Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 18:13

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Job 18:13. It shall devour the strength of his skin — This may refer to the elephant, or to the rhinoceros, whose skin scarcely any dart can pierce: but in the case referred to above, the animal is taken in a pitfall, and then the first-born of death - a sudden and overwhelming stroke - deprives him of life. See the account of hunting the elephant in the East at the end of the chapter. Job 18:21. The Chaldee has: "The strength of his skin shall devour his flesh; and the angel of death shall consume his children."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Bildad speaks (18:1-21)

In an angry outburst, Bildad accuses Job of not answering their arguments directly and of looking for arguments on other matters instead. Job speaks to them as if they were stupid cattle, and speaks to God as if the Creator should change the world to suit Job (18:1-4).
Then, with inexcusable heartlessness (in view of the recent calamities in Job’s household), Bildad further describes the punishment that justly falls on the wicked. In his house sorrow will replace happiness and poverty will replace prosperity (5-7). This is a judgment from which he cannot escape. He is like an animal caught in a trap (8-10). He is afflicted with fear, hunger, disease and finally death (11-14). His property is destroyed and his family is wiped out (15-19). His fate becomes a lesson to all who would oppose God (20-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

BILDAD'S LONG, UNINSPIRED DIATRIBE ON THE FATE OF THE WICKED

"Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. The steps of his strength shall be straightened And his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon the toils. A gin shall take him by the heel, And a snare shall lay hold on him. A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side. The members of his body shall be devoured, Yea, the first-born of death shall devour his members. He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors. There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He shall have neither son nor son's son among his people. Nor any remaining where he sojourned. They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God."

"Bildad here painted a dark picture of the fate of the wicked."International Critical Commentary, Job, p. 157. The only thing wrong with it was that it bore no resemblance to the truth. How could he have thought that, "The remembrance of the wicked shall perish from the earth" (Job 18:17)? Even a fool should have known that the extremely wicked make up the vast majority of mankind whose names shine forever on the pages of history. Not for a moment can we agree with Blair that this wicked description of the fate of the wicked is, "More powerful than any other in the Bible."Blair, p. 152. As Rawlinson noted, "Bildad was only stringing together a list of `ancient saws.'"The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 308. But, as Watson wrote, "It is a cold creed indeed that is built on the wisdom of this world."The Expositor's Bible, Vol. 14, p. 217.

Again returning to Bildad's ridiculous idea that the remembrance of the wicked shall perish (Job 18:17), Bildad himself would refute his silly allegation. His name, and that of his evil friends, all of them special agents of Satan himself, would be remembered forever in the pages of the Bible. Also, think of Cain, Esau, Balaam, Abimelech, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, many of the reprobate kings of Israel, the brutal and ruthless rulers of the Gentiles, etc, - the list is endless! And, as for such men having, "no name in the street" (Job 18:17 b), just take a look at the monuments that stand in the streets of all nations. Countless numbers of them memorialize the names of the wickedest men in their respective generations! How blind was Bildad!

"His lamp above him shall be put out" "There is no doubt that Bildad applied every word of this to Job."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Job, p. 308.

"Six kinds of snares or traps are mentioned in Job 18:8-10";The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 308. and Bildad's point here is that there's no possible way for Job to escape; he might as well admit his wickedness!

Andersen's paraphraseTyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 13, p. 189. of Job 18:11-13 is:

"His plump body becomes emaciated,
His ribs stick right out,
Disease corrodes his kin,
Death's eldest son swallows his organs."

"The first-born of death… the king of terrors" "The first of these is probably the worst pestilence, and the `king of terrors' is death itself."Arthur S. Peake, A Commentary on the Bible (London: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 357.

"Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation" Fire and brimstone were rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness; and hell itself was eventually described as the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. It is not hard to read Bildad's evil thoughts toward Job in remarks such as this.

"And this is the place of him that knoweth not God" "The use of the singular pronoun here and in the preceding clause indicates that this whole series of denunciations (Job 18:5-21) is leveled against an individual, namely, Job."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 310.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

It shall devour the strength of his skin - Margin, bars. The margin is a correct translation of the Hebrew. The word used (בדי badēy, construct with עורו ‛ôrô - his skin) means bars, staves, branches, and here denotes his limbs, members; or, more literally, the bones, as supports of the skin, or the human frame. The bones are regarded as the bars, or the framework, holding the other parts of the body in their place, and over which the skin is stretched. The word “it” here refers to the “first-born of death” in the other hemistich of the verse; and the meaning is, that the strength of his body shal be entirely exhausted.

