Job 10

In this chapter the passionate complaints and expostulations with God, from which Job tells us (in the foregoing chapter) he intended hereafter to refrain, break out afresh; and he earnestly desires to know what his guilt is: which God who made him, he was sure, could not but perfectly understand, if there was any, and needed not, for the discovery of it, to expose him to these severe torments. Which, he still is of the opinion, may justify his wishes of never being born, or of dying presently after. Though, those wishes being vain, he acknowledges it is more rational to desire, that God would be pleased to intermit his pain awhile, if he did not think fit quite to remove it. mend her good intentions, and think that the uprightness of her designs and her ignorance abate much of the crime: we neither blame her for concealing her purpose, nor for leading Holofcrnes into a mistake, nor even for tho murder of him; for all this is just and allowable in a lawful war. Yet will not this suffice entirely to excuse her; a lie, told with so much solemnity, and carried on through her whole conversation with Holofernes, is still indefensible. The employing her beauty, and all her little winning arts, to inflame his passion, and thereby exposing her person to a rude attack, is a step likewise not to be justified." THE BOOK OF JUDITH. gay apparel, to allure the eyes of all men that should see her: but this she did to ingratiate herself the more to Holofernes, to disarm his fury and resentment against her, as one of the Hebrews, and thereby to procure her a more favourable audience and admittance. Her putting on the very garments she wore in her husband’s lifetime, was probably to remind her, that, being attired in these, it was incumbent on her to behave with as much distance and reserve as in her conjugal state, to prevent her yielding to any criminal solicitation, by the very sight of them; to be careful not to reflect any dishonour, through misconduct, on her husband’s memory, but to revere his ashes, by preserving her chastity as a widow. This seems to be St. Ambrose’s meaning, when, speaking of this particular, he says, * Et bene conjugales pugnatura resumpsit ornatus, quia monumenta conjugii arma sunt castitatis; neque enim vidua aliis ant placere possit, aut vincere." (De Vidnis.) Vcr. 5. And filled a bag with parched corn, lumps of figs, and with fine bread.’] These are the principal food of the eastern nations; the constitution of their bodies and the nature of their clime inclining them to a more abstemious diet than is used in colder countries. And she took her own provisions with her, that she might not be obliged to partake of the victuals of the gentiles, which the law made her to regard as polluted and defiled, (xii. 2.) *Aproc jcc&apoe here means unfermented bread, pure, and free from leaven. Instead of which the Vulgate has, partem et caseum; and the Syriac renders in like manner.

Job 10:1

IffE Y soul is weary of my life: I will leave my co?n~ plaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. And since life is a burden to me, which can find no. ease but only in complaining, 1 will take that liberty, (for it is in vain to contend against it, ix. 27.) though no words can express my anguish and misery.. •„

Job 10:2

I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew, me wherefore thou contendest with, me. O thou supreme. Judge of all, do not pronounce thy final sentence against mc, till thou hast first shewn me what the. crimes, are for which I suffer. ■•-•■'

Job 10:3

Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?. What benefit wilt thou receive by my spoils? or is it agreeable to thee to slight thine own workmanship, and to countenance the reasonings and designs of evil men?.. » U*i;^ M rfASHED her body all over with water.’] The Jews first washed, and then anointed themselves with precious oil. So Naomi to Ruth, Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself (iii. 3.) So David, after the death of hischild, rose up and Avashed, and anointed himself. (2 Sam. xii.20.) The like is mentioned of Nausicae, and her maids, At St, Xoco-ffa/ievat, ical xptaaafitvat \in tXafy, Ae17TVOV £•&•££&’ CtXoVTO. (OS. VI.) And anointed herself with precious ointment.] This refers to the Jewish custom of anointing the head, more particularly on festivals and other solemnities. Instances of this in profane story are almost innumerable, in the description of their festivities: and that it was usual among the Jews, appears by many passages. Thus Psal. civ. 15. we have mention of oil, to make a cheerful countenance. And in this sense learned men understand the oil of gladness, Psal. xiv. 8. as referring to the oil used on festivals, which is expressly called gladness or joy, 1 Chrou. xii. 40. But that passage in Eccles.ix. 8. comes nearest to what is here mentioned, Let thy garments be white, and thy hea$ want no ointment* (See also Luke vi. 17.) On the other hand, upon days of humiliation and mourning, and particularly on the great day of expiation, the Jews were interdicted both washing and anointing. (2 Sam. xiv. 2. Dan. x. 3.) Though Judith is described in this and the following verse, with braided hair, and with a rich mitre or bonnet tied round her head with ribbons finely embroidered, and with otheT decorations and ornaments, yet arc these no certain signs or tokens of a loose turn of mind, or of wanton inclinations; though Jezebel indeed is described ■with some of them, 2 Kings ix. 30. but her character is the very reverse of this heroine: they are such only, as were worn by the women of that age of condition and distinction, and were now only occasionally used to set off her person, for the better accomplishment of the great design in hand. What the Vulgate hero adds, that God himself at this time gave her uncommon and irresistible beauty, to make her admired and amiable in the eyes of all beholders, has no foundation in any of the other ancient versions. And put on her garments of gladness, wherewith she was glad during the life of Manasses her husband.’] It may seem surprising, that Judith, who was so cautious of exposing her person to public view, and was so singularly strict in her dress, should, on a sudden, put on fine and

Job 10:4

Hast thou eyes of flesh? orseest thou as man seeth?. Dost thou judge of things as men do, who can see no farther than the outside, or are led by their affections? v

Job 10:5

Are (hy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days?. Must thou take time as we do to find out the truth, and understand the bottom of a business?

