Job 11:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Job 11:6
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
wisdom (in a good sense) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
double
כִפְלַ֪יִםkhif.La.yim
H3718
a duplicate · noun, common masculine dual absolute
is
לְֽת֫וּשִׁיָּ֥הle.Tu.shi.Yah
H8454
support or (by implication) ability · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Know
וְדַ֡עve.Da'
H3045
to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
God
אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַ'e.Lo.ha
H433
a deity or the Deity · noun, common masculine singular absolute
exacteth
יַשֶּׁ֥הya.Sheh
H5382
to forget · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
iniquity
מֵעֲוֹנֶֽךָme.'a.vo.Ne.kha
H5771
perversity · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezra 9:13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our i…
Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream…
Matthew 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been ke…
Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may…
Job 9:4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 11:1-6
It is sad to see what intemperate passions even wise and good men are sometimes betrayed into by the heat of disputation, of which Zophar here is an instance. Eliphaz began with a very modest preface, Job 4:2. Bildad was a little more rough upon Job, Job 8:2. But Zophar falls upon him without mercy, and gives him very bad language: Should a man full of talk be justified? And should thy lies make men hold their peace? Is this the way to comfort Job? No, nor to convince him neither. Does this become one that appears as an advocate for God and his justice? Tantaene animis coelestibus irae? - In heavenly breasts can such resentment dwell? Those that engage in controversy will find it very hard t…
to that which is!--Rather, "they are double to [man's] wisdom" [MICHAELIS]. So the Hebrew is rendered (Pro 2:7). God's ways, which you arraign, if you were shown their secret wisdom, would be seen vastly to exceed that of men, including yours (Co1 1:25).
exacteth--Rather, "God consigns to oblivion in thy favor much of thy guilt."
John Gill on Job 11:6
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom,.... Either of sound doctrine, in opposition to his own doctrine he had such a vain opinion of; and then he would see, as he thought, that it was not so pure as he imagined it to be: the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, are the wisdom of God, the produce of it, and in which it is displayed; as in the doctrines of election to grace and glory, of redemption by Christ, of justification by his righteousness, and pardon by his blood; by which all the divine perfections are glorified, the justice and holiness of God, as well as his grace and mercy: and there are "secrets" or mysteries in this wisdom of God, 1 Corinthians 2:6; of mysterious doctrine…
1 Then began Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
2 Shall the torrent of words remain unanswered,
And shall the prater be in the right?
3 Shall thy vain talking silence the people,
So that thou mockest without any one putting thee to shame,
4 And sayest: my doctrine is pure,
And I am guiltless in Thine eyes?
5 But oh that Eloah would speak,
And open His lips against thee,
6 And make known to thee the secrets of wisdom,
That she is twofold in her nature -
Know then that Eloah forgetteth much of thy guilt.
When Job has concluded his long speech, Zophar, the third and most impetuous of the friends, begins. His name, if it is to be explained according to the Arabic Esauitish name el-assfar,
(Note:…
The Church Fathers
"He will make himself felt doubly:" by his chastisements, by his consolations. "And you will see, the Lord has only fallen on you the just punishment of your sin. After his punishment, you will receive his lights.
And that He would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, and that her law is manifold. The public works of Supreme Wisdom are when Almighty God rules those whom He creates, brings to an end the good things which He begins, and aids by His inspiration those whom He illumines with the light of His visitation. For it is plain to the eyes of all men, that those whom He created of His free bounty, He provides for with lovingkindness. And when He vouchsafes spiritual gifts, He Himself brings to perfection what He has Himself begun in the bounteousness of His lovingkindness. But the secret works of Supreme Wisdom are, when God forsakes those whom He has created; when the good things, which He had begun in us by preventing us, He never brings to completion by going on; when He enlightens us with the brightness of His illuminating grace, and yet by permitting temptation of the flesh, smites us with the mists of blindness; when the good gifts which He bestowed, He cares not to preserve to us; when He at the same time prompts the desires of our soul towards Himself, and yet by a secret judgment presses us with the incompetency of our weak nature. Which same secrets of His Wisdom, but few have strength to investigate, and no man has strength to find out; in that it is most surely just that that which is ordained not unjustly above us, and concerning us, by immortal Wisdom, should be bidden from us while yet in a mortal state. But to contemplate these same secrets of His Wisdom is in some sort already to behold the power of His incomprehensible nature, in that though we fail in the actual investigation of His secret counsels, yet by that very failure we more thoroughly learn Whom we should fear. Paul had strained to reach these secrets of that wisdom, when he said, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His Judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor? He, in a part above, turning faint even with the mere search, and yet through faintness advancing to the knowledge of his own weakness, saith beforehand the words, Nay but O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? He, then, that being unable to attain to the secrets of God, returned back to the recognition of his own weakness,…
Dictionary and topics
Salt — Used to season food (Job 6:6), and mixed with the fodder of cattle (Isa. 30:24, “clean;” in marg. of R.V. “salted”). All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13). To eat salt with one is to…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
punishing you . . . less than you deserve: Zophar believed that calamity indicated divine retribution for sins (cp. 34:36).
Rashi on Job 11:6
mysteries of wisdom and you would know that the wisdom is double, i.e., the Torah that you did not fulfill.
that [God] lends Heb. ישה, like (Deut.24: 10), “If you lend (תשה) your friend.” He has yet a large debt over you in the matters of your iniquity.