The first-born of death - The “first-born” is usually spoken of as distinguished for vigor and strength; Genesis 49:3, “Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength;” and the idea conveyed here by the “first-born of death” is the most fearful and destructive disease that death has ever engendered; compare Milton’s description of the progeny of sin, in Paradise Los. Diseases are called “the sons or children of death” by the Arabs, (see Schultens in loc.,) as being begotten by it.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 18

Then answered Bildad ( Job 18:1 ),

So this is Bildad's second discourse with him.

How long will it be before you make an end of words? just make the mark, and afterwards we will speak. Why do you count us like beasts, and we are vile in your sight? You tear yourself in your anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out, and the spark of his fire will not shine ( Job 18:2-5 ).

Job, your lights going to be put out, man. You know, because you're wicked. The sparks will not shine.

The light shall be dark in his tent, and his candle shall be put out with him. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, he walks upon a snare. The bear trap will take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and the trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. And it shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of the tabernacle, and he shall bring him into the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tent, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his house. His roots shall be dried up from beneath, and above his branch will be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. They that come after him will be astonished at his day, and they that went before him will be frightened. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God ( Job 18:6-21 ).

Ooh, man, did he lay it on Job. "Job, this is what's going to happen to you. You know, all of the terrors and all of the fears and all of the destruction and the devouring of your strength and the death of your first born and your confidence be taken away. Brimstone be poured out upon you, your roots dried up from beneath, you're cut off from above. Man, just going to get you coming and going, man. No way out."

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Bildad’s warning concerning the wicked 18:5-21

Here are some of the things both Eliphaz and Bildad pointed out concerning the wicked.

Bildad painted four vivid pictures of the death of the wicked in this passage: a light put out (Job 18:5-6), a traveler trapped (Job 18:7-10), a criminal pursued (Job 18:11-15), and a tree rooted up (Job 18:16-21). [Note: Wiersbe, pp 37-38.]

Another noteworthy feature of this section is the frequent recurrence of the idea that the wicked will end up in a trap, especially in Job 18:8-10. Bildad promised not only their capture but that they would experience terror, like animals hunted down by a predator (Job 18:11). As in Eliphaz’s second speech, much of what Bildad said here concerning the wicked he claimed was true of Job (e.g., Job 18:13 a, 15). "The first-born of death" may refer to "death in its most terrible form." [Note: Rowley, p. 130.] Another possibility is that this is a reference to Namtar, the Mesopotamian god of pestilence and vizier of the underworld. [Note: John B. Burns, "The Identity of Death’s First-Born (Job XVIII 13)," Vetus Testamentum 37:3 (July 1987):362-64.] Both Job and Bildad had a lot to say about death.

"Bildad felt Job did not really understand the doctrine of retribution. He probably considered Job weak on this subject because Job kept harping on how the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. In these speeches Job and his friends had nothing to say about future retribution at the day of final judgment or the balancing of the scales of justice after death. This is a truth that unveils gradually (progressive revelation) in the OT." [Note: Smick, "Job," pp. 936-37.]

Often when we counsel suffering people it is more important to help them think about God and talk to Him than it is to get them to adopt all of our theology. Job’s companions seem to have given up on Job because he would not agree with their theological presupposition. They failed to give him credit for being sincere in his desire to come to terms with God.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

It shall devour the strength of his skin,.... Or "the bars of his skin" x, the strength and support of his body, for which his skin may be put, as the bones; or "the branches of his skin" y, the veins, which like so many branches run under, and may be seen through the skin: now these, it, famine, or want of food, devours, and destroys the strength and beauty of the skin, cause it to be black like an oven, Lamentations 4:8; bring a man to a mere skeleton, to skin and bones, waste and consume the members of his body, his flesh, and blood, and bones; the Targum, Jarchi, and Aben Ezra, by "his bars" or "branches" understand his children, which are his bars, the strength of him, and are to him as branches to a tree, proceeding from him; and if we render it, as some do, he "shall devour" z, or "eat", that is, the wicked man, it points to us the most horrible scene in a famine, which is shocking and shuddering, and yet what has been, as in the sieges of Samaria and Jerusalem, a parent's eating and devouring his own children, 2 Kings 6:28; but rather the "it [is] the firstborn of death", in the next clause, which is to be supplied from thence here:

[even] the firstborn of death shall devour his strength; and so Mr. Broughton translates the whole verse,

