Глава 24

The second half of Job's response speech. 1–25. Impunity for all kinds of sinners; examples of this. Job 24:1. Why are times not hidden from the Almighty, and those who know Him do not see His days? Just as the suffering of the righteous is mysterious, so the impunity of the wicked is not clear. Since the Hebrew verb “tsafan” (“lo nitzpenu” “why are they not hidden” in the synodal reading) is used to express the thought of saving, preserving God-deserved punishment (Job 21.19), then, obviously, “days and times” mean days of divine vengeance and judgment on sinners (Ezek 30.3). These days are “not hidden from the Almighty,” more precisely and clearly, they are not preserved by God - they do not exist; and therefore “those who know Him” - the righteous (Job 18.21; Ps 35.11) do not see the manifestation of Divine Justice in relation to sinners (cf. Job 22.19). Job 24:2–4. The first series of examples proving that the earth is worthy of a curse, but nevertheless not punishable oppression of the weak by the strong. Job 24:2. They move boundaries, steal herds and graze at home. Those who are subject to punishment are, first of all, “moving boundaries” - those who take away land property from others by moving the boundaries that separated the possessions of one person from the possessions of another (Deut. 19.14, Deut. 27.17; Prov. 22.28, 23.10–11; Hos. 5.10). Robbers also remain unpunished (cf. Job 20.19), and are therefore so bold and shameless that they fearlessly graze the cattle they have stolen in front of everyone. Job 24:3. An orphan's donkey is taken away, a widow's ox is taken as collateral; Even the offenders of widows and orphans, despite God’s promise to protect these latter (Ex 22.22–24; Ps 67.6), do not receive retribution. Job 24:4. the poor are pushed off the road, all the humiliated lands are forced to hide. The oppression reaches the point that the poor are deprived of the opportunity to walk on the roads and are forced to hide. According to the book. Judges, the Jews experienced a similar state during Samegar from the invasion of the Philistines (Judges 5.6). This circumstance makes it quite plausible the assumption of some exegetes (Delima and others) that in the present and subsequent verses we are talking about those primitive tribes that inhabited the land of Uz, whose possessions were taken away by the conquerors who invaded their country. As for the invasion, it is known to Job's friends (Job 15.19). Job 24:5–12. Description of the condition of the enslaved tribes. Job 24:5. Here they are, like wild donkeys in the desert, going out to do their work, getting up early to hunt for prey; the steppe provides bread for them and for their children; Their life resembles the life of animals both in place (“like wild donkeys in the desert” - Job 6.5, 11.12, 39.5, etc.) and in food. It serves as steppe herbs, roots and berries of plants (cf. Job 30.4), which they collect for children who feel hungry early, which is why they go out to do their work” (cf. Ps 103.23) early in the morning. Job 24:6. They reap in a field that is not their own and gather grapes from the wicked; Having prepared food for the children, they go to the fields of their rich enslavers to get their own food. This is food intended for livestock (“whitewash”, cf. Job 6.5) and grape berries that survived the present harvest. Job 24:7. naked people spend the night without cover and without clothing in the cold; Job 24:8. they get wet from the mountain rains and, having no shelter, huddle against the rock; The similarity with animals is compensated by the lack of clothing and housing (cf. Job 30.6) and defenselessness from the harmful effects of the atmosphere. Job 24:9. they tear away the orphan from their breasts and take a deposit from the beggar; Job 24:10. they are forced to walk naked, without clothing, and the hungry are fed with ears of grain; Job 24:11. They squeeze olive oil between the walls, trample it in grindstones and thirst. After describing the fate of the enslaved tribes, Job returns from listing the atrocities that remained unpunished. They consist in the fact that the strong take away infants from the weak to turn them into slavery (cf. Job 31.17–18), take deposits from the poor and, taking advantage of their insolvency, force them to work in their fields, and do not even feed them - they deprive them of what cannot be denied to animals (Deut. 25.4; 1 Tim. 5.18). - “They feed the hungry with ears of corn”, literally: “they are hungry