Psalmi 42:11

Nova Vulgata

Venerunt autem ad eum omnes fratres sui et universae sorores suae et cuncti, qui noverant eum prius; et comederunt cum eo panem in domo eius et moverunt super eum caput et consolati sunt eum super omni malo, quod intulerat Dominus super eum; et dederunt ei unusquisque argenteum unum et inaurem auream unam.

Parallel Translations

Clementine Latin Vulgate (1592)
Venerunt autem ad eum omnes fratres sui, et univers� sorores su�, et cuncti qui noverant eum prius, et comederunt cum eo panem in domo ejus : et moverunt super eum caput, et consolati sunt eum super omni malo quod intulerat Dominus super eum, et dederunt ei unusquisque ovem unam, et inaurem auream unam.

Jerome's Latin Vulgate (405)
Venerunt autem ad eum omnes fratres sui, et univers� sorores su�, et cuncti qui noverant eum prius, et comederunt cum eo panem in domo ejus: et moverunt super eum caput, et consolati sunt eum super omni malo quod intulerat Dominus super eum: et dederunt ei unusquisque ovem unam, et inaurem auream unam.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

all his brethren: Job 19:13, Job 19:14, Proverbs 16:7

they bemoaned: Job 2:11, Job 4:4, Job 16:5, Genesis 37:35, Isaiah 35:3, Isaiah 35:4, John 11:19, Romans 12:15, 1 Corinthians 12:26, Hebrews 12:12, Hebrews 13:3

every man: Job 6:22, Job 6:23, Genesis 24:22, Genesis 24:53, 1 Samuel 10:27

Reciprocal: Exodus 2:20 - call him Exodus 18:12 - eat bread 1 Kings 10:25 - every man 2 Chronicles 9:24 - every man Job 11:17 - age Proverbs 25:12 - an earring Isaiah 51:19 - by whom Jeremiah 16:7 - tear themselves Ezekiel 16:11 - General Luke 6:38 - and it

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters,.... Which may be taken not in a strict sense, but in a larger sense for all that were related to him; the same with his kinsfolks,

Job 19:14;

and all they that had been of his acquaintance before; that knew him, visited him, conversed with him, and kept up a friendly correspondence with him; the circle of his acquaintance must have been large, for wealth makes many friends: now these had been shy of him, and kept at a distance from him, during the time of his affliction and distress; see

Job 19:13; but hearing he was in the favour of God, and the cause was given on his side, and against his friends, and his affairs began to take a more favourable turn, they came to him again, and paid him a friendly visit, even all of them;

and did eat bread with him in his house: expressing their joy for his recovery, and renewing their friendship with him: this was done either at their own expense or at Job's, for he might not be so poor at the worst as he is by most represented; for he had still an house of his own, and furniture in it, and servants to wait upon him, as appears from Job 19:15; nor do we read of anything being taken out of his house from him; he might still have gold and silver, and so could entertain his friends: and being a man of an excellent spirit received them kindly, without upbraiding them with their unkindness in deserting him when afflicted;

and they bemoaned him; shook their heads at him, pitying his case, that is, which he had been in; for this they might do, though things were now better with him, and might express themselves in such manner as this,

"Poor man, what hast thou endured? what hast thou gone through by diseases of body, loss of substance, and vexation from friends?''

and besides, though things began to mend with him, he was not come at once to the pitch of happiness he arrived unto; so that there might be still room for bemoaning, he being comparatively in poor circumstances to what he was before;

and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; the evil of afflictions, of body and estate; which, though by means of Satan and wicked men, was according to the will of God, and might be said to be brought on him and done to him by the Lord, Amos 3:6; and they congratulated him upon his deliverance from them;

every man also gave him a piece of money, or a "lamb"; which some understand in a proper sense, as being what might serve towards making up his loss of sheep, and increasing his stock of them; but others with us take it for a piece of money, in which sense it is used in

Genesis 33:19, compared with Acts 7:16; which might have the figure of a lamb impressed upon it; as we formerly had a piece of money called an angel, having the image of one stamped on it; and it was usual with the ancients both to barter with cattle instead of money before the coining of it, and when it was coined to impress upon it the figure of cattle; hence the Latin word "pecunia", for money, is from "pecus", cattle r; this piece of money in Africa is the same with the Jewish "meah" s, which weighed sixteen barley corns; the value of a penny;

and everyone earring of gold; or a jewel set in gold; such used to wear in Arabia, as appears from, Judges 8:24; however Job could turn them into money, and increase his stock of cattle thereby. Though, perhaps, these presents were made him, not so much to enrich him, but as tokens of renewing their friendship with him; it being then usual in the eastern countries, as it is to this day, that whenever they pay visits, even to the greatest personages, they always carry presents with them; see 1 Samuel 9:7.

r Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 3. & l. 33. c. 3. Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 15. s T Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 26. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then came there unto him all his brethren ... - It seems remarkable that none of these friends came near to him during his afflictions, and especially that his “sisters” should not have been with him to sympathize with him. But it was one of the bitter sources of his affliction, and one of the grounds of his complaint, that in his trials his kindred stood aloof from him; so in Job 19:13-14, he says, “He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.” It is not easy to account for this. It may have been, however, that a part were kept from showing any sympathy, in accordance with the general fact that there are always professed friends, and sometimes kindred, who forsake a man in affliction; and that a part regarded him as abandoned by God, and forsook him on that account - from a mistaken view of what they regarded as duty, that they ought to forsake one whom God had forsaken. When his calamities had passed by, however, and he again enjoyed the tokens of the divine favor, all returned to him full of condolence and kindness; part, probably, because friends always cluster around one who comes out of calamity and rises again to honor, and the other portion because they supposed that as “God” regarded him now with approbation, it was proper for “them” to do it also. A man who has been unfortunate, and who is visited with returning prosperity, never lacks friends. The rising sun reveals many friends that darkness had driven away, or brings to light many - real or professed - who were concealed at midnight.

And did eat bread with him in his house - An ancient token of friendship and affection; compare Psalms 41:9; Proverbs 9:5; Proverbs 23:6; Jeremiah 41:1.

And every man also gave him a piece of money - This is probably one of the earliest instances in which money is mentioned in history. It is, of course, impossible now to determine the form or value of the “piece of money” here referred to. The Hebrew word (קשׂיטה q^eśı̂yṭâh), occurs only in this place and in Genesis 33:19, where it is rendered “pieces of money,” and in Joshua 24:32, where it is rendered “pieces of silver.” It is evident, therefore, that it was one of the earliest names given to coin, and its use here is an argument that the book of Job is of very early origin. Had it been composed at a later age, the word “shekel,” or some word in common use to denote money, would have been used. The Vulgate here renders the word “ovem,” a sheep; the Septuagint in like manner, ἀμνάδα amnada, “a lamb;” and so also the Chaldee. In the margin, in both the other places where the word occurs Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32, it is also rendered “lambs.”

The reason why it is so rendered is unknown. it may have been supposed that in early times a sheep or lamb having something like a fixed value, might have been the standard by which to estimate the value of other things; but there is nothing in the etymology of the word to support this interpretation. The word in Arabic (kasat) means to divide out equally, to measure; and the Hebrew word probably had some such signification, denoting that which was measured or weighed out, and hence became the name of a certain “weight” or “amount” of money. It is altogether probable that the first money consisted of a certain amount of the precious metals “weighed out,” without being “coined” in any way. It is not an improbable supposition, however, that the figure of a sheep or lamb was the first figure stamped on coins, and this may be the reason why the word used here was rendered in this manner in the ancient versions. On the meaning of the word, Bochart may be consulted, “Hieroz.” P. i. Lib. c. xliii. pp. 433-437; Rosenmuller on Genesis 33:19; Schultens “in loc;” and the following work in Ugolin’s “Thes. Antiq. Sacr.” Tom. xxviii., “Otthonis Sperlingii Diss. de nummis non cusis,” pp. 251-253, 298-306. The arguments of Bochart to prove that this word denotes a piece of money, and not a lamb, as it is rendered by the Vulgate, the Septuagint, the Syriac, the Arabic, and by Onkelos, are briefly:

(1) That in more than an hundred places where reference is made in the Scriptures to a lamb or a sheep, this word is not used. Other words are constantly employed.

