Job · Chapter 20

Explanation of the words of this response — 'Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, and said.'

Introduction to the Twelfth Speech — Zophar's Response The Naamathite disputant now abandons the philosophical approach he had proposed in his previous response to answer the question of the righteous man who suffers — namely, that the knowledge of things as they are in themselves differs from the knowledge a person acquires through sense perception, which grasps only the externals of things and cannot judge their inner truth. With this approach he could also have answered the second question, that of the wicked man who fares well, by arguing that none of us truly knows what is good or bad in terms of things as they are in themselves, or in terms of the spiritual soul, and so on. But because Job had poured so much scorn on this approach, and because it appeals only to those engaged in reasoning and deep inquiry, he now abandons this path. He excuses himself by saying that he will no longer answer according to this approach, because he knows that Job will only shame him and mock his words. He therefore answers instead that, although in this generation prosperous wicked men can be found, in earlier times they were despised, lowly, and hounded; and even now judgments are readied for them (cf. Proverbs 19:29) — for they will die a strange and unnatural death, and their wealth and possessions will be consumed by those they had defrauded. Their very greatness is itself the cause of a greater downfall, like one who falls from a high place, whose neck is broken and who perishes for ever. Even in their lifetime they have no enjoyment of their wealth, since God does not let them have power to partake of it, and those they have defrauded are forever lying in wait for them. No good comes to the wicked man, and he does not live long.

Zophar’s answer my thoughts will cause me to answer My thoughts will answer me with an answer in my mouth, and because I keep my peace and remain silent, and I put my silence within me, my thoughts will give me an answer to reply. The chastisement of my disgrace I hear from you the chastisement of my disgrace, that you disgrace me. Therefore, a word of spirit shall answer me out of my understanding, to reply to you. my silence Heb. חושי, my silence, like (Ecc. 3:7), “a time to be silent (לחשות).”

‘Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of my agitation that is in me’ — [that is,] my haste to answer you.

'My thoughts' [se'ippai] — meaning: my thoughts. 'My agitation' [chushi] — meaning: my feeling.

'Therefore' — because of the abundance of your words, my thoughts compel me to answer you; and because I have so much feeling to sense and feel the shame of it. Meaning: because of the abundance of your words and because of the abundance of my feeling, I will answer you.

My thoughts (se'ippai) - my thoughts, as in 'in thoughts from the visions' (above, Job 4:13). My agitation (chushi) - an expression of 'sensation, feeling'.

'Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of my agitation that is in me' — In his first response, Zophar had said that a person's apprehension through the senses does not attain complete knowledge, since it grasps only the externals of things — how they act upon our senses — and not the truth of things as they are in themselves. Nor can we attain spiritual understanding that is imperceptible to the senses; so that even the intellect, in the judgments it draws from observation and experience, is unable to rule on matters of divinity and on what lies beyond nature. Job poured great scorn on this approach. Therefore, now that he comes to answer the question of the ease of the wicked, Zophar abandons that approach and argues instead on the basis of the observation and experience he has gained through his senses. This is his meaning: 'therefore my thoughts (se'ippai)' turn me back from my earlier approach and 'give answer to me' with a different reply; 'and by reason of my agitation (chushi) that is in me' [Malbim relates chushi to chush, "sense"] — meaning that in this response I am guided by what my own senses perceive within me, by what appears to the eye, and by the observation and experience I have gained through the senses. He then explains why he retracted from his earlier approach — the one that had not wished to rely on sense-perception — the reason being that:

‘The reproof’ [musar] — [that is,] disgrace: I have heard it from you, and the spirit of my understanding will answer me.

'The reproof which puts me to shame' — because I hear the chastisement of shame with which you shame me, and for this reason the will springing from my heart's own understanding compels me to answer you.

'I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame, but out of my understanding my spirit answers me' — At the time I wished to reply by the path of reason alone — the view that reason by itself can grasp matters that lie beyond nature — I heard the reproof that put me to shame: the way Job had shamed this philosophical method of mine. I have therefore chosen now to answer you on the basis of observation and experience, in keeping with your own approach, since you rely on the perception of the senses.

Do...this Heb. הזאת. This is a wonder. Do you know the manner in which this has been conducted throughout all generations since time immemorial?

'This' — is it true that this you know, etc.? As if to say: can you not deny it? Compare: 'Did I plainly reveal Myself,' etc. (1 Samuel 2). 'Of old time' — a thing that has been the practice of the world, from the time that man was placed upon the earth.

This (hazot) - [introduced] by the interrogative heh [which turns the statement into a question].

'Do you not know this' — Since you wish to establish, by observation and experience, that the wicked man prospers, know that a condition for a valid inductive proof is that it be complete: that it examine every period and every particular. Only then can one draw a general and necessary conclusion. It is not so if one has examined only a specific, limited time, and only a particular part or instance — for then, as is known in logic, no general and necessary conclusion can be drawn. I therefore ask you: do you know that this has held true from of old — that the wicked man prospers? Is it not rather that—

that the triumph of the wicked throughout all its duration, has come but recently, and will not last for any length of time. and the joy of the flatterers is but a moment in a short time, it will end.

'The triumphing of the wicked' — the rejoicing of the wicked is but a recent thing, for it does not endure for a long time, to the point that people could say it goes back a long way. 'But for a moment' — meaning, it lingers only a short while; the matter is repeated in other words.

