Job 29:5 — Word Study
WLCבְּע֣וֹד שַׁ֭דַּי עִמָּדִ֑י סְבִ֖יבוֹתַ֣י נְעָרָֽי׃
BSAwhen the AlmightyShadday [Shadday, all-powerful] was stillʻôwd [yet, continuing] with meʻimmâd [by my side, accompanying] and my childrennaʻar [youth, young ones] were around meçâbîyb [surrounding, encompassing, in my presence]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּע֣וֹד | while still | Preposition |
| שַׁ֭דַּי | [the] Almighty | Noun proper |
| עִמָּדִ֑י | [was] with me | Preposition, suffix |
| סְבִ֖יבוֹתַ֣י | [were] around me | Noun common both plural construct, suffix |
| נְעָרָֽי׃ | lads my | Noun common masculine plural construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, |
| KJV | When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; |
| ASV | When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me; |
| YLT | When yet the Mighty One [is] with me. Round about me — my young ones, |
| WEB | when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me, |
| BBE | While the Ruler of all was still with me, and my children were round me; |
The translations agree on the rendering of שַׁדַּי as 'Almighty.'
The main clause introduces Job's reflection, followed by a subordinate clause that describes his familial context.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
subjectשַׁדַּי
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 29:5
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Job's Reflection on His Pastgenerated
Job 29:5 reflects on a time when Job experienced the presence of God and the joy of having his children around him. This moment of reminiscence highlights the contrast between his past prosperity and his current suffering, as seen throughout the chapter. Job's memories serve to emphasize the depth of his loss and the longing for restoration.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job 23:3–8 | If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. |
| 2 | Deuteronomy 33:27–29 | The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’ |
| 3 | Joshua 1:9 | Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” |
| 4 | Judges 6:12–13 | And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” |
| 5 | Psalm 30:7 | O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 16 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — שַׁדַּי, Sha.daigenerated
The term שַׁדַּי (Shadday) signifies 'Almighty,' emphasizing God's immense power and authority. It is derived from a root suggesting self-sufficiency, indicating that God is all-sufficient and powerful in every situation.
This name for God is used throughout the Old Testament to convey His might and ability to protect and provide for His people, making it a significant title in Job's reflection on his past blessings.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is governed by the verb הָיָה, was, indicating Job's state during the time he reflects upon. The structure includes prepositional phrases that describe the conditions of his experience, emphasizing the presence of God and the company of his children.
The Hebrew word order places the subject שַׁדַּי before the verb, highlighting God's role as the source of Job's past blessings.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates שַׁדַּי as ὑλώδης, which conveys a sense of might but may not capture the full connotation of 'Almighty' as understood in the Hebrew context. This choice reflects a different emphasis in the Greek tradition.
The Greek rendering does not alter the essential meaning but suggests a broader interpretation of divine power.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 29:5 recalls a time when God, referred to as the Almighty, was present with Job, surrounded by his children. This memory highlights the joy and security Job felt during that period, contrasting sharply with his current suffering.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
'The Almighty' refers to God's great power and presence, emphasizing His role as a protector and provider.
Job reflects on this time to express his sense of loss and longing for the security and blessings he once experienced.
Job's children represent his legacy and joy, and their presence underscores the warmth and completeness of his past life.
This verse highlights the themes of suffering and restoration, showing the stark contrast between Job's past blessings and his current trials.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways have I experienced God's presence in my life?
- How can I cherish the memories of times when I felt secure and blessed?
- What does it mean to me to refer to God as 'Almighty' in my current circumstances?
- How can I support others who may be feeling the loss of security or joy?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
The early Church Fathers referenced Job's reflections to discuss God's presence and the nature of divine blessings. Quotations from Gregory the Dialogist are included here.
When the Almighty was yet with me; and when my servants were about me. Now all that stand in awe of the divine precepts become God's 'tabernacle.' Hence as we have already said above,Early Church Fathers on Job 29 →
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 29:5 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleWhen the Almighty [was] yet with me,.... Not merely by his powerful and providential presence, as he is with all men; but in a special manner by his gracious presence, which is a wonderful and
Read John Gill on Job 29 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryWhen the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; No JFB commentary on this verse.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 29 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleWith me, i.e. on my side; whereas now he is against me, and hath forsaken me. My children, or servants, or both; and therefore he useth this word, which comprehends both.
