Commentary on Job 1 part 5/15

The strength of the lion, the voice of the lioness, and the exultation of dragons has been quenched. For he says these things in the form of a figurative discourse, since many who were proud and thought greatly of human things have suffered a reversal — such as Nebuchadnezzar, who came from a kingdom to the lowest station of a private man.

But also that which was said to the rich man who said:

I will pull down my barns and build greater ones —

You fool, this night they require your soul of you — this is illustrative of that same conception.

The lion, then, is taken by him on account of its savagery and its haughtiness, as trusting in itself.

Which the blessed Paul too, perceiving, said concerning Nero:

At my first defense no one stood with me, but the Lord stood by me and delivered me out of the lion's mouth. And Jeremiah too, saying:

Israel is a scattered sheep, lions have driven him out — explains in what follows who the lions are, saying:

First the king of Assyria devoured him, and so forth.

God has crushed the jaw-teeth of the lions — this signifies the defeat of proud and savage men.

And he would be taking the lioness for an insatiable disposition, which has such a nature.

For indeed, when it needs food, it does not roar, lest the beasts which ought to become food for it should take flight.

But even if the male too is of this nature, yet from the more dominant aspect, and with a view to what is kingly and haughty, he made mention of it.

He has also made mention of the dragons, hinting at serpentine men, that they too are brought to ruin when a reversal comes about concerning them.

And these are deceitful and work deception, according to that concerning which it is said:

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted. And the ant-lion resembles a boastful and rash man, who because of his instability and unsteadiness falls away more quickly.

And this creature is said to be born from a lion that has coupled with an ant — not the little insect, but another, which has the size of a bear and is called by that name.

The naturalists say that, because its father is flesh-eating and its mother grass-eating, the creature perishes, being unable, on account of its origin from both parents, to make use of a single kind of food.

But as to how these things stand, let the reader judge.

There are those who plausibly refer this to the devil, saying that to the saints he is an ant on account of his weakness, but to those who sin he is a lion, because they have given him a place.

'The whelps of lions have forsaken one another'—which he said as a veiled reference to those men who are ungoverned and savage.

For indeed the whelps, as long as they are under their mother, remain together; but when they have grown to full strength, they part from one another.

When a benefactor is being eagerly sought, he gives little thought to the matter.

One must understand a true word to be that which proceeds from a disposition free of falsehood.

For there is a word in the soul as well.

And this too must be said: that it is not fitting to regard the words of every character set down in Scripture as weighty or worthy of understanding.

In the Gospels, for instance, the words of the Jews are senseless; but even Nicodemus used words that were not prudent.

For when the Saviour said:

'You must be born again from above,' he himself replied:

'Can a man who is old be born, or enter a second time into his mother's womb?' Thus one must not always demand understanding from every character set down in Scripture.

'Will not my ear receive extraordinary things from him? And with fear, a nocturnal echo—a terror falling upon men—and shuddering met me, and trembling, and it greatly shook my bones, and a spirit came upon my face, and my hairs and flesh bristled.'

'I arose and did not recognize it; I looked, and there was no form before my eyes, but I heard only a breeze and a voice.' Since he used a good many words—the first of which seem to be consoling, and the next reproachful, as though Job had hastened this upon himself because of what had befallen him and because he had suffered on account of sin (for this Eliphaz supposed from the outset), and in addition, that human affairs, even if they are held in high esteem, are subject to great change—reckoning that it is possible for the hearer not to attend to what has been said by him, for the sake of confirmation he brings in the things set forth, saying:

'Will not my ear receive extraordinary things from him?'—as much as to say:

Let none of the hearers suppose me to be without understanding.

For the ear of my mind receives wondrous things from him—meaning from God himself.

For the word 'himself' is indicative of authority, as in the passage:

'It is I myself who speak that am present,' and in the passage:

'He himself, being wise, brought evils upon them, and his law shall by no means be set aside'—that is, the law of God.

For in truth, if human understanding sets itself upon the things that come from God, it is filled with fear, according to what is said:

'I considered your works and was astonished.' And upon this same thing there follows also a nocturnal echo, which is great obscurity, from which it comes about that one who has begun to understand any of God's judgments shudders and is afraid.

Moreover, even the bones of such a one are troubled, which are the power of the soul.

For every human reasoning grows weak before the precise apprehension of divine things.

Knowing this very thing, Habakkuk also says:

'At the voice of my prayer, trembling entered into my bones.' Therefore, as has been said before, since the divine works are fearful, in the one who wishes to give heed to them according to his understanding there arises a certain impression of thought that is not precise, which is shown by the words:

'And a spirit came upon my face.' Next there is also the phrase:

'And my hairs and flesh bristled.' For a man endures no small tumult, if he should dare to set himself upon God's judgments and wondrous works.