'That the triumphing of the wicked is short' — This — that the wicked triumph and prosper — has come about only recently; for in ancient times they did not prosper, since a decisive judgment used to be carried out against them. You therefore cannot draw from this a universal conclusion that the prosperity of the wicked persists forever, 'for the joy of the godless is but for a moment' — it lasts only an instant, and soon the prosperity of the wicked will come to an end.

'His excellency' — that is, his height.

'His excellency' [se'o] — meaning: his loftiness.

'Though his excellency mounts up' — even if he grows strong and his loftiness rises up to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds — this is a figure for the greatness of his prosperity.

His excellency (si'o) - an expression of 'rising up, exaltation'.

'Though' — The opposite may in fact be true: that the prosperity of the wicked man is itself a preparation for the greatness of his downfall, like one who wishes to throw his enemy to the ground and first lifts him up to a very great height in order to cast him down — so that his fall from there will be greater than if he had fallen from a low place. So too Hashem raises the wicked man's rank and standing precisely so that his downfall will be all the greater. This is the meaning of 'though his excellency mounts up to the heavens' — the very fact that the wicked man is raised up to the heavens works to his own harm, in order—

his dung Heb. כְּגֶלְלוֹ, dung of excrement.

‘like his own dung’ [ke-galalo] — related to [the phrase] ‘as one sweeps away dung, till it be all gone’ (1 Kings 14:10).

'Like his own dung' [kegalalo] — meaning: like his own excrement.

'Like his own dung' — behold, swiftly and quickly shall he perish forever, like his own dung, which disappears quickly and is gone for good; and those who saw him in his prosperity shall say, 'Where is he?' — for no remembrance of him shall remain at all.

Like his own dung (kegel'lo) - excrement, as in 'human dung' (Ezekiel 4:15).

'Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung' — should he tumble and fall from this lofty height, he will perish for ever, like one who falls from a high roof into a deep pit [a Talmudic idiom for a sudden and total ruin], so that 'those who have seen him shall say: Where is he?' His downfall will not come gradually but will be a sudden collapse — so that whoever saw him a moment before will say, 'Where is he?' For in an instant he vanishes from sight; in the very moment of his success he falls and is wiped from the earth, until it will seem as though—

and they will not find him i.e., his friends.

‘he shall be chased away’ [yudad] — like ‘he shall be driven far off’ [yeruchak].

'He shall be chased away' [veyudad] — related to the term 'wanderings' [nedudim].

'As a dream' — behold, he is like a dream that flies away at the moment of waking; so shall he fly away from the world, and those who seek him shall not find him. 'He shall be chased away' — he shall be driven from the world like the visions of the night, which is the dream; the matter is repeated in other words.

As a vision of the night (kechezyon laylah) - like the semblance of a nighttime dream.

(Verses 8–9) 'He shall fly away as a dream' — as though his entire success and existence had no reality at all, but were merely a dream, a vision of the night: when one awakes, [the dream] flies off and vanishes, and he wakes to find it was only a dream. And the eye that once glimpsed him in the dream will not see him again; his place, too, will no longer behold him:

that glimpsed him That saw him.

‘saw him’ [shezafatu] — [means] ‘saw him’; as in ‘that the sun has looked upon me’ (Song of Songs 1:6).

'Which saw him' [shezafatu] — meaning: saw him. 'Shall...behold him' [teshurennu] — meaning: shall see him. 'His place' [mekomo] — meaning: the eyes of the people of his place, who used to see him constantly.

'The eye which saw him' — the eye that saw him before shall not see him again, and the people of his place shall behold him no more.

Saw him (shezafato) - saw him, as in 'nor has the falcon's eye seen it' (below, Job 28:7). Shall behold him (teshurenu) - shall see him, as in 'I behold him, but not near' (Numbers 24:17).

His sons will placate the poor This reply was stated in reference to the people of Sodom, who were robbers and were cruel to the poor. and his hands will return He will return the plunder of his hands. his plunder The power of his force.

‘His children shall appease the poor’ — the correct interpretation is that [the word ‘yeratzu’] comes from ‘ratzon’ [favor], and the question is: with what will he be appeased? For his children will have to appease the poor whom he had robbed. It is also possible that, [in the clause] ‘and his hands shall restore his wealth,’ in his own time his hands will restore his ‘ono,’ which is like ‘hono’ [‘his wealth’], as in ‘I have found me wealth’ (Hosea 12:9); and ‘amun’ [elsewhere] is like ‘hamon’ [an abundance].

'Shall appease the poor' [yeratzu dallim] — meaning: shall do the will of the poor. 'His wealth' [ono] — meaning: what he had plundered.

'His children shall appease the poor' — against their will they shall appease and conciliate the poor for the robbery that their father robbed from them. 'And his hands' — or, in his own lifetime his strength shall be sapped, and against his will his own hands shall restore the stolen goods that he robbed by the strength of his arm.

Shall appease (yeratzu) - an expression of 'appeasement, favor', as in 'and with what should he reconcile himself' (I Samuel 29:4). His wealth (ono) - that which he seized by force, as in 'like the bread of mourners' (Hosea 9:4).

'His children' — this pictures how the wicked man's downfall comes suddenly, without any gradual stages: while he is still at the height of his success and power, and still absorbed in his wickedness, his children will crush the poor and the weak [Malbim reads yeratzu, "shall appease," in the sense of the kindred root ratzatz, "to crush"]. And he himself, in the fullness of his might — 'his hands shall restore his wealth' [read: his vigor] — will occupy himself plundering the wealthy, a deed that requires great vigor and strength; so he returns to his vigor, preying on others by force and might.

His bones are full of his youth The strength of his youth. and it will lie on the dust with him Because he will die suddenly with his strength.

