Job 42:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Job 42:8
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
seven
שִׁבְעָֽהshiv.'ah-
H7651
seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
bullocks
פָרִים֩fa.Rim
H6499
a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength · noun, common masculine plural absolute
seven
וְשִׁבְעָ֨הve.shiv.'Ah
H7651
seven (as the sacred full one) · conjunction + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
rams
אֵילִ֜ים'ei.Lim
H352
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
servant
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
Numbers 23:1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availet…
Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
1 Chronicles 15:26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven r…
Job 22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GO…
Numbers 23:29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 42:7-9
Job, in his discourses, had complained very much of the censures of his friends and their hard usage of him, and had appealed to God as Judge between him and them, and thought it hard that judgment was not immediately given upon the appeal. While God was catechising Job out of the whirlwind one would have thought that he only was in the wrong, and that the cause would certainly go against him; but here, to our great surprise, we find it quite otherwise, and the definitive sentence given in Job's favour. Wherefore judge nothing before the time. Those who are truly righteous before God may have their righteousness clouded and eclipsed by great and uncommon afflictions, by the severe censures o…
seven--(See Introduction). The number offered by the Gentile prophet (Num 23:1). Job plainly lived before the legal priesthood, &c. The patriarchs acted as priests for their families; and sometimes as praying mediators (Gen 20:17), thus foreshadowing the true Mediator (Ti1 2:5), but sacrifice accompanies and is the groundwork on which the mediation rests.
him--rather, "His person [face] only" (see on Job 22:30). The "person," must be first accepted, before God can accept his offering and work (Gen 4:4); that can be only through Jesus Christ.
folly--impiety (Job 1:22; Job 2:10).
Adam Clarke on Job 42:8
Take - seven bullocks and seven rams - From this it appears that Job was considered a priest, not only in his own family but also for others. For his children he offered burnt-offerings, Job 1:5; and now he is to make the same kind of offerings, accompanied with intercession, in behalf of his three friends. This is a full proof of the innocence and integrity of Job: a more decided one could not be given, that the accusations of his friends, and their bitter speeches, were as untrue as they were malevolent. God thus clears his character, and confounds their devices.
John Gill on Job 42:8
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks, and seven rams,.... Creatures used in sacrifice before the giving of the Levitical law, Genesis 4:4; and the same number of the same creatures were offered by Balaam in the country of Moab, not far from where Job 54ed, nor at any great distance of time from his age, Numbers 23:1; and among the Gentiles in later times (q). And these were typical of Christ, being strong creatures, especially the bullocks, and which were used for labour; and the number seven may point at the perfection of Christ's sacrifice; to which these men were directed in their sacrifices to look for the complete atonement of their sins: now though they were not at their own dwel…
The Church Fathers
He would have not ordered that if there had been the law, but now he becomes priest, while they bring offerings. Job had made sacrifices for his children; now he makes them for his friends. See how the text shows that Job is devoid of resentment. God takes [Job's friends] as witnesses of the virtue of the man, and equally he shows the gravity of their fault through the extraordinary importance of the offering. He would have not needed such great victims if the faults to be expiated had not been so serious. He also shows that the sacrifice was not sufficient, "for," he says, "but for his sake," I would have not healed you from your guilt. In this manner he shows that he has forgiven them as well. "I would have destroyed you," he says, "for but for his sake," "because you have not spoken the truth against my servant Job." Notice that even though they could speak with zeal as much as they wanted, they were accused just the same of saying nothing true, or rather, they did not speak with the zeal that is fitting to God. In that case, they would have been forgiven. This is also the reason why Job attacked them. Through this we learn that the one who accuses the righteous will have to expiate a serious fault.
