Job 31:1-8

Solemn declaration that neither in him nor in his conduct was there justification for the change, and he is ready to face God (Job 31:1-40)

a. He was not lustful. (Job 31:1-8)

TEXT 31:1-8

1 I made a covenant with mine eyes;

How then should I look upon a virgin?

2 For what is the portion from God above,

And the heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,

And disaster to the workers of iniquity?

4 Doth not he see my ways,

And number all my steps?

5 If I have walked with falsehood,

And my foot hath hasted to deceit

6 (Let me be weighed in an even balance,

That God may know mine integrity);

7 If my step hath turned out of the way,

And my heart walked after mine eyes,
And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:

8 Then let me sow, and let another eat;

Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

COMMENT 31:1-8

Job 31:1In the ancient Israelite legal procedure the oath of innocence repudiating an accusation was of crucial importance. Where clear evidence was lacking, it was taken as proof of the innocence of the accused. Thus, the swearing of such an oath was a solemn religious celebration, which placed the verdict in God's hands.[307] Job here swears his innocence, then challenges the creator of the universe to give His verdict, i.e., acknowledge that he is innocent.[308] He rests his case on a series of oaths of clearance. Belief in the power of the oath made it the ultimate criterion of probabilityExodus 22:9-10 and 1 Kings 8:31-32. Some have compared Job's negative repudiation of evil to the negative confession in the Egyptian Book of the Dead where a long list of sins not committed are enumerated.[309] The exact list of Job's disclaimers is difficult to determine because of textual uncertainties. But the oath is no mere formal matter. Job examines both his interior motives and exterior behavior to enumerate what sins or crimes he has been tempted to commit. Only God will impel this oriental aristocrat to virtuous action and self-restraint. His moral standards are perhaps the highest to be found in the Old Testament. He shows sensitive respect for the dignity of his fellow men, even slaves. He also refutes Eliphaz's accusation (chapter 22)Job 31:16-20.[310]

[307] For examination of Psalms 139 as an oath denying worship of other gods, see E. Wurthwein, Vetus Testamentum, 1957, pp. 165-182; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 1 vol, E. T., 1961, McGraw-Hill, Hall and Justice, pp. 143-163, esp. pp. 155ff; W. Zimmerli, Das Gesetz in Alten Testament, Theologische Literaturzeitung, 1960, pp. 481-498; D. Daube, Studies in Biblical Law (Cambridge, 1947); A. Alt, Die Ursprunge des Israelitischen/Gesretz (Leipzig, 1934, Munich, 1953), pp. 278-332; G. E. Mendenhall, Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient Near East (Pittsburgh, reprinted from Biblical Archaeologist, 1954), pp. 26-46, 49-76; see my bibliography on Seminar Syllabus: Philosophy of Law.

[308]See S. Blank, The Curse, Blasphemy, the Spell, and the Oath, Hebrew Union College Annual, 1950, pp. 73-95; also his An Effective Literary Device in Job XXXI, Journal Semitic Studies, 1951, pp. 105-107; and F. Horst, Der Eid im altenteatament, Evangelische Theologie, 1957, pp. 366-384.

[309] See J. Murtagh, The Book of Job and the Book of the Dead, Irish Theological Quarterly, 1968, pp. 166-173.

[310] See E. Asswald, Hiob 31 in Rahmen der alttestamentiche Ethik, Theologische Yersuche. 1970, pp. 9-26.

In line one Job declares that he has put a ban (lit. cut a covenant) on his eyes. The preposition for (le, not the usual with-'im or -et) designates a condition imposed by a superior on an inferior party in a covenant or treaty1 Samuel 11:2; 2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Kings 11:4. Job is master of his eyes. If the particle -man is taken as negative rather than as interrogative how, as in A. V., then the line reads that I would not look upon a virgin. Emending the text is completely unnecessary here. Job here is discussing sinning by desire, and below the act of adultery. Job is here setting forth his controlled modesty, though as an Eastern prince he could do, with no impropriety or social repercussion, what he has made a covenant not to do. This is religious motive for morals of the highest orderMatthew 5:28; Matthew 18:8. Isaiah contains a beautiful description of a righteous man, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, stops his ears against hearing of bloodshed, shuts his eyes against looking at evilIsaiah 33:5, e.g. Joseph's example in Genesis 38.

Job 31:2In the previous verse, Job is clearly thinking of his behavior in the days of his piety, prosperity, and prestige. Job has consistently maintained that piety[311] ought to be rewarded by the blessings of prosperity, and his entire argument is that in practice this is not the case. God has not rewarded his righteousness; rather He has punished him for it.

[311] In view of our own 20th century crisis in piety and Eastern meditation techniques, eg., T. M., being rushed into the spiritual vacuum, see Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Revell, 1958); the works of both Ritschel and Warfield on Perfectionism; Donald G. Bloesch, The Crisis of Piety (Eerdmans, 1968); F. E. Stoeffler, The Rise of Evangelical Pietism (Brill, Leiden, 1971 ed.); also his German Pietism During the 18th Century (Brill: Leiden, 1973); John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim's Progress, many eds.; Augustine's Confessions (Oxford, 1958); S. Kierkegaard, Purity of Heart (Harper, 1956).

Job 31:3Job thought that he could depend on the above principle in his own life. Workers of iniquity is a common expression for the wicked in the Psalms. Disastrous calamities would be appropriate for the wicked, but not for a righteous man like he is.

Job 31:4God was his friend. He used to graciously watch over his lifeJob 14:16. But now God is silent in the presence of his suffering. Do his purity and piety count for nothing? God is viewed here as morally, inwardly, and outwardly available to Job. God sees his thoughts and actions and counts the steps in his entire existence.

Job 31:5He begins his series of oaths rejecting evil with a general repudiation of any sort of unrighteous conduct. Here falsehood is personified and presented as a companion. Perhaps Dahood is correct in suggesting that the preposition -im, here parallel with --'al, has directional significance meaning walking and hastening toward falsehood and deceit. He also suggests an emendation which makes the offense specific. He renders, If I went to an idol, or my foot hastened to a fraud.[312]

[312] M. Dahood, Ugaritic Hebrew Philology (Rome, 194S), p. 32.

Job 31:6The Old Testament condemns false balances consistentlyLeviticus 19:36; Ezekiel 45:10; Amos 8:5; Proverbs 11:1; Proverbs 20:23. For the weighing of a man in the balance for evaluating his character, see Daniel 5:27 and Matthew 7:2. God has previously borne witness to his integrity in Job 2:3, where the same word as here appears. Job is not a moral fraud; if he were weighed, God's judgment would be positive, as before.[313]

[313] See suggestion by M. Dahood, Vetus Testamentum, Supplement, 1967, p. 47, regarding full weight instead of my innocence, but the sense would remain the same regardless.

Job 31:7Have I departed from the path of righteousness? His covenant with his eyes in verse one is here extended to a broader sphere. He has not coveted what is another'S. Sin is often metaphorically pictured as staining one's handsJob 11:14; Job 16:17; and Isaiah 1:15. Clean hands are symbolic of one's righteousnessJob 22:30 and Psalms 24:4.

Job 31:8If he has sinned in thought or deed, Job here invokes a curse upon himselfJob 5:5; Job 27:17; Leviticus 26:16; Micah 6:15; Isaiah 45:22. Though it is possible that se-'esa-'im in line two refers to produce of the field, as in A. V., in all probability it means Job's human progeny. As Pope affirms, human beings can be uprooted as well as plants[314]Psalms 52:5; Job 31:12 b. His entire lineage is being removed from the earth, his children are dead, and he is dying.

[314] M. Pope, JBL, 1961, p. 196.