Job 30:3 — Word Study
WLCבְּחֶ֥סֶר וּבְכָפָ֗ן גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים צִיָּ֑ה אֶ֝֗מֶשׁ שׁוֹאָ֥ה וּמְשֹׁאָֽה׃
BSAGauntgalmûwd [thin, wasted] from povertycheçer [lack, destitution] and hungerkâphân [famine, severe want] they gnawedʻâraq [to chew, to bite] the dry landtsîyâh [barren, desolate] and the desolateshôwʼ [solitary, harsh] wastelandmᵉshôwʼâh [wilderness, desolation] by nightʼemesh [in the darkness, last night]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּחֶ֥סֶר | in poverty | Preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| וּבְכָפָ֗ן | and in hunger | Conjunction, preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד | barren | Adj |
| הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים | the [ones who] gnaw | Particle, verb qal participle (active) masculine plural |
| צִיָּ֑ה | a dry region | Noun common, feminine singular absolute |
| אֶ֝֗מֶשׁ | yesterday of | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| שׁוֹאָ֥ה | ruin | Noun common, feminine singular absolute |
| וּמְשֹׁאָֽה׃ | and desolation | Conjunction, noun common feminine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. |
| KJV | For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. |
| ASV | They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation. |
| YLT | With want and with famine gloomy, Those fleeing to a dry place, Formerly a desolation and waste, |
| WEB | They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation. |
| BBE | They are wasted for need of food, biting the dry earth; their only hope of life is in the waste land. |
Where they part company is גַּלְמוּד — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is structured around a main clause with additional phrases that elaborate on the conditions and actions of the subjects.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
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 30:3
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 Lament on Desolationgenerated
Job 30:3 depicts the dire circumstances faced by those in poverty and hunger, illustrating their desperation as they gnaw at the barren land. This imagery emphasizes the harshness of their existence, as they struggle for survival in a desolate wasteland, a theme echoed throughout the book of Job. The surrounding verses highlight their plight and the scorn they face from society, as seen in Job 30:2 and Job 30:4.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job 24:13–16 | Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths. |
| 2 | Job 24:5 | Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children. |
| 3 | Hebrews 11:38 | The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד, gal.Mudgenerated
The word גַּלְמוּד (galmuwd) is an adjective that describes something barren or desolate. It conveys a sense of harshness and sterility, often used to characterize a bleak landscape devoid of life.
In this context, it emphasizes the extreme conditions of the land that the impoverished are forced to confront. The parsing indicates that it functions as a descriptive term, enhancing the imagery of their suffering.
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. The BSB uses barren to describe the land, a choice shared with the DRA.
Where others part company with the BSB is in their rendering of גַּלְמוּד: thin (FBV, ULB), wasted (BBE).
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is governed by the verb עֹרְקִ֥ים, the ones who gnaw, with several prepositional phrases elaborating on their state: in poverty, and in hunger, a dry region, and last night. The structure indicates a layering of conditions that contribute to their dire situation.
The word order emphasizes the severity of their plight, with the verb at the center, surrounded by descriptors that paint a vivid picture of their desperation.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates גַּלְמוּד as ἄγονος, which also means barren. This choice maintains the emphasis on desolation and sterility, aligning with the Hebrew's intent to convey a harsh, lifeless environment.
The use of ἄγονος suggests a consistent understanding of the land's condition as devoid of sustenance, reinforcing the bleak imagery of the original Hebrew.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 30:3 describes people who are thin and wasted from poverty and hunger, gnawing on dry land and desolate wasteland at night. This verse illustrates their extreme suffering and the harsh conditions they endure.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Job uses this imagery to convey the desperation of those in poverty who are forced to consume whatever they can find, even if it is barren land.
This verse highlights the suffering and degradation faced by the impoverished, a recurring theme in Job's reflections on human suffering and divine justice.
The harsh conditions emphasize the depths of despair and the struggle for survival, illustrating the physical and emotional toll that poverty takes on individuals.
