Job 11:12

_FOR VAIN MAN WOULD BE WISE, THOUGH MAN BE BORN LIKE A WILD ASS'S COLT._ Vain man - hollow or empty х_ NAABUWB_ (H5014)]. WOULD BE WISE - wants to consider himself "wise:" opposed to God's "wisdom" (remark, Job 11:11); refuses to see sin where God sees it (Romans 1:22). The translation of Umbreit and Maurer is-`For thus (namely, by God's judgments, Job 11:10), vain (empty) man becomes wise, and the wild ass' colt (an image for wild untamed man, Genesis 16:12; Hosea 8:9) becomes a man' (a sensibl

7-12 Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?...

Verse Job 11:12. _FOR VAIN MAN WOULD BE WISE_] The original is difficult and uncertain, ואיש נבוב ילבב _veish nabub yillabeb_, "And shall the hollow man assume courage," or "pride himself?" Or, as Mr. _Good_ rather paraphrases it, _Will he then accept the hollow-hearted_ _person_? The _Chaldee_ gives _two_ renderings: _An eloquent man shall_ _become wiser in his heart, and the colt of the wild ass is born as_ _the son of man_. Or, _The wise man shall ponder it; and the_ _refractory youth, who at last becomes prudent, shall make a great_ _man_. _Coverdale_.-_A vayne body exalteth him self; and the son of man_ _is like a wylde asse's foale_. _Houbigant_ translates thus: - _A man who_ _hath understanding will become prudent; but he who is as the wild_ _ass hath no heart_, i.e., _sense_. According...

FOR VAIN MAN - Margin, “empty.” נבוב _nâbûb_, according to Gesenius, from the root נבב _nâbab_, to bore through, and then to be hollow; metaphorical, “empty,” “foolish.” The Septuagint, strangely enough, renders this,” but man floats about with words.” The Hebrew here means, manifestly, hollow, empty; then insincere and hypocritical. Zophar refers to a hollow-hearted man, who, though he was in fact like a wild ass’s colt, attempted to appear mild and gentle, and to have a heart. The meaning is, that man by nature has a spirit untamed and unsubdued, and that with this, he assumes the appearance of gentleness and tenderness, and attempts to appear as if he was worthy of love and affection. God, seeing this hollow-heartedness, treats him accordingly. The reference here is to men like Job, and Zophar undoubtedly meant to say that he was hollow-hearted and insincere, and yet that h

EXPOSITION JOB 11:1 Zophar, the Naamathite, the third of Job's comforters (Job 2:11), and probably the youngest of them, now at last takes the word, and delivers an angry and violent speech. He begins by accusing Job of having spoken at undue length, and at the same time, boastfully and mockingly (verses 2-4). He then expresses a wish that God would take Job at his word, and really answer him, since he is sure that the result would be to show that Job had been punished much less than he. deserved to be (verses 5, 6). Job's complaints against the justice of God's dealings he meets by an assertion of God's unsearchableness and perfect wisdom, which he contrasts with the folly of man (verse 7-12). Finally, he suggests that a stricken man, being guilty, should humble himself, put away hi

FOR VAIN MAN WOULD BE WISE,.... Or "hollow" r, empty man; empty of all that is good, though full of all unrighteousness; without God, the knowledge, love, and fear of him; without Christ, the knowledge of him, faith in him, and love to him; destitute of the Spirit, and of his grace, having no good thing in him: yet such a man "would be wise"; not desirous of true wisdom, but would be thought to be wise; he in conceit thinks himself that he is very wise, and he would fain have others think so of him; or is, or "may", or "will be wise" s; may be made wise by the chastisements of God through afflictions, being sanctified to him by the grace of God; though he is a vain man, and also is what is after said of him; afflicting dispensations are sometimes teaching ones, and in the school of afflictions many useful lessons are learnt, whereby men become wiser; see Psalms 94:12; though some underst...

The words we are about to read were spoken by one of Job's three friends, or what if I call them his three tormentors? These men did not speak wisely, and their argument was not altogether sound; but, for all that, in the instance before us, Zophar the Naamathite spoke that which was truthful. Although he made a great mistake in turning it against Job, yet what he said was in the main correct, and we may learn from it as we read it. Remember, dear friends, that whenever you read the words of these three men, you must take them with a good many grains of salt. They are not to be accepted as if they were God's Word, because they are not. Those three men were mistaken in many points, yet very much of what they said was weighty and valuable, and is still worthy of our careful consideration. Job 11:1. Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Should not the multitude of words be answere...

CHAPTER 11 ZOPHAR'S FIRST ADDRESS _ 1. Job's multitude of words rebuked (Job 11:1)_ 2. The greatness and omniscience of God (Job 11:7) 3. That Job repent and receive the Blessings (Job 11:13) Job 11:1. The third friend of Job is in every way the weakest. Speaking last he must have been the youngest of the three. He lacks the dignity of Eliphaz and the gentleness of Bildad, nor does he possess the depths of either. Evidently Job's speech has taxed his patience and irritated him. _ Should not thy mass of words be answered?_ And a man so full of talk, should he be justified? Can thy boastings make men hold th

SPEECH OF ZOPHAR.Job has shown that the assumption, that on account of the Divine righteousness only human sin can be the cause of misfortune, leads to the worst conclusions as to God's nature. What answer can the friends make? (Duhm). Job has charged God with a brutal misuse of His strength and a refined cruelty to His creature: Oh it is excellent to have a giant's strength But it is tyrannous to use it like a giant. Zophar, the youngest and most fiery of the friends, simply sees in Job's questionings about God, a denial of the Divine omniscience. If God treats Job as a sinner, He cannot be in error. Again, therefore, he calls Job to repent. He begins by criticising Job's verbosity: words and nothing else are his defence (Job 11:2 f.). Job declares that his walk is pure (emending my doctrine into my walk, Duhm, Peake). But if God were to accept Job's challenge to meet him, th

VAIN MAN WOULD BE WISE. Figure of speech _Paronomasia._ App-6. "A man", _nabub yillabeb =_ "a, man senseless [would become] sensible" if God did always punish immediately....