Job 7:14

Job 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

Ver. 14. Then thou scarest me with dreams] Extremam tentationem describit, saith Vatablus; and the devil doubtless had a great hand in this business (for it was within his commission, and he would not neglect any part of it); but Job taketh notice of none but God, the chief agent, and to him he applieth himself. His providence is exercised even about dreams, which, in melancholy people, happen (especially when they are sick) to be oftentimes very horrid and hideous; as that they fall down from some high place, commit some capital offence, are slain, torn in pieces by devils, &c. Bishop Foliot’s terrible night vision was before mentioned. Richard III, after the murder of his two innocent nephews, and Charles IX of France, after the Parisian Massacre, had such dreadful dreams, that they became a terror to themselves and to all about them. But to instance in better men: Calvin in the year of grace 1562, being sick of the gout, dreamed that he heard a great noise of drums beaten up most vehemently, as they use to be in warlike marches (Beza in Vita). Pareua also, A.D. 1618, saw in a dream the city of Heidelberg set on fire in many places, and the prince elector’s palace all on a light flame: this he set down the next morning in his dairy, and added these words, O Deus clementissime, averte sinistrum omen, &c., O most merciful God, turn aside this evil omen. (Philip Par. in Vita Patris). Such fearful dreams cause a sick sleep, and a worse waking. This Job complaineth of here; and yet more fully in the next words.

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.

So that I can have no rest, night nor day.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The frightful dreams resulting from elephantiasis he attributes to God; the common belief assigned all night visions to God.

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 14. Thou sparest me with dreams] There is no doubt that Satan was permitted to haunt his imagination with dreadful dreams and terrific appearances; so that, as soon as he fell asleep, he was suddenly roused and alarmed by those appalling images. He needed rest by sleep, but was afraid to close his eyes because of the horrid images which were presented to his imagination. Could there be a state more deplorable than this?

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

Then thou scarest me with dreams,.... Not with dreams and visions being told him, as were by Eliphaz, Job 4:13; but with dreams he himself dreamed; and which might arise from the force of his distemper, and the pain of his body, whereby his sleep was broken, his imagination disturbed, and his fancy roving, which led him to objects as seemed to him very terrible and dreadful; or from a melancholy disposition his afflictions had brought upon him; and hence in his dreams he had dismal apprehensions of things very distressing and terrifying; or from Satan, in whose hands he was, and who was permitted to distress and disturb him at such seasons; all which he ascribes to God, because he suffered it so to be: and now these dreams not only hindered sound sleep, and getting that ease and refreshment he hoped for from thence, but even they were frightful and scaring to him, so that instead of being the better for his bed and his couch, he was the worse; these dreams added to his afflictions, and in them he suffered much, as Pilate's wife is said to do, Mat 27:19,

and terrifiest me through visions; spectres, apparitions, and such like things, being presented to his fancy, while sleeping and dreaming, which filled him with terror, and sorely distressed him, so that he could receive no benefit hereby, but rather was more fatigued and weakened.

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

Then thou scarest me - This is an address to God. He regarded him as the source of his sorrows, and he expresses his sense of this in language indeed very beautiful, but far from reverence.

With dreams - see Job 7:4. A similar expression occurs in Ovid:

Ut puto, cam requies medicinaque publica curae,

Somnus adest, soliris nox venit orba malis,

Somnia me terrent. veros imitantia casus,

Et vigilant sensus in mea damna mei.

Do Ponto, Lib. i. Eleg. 2.

And terrifiest me through visions - See the notes at Job 4:13. This refers to the visions of the fancy, or to frightful appearances in the night. The belief of such night-visions was common in the early ages, and Job regarded them as under the direction of God, and as being designed to alarm him.

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

With sad and dreadful dreams, arising either from that melancholy humour which is now so fixed in me, and predominant over me, or from the devil’s malice, who by thy permission disturbs me in this manner; so that I am afraid to go to sleep, and my remedy proves as bad as my disease.

Visions are the same thing with dreams; for there were not only day visions, which were offered to men’s sight when they were awake; but also night visions, which were presented to men’s fancy in their sleep and dreams. See Gen 28:12; 41:1,2; Da 2:1,31; 4:5,10.

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

14. Dreams — According to Avicenna, those afflicted with elephantiasis suffer from frequent melancholy dreams.

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

Scared with dreams.

This seems to be one of the symptoms of Job"s terrible disease, elephantiasis. Sleep even does not give him rest from his sufferings. The bodily torments of the day only give place to horrible dreams and alarming visions at night.

I DREAM-TERRORS ARE REAL IN EXPERIENCE. Look at the man in a nightmare, how he groans and shrieks! We smile at his fancied troubles. Yet to him, while he endures them, they are very real. We feel according to our subjective state, not according to our objective circumstances. Souls are tortured by day-dreams which have no better foundation than those of the night, yet are not their distresses the less acute. Superstition peoples the heavens with dream-fancies of horror. There are no corresponding realities. Yet the victims of superstition are in real agony. An enormous amount of terrible mental suffering seems to be experienced by the heathen in their superstitious terrors of malignant divinities. One happy result of Christian missionary work is to sweep away those gloomy dreams, and bring the peace and confidence of Christian daylight to the benighted regions of the world.

II SOME OF OUR WORST DISTRESSES HAVE NO BETTER FOUNDATION THAN IDLE DREAMS. They are terrible so long as we are under their spell; but if we only knew they were but fancies of the diseased mind, we should be relieved of their incubus. Note some of these.

1. The idea that God is opposed to us. This was Job"s thought. He thought that even his ill dreams came from God, and that it was God who was scaring him. The too common notion in religion was and is that God is averse to us, and that we have to do something to win his favour, whereas the Scriptures tell us that he loves us and seeks us to be reconciled to him, and that, instead of our needing to do something to make him gracious, he has given his Son to redeem us to himself.

2. The notion that our sins are incurable. People will not believe that holiness is possible; therefore of course they do not have it, because they have not the heart of hope to seek it. We scare ourselves with ugly dreams of our own irretrievably ruined condition. Our sin is not a dream, but our despair is one.

3. The terror of death. To the Christian this is but an idle dream. Death is no hideous Miltonic monster, but the servant of Christ, Dying is the advent of Christ to the soul that lives in Christ"s service.

III CHRIST HAS COME TO DISPEL IDLE DREAMS. We are troubled about God"s dealings with us because we do not know him. We have but to acquaint ourselves with him in order to be at peace. (Job_22:21) Christ reveals God in his Fatherhood. There are reasonable fears that are no dreams, but which spring from our consciousness of guilt. Often the dream is found in the illusion that ignores or excuses sin. Christ dispels that dream by revealing a dread reality, but only that he may lead us through repentance to pardon. Then all terrors of the night flee away in the glad daylight of God"s love. W.F.A.

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