‘His bones are full’ — [full] of the sin of his youth.

'His bones are full of his youth' — meaning: his bones are filled with the sin of his youth.

'His bones' — because his bones are filled with the sins of his youth, and it shall lie down with him in the dust. Meaning: he did not turn away from them until he died and was buried.

His youth (alumav) - his youth, as in 'whose son is this youth' (I Samuel 17:56).

'His bones' — meaning that both he himself, in the fullness of his power, and his body and health remain in a state of vigor and strength, so that 'his bones are full of his youth' and vitality. At that time, [that vigor] 'shall lie down with him in the dust' — he will not weaken at all, nor fall ill, so as to have time to repent; rather, his vigor, his youth, and his strength will lie down with him in the dust: he will go down to the grave with his strength, his vigor, and his bodily health [intact], and he will die not through illness but through a sudden, abrupt death.

be sweet So is the custom of a wicked man: if evil is sweet in his mouth and he does not see now the moment for it to take effect. though he hide it under his tongue until the time comes when it will prosper.

‘he hides it’ — that he does his deeds in secret.

'Though it be sweet' — when an evil scheme was sweet in his mouth — one that seemed fitting in his eyes to carry out — he would then keep it from being disclosed, hiding it under his tongue, so that no one should know of it until he had done it.

He hides it (yachchidennah) - an expression of 'withholding, concealment', as in 'and he did not hide it from him' (I Samuel 3:18).

'Though it be sweet' — He is describing the wicked man's sudden death: a kind of illness that was common in those days (as we still see today among those who die of that severe disease) — a man is otherwise healthy, and his stomach is healthy and strong enough to take in even the harshest food; then suddenly the stomach weakens, until he vomits up his food as if he had eaten the gall of asps. And this illness kills him in an instant, as though venom had entered him — the venom of serpents. This is the meaning of 'though wickedness be sweet in his mouth' — that is, his stomach is so healthy and the strength of his constitution so great that even if he eats something evil — harmful food, a deadly poison — it still does not injure him; rather it turns sweet in his mouth, so that he hides it under his tongue, as if, once the food comes under his tongue, it conceals its harm, as though there were nothing evil in it at all, and as though he were eating good food still—

'Though he spares it' — out of his great love for it, it is as though he spares it and will not abandon it, keeping it from being disclosed and hiding it within his palate.

'Though he spares it, and will not let it go' — nor withholds it, even once it is already in his palate: although his palate can taste that it is harmful food, he still will not give up the food and will not refrain from eating it, for he trusts in the soundness of his constitution and the strength of his stomach to digest any food, even one as harsh to the body as swords.

His food...within him on the day of his misfortune will turn into the venom of cobras.

'Yet his food' — and this shall be his recompense: that his food shall be turned about within his bowels, moving contrary to the natural course, for it shall come back out through the mouth in vomiting; and within his belly it shall become like the venom of serpents, and against his will he shall vomit it out through the mouth, for it cannot be digested. Meaning: in all his ways he stumbles, contrary to the natural order.

Asps (petanim) - a type of snake.

'Yet his food' — at that very time, his stomach and digestive organs suddenly weaken so severely that even his good bread turns in his bowels into the gall of asps, into deadly poison — so that even food fit for the healthy turns into venom and a fatal poison, so that even—

wealth Heb. חיל, money.

'He has swallowed down riches' [cheil bala] — meaning: the wealth that he swallowed and consumed.

'He has swallowed down riches' — although he swallowed the wealth, it shall not remain in his possession, for he shall vomit it up, and the Omnipresent shall drive the wealth out of his belly.

Riches (chayil) - wealth, as in 'that my wealth was great' (below, Job 31:25). Shall cast them out (yorishenu) - an expression of 'dispossession, expulsion'.

'He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again' — even something substantial and strong that he swallowed, he will be forced to vomit up, as though God expels it from his belly — for God, in His providence, drives out and forces the food from his belly and makes him vomit up all his food, so that it seems to him as though—

carpet viper Heb. אֶפְעֶה, a fiery serpent.

‘He shall suck the poison of asps’ — the opposite of ‘rivers, streams of honey and cream’ (Job 20:17); both are meant figuratively, along the lines of ‘a root that bears gall and wormwood’ (Deuteronomy 29:17). And in the end he must give back everything he had toiled for — ‘like the wealth of his exchange’ (cf. Job 20:18) — for what comes to him turns out to be the very opposite [of what he expected].

'The poison of asps' [rosh petanim] — 'poison' [rosh] is related to the term 'gall and wormwood' [rosh ve-la'anah], and 'asps' [petanim] are snakes.

'The poison of asps' — he shall imagine for himself, as it were, that he is nursing and drawing out the venom of a serpent, which is in its mouth, at its head; and the tongue of the viper shall kill him with its venom.

Viper (ef'eh) - a type of snake.

'He shall suck the poison of asps' — for venom is found in his belly, as though he had sucked the venom of an asp; 'the viper's tongue shall slay him' — he is killed by this venom and dies a strange, sudden death.

the rivulets, the flowing rivers of the Garden of Eden, which are as sweet as honey and cream.

'He shall not look upon' — he shall not get to draw from the streams of the rivers of honey and curd, but rather he shall draw the venom of the serpent. Meaning: he shall no longer see good, but shall receive only evil.

The flowing streams (bifalgot) - [waters] that flow divided into channels, as in 'streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). Rivers, brooks (naharei nachalei) - a doubling of the same idea in synonymous terms, as in 'the number of the muster' (II Samuel 24:9).

