Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 8:17

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Bildad speaks (8:1-22)

After rebuking Job for his wild words against God, Bildad tells him that God is always just. Completely lacking in sympathy, Bildad reminds Job that his children have died, and cruelly concludes that it must have been because of their sin (8:1-4). Job’s suffering must likewise be because of his sin. If, however, he is innocent, he need only pray humbly to God, and God will replace his suffering with greater blessing than he had before (5-7).
For Bildad the traditional teaching is of first importance, and this emphasis characterizes all his speeches. Job cannot, on the basis of his short experience, question what all the wisest people of previous ages have believed (8-10).
All disaster, in Bildad’s view, is the consequence of personal ungodliness. As flourishing plants wither and die when the water dries up, so the rich are brought to ruin when they forget God (11-13). They are as insecure as a spider’s web (14-15). They are like a fast-growing plant that is suddenly pulled up and replaced by others. Their joy is shortlived (16-19). According to Bildad, the reason for Job’s terrible losses and tormenting suffering can only be Job’s sin. Repentance will bring renewed strength, joy, victory and prosperity (20-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

BILDAD IRONICALLY DESCRIBES THE GODLESS MAN'S JOY

"He is green before the sun, And his shoots go forth over his garden. His roots are wrapped about the stone heap, He beholdeth the place of stones. If he be destroyed from his place, Then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way; And out of the earth shall others spring."

"He is green before the sun" This is a reference to Job in the days of his prosperity. Then Bildad went on to speak of, "the place of stones," Job's rocky road, (Job 8:17), and of his being "destroyed" and "denied" (Job 8:18), adding sarcastically and ironically, "This is the joy" of the way Job was going! We are grateful to Samuel Terrien for his word that, "Behold, this is the joy of his way, should be interpreted ironically."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 974.

All of the Commentators have mentioned the difficulty of the text in these verses, some of it "making little sense";The Anchor Bible (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1982), op. cit., p. 65. but we have commented on the words as they stand in our version.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

His roots are wrapped about the heap - There has been great diversity of opinion in the interpretation of this passage. Jerome renders it, “over the heap of stones his roots are condensed.” Walton, “super fontem - over a fountain.” The Septuagint, “he lies down (or sleeps, κοιμᾶται koimatai) on a heap of stones; and he lives in the midst of flint-stones.” According to some, the word rendered heap גל gal means a fountain; according to others, it means a heap or pile of stones; according to Dr. Good, it means a rock. According to the view of the former, it refers to the flourishing condition of a hypocrite or sinner, and means that he is like a tree that sends its roots by a fountain, and is nourished by it. According to others, the reference is to the fact that the hypocrite is like a plant that has no depth of earth for its roots, that wraps its rooks around anything, even a heap of stones, to support itself; and that consequently will soon wither under the intense heat of the sun. The word גל gal, rendered “heap,” means either

(1.) A heap, as a heap of stones, from גלל gâlal - to roll, as e. g. stones. It may denote a heap of stones, Joshua 7:26, but it commonly refers to the ruins of walls and cities, Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 51:37; Isaiah 25:2. It means

(2.) A fountain or spring, so called from the rolling or welling up of the waters, Song of Solomon 4:12, and hence, rolling waves or billows, Psalms 42:7; Psalms 89:9; Psalms 107:25, Psalms 107:29. The parallelism, if nothing else, demands that the usual signification should be given to it here; and the true sense is, that the prosperous wicked man or the hypocrite is like a plant which stands in the midst of rocks, rubbish, or old ruins, and not like one that stands in a fertile soil where it may strike its roots deep. The reference is to the fact that a tree or plant which springs up on a rock, or in the midst of rocks, will send its roots afar for nutriment, or will wrap them around the projecting points of rocks in order to obtain support. All have observed this in trees standing on rocks; but the following extract from Sillinian’s Journal for January, 1840, wil illustrate the fact referred to here more fully.

