Job 16:21

Oh that one might plead for a man with God,.... That is, that one might be appointed and allowed to plead with God on his account; or that he be admitted to plead with God for himself; or however,

O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! One - rather, He (God).

Oh that either I or some faithful advocate might be admitted to plead any cause, either with God, or rather with you, before God’ s tribunal, God being witness and judge between us! But this verse is, and that very agreeably to the Hebrew text, otherwise translated and interpreted; either, 1. With respect to Christ, And he (i.e. God, last mentioned, to wit, God the Son, Christ Jesus) will plead for a man (i.e. for me, against whom you plead.) He modestly speaketh of himself in the third person, as is usual) with God (to wit, with God the Father; and the Son of man (as Christ is oft called) will plead for his friend, or companion, or neighbour, i.e. for a man whom he hath taken into that relation to himself. It is plain that the mystery of man’ s redemption by Christ was known to the ancient patriarchs, as hath been oft noted before; and to Job among others, . Or, 2. As the matter for which he prayed and cried to God, That (so the Hebrew vau is frequently used) he (i.e. God) would plead, or judge, or give sentence for a man (i.e. for me, or in my cause) with, God, (i.e. with himself, the noun being put for the pronoun, as 4:15 ,16, and elsewhere; or at his own tribunal, to which I have appealed,) as a man pleadeth for his friend or neighbour with or before an earthly judge and tribunal. This seems most agreeable to the scope of the place, which was to maintain his own integrity against his friends before God.

Job 16:21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man [pleadeth] for his neighbour!Ver. 21. O that one might plead for a man with God] Heb. And he will plead for a man with God, and the Son of man for his friend; that is (say our late learned annotators, to whom we are greatly bound for this most sweet and spiritual exposition of the words), Christ, who is God and man, will plead my cause with his Father; he can prevail, because he is God equal to the Father; he will undertake it, because he will be man like to me. This interpretation agreeth best with the coherence and the words following. And it seemeth that Job knew the mystery of Christ’ s incarnation, Job 19:25-27, where he speaketh of him both as God, and as a visible Redeemer. Christ is frequently called the Son of man in the New Testament, and believers are called his friends, John 15:13-15. By this text thus expounded we see that the doctrine of a mediator between God and man was known and believed in the world long before Christ came into the world. He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8, and to the Jews the ceremonial law was instead of a gospel.

Verse 21. O that one might plead] Let me only have liberty to plead with God, as a man hath with his fellow.

21. That he would maintain the right of a man with God, And of a son of man against his neighbour.

Oh that one might plead for a man - A more correct rendering of this would be, “Oh that it might be for a man to contend with God;” that is, in a judicial controversy.

21. Oh that one might plead — Better, O that He (God) would plead for man with God, as a son of man for his fellow.