'(17–18) He shall not look upon' — He adds further: even while the wicked man was prospering and enjoying pleasures, and while his portion and food were wholesome, this still should not be called success. For if we weigh the pleasure against the pain and toil it took him to attain the thing, we find that the 'handful of contentment' gained through his labor cost him, in exchange, 'two hands full of toil and vexation of spirit' — the pleasure is not equal to the pain and toil involved. This is the meaning of: even amid the streams of rivers, the flowing brooks of honey and curd that he attains, 'he shall not look upon' them as a repayment for his weary toil — he will not find in them the pleasure and contentment that would repay him for the pain of the labor he wearied himself with, for the enjoyment is as nothing compared to the toil. Nor shall he 'swallow it down' in proportion to the wealth he exchanged for it, 'nor shall he rejoice' — that is, he does not get to enjoy his delicacies in proportion to the wealth, strength, and toil he gave in exchange for them, and likewise he does not exult and rejoice in proportion to that wealth. For whether we look at what he consumes of the delicacies and luxuries he obtained, or at his joy over these possessions — none of it is worth anything compared to the wealth and strength he gave in exchange, since the toil and labor he expended to acquire these possessions is many times greater than the pleasure of the food and the joy of heart these possessions bring him. If so, this cannot be counted as success, since the pain is greater than the pleasure.

He will return that which he labored for The loot that he stole. when his gain becomes vast wealth When his gain becomes vast wealth, then he will lose it. he will not rejoice Heb. יעלס, with it. Similarly, יַעֲלֹז, and so יַעַלֹץ ; the three of them are interchangeable.

'That which he labored for' [yaga] — this is a noun, and the sense is that he shall give back what he toiled for. 'He shall not rejoice' [ve-lo ya'alos] — meaning: shall not rejoice.

'That which he labored for shall he give back' — against his will, he shall have to give back the toil of his fellow — what he robbed from him — and shall not swallow it down to keep it for himself. 'According to the substance' — in the measure of the wealth he had, so shall be his recompense; meaning, so shall be the measure of his poverty. 'He shall not rejoice' — he shall no longer rejoice, for he shall not return to his former state.

The substance he has gotten (temurato) - an expression of 'exchange, substitution' [what he received in return]. He shall rejoice (ya'alos) - shall rejoice; so too 'ya'alotz' and 'ya'aloz' [spelled with different sibilants], since the letters zayin, samech, shin, and tzadi interchange [with one another].

When he oppressed, he abandoned the poor After he oppressed the poor, he abandoned the poor and was banished from the world and went his way, and they return and collect their stolen items from him. [The expression] כִּי רָצַץ [means] when he oppressed, like (Exod. 18:16), “Whenever (כי) they have a concern, they come to me,” which means when they have.

‘and forsaken the poor’ — [that is, forsaken them] at his death.

'For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor' — meaning: once he had crushed the poor, he abandoned them; that is, he did not abandon them until he had first crushed them.

'For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor' — when he had crushed the poor, then he abandoned them, and not before the crushing. 'He has violently taken away a house' — he robbed from them a house that he did not build and did not labor over.

Has oppressed (ratzatz) - broke and crushed.

'For' — beyond this, he has no success even from his possessions. 'He has crushed, forsaken the poor, a house he has robbed' — this wicked man, who forsook the poor, abandoning them to poverty and want by robbing them, is the one who crushed the house he robbed: he tore down and destroyed the house he had stolen from the poor man in order to rebuild it anew, but he will not build it, for in the meantime he dies a sudden death, as above.

For he did not know [He] never [knew] his stomach to be at rest. His stomach always says to him, “Rob and bring [food] to fill me up.” Therefore... with his beauty With the flesh of his coveted beauty. he will not save anything because it will continuously diminish. Similar to this is (Ps. 39: 11): “You make his beauty melt away like a moth.”

‘in his greed’ [bachamudo] — that which he coveted and desired, he left nothing of it behind.

'In his greed he suffered nought to escape' [bachamudo lo yemallet] — meaning: with his coveted things and his wealth he shall save nothing, for it will all be lost.

'Because he knew no quietness' — because he knew no ease within his belly, for his belly was always lacking its fill, and he oppressed others to fill it; for this reason nothing of all the delight of his riches shall escape, for it shall all be lost.

'Because' — moreover, he does not even enjoy his food, for 'he knew no quietness within him' means that, since he is a great glutton, he does not know how to still his belly so as to find inner ease within it — his belly always craves to eat a great deal. 'In his greed he suffered nought to escape' — that is, he craves that his belly not let the food escape, for out of his gluttony he would wish that the food he ate remain forever in his belly. And so—

Nothing remains of his food He left nothing over from his food to share with the poor. therefore his goods shall not prosper Heb. יחיל, shall not prosper, as in (Ps. 10:5), “His ways prosper (יחילו) .” He speaks of the people of Sodom, who were stingy with travelers, for so did Ezekiel testify (16:49) concerning Sodom: “proud with plenty of food etc. and yet, she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” And our Sages explained (Sanh. 92a) אין שריד לאכלוֹ to mean that he did not allow Torah scholars to sit at his table, like (Joel 3:5): “and among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”

‘shall [not] endure’ [yachil] — [means] ‘shall [not] remain’ [yekaveh].

'Shall...endure' [yachil] — meaning: shall prosper.

'There was nothing left that he devoured not' — he would leave nothing of his food for the next day, for he trusted that he could extort enough to meet his need; therefore his prosperity and wealth shall not succeed in remaining in his possession.

