properly · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
way
דַּרְכָּם֮dar.Kam
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
sat
וְאֵשֵׁ֪בve.'e.Shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal, 1st person common singular
chief
רֹ֥אשׁrosh
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dwelt
וְ֭אֶשְׁכּוֹןVe.'esh.kon
H7931
to reside or permanently stay (literally or figurativel… · conjunction + verb, qal, 1st person common singular
king
כְּמֶ֣לֶךְke.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
army
בַּגְּד֑וּדba.ge.Dud
H1416
a crowd (especially of soldiers) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
comforteth
יְנַחֵֽםye.na.Chem
H5162
properly · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mourners
אֲבֵלִ֣ים'a.ve.Lim
H57
lamenting · adjective, masculine plural absolute
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
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Genesis 14:14-17 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, a…
Genesis 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Judges 11:8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the childre…
Isaiah 35:3-4 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up th…
1 Thessalonians 3:2-3 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you c…
Deuteronomy 33:5 And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 29:18–end
That which crowned Job's prosperity was the pleasing prospect he had of the continuance of it. Though he knew, in general, that he was liable to trouble, and therefore was not secure (Job 3:26, I was not in safety, neither had I rest), yet he had no particular occasion for fear, but as much reason as ever any man had to count upon the lengthening out of his tranquility.
I. See here what his thoughts were in his prosperity (Job 29:18): Then I said, I shall die in my nest. Having made himself a warm and easy nest, he hoped nothing would disturb him in it, nor remove him out of it, till death removed him. He knew he had never stolen any coal from the altar which might fire his nest; he saw no s…
I chose out their way--that is, I willingly went up to their assembly (from my country residence, Job 29:7).
in the army--as a king supreme in the midst of his army.
comforteth the mourners--Here again Job unconsciously foreshadows Jesus Christ (Isa 61:2-3). Job's afflictions, as those of Jesus Christ, were fitting him for the office hereafter (Isa 50:4; Heb 2:18).
Next: Job Chapter 30
John Gill on Job 29:25
I chose out their way,.... When his friends and neighbours came to him for advice in things civil, he marked out their way for them, directed what steps to take, what methods to pursue for their good; they desired him to choose for them, preferring his judgment to theirs, and were determined to abide by his choice of ways and means, and to follow his counsel; and in religious matters, he instructed them in their duty, both towards God and men, and proposed unto them what was most eligible, both with respect to doctrine and practice;
and sat chief; in all their public assemblies; he presided in their councils and courts of judicature; and when met together for religious worship, he sat in th…
"I chose their ways, and I sat in the first place. Or making me man, or eating with publicans and sinners; but always I was in the forefront for their salvation. "And I was like a king surrounded by his valiant defenders; From those who have left everything to follow me. "And I comforted those who were sad. He speaks of those to whom hope gave joy, in the midst of the sadness of the present life, as it is written: "Blessed are those who weep (4)," and elsewhere: "We seem sad, but always we are in joy (1). They can not yet attain that high perfection of which it is said, "He who practices and teacheth, shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." "
If I was minded to go to them, I sat chief. And when I sat as a king with an army standing round, nevertheless I was the Comforter of those that mourned. Because in the heart of lost sinners, the actions of the flesh are in the first place, and of the soul in the second, surely in their thoughts Christ 'sits' not 'first' but 'last.' But each of the Elect, because above all others they mind the things that are eternal, and if there be any things of a temporal kind, they manage them with an after and the least concern; to whom it is also said by the preceptress voice of Truth, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; in their heart the Lord 'sits first.' In which place it is fitly prefaced, If I had been minded to go to them. For because, as has been said, He doeth all things according to the counsel of His Will, not in answer to our desert, but because He is Himself so minded, the Lord enlightens us with His visitation. And so He both comes 'when He is minded,' and when He comes He 'sitteth first,' because both His Coming in our heart is gratuitous, and the longing of the desire of Him in the thought of our heart is not the same as the rest of our desires. The Lord 'sits as a king in the heart,' because He rules the clamouring motions of the heart in our thinking. For in the soul which He inhabits, whilst He stirs up the dull, bridles the restless, inflames the cold, tempers the inflamed, softens down the hard, and binds up the loose, by this mere diversity of thoughts, a kind of 'army,' as it were, 'stands around Him.' Or surely He 'sitteth as King with an army standing around Him,' because that King, whilst He presides over the minds of the Elect, a host of virtues surround. And He too is 'the comforter of those that mourn,' by that promise, by which He says, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. And again; I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. But the things which we have delivered concerning the Head of Holy Church, there is nothing hinders us if we should apply to the voice of the same Church as well. For in her the order of the teachers presides like a king, whom the crowd of her believing ones surrounds. Which same multitude of believers is also rightly called 'an army', because it is unceasingly making ready day by…
Dictionary and topics
Afflicted, Duty Toward The · To comfort them — To comfort them
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).
21 They hearkened to me and waited,
And remained silent at my decision.
22 After my utterance they spake not again,
And my speech distilled upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain,
And they opened their mouth wide for the latter rain.
24 I smiled to them in their hopelessness,
And the light of my countenance they cast not down.
25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king in the army,
As one that comforteth the mourners.
Attentive, patient, and ready to be instructed, they hearkened to him (this is the force of שׁמע ל), and waited, without interrupting, for what he should say. ויחלּוּ, the pausal pronunciation with a reduplication of the last radical, as Jd…
In the past, Job had comforted those who mourned (4:3-4). This verse is a prophetic mandate closely associated with the work of the Messiah (Isa 40:1; 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19; cp. 2 Cor 1:3-4).
Rashi on Job 29:25
I would choose their way All their ways and their counsel I would choose for them, for they would ask me, “Which way shall we go and what shall we do?”
and sit at the head if they were reclining at a banquet, I would recline at the head of the diners.
