Job 16:15

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,.... Which he very probably put on when he rent his mantle, or sat in ashes, Job 1:20; which actions were usually performed together in times of distress and

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. Sewed - denoting the tight fit of the mourning garment: it was a sack with arm-holes, closely sewed to the body.

i.e. I put on sackcloth sewed together, not upon my other garments, but next to my skin, as was done in great calamities; as . So far am I from stretching out my hands against God, whereof I am accused, , that I have humbled myself deeply under his hand. I have willingly parted with all my wealth, and power, and glory, and been contented to lie in the dust, and to endure the contempt which God hath brought upon me.

Job 16:15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.Ver. 15. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin] Not silks, but sackcloth, is now mine immediate clothing, next to my very skin, which must needs be troublesome to a man so full of sores and other sorrows. So far was poor ulcerous Job from that height and haughtiness of spirit, wherewith Eliphaz had charged him, Job 15:12-13; Job 15:25, as if Job had been low indeed, but not lowly; humbled, but not humble, Here was a real apology, I have sowed sackcloth, &c.; here was an ocular demonstration, and should have moved his friends to more moderation; for why should any deal harshly with him, who dealt so coarsely with himself? And defiled my horn in the dust] My horn, that is, my head, say some. My splendour, saith the Chaldee. Omnia quondam msgnifica, all that I formerly made any reckoning of, saith Brentius; who also hath this good note upon the text. The sense of God’ s wrath and judgments due for sin changeth all our gaiety, maketh all our costly garments to be laid aside, putteth us into the habit of penitent suppliants, causeth us to abhor ourselves, and repent in dust and ashes, which were anciently the signs and symbols of true contrition. And now since Christians ought to repent all their life long, and to grieve for their sins, let them be always clothed with sackcloth, not without, but within; and let them put dust on their heads, by remembering that they are but dust; and that they cannot be raised out of the dust, and instead of sackcloth be clothed with the robes of glory, but by the mercy of God, through the merits of Christ, &c.

(15) I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin.—Referring, probably, to the state of his skin, which had become hard and rugged as sackcloth. As the second half of the verse must be figurative, there seems to be no reason to understand the first half otherwise.

Verse 15. I have sewed sackcloth] שק sak, a word that has passed into almost all languages, as I have already had occasion to notice in other parts of this work. Defiled my horn in the dust.] The horn was an emblem of power; and the metaphor was originally taken from beasts, such as the urus, wild ox, buffalo, or perhaps the rhinoceros, who were perceived to have so much power in their horns. Hence a horn was frequently worn on crowns and helmets, as is evident on ancient coins; and to this day it is an appendage to the diadem of the kings and chiefs of Abyssinia. In the second edition of Mr. Bruce's Travels in Abyssinia, vol. viii., plates 2 and 3, we have engravings of two chiefs, Kefla Yasous, and Woodage Ashahel, who are represented with this emblem of power on their forehead. Mr. Bruce thus describes it: "One thing remarkable in this cavalcade, which I observed, was the head dress of the governors of provinces. A large broad fillet was bound upon their forehead, and tied behind their head. In the middle of this was a horn, or a conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches in length, much in the shape of our common candle extinguishers. This is called kirn, or horn; and is only worn in reviews, or parades after victory. This, I apprehend, like all others of their usages is taken from the Hebrews; and the several allusions made in Scripture to it arise from this practice. 'I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn.' 'Lift not up your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck; for promotion cometh not,' &c. 'But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn.' 'And the horn of the righteous shall be exalted with honour.' And so in many other places throughout the Psalms." In a note on the same page we have the following observation: "The crooked manner in which they hold their neck when this ornament is on their forehead, for fear it should fall forward, perfectly shows the meaning of 'Speak not with a stiff neck when you hold the horn on high (or erect) like the horn of the unicorn."' - Bruce's Travels, vol. iv., p. 407. Defiling or rolling the horn in the dust, signifies the disgrace or destruction of power, authority, and eminence. Mr. Good translates, I have rolled my turban in the dust, which he endeavours to justify in a long note. But in this, I think, this very learned man is mistaken. The Hebrew keren is the same as the AEthiopic kirn, and both mean exactly, in such connection, what Mr. Bruce has noticed above. The horn on the diadem is the emblem of power, authority, and eminence.

6–17. Job realizes to himself his new condition: God and men combine to pursue him with their enmity, though he is innocent of all wrong In Job 16:5 Job flung back with scorn the “comforts of God” which the friends proffered him. And now there seems to occur a pause, and the excited sufferer looks about him and realizes both the extremity of the evil in which he is held, and the new and unexpected trial, added to all others, of the judgment of men being against him. And he hardly knows whether he shall speak or be silent, so overcome is he and so unavailing to help him or make men judge truly of him are both speech and silence—if I speak my grief is not assuaged, and if I forbear what am I eased? Job 16:6. Yet this new condition in which he realizes that he is, which makes speech useless, forces him to speak, and he sets before himself in an excited soliloquy the combined enmity to him of men and God. First, Job 16:7-11, he realizes to himself the complete estrangement from him of all familiar friends; God’s enmity to him has turned men also into foes (Job 16:7-8). This combined enmity of God and men is represented under what seems the figure of a creature hunted by one great lion-like assailant, leading on a host of minor, ignobler foes. The chief adversary is first described, his rending anger, and gnashing teeth, and flashing eyes (Job 16:9); and then the pell-mell rout of baser foes that howled behind him, their open mouth and shameless gestures, and full cry after the prey, which is flung over into their hands (Job 16:10-11). Second, Job 16:12-17, then the hostility of God Himself is particularly dwelt upon in graphic figures, which express its unexpected suddenness, its violence and destructiveness. One figure is that of a man suddenly grasped by another of overwhelming strength and tossed about and dashed to pieces (Job 16:12). Then the figure changes, and this shattered frame is set up as a mark, and God’s arrows hiss around him and split his reins and pour out his life to the ground (Job 16:13). Again the figure changes, and this body seems some fair edifice or fort which God dismantles by breach upon breach till it lies a sorrowful ruin (Job 16:14). And finally the condition of humiliation to which the sufferer is brought is described; and all this befell him though he had done no wrong (Job 16:15-17).

I have sewed sackcloth - I have put on the badges of humiliation and grief; see the notes at Isaiah 3:24. This was the usual emblem of mourning.

15. Sackcloth — This cloth was of a coarse texture, generally of goat’s hair of a dark colour, with armholes, and shaped like a sack.