“About fifteen years ago, upon the top of an immense boulder of limestone, some ten or twelve feet in diameter, a sapling was found growing. The stone was but slightly imbedded in the earth; several of its sides were raised from four to six feet above its surface; but the top of the rock was rough with crevices, and its surface, which was sloping off, on one side, to the earth, was covered with a thin mould. From this mould the tree had sprung up, and having thrust its roots into the crevices of the rock, it had succeeded in reaching the height of some twelve or fifteen feet. But about this period the roots on one side became loosened from their attachment, and the tree gradually declined to the opposite side, until its body was in a parallel line with the earth. The roots on the opposite side, having obtained a firmer hold, afforded sufficient nourishment to sustain the plant; although they could not, alone, retain it in its vertical position. In this condition of things, the tree as if ‘conscious of its needs, ‘ adopted (if the term may be used) an ingenious process, in order to regain its former upright position. One of the most vigorous of the detached roots sent out a branch from its side, which, passing round a projection of the rock, again united with the parent stalk, and thus formed a perfect loop around this projection, which gave to the root an immovable attachment.

“The tree now began to recover from its bent position. Obeying the natural tendency of all plants to grow erect, and sustained by this root, which increased with unwonted vigor, in a few years it had entirely regained its vertical position, elevated, as no one could doubt who saw it, by the aid of the root which had formed this singular attachment. But this was not the only power exhibited by this remarkable tree.

“After its elevation it flourished vigorously for several years. Some of its roots had traced the sloping side of the rock to the earth, and were buried in the soil below. Others, having embedded themselves in its furrows, had completely filled these crevices with vegetable matter. The tree still continuing to grow, concentric layers of vegetable matter were annually deposited between the alburnum and liber, until by the force of vegetable growth alone, the rock was split from the top to the bottom, into three nearly equal divisions, and branches of the roots were soon found, extending down, through the divisions into the earth below. On visiting the tree a few months since, to take a drawing of it, we found that it had attained an altitude of fifty feet, and was four and a half feet in circumference at its base.”

The image here shows that the author of this beautiful fragment was a careful observer of nature, and the comparison is exceedingly pertinent and striking. What more beautiful illustration of a hypocrite can there be? His roots do not strike into the earth. His piety is not planted in a rich soil. It is on the hard rock of the unconverted human heart. Yet it sends out its roots afar; seems to flourish for a time; draws nutriment from remote objects; clings to a crag or a projecting rock, or to anything for support - until a tempest sweeps it down to rise no more! No doubt the idea of Bildad was, that Job was just such a man.

Seeth the place of stones - Septuagint, “and lives in the midst of flints,” not an unapt rendering - and a very striking description of a hypocrite. So Castellio, “existit inter lapides.” Its only nutriment is derived from the scanty earth in the stony soil on which it stands, or in the crevices of the rocks.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 8

So Bildad, the next friend, speaks up and he said,

How long will you speak these things? how long will your words of your mouth be like a [big, bag of] wind? Does God pervert judgment? or does the Almighty pervert justice? If your children have sinned against him, and he has cast them away for their transgression ( Job 8:2-4 );

And okay now, he's getting on my kids. They've sinned and God wiped them out. And now you going to blame God?

If you would seek unto God before, and make your supplication to the Almighty; If you were pure and upright; surely he would awake for thee ( Job 8:5-6 ),

He would take up your cause.

and he would make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Though your beginning was small, yet the latter end should be greatly increased. For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon the earth are like a shadow [on the sundial]:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Can the rush grow up without mire? ( Job 8:6-11 )

Now picture the rushes growing up beside the river there in the mud along the river.

can the flags grow without water? While it is yet in his greenness, it is cut down, it withers before any other herb ( Job 8:11-12 ).

So Job, you're like a reed that is growing up. But the mud dries up and while it is still green, you're being cut off. The hypocrites are this way, Job. You must be a hypocrite.

So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. He is green before the sun, but his branch shoots forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about as the heap, and he seeth the place of stones. If he destroys him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evildoers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nothing ( Job 8:13-22 ).