'I arose, and there was no form before my eyes,' so that the meaning is this:

Even if a man wishes to rouse himself to understanding, the precision—here called 'form'—eludes him.

'A deep depth—who shall find it out?' 'But I heard only a breeze and a voice.' For one who employs understanding receives certain wondrous things and echoes of the governance that comes from God.

And he is not altogether able to grasp it—and very reasonably so.

For if Paul, speaking in Christ, says:

'O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out!'—how much more will one who sets himself upon human reasonings be too feeble for comprehension? For what? 'Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man blameless in respect of his works?' We have supposed that Job's friends possess human understanding, both here and in what preceded.

For it is no small proof of understanding that, being kings, they left their lands and came on account of their sympathy for Job, even while judging that he was not free of sins.

They make use of human reasonings, yet even so they go astray.

For as has been said before, positing a single cause for the afflictions, they suppose that Job too suffered on account of sin, being led to this by a plausible argument, as they reflect on the weakness of human nature.

Therefore Eliphaz also says the words before us:

'For what? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man blameless in respect of his works?' This, then, though it is plausible, when it is examined according to his own meaning, stands refuted.

For if the one who falls into troubles is afflicted on account of sin, and no one is pure, then no one would ever have been free of troubles.

But so much for what he says; the divine instruction, however, teaches that even wicked men who are in every way steeped in sins have passed their lives untroubled by adversity.

Among these is the rich man with Lazarus, who each day feasted splendidly, clothed in fine linen and purple, remaining in a most pleasant manner of life until his last breath, while Lazarus, though attested to be righteous, had no rest here.

'Fool, this very night they are taking your soul from you;

and the things you have prepared, whose shall they be?' He is not recorded as having shared in any adversity.

And this too the divine word teaches—even though this man said it in a human way—that it is not at all the case that the pure man is such also before the Lord.

This is shown from the passage:

'The stars are not pure in his sight,' and from the passage in the Psalms:

'In your sight shall no living man be justified.' For he did not say:

You will find, then, that all fall short as measured against God, and do not possess it in superabundance.

For Moses, although he had been instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, says:

'I am not able to speak—neither yesterday nor the day before, nor from the time you began to speak to your servant.' For in the presence of that which surpasses, one seems to be lesser.

'But I am without eloquence.' And Abraham too, who was called the friend of God, says:

'Since I have begun to speak to my Lord, I am but earth and ashes.' Yet he does not disparage himself absolutely, but only from the time he began to speak to God.

As for 'mortal' and 'man,' even if they were said by Eliphaz in parallel, we, applying ourselves to the text more precisely, say that 'mortal' can be assigned to a woman.

For 'man' is not said of every human being.

'If he does not trust in his servants, and has perceived something crooked against his angels, then those who dwell in houses of clay, of which we ourselves also are, being of the same clay, he has struck like a moth.

And from morning until evening they are no more.' He wishes to bring the demonstration from the greater and to confirm that every human being is under sin, saying that even the children of God are not trusted in his sight, that is:

'And against his angels he perceived something crooked'—when they sinned.

And if this is so, then much more against those who dwell in houses of clay.

And these too, being of the same clay, when they sin he will not spare, sending punishments upon them after the manner of a moth—those who by his judgment, from morning often until evening, will not endure.

This, then, is the most general understanding of what has been said. But someone might inquire whence this man has his notion concerning the angels who transgressed, against whom he says God perceived something crooked.

To which it might be said that, being an understanding man, he knows that the angels are not good by nature, but are subject to change.

Nor is it out of place for him to conceive this also from men who are demon-possessed, concerning whom the divine teaching says:

'The angels who did not keep their own rank he has kept under gloom.' And he says that men dwell in houses of clay, meaning material ones, saying more simply that men too are composed of the same clay.

For the soul is not also of clay;

for it is the body that is called clay.

This is made clear in the book of Wisdom.

[corrupt text] But the prophet also says:

The ruler makes his demand, and the judge has spoken peaceable words.

it is the desire of his soul.

'And I will take away their good things like a moth that eats through, and one that walks upon a rule in the day of watching'—which signifies the sudden and unexpected character of the punishments, and that they are meted out by measure.

For if He does not bring wrath every day, but renders to each according to his works, He does this by a rule, tempering it together with His goodness.

They perished because they were unable to help themselves.

'For He breathed upon them, and they were dried up; they perished because they had no wisdom.' Still holding to the same principle, according to which he supposes that misfortunes befall men on account of sin, he says these things also.