Job 10:6

Tliat thou inquirest after, mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?. Is that the reason thou usest methus severely, and hast laid mc upon a rack, and as it were cxaminest what I have done amiss? s

Job 10:7

TIiou knowestthat I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver me out of thine hand. SuTcly thou (whose vengeance none can escape) knowest, without the help of such torments, that I am not guilty.

Job 10:8

Tlrine hands have made me, and fashioned me together roundabout; yet thou dost destroy me. There is no part of me but was most elaborately made and fashioned by thee (and therefore thou canst not be ignorant of me); though now thou art about to ruin me.

Job 10:9

Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?. Need I put thee in mind that I was formed by thee, as the potter works the clay into what shape he pleases, and now thou art crumbling me into pieces again?

Job 10:10

Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?. Didst not thou gather all the scattered parts together, and compact them in my mother’s womb?

Job 10:11

TIiou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me tvith bones and sinews. And first cover them with skin, and then with flesh, and at last strengthen them with bones and sinews;.. For thy power standeth not in the multitude, nor thy might in strong men.] It was a firm persuasion of this truth, that induced Jonathan, and his armour-bearer only, to attempt the Philistines’ garrison; It may be that the Lord tvill tvorkfor us, for there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or byfeiv. (1 Sam. xiv. C.) By the same, Gideon, with his three hundred men, prevailed over the Midianitcs. (Judg. vii. 7.) This also encouraged king Asa, -when Zerah the Ethiopian came out against him with a thousand thousand; he comforts himself with this reflection, Lord> it is nothing with thee to help tvith many, or with them that have no power: tve rest on thee, O Lord, and in thy name we go against this multitude. (2 Chron. xiv. 11.) Not unlike this is Judas Maccabeus’s observation to his -soldiers, who, seeing a mighty host of the ungodly coming against them, discouraged at the sight, said to him, How shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so great a multitude, and so strong? whom that great and good leader piously comforts, It is no hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and with the God of heaven it is all one, to deliver unth a great multitude, or a small company. For the victory of battle standeth not in the multitude of a host, but strength cometh from Heaven* (1 Mace, iii. 17 — 19.) Artabanus’s speech to Xerxes, who had a much larger army with him in his expedition against Greece, surprises us, as coming from a heathen, " Ingens exercitus ab exiguo profligatur, quotiesDeusiis, quos dctcstatur, aut metnm, aut tonitru incutit."

Job 10:12

TIiou hast granted me life arid favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. And in due time bring me into the world, and give mc all the comforts of life, and by thy constant care. preserve both it and them? I am a woman of the Hebreivs, and am fled from them, for they shall be given you to be consumed.’] See xi. 15. It is to be observed in general of the speeches of Judith, that many expressions therein arc spoken ironically, and many equivocally, or with a double meaning. Here she cunningly conceals the truth, when she says, that they sliall be given you to be consumed; having some such mental reservation as this, unless God extraordinarily interposes in their behalf, which she seems to be well assured of. Others consider these words as spoken prophetically, as presaging some future captivity to the Jews, unless they repented. In this light the generality of expositors consider Judith’s conduct, and endeavour to excuse her from any imputation of falsehood.

Job 10:13

And these things hast thou hid in thy heart: I know. that this is jvith thee. Thou canst not have forgotten these things; and I am sure that this misery I now endure is not without thy order. And make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe.] t\ e. Make the deceit of my speech to be their ruin, tv 8(« Svoiv, not unlike that of St. Paul, Col. ii. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit; i. e. through the vain deceit of philosophy, or -through the deceit of vain philosophy. Our version follows a copy which read, Soc X070V fiov ical airaTriv etc rpavfia, «. t. X. and so the Alexandrian MS. has it. Other copies have,- Soc XJyov /xov, ical a7rar?jv koI rpav^ca, ical ftwXa>7ra avro7c> i. e. make my speech to be a snare and hurt to them. In this sense Junius takes it, Prcesta ut sermo meus sitfraudi, et vulneri, et cicatrici istis. The Geneva version affords another, but more obscure sense; i.e. Grant me words, and craft, and a wound, and a stroke, against them that enterprise cruel things against thy covenant. lam coming before Holof ernes to declare words of truth.] Which, indeed, she did with respect to herself, that she was a woman of the Hebrews, and had left or fled from them. (See xi. 12.) But supposing her to speak ambiguously, ironically, or even deceitfully, is she not excusable, if it be considered, that the war, which the children of Israel were engaged in at this time, was a just and necessary one; and that, in the judgment of most casuists, stratagem, dissimulation, and even deceit, in such circumstances, have been thought allowable? (See note on ix. 10.) But how shall wo justify her, when she says, in the latter part of this verse, I will shew him a way wheVeby he sliall go, and win all the hill country, without losing the body or life of any one of his men? She seems to have made her promise good in effect, when she acquainted Holofcrncs (xi. 12.) with the state of the besieged, that their victuals failed them, and their water was scant, and, therefore, were under a necessity of surrendering speedily. So that what she says about taking the hill country, without the loss of a man, was true, considered in this light, as there was no need of force, or the hazard of an action* where the famine was so pressing, though this indeed was not the whole of the business she came about, and her main and principal design she concealed in her own breast. Thus Samuel, when sent to anoint a king at Beth-lehem, instead of Saul," to prevent his killing him, gave out, by the order of God, that he camcto sacrifice to the Lord: (1 Sam. xvi. 2.) the excuse was not only plausible, but the thing itself true; but still the chief part df his commission he kept to himself, viz. anointing David to be king. Herein Samuel and Judith were both alike, that they spoke the truth, but did not think it proper or safe to lay open their whole purpose.