Basically, Job is saying, "Look." I mean, Bibdad is saying to Job, "God is fair, God is just. Plead your cause before God. Get right with God, Job, and everything is going to be okay. That's your problem. You're a hypocrite and what you need to do is just get right with God. Things will straighten out. You'll be blessed and all again. But something's wrong, Job. Can't happen, you know, unless there's something seriously wrong." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Bildad’s first speech ch. 8

Bildad agreed with Eliphaz that God was paying Job back for some sin he had committed, and he believed God would show Job mercy if he confessed that sin. However, Bildad built his conclusions on a slightly different foundation. Eliphaz argued from his own personal experience and observations (Job 4:8; Job 4:12-21). Bildad cited a more reliable authority: the experience of past generations that had come down through years of tradition (Job 8:8-10). He was a traditionalist whereas Eliphaz was an existentialist.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Illustrations of Job’s godlessness 8:11-19

The illustration of the water plant (Job 8:11-13) emphasized the fact that in Bildad’s view, Job had abandoned God, the source of his blessing (cf. Job 1:1; Job 1:8). Bildad advised his friend not to forget God. The spider’s web analogy (Job 8:14-15) implied that Job was depending on his possessions rather than God for his security. The allusion to the garden plant (Job 8:16-19) compared Job to an uprooted bush that others would replace.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

His roots are wrapped about the heap,.... The heap of stones where the tree stands; it strikes its roots among them, and implicates and twists them about them, and secures itself and grows up notwithstanding them: and this expresses the seeming stable state and condition of hypocrites for a season, who not only flourish, but seem to take root; and who maintain their ground amidst some difficulties; this fitly agrees with and describes such hearers of the word, and professors of religion, comparable to the seed sown on stony ground,

Matthew 13:5;

[and] seeth the place of stones; or, "the house of stones" n; a house built of stones, high and stately; yet this tree rises higher than that, overtops and overlooks it; and is represented as viewing it thoroughly, or looking down upon it, and all around it, being so high and so spreading; the Targum renders it, implicateth the house of stones; "platteth", as Mr. Broughton, or twists about them, and so many of the Jewish writers; but this seems to be designed in the former clause: all this suits very well with good men, whose "roots are wrapped about the fountain" o; as the words may be rendered; about the love of God, in which they are rooted and grounded, and are like trees planted by rivers of water, the river of divine love, which refreshes, revives, and makes them fruitful; and about Christ, the fountain of gardens and well of living waters; in whom they are rooted and built up, increase, flourish, and are established; and though they are among stones, and attended with many difficulties, yet they abide and surmount all; believe in hope against hope, and see and enjoy, yea, even dwell in the house of stones, the church of God, built on a rock, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.

n בית אבנים "domum lapidum", Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens; so Tigurine version, Codurcus, Junius Tremellius. o על גל "juxta fontem", Pagninus, Mercerus so Vatablus, Piscator, Gersom, and Bar Tzemach.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:   9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)   10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?   11 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?   12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.   13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:   14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.   15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.   16 He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.   17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.   18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.   19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

      Bildad here discourses very well on the sad catastrophe of hypocrites and evil-doers and the fatal period of all their hopes and joys. He will not be so bold as to say with Eliphaz that none that were righteous were ever cut off thus (Job 4:7; Job 4:7); yet he takes it for granted that God, in the course of his providence, does ordinarily bring wicked men, who seemed pious and were prosperous, to shame and ruin in this world, and that, by making their prosperity short, he discovers their piety to be counterfeit. Whether this will certainly prove that all who are thus ruined must be concluded to have been hypocrites he will not say, but rather suspect, and thinks the application is easy.

      I. He proves this truth, of the certain destruction of all the hopes and joys of hypocrites, by an appeal to antiquity and the concurring sentiment and observation of all wise and good men; and an undoubted truth it is, if we take in the other world, that, if not in this life, yet in the life to come, hypocrites will be deprived of all their trusts and all their triumphs: whether Bildad so meant or no, we must so take it. Let us observe the method of his proof, Job 8:8-10; Job 8:8-10.