Left (sarid) - a remnant. Shall endure (yachil) - shall prosper, as in 'his ways prosper' (Psalms 10:5).

'There was nothing left that he devoured not' — out of the abundance of his gluttony he leaves nothing of his food, but eats everything; this is a figure for the trait of gluttony and greed, that he eats everything that comes into his hand, and craves that the food never leave his belly at all, so that the fullness of his belly should never diminish. Therefore 'his prosperity shall not endure' — the goodness of his food gives him no vigor or strength, and he is always weak, because his eye is stingy toward his own food, and the belly of the wicked is ever empty.

When his desire has been filled sufficiently when the desire of his heart has been filled sufficiently, then... he will be in straits Trouble will come upon him. סִפְקוֹ is an expression of sufficiency, as is translated into Aramaic (Gen. 24:22): “When the camels finished (ספיקו) drinking”; (Num. 11:22): “so that it may be enough for them (היספקון).” the hand of every laborer will come upon him The hand of the poor shall overwhelm him and come upon him.

‘In the fullness of his sufficiency’ — when he attains everything that would satisfy him, then trouble comes upon him, and the hand of those who toiled [under him] shall reach him — in the sense of ‘when the wicked flourish’ (Psalms 92:8). Some say [it means] when the day of their downfall arrives. Similarly: ‘their clap [of judgment falls] upon the wicked’ (cf. Job 34:26) — like ‘and he struck his hands together’ (Numbers 24:10).

'In the fullness of his sufficiency' [bimlot sifko] — meaning: when he has plenty. 'He shall be in straits' [yetzar lo] — related to the terms 'distress' and 'constraint.' 'Who is in misery' [amel] — this is an adjective, meaning: a man of mischief and iniquity.

'In the fullness of his sufficiency' — at the time when he has his full sufficiency, when he is at the very height of wealth, then he shall be in distress, as though he fell from the heavens to the earth; and the hand of every man of toil and mischief shall come upon him, to oppress and rob him, for his strength shall be sapped.

His sufficiency (sifko) - what suffices for his needs. Misery (amal) - iniquity, as in 'and He has seen no iniquity in Israel' (Numbers 23:21).

'In the fullness of his sufficiency' — he adds further: even if his food does not run short, so that he finds his full need met and eats to satiety, still another distress will come upon him — 'the hand of every one who is in misery shall come upon him': the hand of the sufferers, that is, the people he has oppressed and robbed, will come upon him. For all these sufferers will fight against him and put out their hand to force his prey from his mouth, and their hand and their blow will come upon him. This distresses him constantly, for they will take the plunder out of his hand.

It shall come to pass that to fill his belly, He shall send upon him His burning wrath The sending of His burning wrath will be [enough] to fill his belly. This is not an expression of a curse but an expression of prophecy and of the future. and rain upon them The Holy One, blessed be He. with His battle With the fury of His battle, coals, fire, and brimstone, as the matter is stated (Gen. 19: 24): “And the Lord rained upon Sodom etc.”

‘into his flesh’ [bilchumo] — [that is,] in his flesh. It is also possible that ‘bilchumo’ is meant in its plain sense [his food], as in ‘let it be for the filling of his belly.’

'Into his flesh' [bilchumo] — meaning: in his flesh.

'It shall be for the filling of his belly' — the troubles shall multiply upon him until they are enough to fill his belly, so great shall be their abundance; and Hashem shall send upon him the fierceness of His wrath, and in great plenty, like rain, shall He pour it upon him, at the time He does battle with him to exact punishment from him.

Into his flesh (bilechumo) - an expression of 'battle, warfare' [it shall rain down upon him like an onslaught].

'It shall be' — he adds further: even if the hand of the sufferer does not prevail against him to take the plunder from his hand, and it remains in his hand to fill his belly, so that all his want is satisfied, still he will not succeed. For then Hashem — who executes judgment for the oppressed — will fight against him: Hashem will send His fierce anger against him, and this wrath will rain down upon them (the wicked) as He makes war on them, with the fiery bolts of war with which He battles them.

shall pierce him Heb. תַּחְלְפֵהוּ The arrows that the bow will shoot will pierce his body, going through from one side to the other. Another version: תַּחְלְפֵהוּ is like תַּחְליִפֵהוּ (sic), a copper bow shall confront him.

‘shall strike him through’ [tachalifehu] — like ‘wholly it shall pass away’ (Isaiah 2:18). Some say it is like ‘and his temple was pierced through’ (Judges 5:26).

'The iron weapon' [nesheq barzel] — meaning: a weapon of iron. 'Shall strike him through' [tachlifehu] — meaning: shall cut him down; or, alternatively, the sense may be that it shall pass through him — referring back to the arrow shot from this mighty bow.

'If he flees' — when he flees from a weapon of iron, then a bow of brass — its arrow shall pass through him, from one side to the other, in the course of his flight. Meaning: even though he escapes one calamity, a second shall overtake him.

Weapon (nesheq) - a weapon, as in 'and they shall kindle fires with the weapons' (Ezekiel 39:9). Shall strike him through (techalfehu) - shall pass through him, as in 'is past and gone' (Song of Songs 2:11).