Job 10:14

And make every nation and tribe to acknowledge that thou art the God of all power and might, &c. •It seems as if the former part of this verse had suffered much by transcribers, as the reading of the Greek is so different in the several editions. Some copies have, ical “JTOtlJCTOV £7Tt 7TUV TO t§v6g <TOV, KCU TTa<Tt\Q $v\r\Q ZTriyvUXXlV, TOV ■tlSiJoxH, k. t.*X. Others, rrofijtroV inl itolvtos iSvove aov, tca\ 7ratn)c Svvcyuwc Kal Kparovg, 6rc ovk tarty aXXoc, k.t. X. The Alexandrian MS. seems to retain the true reading, -rrolnaov cttI 7ravr6c iQvov$ aov, ical iraar\Q ^vXfjc iirlyvwatv, tov zi&jaai on ait it o 6eoc, 6toc Traffic Swa/xcwc ical Kparovg, ical ouk cariv aXkog, k. t. X. To which agrees the Syriac, Fac toti populo tuo, et omnibus familiis, ut sciant te esse Deuin omnis potmtice etdominii, nee esse alium qui protegat Israel, prater te: and the Geneva version, Shew evidently among all thy people, and all the tribes, that thou art the God of all power and strength, &c. The sense, I conceive, will be somewhat improved, and the wish more extensive and affectionate, if, by a small transposition, we read the passage thus, 7roiT)aov cVi iravrbg tSvovg ical Traaqg ^vXrjc &ov lirtyvo)- atv, k. r. X. which Junius greatly confirms, Affer in omni gente notitiam tui, et totius potential tuce, &c. Now when the men heard her words, and beheld her countenance, they wondered greatly at her beauty, &c] As the courage of Judith must be acknowledged great and uncommon, to venture into the Assyrian camp, accompanied only with her maid, so early as break of day, circa ortum diet, as the Vulgate has it, so it is equally to be wondered at, that the soldiers should offer no rudeness of any sort to her; but, on the contrary, for her safer conduct, should appoint her a guard of a hundred men, till she reached the general’s tent. We must, I conceive, ascribe this unusual civility to some of the following causes; either to the majesty of her countenance, the splendour and eclat of her dress and appearance, which bespoke her a person of distinction; or to the importance of the dispatches which she said she brought with her; or, lastly, to the Divine protection. St. Ambrose makes the same reflection, " In qua foemina insidiosse pulchritudinis novitatem hostilis exercitus vehementer expavit, ut in ejus obsequio vires amitterent, arma projicerent, et colla curvarent. Deducitur ad praetorium subjectis ordinibus fraus Holofernis, et lngentis victoria civitatis.” (Serm. 228.)

Job 10:19

And every one said to his neighbour, Who would despise this people, that have among them such women?. This remark of Holofernes’s soldiers very much resembles, says Madame Dacier, that of the venerable old counsellors in the third book of the Iliad, who, though they had suffered all the calamities of a tedious war, and were consulting upon methods to put a conclusion to it, upon seeing Helen, the true and only cause of it, approaching towards them, are struck with her charms, and cry out, Ov vifxzaig, Tpwac Kai ti/Kv/j/ueSac’Axatovg Toiffi a/i^n yvvatKl 7roXuv xpovov aXyea 7racr;(£iv* Alvtog aOavarycfi $tyg «<c w7ra eouctv. Which Mr. Pope has thus beautifully rendered, No wonder such celestial charms For nine long years have set the world in arms. What winning graces! what majestic mien! She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen!

Job 10:21

Now Holofernes rested upon his bed under a canopy, which ivas woven with pearls, and gold, and emeralds, and precious stones. This piece of state, more agreeable to the softness of an eastern monarch, however customary in times of peace, and suited to the indolence of the tender and delicate, was an indulgence not so much to be affected by a soldier. The business and hurry of a camp scarce admits or requires state, and therefore we conceive but meanly of Holofernes, and should of any other general,