The mention of 'night' adds to the sense of hopelessness and despair, suggesting that their suffering continues even in darkness, symbolizing a lack of hope.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What are some ways I can help those who are suffering from poverty and hunger in my community?
- How can I better understand the experiences of those who feel desolate and abandoned?
- In what ways can I reflect on my own life and recognize moments of hardship?
- How does this verse challenge my perspective on wealth and poverty?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Gregory the Dialogist reflects on this verse in his work, discussing the plight of those who suffer in solitude, emphasizing their desperate conditions.
Who gnawed in solitude, being scurvy with calamity and misery, and chewed herbs and the barks of trees. And juniper roots for their meat.Early Church Fathers on Job 30 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 30:3 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleFor want and famine [they were] solitary,.... The Targum interprets it, without children; but then this cannot be understood of the fathers; rather through famine and want they were reduced to the
Read John Gill on Job 30 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryFor want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 30 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleWant and famine, brought upon them either by their own sloth or wickedness, or by God’ s just judgment. Heb. In want and famine, which aggravates their following solitude. Although want commonly drives persons to places of resort and company for relief, yet they were so conscious of their own guilt, and contemptibleness, and hatefulness to all persons, that they shunned all company, and for fear or shame fled into and lived in desolate places.
Read Matthew Poole on Job 30 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 30:3 For want and famine [they were] solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.Ver. 3. For want and famine they were solitary] Miserably poor they were, and nittily needy; scarce having a rag to their backs, and, therefore, ashamed to show themselves in company of others, propter penuriam, et propter esuriem, they lurked in bycorners, and seldom came abroad, unless when hard hunger drove the wolf out of the wood. Slow bellies they had ever been, and evil beasts, fitter, therefore, to live in the wilderness, in former time desolate and waste, than in a civil society; or, if in any place, at Poneropolis, a city built by Philip, king of Macedonia, for varlets…
Read John Trapp on Job 30 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 3. Fleeing into the wilderness] Seeking something to sustain life even in the barren desert. This shows the extreme of want, when the desert is supposed to be the only place where any thing to sustain life can possibly be found.
Read AdamClarke on Job 30 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges3–8. Description of this wretched class of outcasts. The tenses should all be put in the present. The race of people referred to appears to be the same as that in ch. 24.
Read Cambridge on Job 30 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleFor want and famine - By hunger and poverty their strength is wholly exhausted, and they are among the miserable outcasts of society.
Read Albert Barnes on Job 30 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible3. Solitary — Similar to Job 3:7, (which see;) barren, emaciated, hard like the rock. Fleeing into — Literally, gnawing the wilderness. The scantness of their livelihood appears from Job 30:4.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 30 →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
Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
gaunt with want and hunger, they would gnaw the parched land, in former time desolate and waste.
Tyndale line
For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
They are gaunt with want and famine; they gnaw the dry ground; in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
For pouertie and famine they were solitary, fleeing into the wildernes, which is darke, desolate and waste.
Strictly literal
Withered up through want and hunger, they flee into waste places long since desolate and desert:
With want and with famine gloomy, Those fleeing to a dry place, Formerly a desolation and waste,
With want and with harsh famine, || They are gnawing a dry place [in] the recent night, || [In] desolation and ruin,
Who suffer for want and famine in solitude; who flee into the wilderness [where all is] darkness, ruin, and desolation;
They were thin from poverty and hunger; they gnawed at the dry ground in the darkness of wilderness and desolation.
From the Latin
Barren with want and hunger, who gnawed in the wilderness, disfigured with calamity and misery.
Simplified
Thin through hunger and want, they try to eat the dry ground in the dark, desolate wilderness.
They are wasted for need of food, biting the dry earth; their only hope of life is in the waste land.
Word by word, the decisions they made
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 this verse, with all eight words matching in the Hebrew and Greek. This consistency indicates a shared understanding of the text's meaning across these traditions.
בְּחֶ֥סֶר וּבְכָפָ֗ן גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים צִיָּ֑ה אֶ֝֗מֶשׁ שׁוֹאָ֥ה וּמְשֹׁאָֽה׃
8 of the 8 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 30:3
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.