'If he flees' — here too, even if he flees from the iron weapon — meaning, he escapes the hand of the sufferers, the oppressed who fought against him at close range with iron weapons — will not the bow of brass strike him instead? For then the arrows of Hashem, shot at him from a bow on high, will overtake him, and He will make war on him from the heavens.

drew The one who drew the weapon upon him. and it emerged [i.e.,] the weapon. and its glittering blade Splendeur, or splendor (?) in French, like (Ezek. 21: 15), “in order that it glitter (ברק) .” Fourbir in Old French, to polish. from its bitterness [From the bitterness] of the weapon it shall come forth, and from there shall be terrors and fear upon the wicked.

‘He draws it forth’ — he draws the arrow from the quiver, and it comes out from within it; and just as lightning flashes, so terrors come upon him, all at once, suddenly.

'Out of his body' [migevah] — meaning: out of its sheath; or, alternatively, the sense here is: out of the wicked man's own body. 'The glittering point' [uvaraq] — that is the flashing blade of the sword. 'Out of his gall' [mimmerorato] — that is the gall-bladder, in which the red bile resides.

'He draws it forth,' etc. — because he is destined for the sword, therefore, when someone draws the sword from its sheath, the blade of the sword — from the great bitterness and dread that is in it — proceeds and casts terrors upon him, for his heart shall be left hollow within him.

He draws it forth (shalaf) - an expression of 'drawing out', as in 'a man drew off his shoe' (Ruth 4:7). Of his body (migevah) - an expression of 'body', as in 'the body of Saul' (I Samuel 31:12); it is used figuratively for the sheath of the sword, which is, as it were, the 'body' that houses the blade's 'soul'. The glittering point (u'varak) - this is the blade of the sword, as in 'the flash of My sword' (Deuteronomy 32:41). Of his gall (mimrorato) - from his bitter dread [his gall, the seat of terror]. Terrors (eimim) - an expression of 'dread, fear'.

He draws it forth - this depicts that the arrow of Hashem which kills him is not like the arrow of a mortal, which comes from outside into the body; rather, the opposite: this arrow travels from inside his body to the outside - he 'draws' the arrow, and it 'comes out of his body,' meaning that from within his own body the arrow emerges. That is, the arrow is, in essence, already present within his body: it is the inner sickness that Hashem shoots into him, and it pierces his body from within, outward. And 'the glittering point comes out of his gall; terrors are upon him' - the lightning that Hashem sends upon him does not come from outside but from the gall, out of which the lightning issues; and this lightning of the black gall casts dread and terror upon him, for he falls sick with the disease of the black gall until he sees dreadful, terrifying visions, and dies amid madness, fear, disordered imagination, and derangement of mind.

for what awaits him For the hidden things that lie in store for him. fire that was not blown The fire of Gehinnom. harm shall befall the survivor in his tent Harm will come upon the survivor who will remain in his tent. The entire portion deals with the people of Sodom. “Harm shall befall the survivor in his tent” means that even Lot who escaped from them—harm befell his tent, i.e., his wife, who became a pillar of salt. I found this in the midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma (Buber, Vayera 8).

‘A fire not blown by man shall consume him’ — so that he would be tormented, and his soul would not depart quickly.

'For his treasures' [litzfunav] — meaning: on account of the sins he had hidden away. 'Shall go ill' [yera] — meaning: shall be broken. 'Rises up against him' [mitqomemah lo] — meaning: hates him.

'All darkness is laid up for his treasures' — all manner of dark troubles are hidden away and stored up, to consume the hidden stores of his treasuries. 'Shall consume him' — a fire that is not fanned by bellows to make it burn all the more shall burn him; for since it is not fanned, his soul shall not depart quickly, and he shall be tormented for a long time. 'It shall go ill' — the one who remains in his tent — namely, his wife and his children — shall be broken and crushed.

It shall go ill (yera) - shall be broken and crushed, as in 'You shall break them with a rod of iron' (Psalms 2:9).

All darkness - even though all his hidden and secret things are stored away in complete darkness, meaning that he conceals his wickedness and thefts in darkness so that no one will see them, nevertheless, even though in that darkness he finds neither light nor fire, Hashem will bring there both fire, to consume all that is his, and light, to expose his deeds to the light of the sun. And concerning the fire it says that 'a fire not blown' shall consume him, until the fire rages and shatters even 'the one who is left in his tent' - even what remains in his house, which he had no need to hide, this too shall be burned by the fire.

shall rise up [This is] an expression of an enemy who rises up against him.

'The heavens shall reveal his iniquity' — from the abundance of troubles that shall come upon him from the heavens, it shall become revealed and known to all that he is a man of great transgression. 'And the earth shall rise up against him' — it shall rise up against him like an enemy, to exact punishment from him, for his field shall not grow crops, and the like.

Shall reveal - in contrast to how he concealed his deeds, all his evil deeds will now come out into the light: 'the heavens shall reveal his iniquity,' and 'the earth shall rise up' against him, to punish him.

shall go into exile Heb. יגל, an expression of exile. shall flow Heb. נגרות. His treasures shall be given to plunder and despoiling, like (Micah 1:4), “like water that flows (המגרים) to the earth” [sic].

‘shall depart’ [yigel] — shall be exiled from its place. ‘his goods shall flow away’ [yevul beito] — like flowing rivers. It is also possible that a word is elliptically omitted together with ‘his house’ [i.e., ‘the increase of the wealth of his house’]; or that it means ‘the people of his house shall drift away,’ and people will say, ‘this is the portion of a wicked man.’

'Shall depart' [yigel] — meaning: shall be exiled from its place and driven out. 'Shall flow away' [nigarot] — meaning: like flowing rivers.

'The increase of his house shall depart' — the produce of the people of his household shall be taken away from them; and on the day that Hashem's wrath comes upon him, when his measure is full, He shall pour out His wrath upon him like waters flowing without cease.