Take unto you seven bulls, and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a whole burnt offering. But My servant Job shall pray for you; his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you. 11. Behold the just and merciful God neither passes over their faults without reproof, nor yet leaves their guilt without conversion. For since He is our inward Physician, He first made known the corruptions of our wound, and afterwards pointed out the remedies for obtaining health. But we have already often said, [Pref. chap. 6] that the friends of blessed Job represent heretics, who offend God, while they endeavour to defend Him; for they are in their words rebels against the truth, which they imagine they are serving by their false assertions. Because therefore Almighty God frequently incorporates them into the body of Holy Church, through the knowledge of the truth; their conversion also, which is often mercifully effected, is well designated by this pardon which the friends of Job obtain. 12. But it must be specially observed, that they are ordered to offer to the Lord the sacrifice of their conversion, not by themselves, but by Job. Heretics doubtless, when they come back from their error, cannot appease the wrath of God towards them by a sacrifice offered by themselves, unless they are converted to the Catholic Church, which blessed Job designates; that so they may obtain their salvation by her prayers whose faith they used to impugn with their false assertions. For He says; My servant Job will pray for you; his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you. As if He openly said to heretics. I accept not your sacrifices, I hear not the words of your petitions, except through the intercession of her, whose words of confession concerning Me I acknowledge true. And do ye indeed bring down bulls and rams to offer the sacrifices of your conversion, but ask of Me your salvation through the Catholic Church, which I love. For I wish to remit to her the sin which ye have committed against Me in her, in order that she may obtain your recovery, who used to suffer from your sickness. 13. For it is she alone through whom God willingly accepts a sacrifice, she alone who intercedes with confidence for those who are in error. Whence also the Lord commanded concerning the sacrifice of the lamb, saying; In one house it shall be eaten, neither…
Dictionary and topics
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Sacrifice — The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by…
Seven — This number occurs frequently in Scripture, and in such connections as lead to the supposition that it has some typical meaning. On the seventh day God rested, and hallowed it (Gen. 2:2, 3). The…
Eliphaz · 2. Friend of Job — 2. Friend of Job
Intercession · OF MAN WITH GOD — OF MAN WITH GOD
Prayer, Intercessory · Should be offered up for: Friends — Should be offered up for: Friends
Zophar · One of Job’ s three friends — One of Job’ s three friends
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).
עַבְדִּ֣י'av.Di
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Job
אִיּ֗וֹב'i.Yov
H347
Ijob · proper noun, a man's name
up
וְהַעֲלִיתֶ֤םve.ha.'a.li.Tem
H5927
to ascend · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
offering
עוֹלָה֙o.Lah
H5930
a step or (collectively · noun, common feminine singular absolute
servant
עַבְדִּ֔י'av.Di
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Job
וְאִיּ֣וֹבve.'i.Yov
H347
Ijob · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
pray
יִתְפַּלֵּ֖לyit.pa.Lel
H6419
to judge (officially or mentally) · verb, hithpael imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
him
פָּנָ֣יוpa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
accept
אֶשָּׂ֗א'e.Sa'
H5375
to lift · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
deal
עֲשׂ֤וֹתa.Sot
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal infinitive construct
folly
נְבָלָ֔הne.va.Lah
H5039
foolishness · noun, common feminine singular absolute
spoken
דִבַּרְתֶּ֥םdi.bar.Tem
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
right
נְכוֹנָ֖הne.kho.Nah
H3559
properly · verb, niphal active participle, feminine singular absolute
servant
כְּעַבְדִּ֥יke.'av.Di
H5650
a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
The Lord made Job the mediator that Job had hoped to find for himself (9:33; 16:19-21; 19:25) and that Elihu desired to be (32:1–37:24). • go to my servant Job: God wanted Job’s friends to be reconciled with Job before they presented their offerings (Matt 5:23-24). • My servant Job will pray for you; he had also prayed for his children (1:5; cp. Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 5:16). • When the Lord accepted Job’s prayer, it ironically fulfilled Eliphaz’s promise (Job 22:26-30).
Rashi on Job 42:8
and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves So that you placate and appease Me, provided that My servant Job pray for you that I forgive your sins, and no longer remember your transgressions.
for I will favor him Heb. כי אם, because I will favor him to accept his prayer (thus the word אִם is used for “that”), and likewise (Gen. 24:19), “until (עד אם) they have finished drinking”; (Ex. 21:30), “in which case (אם) an atonement is placed on him,” and many others.
for...not Because...not.