Job 30
AOSNJob 30:2-3
In the past, the most important members of society praised Job (29:11). Now, the least important made fun of him and spit in his face (30:1, 10). Compare with Psalms 35:15; 69:12; Mark 14:65; 15:17–20.
Job 30:5-6
They live in scary valleys (wadis), caves (holes), and among rocks.
The miserable life of those making fun of Job was like:
Israel’s situation under Midianite abuse (Judges 6:2).
David’s life when he fled from King Saul (1 Samuel 22:1–2).
The prophet Elijah’s life as he waited for the Lord’s instruction (1 Kings 17:3–8).
Job 30:9
they mock me: See also 17:6; compare with Psalm 69:12; Lamentations 3:14, 63.
Job 30:10
keep far from me: See also 19:13–15; compare Psalm 88:8; Proverbs 19:7; Matthew 26:56.
Spitting in someone's face showed extreme dislike or hatred (Deuteronomy 25:9; Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67; 27:30; Mark 14:65).
Job 30:12-14
The series of images here shows a military attack on a city with strong defenses. Job had already used this image to describe God's attack on him (Job 19:10–12).
The word translated as snares might refer to ramps raised against a city's walls. A siege ramp was a large sloped structure of earth and stones that armies built against city walls. These ramps allowed attacking soldiers to climb up to the top of the walls during a battle.
Job 30:15
Terrors: See also 6:4; 7:14; compare with Psalm 88:15.
Job 30:18
He seizes me by the collar: The Hebrew in this verse is hard to translate. It might mean Job feels like God is choking him and he is a throw him into the mud (compare 30:19).
Job 30:19
dust and ashes: Earlier, Job sat among the ashes in pain (2:8). Later, he would sit in dust and ashes to "repent" (42:6).
Job 30:20-21
You do not answer: Job often complained about this (9:16; 19:7; 23:2–9; 31:35). But God soon responded (38:1).
Job 30:22
Job felt like he was caught in a storm and blown around like useless "straw" or "chaff" (9:17; 21:18; 27:21; Psalm 1:4; Isaiah 17:13).
Job 30:28
Before his testing began, people respected Job in the public square (29:7–10, 21–25). He helped those in need (29:11–17).
Job 30:29
Job might have been expressing how he saw himself, how others saw him, or both. By saying he was a brother of jackals, a companion to owls, Job might have been describing his deep grief (Micah 1:8). People associated jackals with things devastated or ruins (see Psalm 63:10; Isaiah 13:22; 34:13; 35:7; Jeremiah 9:11; 10:22; 49:33; 51:37; Lamentations 5:18; Ezekiel 13:4; Malachi 1:3).
Job 30:30
People with a comfortable life had skin protected from the sun and wind. Dark skin suggested physical and social decline (Lamentations 4:8; 5:10).
Aquifer Open Study Notes © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.