Shall depart (yigel) - an expression of 'exile'. The increase (yevul) - the produce of the earth, as in 'shall not give its produce' (Deuteronomy 11:17). Shall flow away (nigarot) - an expression of 'flowing, pouring out', as in 'and like water poured out [on the ground]' (II Samuel 14:14).

The increase [of his house] shall depart - and so, too, it will reveal his iniquity: the produce and yield of his house, which shall flow away 'in the day of his wrath' - meaning, his riches and his wealth, once they are lost, will themselves reveal his sin, for they will proclaim it aloud.

appointed him by God Heb. אִמְרוֹ. What was said about him from before the Omnipresent. The word אִמְרוֹ is in the masculine gender, from the form of (Ps. 5:2), “Give ear to my words (אַמָרַי).” אִמְרָתוֹ appears (ibid. 147:15) in the feminine gender, from the form of (ibid. 12:7) “pure words (אַמָרוֹת).”

'And the heritage appointed to him by God' [reading 'imro' not as God's own decree but as: the heritage of one 'who has spoken' improperly 'about God'] — meaning: this becomes his inheritance because of his having spoken against God and flung words at Him. Explanation of the words of the response: Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: In truth, my thoughts compel me to answer, because I sense within myself the sting of the reproof — my disgrace — that I have heard from you in what you said before; and a spirit from my own understanding moves me to answer you. Do you not know this — that it has held true from ancient times, since man was first placed upon the earth: that the triumphing of the wicked — their well-being and their success — is short-lived, meaning it does not endure for them, and 'the joy of the godless is but for a moment,' that is, a brief time. He says this in reply to his own objection to Job's words, namely, when Job had said, 'the tents of robbers prosper' (Job 12:6). 'Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds' — meaning that he attains the very heights of prosperity — even so, he will perish and be destroyed swiftly, as swiftly and easily as his own dung is lost, so that those who saw him will say that he perished in an instant. Just as with a dream or a night-vision, which a person does not remember once he wakes, its memory vanishing swiftly, so too will this wicked man fly away and rush swiftly to his ruin. 'The eye that saw him shall see him no more,' nor will the people of his place ever see him again, for he will be wholly consumed and gone. His recompense will revert upon his children — they will appease the poor out of their own great degradation, in payment for their father's oppression of them; or, alternatively, the very hands that did the oppressing will themselves restore what he had stolen. For his bones were filled with the sin of his youth, and his sin shall lie down with him in the dust, and he will not return to Hashem. Or, the sense may be: his bones are full of the hidden, concealed things he stole and robbed — meaning, that he amassed wealth unjustly — and that theft shall lie down with him in the dust, and he will never restore it. And since, when the evil he plans to do is sweet in his mouth and pleasant to him, he conceals it and hides it under his tongue — meaning that he will not reveal it until he has carried out his scheme, as though he cherishes it out of his great love for it, and therefore will not let it go, but restrains it within his palate — Hashem will therefore repay him for all this, measure for measure. This is that his food shall turn within his bowels, moving contrary to its natural course — that is, it will come back out through his mouth, as vomit. His food shall become like the venom of asps within him; all the wealth he swallowed he shall vomit up, and God shall drive it out of his belly — the very opposite of what he used to do, when he would hoard for himself the wealth he had stolen and would not consent to let go of any of it. And in place of the evil love he bore for his scheme, on account of which he hid it under his tongue, Hashem will give him an evil that will cling to him and consume him: he shall suck the head of asps, and the viper's tongue shall kill him with its venom. He shall not see the abundance of pleasant things, such as honey and cream; rather, evil things will continually come into him, in place of his evil love. He shall give back his own gain and leave it for others, deriving no benefit from it; his 'gain' will amount to the equivalent of the wealth he had stolen, serving as its replacement — and he will take no joy in that wealth either, since none of it will remain with him, and he will derive no benefit from it. Or the meaning may be: just as he will restore the wealth as payment for what he stole, and will take no joy in that stolen wealth once he has restored it, so too will he give back his own gain and leave it for others. Thus far do my own thoughts answer for me. And because I feel this within myself, and do not rely in this matter solely on the testimony of those who came before me — even though you have reproached and shamed me with your words — a spirit from my understanding will answer for me and will move me to respond to your words. In truth, this premise has been found to hold true always, from then until now, from the time man first existed upon the earth: that the success of the wicked and their joy endure only a short time, and therefore it is not fitting that such a thing be called 'good,' since its end is for evil. Though his loftiness mount up to the heavens, he will perish — an everlasting destruction — as easily as dung perishes. Just as with a dream, of which no memory or trace remains in the faculty of memory, because such impressions are not recorded there in the manner that things apprehended by the senses are recorded, so too no memory of him will remain at all. 'The eye that saw him shall see him no more,' nor will the people of his place behold him again — on account of what he stole from the wretched poor by dint of his power and strength. Hashem will repay him in kind: his children will grow weak and will be forced to appease the poor whom their father had overpowered — or else, his own hands will restore what he stole. For Hashem will reduce him to such a state of lowliness and weakness that he will be compelled to do this — in place of the fact that his limbs were filled with the sin of his youth, and that sin shall lie with him in the dust, since the hearts of such men do not submit even in old age and advanced years; rather, their inclination remains bent toward evil always, and they do not abandon their evil ways. And in place of the fact that it had been his practice to accumulate evils and base deeds for himself, so that when the wrong was sweet in his mouth he did not wish to tell people of it, but concealed it under his tongue and cherished it, refusing to let it go, restraining it within his palate — out of