חֶ֫סֶר (checer) refers to lack or destitution, specifically highlighting concepts like poverty and want. It is derived from the root word that signifies absence or deficiency. The entries consistently emphasize its meaning related to poverty.
חֶ֫סֶר n.m. want, poverty
base
H2639 חֶ֫סֶר
2639 checer kheh'-ler
from 2637; lack; hence, destitution:--poverty, want.
see HEBREW for 02637
חֶ֫סֶר (che.ser) — poverty.
poverty, want
Prep | N-ms — Preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHR/Ncmsa
pov'-er-ti:
1. Old Testament References:
This word, found but once in the Old Testament (Ge 45:11) outside of the Book of Proverbs in which it occurs 11 times (6:11; 10:15; 11:24 the King James Version; 13:18; 20:13; 23:21; 24:34; 28:19,22 the King James Version; 30:8; 31:7), is a translation of yiwaresh, "to be poor," "to come to poverty" (Ge 45:11). Four different Hebrew words are used in the 11 references in Prov, all bearing the idea of being in need of the necessities of life, although a distinction is made between being in want and being in extreme want. Pr 18:23 well illustrates the general meaning of "poverty" as found in this book: "The poor (rush, "to be impoverished," "destitute") useth entreaties; but the rich…
כָּפָן (kaphan) refers to hunger or famine, indicating a state of emptiness and pain due to lack of food. The word is derived from a root that suggests a stooping or bending down, likely in response to the suffering caused by famine. All entries consistently define it in relation to hunger and famine.
כָּפָן n.[m.] hunger, famine
base
H3720 כָּפָן
3720 kaphan kaw-fawn'
from 3719; hunger (as making to stoop with emptiness and
pain):--famine.
see HEBREW for 03719
כָּפָן (ka.phan) — famine.
hunger, famine, painful hunger
Conj | Prep | N-ms — Conjunction · preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/R/Ncmsa
hun'-ger (ra`abh; limos (subs.), peinao (vb.):
(1) The desire for food, a physiological sensation associated with emptiness of the stomach, and dependent on some state of the mucous membrane;
(2) starvation as the effect of want of food, as Ex 16:3; Isa 49:10;
(3) to feel the craving for food as De 8:3; when used to indicate the condition due to general scarcity of food as Jer 38:9; Eze 34:29 it is replaced in the Revised Version (British and American) by "famine." The word is used to express the poverty which follows idleness and sloth (Pr 19:15). The absence of this…
גַּלְמוּד (galmuwd) describes something that is hard, barren, or desolate. It can refer to harsh conditions or a solitary state, particularly in contexts involving desolation or sterility. The word is derived from a root meaning to be wrapped up too tightly, indicating a sense of sterility or bleakness.
גַּלְמוּד adj. hard, barren
base
H1565 גַּלְמוּד hard, barren
1565 galmuwd gal-mood'
probably by prolonged from 1563; sterile (as wrapped up too
hard); figuratively, desolate:--desolate, solitary.
see HEBREW for 01563
גַּלְמוּד (gal.mud) — solitary.
1) hard, barren, harsh, bleak
1a) harsh, bleak (of a company of wicked men)
1b) barren (of women)
Adj — AdjHAamsa
Barren
For a woman to be barren was accounted a severe punishment among the Jews (Gen. 16:2; 30:1-23; 1 Sam. 1:6, 27; Isa. 47:9; 49:21; Luke 1:25). Instances of barrenness are noticed (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg. 13:2, 3; Luke 1:7, 36).
עָרַק (araq) is a Hebrew verb meaning to gnaw or chew. It can also refer to fleeing or a pain, as indicated in various contexts. The primary usage is found in Job 30:3, where it conveys the act of gnawing.
[עָרַק] vb. gnaw;—Qal Jb 30:3
ref
H6207 עָרַק
6207 'araq aw-rak'
a primitive root; to gnaw, i.e. (figuratively) eat (by
hyberbole); also (participle) a pain:--fleeing, sinew.
עָרַק (a.raq) — to gnaw.