"a strange death shall eat all the branches of his body, all its branches shall it eat;''

which the Targum interprets of the angel of death, him which has the power of death: but rather it signifies not what presides over death, but what death first produces, which are corruption and rottenness, dust and worms; these are the firstborn of death, or the firstfruits and effects of it, and which devour and destroy not the skin only, but the whole body and all its members: or "the firstborn death" a; death, which is a firstborn, it is the firstborn of sin; sin is its parent, last conceives sin, and that brings forth death; death is the child of sin, and is its firstborn, and sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and this is what devours and destroys the strength of men. Some understand by firstborn death a premature one, death before the usual time or common course of nature; wicked men do not live out half their days; and when they are taken off in their youth, in the prime of their days and strength, and amidst all their wealth, riches, and pleasures, this is the first, or firstborn death, as that is a secondary one which is late, in the time of old age. This is the ingenious thought of Pineda; but, perhaps, rather, as the firstborn is the chief and principal, so here may be meant the chiefest of deaths, the most hard, cruel, and severe; the first of those, that death has under it, which are principally the sword, famine, pestilence, and the noisome beast, see Revelation 6:8; it is commonly thought that famine is intended, spoken of in the context; but why not rather some thing distinct from it, and particularly the pestilence? since that is emphatically called death by the Jews, and in the passage last referred to, and is the terror by night, and the arrow that flies by day, even the pestilence that walks in darkness, and the destruction that wastes at noonday; by means of which thousands and ten thousands of wicked men fall at the sides of good men, when it does not affect them: and so may be the evil particularly threatened to a wicked man here, see

Psalms 91:5.

x בדי עורו "vectes cutis suae", Tigurine version, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens, Michaelis. y "Ramos cutis", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Mercerus, Schmidt "ramos corporis ipsius", Cocceius. z יאכל "comedet", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus. a בכור מות "primogenita mors", V. L.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.   12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.   13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.   14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.   15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.   16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.   17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.   18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.   19 He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.   20 They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.   21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

      Bildad here describes the destruction itself which wicked people are reserved for in the other world, and which, in some degree, often seizes them in this world. Come, and see what a miserable condition the sinner is in when his day comes to fall.

      I. See him disheartened and weakened by continual terrors arising from the sense of his own guilt and the dread of God's wrath (Job 18:11; Job 18:12): Terror shall make him afraid on every side. The terrors of his own conscience shall haunt him, so that he shall never be easy. Wherever he goes, these shall follow him; which way soever he looks, these shall stare him in the face. It will make him tremble to see himself fought against by the whole creation, to see Heaven frowning on him, hell gaping for him, and earth sick of him. He that carries his own accuser, and his own tormentor, always in his bosom, cannot but be afraid on every side. This will drive him to his feet, like the malefactor, who, being conscious of his own guilt, takes to his heels and flees when none pursues,Proverbs 28:1. But his feet will do him no service; they are fast in the snare, Job 18:9; Job 18:9. The sinner may as soon overpower the divine omnipotence as flee from the divine omniscience, Amos 9:2; Amos 9:3. No marvel that the sinner is dispirited and distracted with fear, for, 1. He sees his ruin approaching: Destruction shall be ready at his side, to seize him whenever justice gives the word, so that he is brought into desolation in a moment,Psalms 73:19. 2. He feels himself utterly unable to grapple with it, either to escape it or to bear up under it. That which he relied upon as his strength (his wealth, power, pomp, friends, and the hardiness of his own spirit) shall fail him in the time of need, and be hunger-bitten, that is, it shall do him no more service than a famished man, pining away for hunger, would do in work or war. The case being thus with him, no marvel that he is a terror to himself. Note, The way of sin is a way of fear, and leads to everlasting confusion, of which the present terrors of an impure and unpacified conscience are earnests, as they were to Cain and Judas.

      II. See him devoured and swallowed up by a miserable death; and miserable indeed a wicked man's death is, how secure and jovial soever his life was. 1. See him dying, arrested by the first-born of death (some disease, or some stroke that has in it a more than ordinary resemblance of death itself; so great a death, as it is called, 2 Corinthians 1:10, a messenger of death that has in it an uncommon strength and terror), weakened by the harbingers of death, which devour the strength of his skin, that is, it shall bring rottenness into his bones and consume them. His confidence shall then be rooted out of his tabernacle (Job 18:14; Job 18:14), that is, all that he trusted to for his support shall be taken from him, and he shall have nothing to rely upon, no, not his own tabernacle. His own soul was his confidence, but that shall be rooted out of the tabernacle of the body, as a tree that cumbered the ground. "Thy soul shall be required of thee." 2. See him dead, and see his case then with an eye of faith. (1.) He is then brought to the king of terrors. He was surrounded with terrors while he lived (Job 18:11; Job 18:11), and death was the king of all those terrors; they fought against the sinner in death's name, for it is by reason of death that sinners are all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15), and at length they will be brought to that which they so long feared, as a captive to the conqueror. Death is terrible to nature; our Saviour himself prayed, Father, save me from this hour. But to the wicked it is in a special manner the king of terrors, both as it is a period to that life in which they placed their happiness and a passage to that life where they will find their endless misery. How happy then are the saints, and how much indebted to the Lord Jesus, by whom death is so far abolished, and the property of it altered, that this king of terrors becomes a friend and servant! (2.) He is then driven from the light into darkness (Job 18:18; Job 18:18), from the light of this world, and his prosperous condition in it, into darkness, the darkness of the grave, the darkness of hell, into utter darkness, never to see light (Psalms 49:19), not the least gleam, nor any hopes of it. (3.) He is then chased out of the world, hurried and dragged away by the messengers of death, sorely against his will, chased as Adam out of paradise, for the world is his paradise. It intimates that he would fain stay here; he is loth to depart, but go he must; all the world is weary of him, and therefore chases him out, as glad to get rid of him. This is death to a wicked man.