(2) The testimony of the rabbis is uniform that it denotes a piece of money. Akiba says that when he traveled into Africa he found there a coin which they called kesita. So Rabbi Solomon, and Levi Ben Gerson, in their commentaries, and Kimchi, Pomarius, and Aquinas, in their Lexicons.

(3) The authority of the Masoretes in relation to the Hebrew word is the same. According to Bochart, the word is the same as קשׁט qāshaṭ or קשׁט qosheṭ, changing the Hebrew letter שׁ for the Hebrew letter שׂ. The word means true, sincere, Psalms 60:6; Proverbs 22:21. According to this, the name was given to the coin because it was made of pure metal - unadulterated silver or gold. See this argument at length in Bochart.

(4) The feminine form of the noun used here shows that it does not mean a lamb - it being wholly improbable that the friends of Job would send him ewe lambs only.

(5) In the early times of the patriarchs - as early as the time of Jacob - money was in common use, and the affairs of merchandise were conducted by that as a medium; Genesis 17:12-13; Genesis 47:16.

(6) The statement in Acts 7:16, leads to the supposition that “money” is referred to by the word as used in Genesis 33:19. If, as is there supposed, the purchase of the same field is referred to in Genesis 23:16; Genesis 23:19, then it is clear that money is referred to by the word. In Genesis 23:16 it is said that Abraham paid for the field of Ephron iu Macpelah “four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.” And if the same purchase is referred to in both these places, then by a comparison of the two, it appears that the kesita was heavier than the shekel, and contained about four shekels. It is not easy, however, to determine its value.

And every one an earring of gold - The word rendered “earring” (נזם nezem) may mean a ring for the nose Genesis 24:47; Isaiah 3:21; Proverbs 11:22; Hosea 2:13, as well as for the ear, Genesis 35:4. The word “ring” would better express the sense here without specifying its particular use; compare Judges 8:24-25; Proverbs 25:12. Ornaments of this kind were much worn by the ancients (compare Isaiah 3:0; Genesis 24:22), and a contribution of these from each one of the friends of Job would constitute a valuable property; compare Exodus 32:2-3. It was not uncommon for friends thus to bring presents to one who was restored from great calamity. See the case of Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 32:23.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 42:11. Then came there unto him all his brethren — "Job being restored to his former health and fortunes, the author," says Mr. Heath, "presents us with a striking view of human friendship. His brethren, who, in the time of his affliction, kept at a distance from him; his kinsfolk, who ceased to know him; his familiar friends, who had forgotten him; and his acquaintance, who had made themselves perfect strangers to him; those to whom he had showed kindness, and who yet had ungratefully neglected him, on the return of his prosperity now come and condole with him, desirous of renewing former familiarity; and, according to the custom of the Eastern countries, where there is no approaching a great man without a present, each brings him a kesitah, each a jewel of gold." See Job 42:12.

A piece of money — קשיטה kesitah signifies a lamb; and it is supposed that this piece of money had a lamb stamped on it, as that quantity of gold was generally the current value for a lamb. Genesis 33:19, where the subject is largely considered. The Vulgate, Chaldee, Septuagint, Arabic, and Syriac, have one lamb or sheep; so it appears that they did not understand the kesitah as implying a piece of money of any kind, but a sheep or a lamb.

Earring of gold — Literally, a nose-jewel. The Septuagint translate, τετραδραχμον χρυσου, a tetra-drachm of gold, or golden daric; but by adding καιασημου, unstamped, they intimate that it was four drachms of uncoined gold.