and carry sheaves.” Likewise, when the free laborers of the oppressors “squeeze” olive oil between the walls, that is, under strict supervision, and “trample” grapes, they are not allowed to quench their thirst. Job 24:12. In the city people groan, and the soul of those being killed screams, and God does not forbid it. Having turned one part of the indigenous population into slavery, the enslavers beat the other. The blood of the slain demands vengeance, but God pays no attention to it. Job 24:13. Some of them are enemies of the light, they do not know its ways and do not walk in its paths. Job 24:14. At dawn a murderer rises, kills the poor and needy, and at night becomes a thief. Job 24:15. And the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying: No eye will see me, and covers his face. Job 24:16. In the dark they dig under houses that they noticed during the day; they don't know the world. A special kind of criminals who carry out their deeds under the cover of night are its children, enemies of the light (cf. Rom 13.12). These include, firstly, killers who rise “at dawn”, more precisely “before dawn” (Heb. “layor”), when twilight is favorable for the crime; secondly, adulterers who wait for the darkness of the evening (Prov. 7.8-9) and cover their faces for greater safety, and finally, thieves who easily dig under the walls of eastern houses due to their lack of foundation. Job 24:17. For for them the morning is the shadow of death, since they are familiar with the horrors of the shadow of death. Murderers, adulterers and thieves avoid the light; it is terrible for them, just as the shadow of death is terrible. During the day they are in danger of being discovered and punished. Job 24:18–21. These verses contain a description of the death of the sinner, which Job has not yet recognized. In view of this, most exegetes see in them a presentation of the views of friends, which the sufferer himself regards ironically. Indeed, otherwise Job falls into a strange self-contradiction (cf. v. 12). According to the text of the LXX, Vulgate and Pescito, the death of the sinner seems only desirable to Job. Job 24:18. He is light on the surface of the water, cursed is his part on the ground, and he does not look at the road of the vineyards. The wicked is “light... on the surface of the water” - his happiness has no constancy, it passes as quickly as a light object is quickly carried away by water (cf. Job 9.26; Hos. 10.7); his property is cursed (Job 5.3, 18.15, 20), and he cannot enjoy peace and tranquility: “he does not look at the path of the vineyards” (cf. 1 Kings 4.25; Micah 4.4; Zech 3.10). Job 24:19. Drought and heat absorb snow water: so the underworld absorbs sinners. The lot of the sinner is inevitable death, similar to the inevitable disappearance of snow under the influence of heat (cf. Job 6.16–17; Ps 67.3). Job 24:20. Let his mother's womb forget him; let the worm feast on it; let no memory of him remain; like a tree, let the wicked be broken, Job 24:21. who oppresses the childless woman who has not given birth, and does no good to the widow. And with such a fate, he does not evoke compassion in anyone: he is forgotten by the people closest to him - his mother, and the memory of him completely disappears (cf. Job 18.17). Job 24:22–24. Job contrasts the view of his friends with his own. Job 24:22. He also captivates the strong with his strength; he gets up, and no one is sure for his life. During his life the wicked man manifests such power that even the mighty fear him. Job 24:23. And He gives him everything for safety, and he relies on this, and His eyes see their ways. God Himself helps the wicked. He sees their atrocities and nevertheless gives everything that serves for safety. Job 24:24. They rose high, and behold, they were gone; they fall and die like everyone else, and like the tops of ears of corn they are cut off. Relying on their strength (v. 22), supported by divine help, the wicked achieve the highest power, and then die the same death as all other people. - “How the tops of ears of corn are cut off.” Hinting at the Eastern custom of cutting off the tops of the stem during harvest and leaving the straw on the root, Job wants to say that the stems and roots of the wicked - his offspring - continue to exist, do not disappear, as friends claim (cf. Job 15.32, 18.19). Job 24:25. If this is not so, who will convict me of lying and turn my speech into nothing? Job's view cannot be refuted. You might be interested in: