Job 18 is the eighteenth

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the

Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE. This chapter records the speech of

Bildad Bildad (; ), the Shuhite, was one of Job's three friends who visited the patriarch in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Job. He was a descendant of Shuah, son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1–2), whose family lived in the deserts of Arabia ...

the Shuhite (one of

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

's friends), which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising Job 3:1– 31:40.

Text

The original text is written in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

. This chapter is divided into 21 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

, which includes the

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...

(10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

known as the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century), and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century).

Analysis

The structure of the book is as follows: *The Prologue (chapters 1–2) *The Dialogue (chapters 3–31) *The Verdicts (32:1–42:6) *The Epilogue (42:7–17) Within the structure, chapter 18 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline: *Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament (3:1–26) *Round One (4:1–14:22) *Round Two (15:1–21:34) **Eliphaz (15:1–35) **Job (16:1–17:16) **Bildad (18:1–21) ***Get Some Perspective! (18:1–4) ***The Fate of the Wicked (18:5–21) **Job (19:1–29) **Zophar (20:1–29) **Job (21:1–34) *Round Three (22:1–27:23) *Interlude – A Poem on Wisdom (28:1–28) *Job's Summing Up (29:1–31:40) The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar. Chapter 18 can be divided into two parts: *Bildad rebukes Job (verses 1–5). *Bildad describes the fate of the wicked (verses 5–21) Whereas in their first speech both Eliphaz and Bildad focus on the nature of God, in their second speech both explore the topic of the fate of the wicked, suggesting in the course of the conversation they become more convinced that Job is among the wicked.

Bildad rebukes Job (18:1–5)

The chapter opens with Bildad's rebuke of Job for considering his friends as fools (like cattle, verse 3; cf Job 17:10) and urge for Job to be sensible and have broader perspective.

Verse 5

: ildad said:''"“Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,'' ::''and the flame of his fire does not shine."'' *“Indeed”: translated from the Hebrew word , ''gam'', which can be rendered as "also; moreover", that is, "in view of what has just been said."

Job expresses his despair (18:5–21)

The second part of the chapter contains Bildad's extended description of the fate of the wicked: insecurity, terror and hopelessness. It can be implied that Job is at least on the way to be one of the wicked, so the whole section serves as a strong warning to Job. This is strongly emphasized in the last two verses of the chapter (verses 20–21), which demonstrates Bildad's view of Job's descent into the wickedness.

Verse 20

: ildad said:''"They who come after him will be astonished at his day,'' ::''as they who went before were seized with fright."'' *"Those who come after him": translated from the Hebrew word , ''ʾakharonim'', which can be rendered "those in the west" as in

NKJV The New King James Version (NKJV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English, working as a revision of the King James Version. Published by Thomas Nelson, the complete NKJV was released in 1982. With regard to its textual basis, the ...

, ESV, etc.Note on Job 18:20 in NET Bible *"They who went before": translated from the Hebrew word , ''qadmonim'', which can be rendered "those in the east" as in NKJV, ESV, etc.Note on Job 18:20 in NKJV In relation to the geography, there are Hebrew terms of the seas: "the hinder sea", referring to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

(in the "West"), and "the front sea", referring to the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

( Zechariah 14:8), namely, the "East". The Greek Septuagint (among other versions) understood the verse as ''temporal'': "the last groaned for him, and wonder seized the first".

References

Sources

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External links

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

translations: *
Iyov - Job - Chapter 18 (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org *

translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Book of Job Chapter 18
Various versions * Various versions {{DEFAULTSORT:Job 18 Book of Job chapters">18