For since they were unable, through virtue, by repenting of their evils, to help themselves, afflictions followed upon them.

And this too he suggests that we understand:

Being unable through weakness to ward off the severity of the things that came upon them, they were perishing, thereby displaying the paltriness of human power.

This indeed is what the clause that follows also appears to signify:

'For He breathed upon them, and they were dried up.' For it shows that there was no need of any overwhelming onslaught against them, but only of His breathing—which sufficed for their destruction, which he called 'perdition.'

Being of the same mind as before, he adds:

'They perished because they had no wisdom'—not knowing that many wise men have fallen into surpassing troubles.

'But call, if anyone will answer you, or if you will behold any of the holy angels.' He evidently offers the holy man an exhortation that looks toward repentance, so that, coming from this to entreaty, he may obtain one to aid him and to hearken to him.

'if you will behold any of the holy angels'—he knows that there are also angels who are not holy.

For if he did not know this, the addition would be superfluous.

He says this as though distinguishing a holy one from one that is not such.

But there are those who say that he speaks these things in irony.

Again he holds to the mistaken principle, saying that ... through sin ... that he might know ... For 'wrath slays the foolish man, and envy kills him that has gone astray.' ... thus ...

... to you ... foolish ... falling ... to call ... help ... and this ... when ... some also ...

... instead of ... such things ... of those who are displeased with God's providence:

'Why do I fall into so many troubles ... and the honour ...'—according to what is said:

'Do not be envious of evildoers, nor be jealous of those who work lawlessness.' ... envy ... like him ...

But a second interpretation ... in relation to the first ... even if by way of irony ...

'But call, if anyone will answer you'—he will seem to have spoken fittingly, that ... does not answer ...

'But I have seen the foolish taking root, yet immediately their habitation was devoured.' ... by the ... roots ... many-branched ... in everything ... many-rooted ... to sustain and ... he speaks of human affairs ... what happens; for 'immediately their habitation was devoured' ...

for the most part ... as the ... ... and that the rich man often changes into poverty ... while he yet survives ... but at any rate ... this coming upon his life ... of arrogance ... For the divine Scripture presents such an understanding in the Psalms, spoken by a holy man:

'I saw the ungodly highly exalted, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon;'

'and I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found.' For evil has no subsistence ... except in the choice of the one who works it.

So then, if that one by his own choice ceases, evil no longer has any constitution ...

... its existence depends upon choice.

'His sin shall be sought out;'

'and it shall by no means be found on its own account.' For, because it has no substantial subsistence, it is not found.

For wickedness is not a substance, but, having been begotten in the will, it has its being.

Again, when the error ceases, wickedness too departs along with it.

But at any rate it is said concerning wickedness in general:

'and iniquity lied against itself.' For just as we often say that the land belies its proper and good yield, so also wickedness is said to belie itself, no longer ...

... coming to be, when it runs away ...

all pain and grief and groaning.

and the habitation is devoured when the punishment is carried out.

'Let their children be far from safety;'

'and let them be trampled at the doors of their inferiors, and there shall be none to deliver.' He prays that some chastisement may come upon the boastful, so that pleasant things and human goods may depart from them—which he called 'safety.'

For thus some suffering will befall them.

'Let them be trampled'—let them be brought low, being humbled by those lesser than themselves, with none to help.

For humbling is beneficial to the proud man: first, that for such a one there may come a respite from immoderate wickedness; then, that ... he may be reformed.

The word 'let them be trampled (kolabristheiēsan)' is derived from 'kolos,' which means 'docked' or 'maimed;'

for a 'kolobron' is said to be a little pig.

'For what those men gathered, the righteous shall eat.' This man, though speaking it in human terms, would present the reasoning well, asserting that what the ungodly gather, the righteous shall eat—were it not that at times something paradoxical appears to happen;

for this is not found to hold true in every case.

And in the divine Proverbs it is said:

'the wealth of the ungodly is laid up for the righteous'—which again we do not necessarily receive according to the literal sense.

But since it is spoken proverbially, the Jews are accordingly said to be rich, having both the Law and the Prophets, which they did not use as they ought.

But this wealth passed over to the Gentiles;

'for the vineyard shall be taken away and given to a nation producing its fruits.'

'but they themselves shall not be delivered from evils; let their strength be siphoned away.' He says that not only are the ungodly deprived of their wealth, but they can never be delivered out of evils.

And of these same ones, may their power also be utterly emptied out—from a metaphor of things being siphoned off, so that no moisture at all is left remaining.

Whether he says these things by way of imprecation, consider along with me.

But he knows that these things will not by any means befall the wicked in every case;

for many have received the end of this life in a good old age.