      III. See his family sunk and cut off, Job 18:15; Job 18:15. The wrath and curse of God light and lie, not only upon his head and heart, but upon his house too, to consume it with the timber and stones thereof,Zechariah 5:4. Death itself shall dwell in his tabernacle, and, having expelled him, shall take possession of his house, to the terror and destruction of all that he leaves behind. Even the dwelling shall be ruined for the sake of its owner: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation, rained upon it as upon Sodom, to the destruction of which this seems to have reference. Some think he here upbraids Job with the burning of his sheep and servants with fire from heaven. The reason is here given why his tabernacle is thus marked for ruin: Because it is none of his; that is, it was unjustly got, and kept, from the rightful owner, and therefore let him not expect either the comfort or the continuance of it. His children shall perish, either with him or after him, Job 18:16; Job 18:16. So that, his roots being in his own person dried up beneath, above his branch (every child of his family) shall be cut off. Thus the houses of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab, were cut off; none that descended from them were left alive. Those who take root in the earth may expect it will thus be dried up; but, if we be rooted in Christ, even our leaf shall not wither, much less shall our branch be cut off. Those who consult the true honour of their family, and the welfare of its branches, will be afraid of withering it by sin. The extirpation of the sinner's family is mentioned again (Job 18:19; Job 18:19): He shall neither have son nor nephew, child nor grandchild, to enjoy his estate and bear up his name, nor shall there be any remaining in his dwelling akin to him. Sin entails a curse upon posterity, and the iniquity of the fathers is often visited upon the children. Herein, also, it is probable that Bildad reflects upon the death of Job's children and servants, as a further proof of his being a wicked man; whereas all that are written childless are not thereby written graceless; there is a name better than that of sons and daughters.

      IV. See his memory buried with him, or made odious; he shall either be forgotten or spoken of with dishonour (Job 18:17; Job 18:17): His remembrance shall perish from the earth; and, if it perish thence, it perishes wholly, for it was never written in heaven, as the names of the saints are, Luke 10:20. All his honour shall be laid and lost in the dust, or stained with perpetual infamy, so that he shall have no name in the street, departing without being desired. Thus the judgments of God follow him, after death, in this world, as an indication of the misery his soul is in after death, and an earnest of that everlasting shame and contempt to which he shall rise in the great day. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot,Proverbs 10:7.

      V. See a universal amazement at his fall, Job 18:20; Job 18:20. Those that see it are affrighted, so sudden is the change, so dreadful the execution, so threatening to all about him: and those that come after, and hear the report of it, are astonished at it; their ears are made to tingle, and their hearts to tremble, and they cry out, Lord, how terrible art thou in thy judgments! A place or person utterly ruined is said to be made an astonishment,Deuteronomy 28:37; 2 Chronicles 7:21; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 25:18. Horrible sins bring strange punishments.

      VI. See all this averred as the unanimous sense of the patriarchal age, grounded upon their knowledge of God and their many observations of his providence (Job 18:21; Job 18:21): Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place (this the condition) of him that knows not God! See here what is the beginning, and what is the end, of the wickedness of this wicked world. 1. The beginning of it is ignorance of God, and it is a wilful ignorance, for there is that to be known of him which is sufficient to leave them for ever inexcusable. They know not God, and then they commit all iniquity. Pharaoh knows not the Lord, and therefore will not obey his voice. 2. The end of it, and that is utter destruction. Such, so miserable, are the dwellings of the wicked. Vengeance will be taken of those that know not God,2 Thessalonians 1:8. For those whom he has not honour from he will get himself honour upon. Let us therefore stand in awe and not sin, for it will certainly be bitterness in the latter end.