Read Matthew Poole on Job 29 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 29:5 When the Almighty [was] yet with me, [when] my children [were] about me;Ver. 5. When the Almighty was yet with me] To prosper me, and give me all that heart could wish or need require. But if that be not done, God’ s people are apt to think him absent. "Is the Lord among us?" say they in the wilderness; as if that could not be, and they athirst, Exodus 17:7. So Gideon in the invasion of the Midianites; "The Lord," saith the angel, "is with thee, thou valiant man. But Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" Judges 6:12-13. "If it be so, why am I thus?" as she said, Genesis 25:22. Si amatur, quomodo infirmatur? If Lazarus be…
Read John Trapp on Job 29 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges5. Naturally the first element in Job’s happiness in those past days was the presence of his children.
Read Cambridge on Job 29 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleWhen the Almighty was yet with me - Job regarded God as withdrawn from him. He now looked back with deep interest to the time when he dwelt with him.
Read Albert Barnes on Job 29 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible5. My children about me — Next to the blessing of God’s presence was that of the children. Compare Psalms 127:3; Psalms 128:3.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 29 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me,
when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me;
Tyndale line
When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me;
When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were about me;
When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
When the almightie was yet with me, and my children round about me.
Strictly literal
When the Almighty was yet with me, my young men round about me;
When yet the Mighty One [is] with me. Round about me — my young ones,
When yet the Mighty One [is] with me. Around me—my young ones,
When the Almighty was yet with me, when my servants stood round about me;
when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me,
From the Latin
When the Almighty was with me: and my servants round about me?
Simplified
The Almighty was still with me and I was surrounded with my children.
While the Ruler of all was still with me, and my children were round me;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of Job 29:5, with all five words matched, indicating consistency in the core message across these texts.
בְּע֣וֹד שַׁ֭דַּי עִמָּדִ֑י סְבִ֖יבוֹתַ֣י נְעָרָֽי׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 29:5
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
עוֹד (owd) primarily denotes a sense of iteration or continuance, functioning mostly as an adverb meaning 'still,' 'yet,' or 'again.' It can also imply addition or repetition, as in 'more' or 'besides.' The word appears in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, emphasizing persistence or continuation.
עוֹד and (14 t.) עֹד subst. a going round, continuance, but used mostly as adv. acc. still, yet, again, besides
base
H5750 עוֹד and (14 t.) עֹד subst. a going round, continuance, but used mostly as adv. acc. still, yet, again, besides
5750 `owd ode
or rod {ode}; from 5749; properly, iteration or continuance;
used only adverbially (with or without preposition), again,
repeatedly, still, more:--again, X all life long, at all,
besides, but, else, further(-more), henceforth, (any) longer,
(any) more(-over), X once, since, (be) still, when, (good,
the) while (having being), (as, because, whether, while) yet
(within).
see HEBREW for 05749
עוֹד (od) — still.
subst
1) a going round, continuance
adv
2) still, yet, again, besides
2a) still, yet (of continuance or persistence)
2b) still, yet, more (of addition or repetition)
2c) again
2d) still, moreover, besides
Aramaic equivalent: od (עוֹד "still" H5751)
Prep | Adv — PrepositionHR/Acmsa
stil: "To be still" is "to keep silence" (Ps 4:4, etc.) and so "to be quiet" (Ps 107:29, etc.) or "inactive" in any way (Jud 18:9; 1Ki 22:3; Zec 1:11, etc.). So "be still" in Ps 46:10 means "desist from your war" (compare the Revised Version margin "let be"). The "still small voice" of 1Ki 19:12 (the Revised Version margin "sound of gentle stillness") is due to taking the Hebrew demamah in its literal force of "silent," but the word here means "whisper"--"a whispering, little voice." This familiar passage…
שַׁדַּי (Shadday) is a Hebrew word meaning 'Almighty' and is often used to refer to God. It is derived from a root that suggests self-sufficiency. The entries indicate that this term emphasizes God's power and might, and it is recognized as another name for the LORD (יהוה).
שַׁדַּי 48 n.m.dei (etym. dub. (1) (self-)sufficient. (2) = Almighty)
base
H7706 שַׁדַּי (etym. dub. (1) (self-)sufficient. (2) = Almighty)
7706 Shadday shad-dah'-ee
from 7703; the Almighty:--Almighty.
see HEBREW for 07703
שַׁדַּי (shad.day) — Almighty.
