

Ver. 18. He keepeth back his soul from the pit] Or, That he may keep back his soul, that is, his body, as Psa 16:10 Lev 21:1, from the pit; i.e. from the grave, or from the pit falls made for him by his enemies. A penitent person redeemeth his own sorrows, and provideth for his own safety, Psa 91:1-16, and accordingly some read it, He shall keep back his own soul, &c.

And his life from perishing by the sword] Whether by the sword of God or man, he shall be extra iactum, out of the gunshot or danger of any death, whether corporal or eternal. The universal antidote for all the judgments of God is our humble repentance. Aaron escaped by it, when Miriam was smitten with leprosy.

Per miserere met, tollitur ira Dei.

This is the rainbow, which if God see shining in our hearts, he will never drown our souls. Jehoshaphat by this escaped the edge of the sword; David and his poor sheep the stroke of the punishing angel; all the crowned saints now in heaven the damnation of hell, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 33:18-22. He keepeth back his soul from the pit — By these gracious admonitions, whereby God leads men to humiliation of soul before him, and to repentance, he preserves their lives from death and the grave, and their souls from eternal destruction. From perishing by the sword — By some dreadful judgment which was ready to fall upon them. He is chastened also with pain — With some painful and dangerous disease, which is the second way whereby God instructs men and excites them to repentance, which also was Job’s case. So that his life abhorreth bread —

In which languishing condition he loathes his food, yea, nauseates that very meat which formerly was his greatest delight. His flesh is consumed away — Through pain and pining sickness. That it cannot be seen — Because there is little or none left to be seen, but he who before was fat and flourishing is now become a mere skeleton. His soul draweth near unto the grave — He seems to himself and others to be past all hopes of recovery: which he adds for Job’s comfort in his desperate condition. And his life to the destroyers — To the instruments of death and destruction, namely, diseases, which, by God’s appointment, are ready to give the fatal blow.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33:18 from crossing over the river of death: This phrase may also be translated from passing [i.e., dying] by the sword. Both translations fit the context (cp. 36:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

his soul--his life.

the pit--the grave; a symbol of hell.

perishing by the sword--that is, a violent death; in the Old Testament a symbol of the future punishment of the ungodly.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. He keepeth back his soul from the pit] By the above means, how many have been snatched from an untimely death! By taking the warning thus given, some have been prevented from perishing by the pit - some sudden accident; and others from the sword of the assassin or nocturnal murderer. It would be easy to give examples, in all these kinds; but the knowledge of the reader may save this trouble to the commentator.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He keepeth back his soul from the pit,.... Or, "that he may keep back" (n); for this is another end and use of God's speaking unto men; it is to preserve them for the present from going down to the grave, the pit of corruption and destruction; so called because the bodies of men, being there laid, corrupt, and are entirely destroyed by worms, and turn to rottenness and dust; and to preserve them from the bottomless pit of everlasting ruin and destruction; for the Lord's people are reproved by him, that they may not be condemned with the world, Co1 11:32;

and his life from perishing by the sword; by the sword of men, which is one of God's sore judgments; or by the sword of the civil magistrate, the man spoken to being warned of God of committing these sins, which would bring him into the hands of such; or by the sword of divine justice; Jarchi interprets it of the sword of the angel of death; the word signifies a missive weapon, as a dart; so Mr. Broughton renders the words, "and his life from going on the dart": or, as another version has it, "lest it should go on under the cast of darts" (o); the darts of an enemy in war, or the fiery darts of Satan, Eph 6:16.

(n) "ut prohibeat", Mercerus, Piscator. (o) Tigurine version.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He keepeth back his soul from the pit - The word soul in the Hebrew is often equivalent to self, and the idea is, that he keeps the man from the pit in this manner. The object of these warnings is to keep him from rushing on to his own destruction. The word rendered “pit” - שׁחת shachath, properly means a pit, or pitfall, in which traps are laid for wild animals; Psa 7:15; Psa 9:15; then a cistern that is miry; Job 9:31; a prison, Isa 51:14; then the grave, or sepulchre, as being often a cavern; Job 17:13; Psa 30:9; see Job 33:28, Job 33:30. It evidently means here the grave, and the sense is, that God thus warns people against pursuing a course of conduct which would lead them to destruction, or would speedily terminate their lives.

And his life from perishing by the sword - Margin, “passing by.” The meaning of the Hebrew may be, “to keep his life from passing away by the sword;” as if the sword were the means by which the life or soul passed from the body. The word rendered sword here - שׁלח shelach is from שׁלח shâlach - to send, cast, hurl, and the reference is rather to something sent, as of an arrow, dart, javelin, than to a sword. The sense is not materially varied, and the idea referred to is that of a violent death. The meaning is, that God by these warnings would keep a man from such a course of life as would lead to a death by violence - either by punishment for his crime, or by being cut off in war.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He keepeth back, to wit, by these gracious admonitions, whereby he leads them to repentance,

his soul; either the man, who is oft expressed by this part; or

his life, as the next branch explains it.

From the pit, i.e. from the grave, from death or destruction.

From perishing by the sword, i.e. by some dreadful judgment of God which was ready to fall upon him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Pit — Shuhhath. In some countries, as in Athens, criminals were cast down into a deep pit. They were left in the darkness, hopelessly to die of starvation. The pit is evidently used here in the sense of destruction, and as the penalty of evildoing. The oldest of the sacred Books of the Brahmans (Rig-Veda, 9:73-78) speaks of a pit into which the lawless are hurled down, and into which Indra casts those who offer no sacrifices. (See MULLER’S Chips, 1:47.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. By these interpositions God may even save a man from utter ruin, when, but for them, he would have rushed upon it. He may cause a person to give up designs or enterprises which would have brought him into danger, and perhaps led to his being slain with the sword.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Keepeth - By his gracious admonitions whereby he leads him to repentance.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

and his life from perishing by the sword by the weapon and the sword of the Angel of Death; that is to say, He brought suffering upon you for your good.

by the sword Heb. בשלח, a weapon, and so in Ezra (Neh. 4:11): “and one was holding the weapon (השלח).”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.