But whether he says these things having in view a discernment of the age to come and of its punishment, you will examine this too.

But what the holy man says, thus admonishing the attentive one concerning those who grow rich unjustly, is this:

'Fear not when a man grows rich, for when he dies he shall carry nothing away, nor shall the glory of his wealth go down with him.' And throughout his whole discourse this man calls the painful things 'evils':

poverty, sickness, obscurity, dishonour.

'For toil comes not forth out of the earth, neither shall trouble spring up out of the mountains; but man is born unto trouble, and the vultures' young fly to the heights.' Wishing to show that the curses which he pronounced against the ungodly, or which he said would follow them, he uttered with good reason, he says:

For it belongs to human beings, and not to inanimate things, to fall into afflictions.

But the saying can also be consolatory, as it is customary for most people to say:

'You have not suffered anything outside of human nature;'

for indeed we have our life in toil.

And our very being born comes about with toil and hardship, both the parents undergoing countless sufferings and the children passing their lives in labour.

But if you are able to bring in here the account of the man blind from birth, consider it along with me.

For it was concerning that man that His disciples questioned Jesus, saying:

'Did this man sin, or his parents, that he should be born blind?'

'But the young of vultures fly to the heights' is like saying that harm does not touch inanimate things.

'They are free from wretchedness'—for they do not live in wickedness—so that what he says means something of this sort:

Inanimate and irrational things—for by 'the young of vultures' he seems to signify irrational creatures—do not undergo the experience of retribution, since it is man who reaps such things on account of his sins. This he says in keeping with his own governing principle.

'Nevertheless, I will make my petition to the Lord, and I will call upon the Lord, the Master of all things.' Having found fault with the foolish and having said what follows about them, he means: 'But I,' he says, 'do not rejoice as those do; rather, since I understand that there is a providence and know that God is the Master of all things, I call upon Him, judging this to be fitting.'

Consider whether he does not say these things because he wishes to convey a judgement about himself as a righteous man.

'Who does great things and things past finding out, glorious and marvellous things, of which there is no number,'

'who gives rain upon the earth, sending water upon that which is under heaven.' He confesses God to be the Provider and Maker of all things.

And it is not unlikely that he, a man wise in human affairs, should hold these judgements.

He also holds a judgement concerning things invisible and visible, speaking of things past finding out and great and glorious, both rain and water. And if he distinguishes this 'water' from the rain, he would be speaking of that which comes from springs and torrents and streamlets.

You find these notions expressed most intelligently in many places of the Scriptures, and not least in Paul, who writes:

'In Christ were created things visible and invisible, both earthly and heavenly.' And one must also reckon this: that from the things which befell the holy Job, being brought as a man to fear, he marvels at the works of providence.

As for the phrase 'there is no number,' one must understand that it is spoken by a man.

And it is no wonder, since Solomon too says:

'God has given me a true knowledge of the things that are, to know the constitution of the world and the operation of the elements, the beginning and end and middle of times, the changes of the solstices,' and so forth.

For not even the things that are by nature innumerable are innumerable to God, of whom it is said:

'He who numbers the multitudes of the stars,' and:

'The very hairs of your head are numbered'—things which are also given to those worthy of knowing them for their benefit, as has been said concerning Solomon.

'Who makes lowly ones high and raises up those who have perished.' He passes over also to the providence exercised over men, and being disposed in this way concerning the God of all, he holds that God Himself, from on high, brings low, making the poor rich, subjects into rulers, the sick into rulers who are in health, and the reverse.

It is clear that these things, both as they truly are and as they appear and are conceived, exist for our benefit—according to this saying uttered by a holy man:

'The Lord establishes kings and removes them,' and this:

'By me kings reign,' and this:

'Who raises up the poor from the earth and lifts up the needy from the dunghill.' And the prelude to exaltation from God is the humility that comes from ourselves:

'For he who humbles himself shall be exalted, and he who exalts himself shall be humbled.' And again:

'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' And by 'those who have perished being raised up' he means those who have been set in adverse circumstances and have tasted a change that puts an end to their troubles and grants in return the things of rest—which also befell the blessed Job, who remained steadfast in the virtuous works of the soul.

But if you take 'the one who has perished' in place of 'the one who has sinned,' God raises these up too, providing a place for repentance through teaching.

But the blessed Job had not perished with such a perdition, so as to need such a raising up.

'Who frustrates the counsels of the crafty, so that their hands shall not accomplish what is true.' Throughout, he discourses about God in the manner possible for himself, being moved in many respects by human notions not implausibly.