(Qal) to gnaw, chew
Art | V-Qal — Particle · verb qal participle (active) masculine pluralHTd/Vqrmpa
צִיָּה (tsiyah) refers to dryness or drought, stemming from a root that means to parch. It encompasses concepts of aridity, barren land, and wilderness. The term is used in contexts related to desolate or dry places.
צִיָּה n.f. dryness, drought
base
H6723 צִיָּה dryness, drought
6723 tsiyah tsee-yaw'
from an unused root meaning to parch; aridity; concretely, a
desert:--barren, drought, dry (land, place), solitary place,
wilderness.
צִיָּה (tsiy.yah) — dryness.
dryness, drought, desert
N-fs — Noun common · feminine singular absoluteHNcfsa
re'-jun: A "district," as in modern English. The word "region" is used by English Versions of the Bible interchangeably with "country," "coasts," etc., for various Hebrew and Greek terms, but "region round about" is usually in the King James Version and invariably in the Revised Version (British and American) the translation of perichoros, "surrounding country." For a possible technical use of "region" in Ac 16:6 and the Revised Version (British and American) 18:23.
See GALATIA.
אֶ֫מֶשׁ (emesh) refers to a time in the past, specifically meaning 'yesterday' or 'last night.' It can also be used figuratively to mean 'recently.' The entries consistently define it as relating to former time.
אֶ֫מֶשׁ adv. yesterday
base
H570 אֶ֫מֶשׁ yesterday
570 'emesh eh'-mesh
time past, i.e. yesterday or last night:--former time,
yesterday(-night)
אֶ֫מֶשׁ (e.mesh) — last night.
1) yesterday, last night
2) recently (fig.)
Adv — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
שׁוֹא (sho') and its feminine form שׁוֹאָה (sho'ah) relate to concepts of ravage and devastation. The word conveys meanings such as ruin, waste, and destruction, often implying a sense of overwhelming force or storm. The entries suggest a connection to a root meaning to rush over, emphasizing the intensity of the devastation.
[שׁוֹא] n.[m.] ravage (?)
base
שׁוֹאָה, שֹׁאָה n.f. devastation, ruin, waste
base
H7722a שׁוֹא ravage? H7722b שׁוֹאָה, שֹׁאָה devastation, ruin, waste
7722 show' sho
or (feminine) showtah {sho-aw'}; or shoah {sho-aw'}; from an
unused root meaning to rush over; a tempest; by implication,
devastation:--desolate(-ion), destroy, destruction, storm,
wasteness.
שׁוֹא (sho) — ravage.
ravage
שׁוֹאָה (sho.ah) — devastation.
1) devastation, ruin, waste
1a) devastation, ruin
1b) ruin, waste (of land)
N-fs — Noun common · feminine singular absoluteHNcfsa
roo'-in (haricah, etc.; rhegma): "Ruin," the translation of haricah (Am 9:11; compare Ac 15:16, where the Revised Version (British and American) Greek text, ta katestrammena), and of a number of other Hebrew words: in Lu 6:49 rhegma, "breakage," is used both in a literal sense (Isa 23:13; 25:2, of fallen buildings; Eze 27:27; 31:13, of a state or people; Lu 6:49, of a house, etc.) and with a moral significance (Pr 26:28). the Revised Version margin correctly renders mikhshol in
מְשׁוֹאָה (mshow'ah) refers to desolation or ruin, both in an abstract sense and as a physical wreck. It is derived from a root meaning related to destruction. The entries consistently emphasize its meaning as desolation.
מְשׁוֹאָה, מְשֹׁאָה n.f. desolation
base
H4875 מְשׁוֹאָה, מְשֹׁאָה
4875 mshow'ah meh-o-aw'
or mshoah {mesh-o-aw'}; from the same as 7722; (a) ruin,
abstractly (the act) or concretely (the wreck):--desolation,
waste.
see HEBREW for 07722
מְשׁוֹאָה (me.sho.ah) — desolation.
desolation, ruin
Conj | N-fs — Conjunction · noun common feminine singular absoluteHC/Ncfsa