fear that people would learn of it and take up his trade, or grow shrewd enough to guard themselves against these evils and wrongs — Hashem will repay him for this: He will bring it about that the very thing within him meant to sustain his existence, namely his food, turns into something harmful and destructive, until the venom of asps is within him. This is a vivid figure of speech, as though he himself desired evil things to remain with him always, and Hashem deals with him accordingly, as though acting on that very wish of his. The wealth he swallowed and consumed he shall vomit up and restore to its owners, and none of it will remain with him; instead, what comes to him from his wealth will be something utterly swift and evil — namely, that he will suck the head of asps, and the tongue of the viper will kill him with the venom it holds; and he will not see the abundance of good, pleasant foods such as honey and cream. And this will befall him out of the abundance of evil: he will also give back his own gain and leave it for others, deriving no benefit from it. This is his recompense for having withheld for himself the fruits of his oppression and theft, unwilling to let go of any of it — because he crushed the poor and abandoned them, meaning that he did not let them be until he had crushed them, and stole from them a house he never built. His recompense will be that he will never again know any ease within him; rather, all his own faculties will be stricken and crushed, just as he crushed the poor, and nothing among his cherished possessions and wealth will escape being lost. In place of the house he stole though he had not labored for it, he will lose what he himself labored for — because he would leave nothing of what was in his possession for himself to eat, but trusted that he could rob and plunder whatever he needed. His recompense, therefore, will be that his prosperity will not succeed, until he is forced to take his food from someone else, or else die of hunger. For this reason, precisely when his prosperity is at its fullest and he lacks nothing, distress will come upon him and he will become poor, for the hand of every man of toil and iniquity will come against him to oppress him. And if it should be that his riches serve to fill his belly — meaning that Hashem grants him mastery to eat his fill of it — then Hashem will send His fierce anger upon him and pour it down upon his flesh in a flood of wrath. He goes out from one evil to another: when he flees from an iron weapon, a strong bow — one of bronze — will strike him down; for it shoots with great force, and so it is likely that the arrow will pierce him clean through. 'He draws it forth' — the shooter's arrow passes clean through and out of this wicked man's body, meaning that it goes through him entirely; 'and the glittering point comes out' through his gall, which is the most dangerous place to be struck, from which one who is wounded there cannot possibly survive; and, in general, every kind of terror comes upon him. It is also possible to say — and this is the more correct reading — that the intent is that because this wicked man is so constantly primed for evil, the moment anyone draws his sword from its sheath and its blade flashes, terrors of death fall upon the wicked man on account of his gall, which will be severed by that very sword — meaning that the instant he sees a drawn sword, the terrors of death fall upon him. 'All darkness' and every evil 'is laid up for' him, on account of 'his treasured things' — meaning the sins he hid and concealed away; 'a fire not blown [by human hands]' shall consume him, meaning fire that falls from the heavens; and whoever remained as a survivor of his tent will be broken, so that his household will have no survivor left at all. 'The heavens shall reveal his iniquity' — for they wage war against him from on high, revealing thereby to all that he was wicked; and 'the earth' rises up against him, as though it hated him, on account of the abundance of evil misfortunes that befall him from it. 'The increase of his house shall depart' from its place 'in the day of' Hashem's 'wrath' — meaning that men will seize it from him and sweep it away with force and speed, like flowing rivers that rush along with force and swiftness. 'This is the portion of a wicked man from God,' and the heritage of one 'who' has 'spoken' improperly 'about God.' He says this against Job, who, in Zophar's estimation, had been hurling words against Hashem. And indeed, the very evils Zophar lists at the end of his speech had actually befallen Job: heaven, so to speak, warred against him, and earth rose up against him, just as is recounted at the beginning of this book — I mean that some of his misfortunes came upon him in the manner of warfare, namely, what the raiding Sabeans and Chaldeans took from him, while others came from heaven, namely, the harm that reached him by fire and by wind. The general conclusion that emerges from all this is as follows. In response to Job's having contradicted him regarding the prosperity found among the wicked — who, despite it, remain free of fear, as Job had said, 'the tents of robbers prosper' — Zophar answers that he does not deny that such prosperity is indeed found among the wicked; only that it lasts a short time, while their end is for evil. And even if this evil does not come in their own lifetime, it will already come in the days of their children, as he says, 'his children shall appease the poor.' For this reason, it is not fitting to call this 'prosperity,' since its end is for evil. Through this argument, Bildad had likewise thought to escape the difficulty posed by the apparent prosperity of the wicked; and Zophar goes on to substantiate his own position further, arguing that everything is governed by strict justice, since the misfortunes the wicked are seen to suffer come about measure for measure. He also goes on, at this point, to substantiate the claim that Job himself was a sinner, since Job had spoken improper things against God.

'This is the portion' — this recompense is the portion of a wicked man, given to him from God; and this very recompense is also the heritage of the man whose talk is directed against God, speaking of Him improperly and disparaging His deeds. (The upshot of this speech: to prove providence from the extremity of the punishment of the wicked and their having no recovery — the punishment itself revealing their iniquity. And just as is the recompense of the wicked, so is the recompense of one who broods against Hashem and disparages His deeds — as if to say to Job: behold, this is your sin, and this is its fruit.)

This is the portion of a wicked man from God - that the loss of his wealth, coming about through providence, itself proclaims that he is wicked, and that this came upon him from God according to his lot, corresponding to his wickedness, measure for measure, for his evil deeds.