Having discoursed about God's providence, and that through Him both dishonours and honours come to pass, and that a man is brought low not apart from Him, he proceeds to show that even if men employ great variety of understanding, it belongs to God to grant the outcome.

The phrase 'who frustrates the counsels of the crafty' means that even if men deliberate and suppose their cunning to be irrefutable and secure, God alters these things, making them work toward what is beneficial for each one.

Indeed, often men who have hoped for no small things have failed, and have obtained things not expected, since God governs and does not administer things in a merely human way.

Nor, on the other hand, do those men have anything true even in their own actions—as many as, casting all upon themselves, have imagined themselves self-sufficient for all things through their own counsels.

One must know that in the divine Scripture the name of 'craftiness' (panourgia) is applied not only to what is blameworthy but also to what is praiseworthy.

For when it is said concerning wisdom:

'That it may give craftiness to the guileless,' it is clear that it means prudence and a thing worthy of praise—

for such a thing is given by wisdom.

'The crafty man, when evils come upon him, hid himself'—this indicates the action of a prudent man, which is accomplished by him by way of repentance, whenever an onslaught of evils is to be expected, as the Ninevites did and escaped the threat:

for he hides from wrath, escaping it by repentance.

That 'craftiness' is also used in a blameworthy sense is made clear in this:

'I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted.' And by 'hands' we have 'actions' signified in the Scripture, as this man too is seen to have understood.

'Thorns grow in the hand of the drunkard'—we do not take it to be the part of the body—for thorns do not grow upon this—but the actions by which he sins.

'Therefore their hands shall not accomplish what is true,' since God does not permit the outcomes of their designs to be fulfilled.

'Who catches the wise in their prudence, and confounds the counsel of the crafty.' Either he means that God catches the devices of the wise by His own prudence, or by the prudence of those who have partaken of it from Him—as Elisha caught the sophistry of Gehazi, whom he apprehended contriving to escape his notice, saying:

'Your servant went nowhere, to right or to left.' To whom, having caught his movement, he said:

'Was not my heart with you?' [....] But he also confounds the counsel of those who weave craftinesses, as with Ahithophel, when the blessed David prayed and said:

'Turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness for me.' Nay more, He also confounded the counsel of the lawless elders and of the Egyptian woman, who deliberated thus against chastity, so that Susanna, because of their intricate scheming, said:

'I am straitened on every side'; while Joseph, by his youthful spirit and resolve, escaped the devices of the lawless Egyptian woman.

'By day darkness shall meet them, and at noonday they shall grope as in the night, and let them perish in war.' He says that as many as attempt things beyond their own power, so as to think that apart from the inspiration of God they apprehend anything, find nothing, but are held fast in the darkness of obscurity, groping at things as in the night, wholly unable to discern anything with accuracy.

For just as a suffusion lying upon the eyes hinders the power of sight, so such a passion, when it is about the mind, causes it to be unseeing even amid things bright and manifest.

He signifies that their ignorance comes about in an intensified degree, by their being unseeing even at the noonday hour.

You might say that this applies also to one who has believed the gospel proclamation but is still liable to be accused in his sins, that he does not see though a great light is present:

for in so far as he believes, light appears to him, but in so far as he does not use the light toward what is fitting, he is blind.

These things came to pass symbolically for the Egyptians:

for three whole days and three nights in succession they spent in darkness.

And that they suffered this on account of their own fault, the day was not simply without light for all, but for them alone, while the Israelites suffered no such thing.

But the men at Sodom too, being smitten with a perceptible blindness, were symbolically shown to be blind in their understanding.

smitten with blindness—who indeed [....] And not by way of compulsion you may say that those who set themselves against the truth by means of sophistical and plausible arguments fall by day into darkness and, at noonday, as it were into night; but when the one who stands with the truth by demonstrations refutes the rottenness of their plausibility, being unable to withstand these, they resemble the blind and the senseless.

who also perish in the war that is according to the contest waged on behalf of the truth.

Of whom the symbols are: the Egyptians, campaigning under Pharaoh and defeated by the Israelites through God's help, and Goliath by David, and all who were defeated by the servants of God even at the perceptible level.

For these bear a demonstration that not even the enemies of the wise in the realm of the understanding are able to prevail against the truth championed by them.

Nay more, the case of Moses is a most manifest demonstration of this, when he fought against Amalek.

For whenever his hands were let down, a turning to flight came about, whereas victory came to pass when they happened to be stretched upward toward God.

From which it is established that he who leans upon the lofty spirit of the truth is unconquerable and treads underfoot the knowledge falsely so called.

But he who turns below about earthly things, being blind and darkened in his understanding by ignorance, endures a most grievous defeat.