Shaddai, the Almighty (God)
Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)
This name means almighty, most powerful
N-proper — Noun properHNpt
ol-mit'-i:
(1) (shaddai (Ge 17:1)): Found in the Old Testament forty-eight times, most of these in the Book of Job; it occurs either alone or in combination with 'el, "God"). The root meaning is uncertain.
(2) (pantokrator), the exclusive translation of this Greek word in the New Testament, found principally in Re (nine times), once besides (2Co 6:18). Its occurrence in the Apocrypha is frequent. See GOD, NAMES OF.
The Hebrew word עִם (*im*) means 'with' and is used to indicate companionship, aid, or joint actions. It can also imply opposition in contexts of contest or combat. The entries suggest a range of meanings, including proximity, possession, and metaphorical uses, such as 'in spite of.' There are no significant disagreements among the lexicons.
עִם prep. with
of fellowship and companionship
of aid
Of actions done jointly with another
If the common action be of the nature of a contest or combat, with in the sense of against
Of dealing with a person, or of the relation in which one stands with, or towards, another
Of a common lot together with the wicked
Of equality or resemblance generally aid
Of time, as long as
Of a locality, close to, beside
Of persons, עִם is spec.
in the house or family or service of
In possession of
In the custody or care of
Beside = except
With = friendly with
Idiom. of a thought or purpose present with one
Metaph. together with = in spite of, notwithstanding
base
H5978 עִם with
5978 `immad im-mawd'
prol. for 5973; along with:--against, by, from, + me, +
mine, of, + that I take, unto, upon, with(-in.)
see HEBREW for 05973
עִמָּדִי (im.mad) — with me.
with
A grammatical form of im (עִם "with" H5973A)
§ 1) with
Prep | Suff — Preposition · suffixHR/Sp1bs
סָבִיב (cabiyb) primarily means 'around' and is used as a noun, adverb, and preposition. It denotes a circle, neighbors, or the surrounding area, often implying a sense of being on every side or in a circuit. The entries consistently emphasize its usage in contexts of proximity and encirclement.
סָבִיב 336 subst., used mostly as adv. and prep., circuit, round about
base
H5439 סָבִיב subst., used mostly as adv. and prep., circuit, round about
5439 cabiyb saw-beeb'
or (feminine) cbiybah {seb-ee-baw'}; from 5437; (as noun) a
circle, neighbour, or environs; but chiefly (as adverb, with
or without preposition) around:--(place, round) about,
circuit, compass, on every side.
see HEBREW for 05437
סָבִיב (sa.viv) — around.
: around/border
subst
1) places round about, circuit, round about
adv
2) in a circuit, a circuit, round about
prep
3) in the circuit, from every side
סָבִיב (sa.viv) — around: side.
: side
subst
1) places round about, circuit, round about
adv
2) in a circuit, a circuit, round about
prep
3) in the circuit, from every side
סָבִיב (sa.viv) — around: whole.
: whole
subst
1) places round about, circuit, round about
adv
2) in a circuit, a circuit, round about
prep
3) in the circuit, from every side
סָבִיב (sa.viv) — around: neighours.
: neighours
subst
1) places round about, circuit, round about
adv
2) in a circuit, a circuit, round about
prep
3) in the circuit, from every side
N-cp | Suff — Noun common both plural construct · suffixHNcbpc/Sp1bs
נַ֫עַר (na`ar) generally refers to a boy, lad, or youth, covering ages from infancy to adolescence. It can also imply a servant or retainer and, in some contexts, may refer to a girl of similar age. The term appears in various forms across different lexicons, with Brown-Driver-Briggs noting its usage as a shaking or scattering.
נַ֫עַר 239 n.m. 1. boy, lad, youth. 2. retainer (not in P)
boy, lad, youth (c. 133 t.)
servant, retainer (c. 105 t.)
base
H5288a נַ֫עַר usu. interpr. as a shaking, scattering H5288b נַ֫עַר, נַ֫עַר . boy, lad, youth
. retainer
5288 na`ar nah'-ar
from 5287; (concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of
infancy to adolescence; by implication, a servant; also (by
interch. of sex), a girl (of similar latitude in age):--babe,
boy, child, damsel (from the margin), lad, servant, young
(man).
see HEBREW for 05287
נַ֫עַר (na.ar) — youth.
1) a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer
1a) boy, lad, youth
1b) servant, retainer
N-mp | Suff — Noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHNcmpc/Sp1bs