      1. He insists not on his own judgment and that of his companions: We are but of yesterday, and know nothing,Job 8:9; Job 8:9. He perceived that Job had no opinion of their abilities, but thought they knew little. "We will own," says Bildad, "that we know nothing, are as ready to confess our ignorance as thou art to condemn it; for we are but of yesterday in comparison, and our days upon earth are short and transient, and hastening away as a shadow. And hence," (1.) "We are not so near the fountain-head of divine revelation" (which then for aught that appears, was conveyed by tradition) "as the former age was; and therefore we must enquire what they said and recount what we have been told of their sentiments." Blessed be God, now that we have the word of God in writing, and are directed to search that, we need not enquire of the former age, nor prepare ourselves to the search of their fathers; for, though we ourselves are but of yesterday, the word of God in the scripture is as nigh to us as it was to them (Romans 10:8), and it is the more sure word of prophecy, to which we must take heed. If we study and keep God's precepts, we may by them understand more than the ancients,Psalms 119:99; Psalms 119:100. (2.) "We do not live so long as those of the former age did, to make observations upon the methods of divine providence, and therefore cannot be such competent judges as they in a cause of this nature." Note, The shortness of our lives is a great hindrance to the improvement of our knowledge, and so are the frailty and weakness of our bodies. Vita brevis, ars longa--life is short, the progress of art boundless.

      2. He refers to the testimony of the ancients and to the knowledge which Job himself had of their sentiments. "Do thou enquire of the former age, and let them tell thee, not only their own judgment in this matter, but the judgment also of their fathers,Job 8:8; Job 8:8. They will teach thee, and inform thee (Job 8:10; Job 8:10), that all along, in their time, the judgments of God followed wicked men. This they will utter out of their hearts, that is, as that which they firmly believe themselves, which they are greatly affected with and desirous to acquaint and affect others with." Note, (1.) For the right understanding of divine Providence, and the unfolding of the difficulties of it, it will be of use to compare the observations and experiences of former ages with the events of our own day; and, in order thereto, to consult history, especially the sacred history, which is the most ancient, infallibly true, and written designedly for our learning. (2.) Those that would fetch knowledge from the former ages must search diligently, prepare for the search, and take pains for the search. (3.) Those words are most likely to reach to the hearts of the learners that come from the hearts of the teachers. Those shall teach thee best that utter words out of their heart, that speak by experience, and not by rote, of spiritual and divine things. The learned bishop Patrick suggests that Bildad being a Shuhite, descended from Shuah one of Abraham's sons by Keturah (Genesis 25:2), in this appeal which he makes to history he has a particular respect to the rewards which the blessing of God secured to the posterity of faithful Abraham (who hitherto, and long after, continued in his religion) and to the extirpation of those eastern people, neighbours to Job (in whose country they were settled), for their wickedness, whence he infers that it is God's usual way to prosper the just and root out the wicked, though for a while they may flourish.

      II. He illustrates this truth by some similitudes.

      1. The hopes and joys of the hypocrite are here compared to a rush or flag, Job 8:11-13; Job 8:11-13. (1.) It grows up out of the mire and water. The hypocrite cannot gain his hope without some false rotten ground or other out of which to raise it, and with which to support it and keep it alive, any more than the rush can grow without mire. He grounds it on his worldly prosperity, the plausible profession he makes of religion, the good opinion of his neighbours, and his own good conceit of himself, which are no solid foundation on which to build his confidence. It is all but mire and water; and the hope that grows out of it is but rush and flag. (2.) It may look green and gay for a while (the rush outgrows the grass), but it is light and hollow, and empty, and good for nothing. It is green for show, but of no use. (3.) It withers presently, before any other herb,Job 8:12; Job 8:12. Even while it is in its greenness it is dried away and gone in a little time. Note, The best state of hypocrites and evil-doers borders upon withering; even when it is green it is going. The grass is cut down and withers (Psalms 90:6); but the rush is not cut down and yet withers, withers before it grows up (Psalms 129:6): as it has no use, so it has no continuance. So are the paths of all that forget God (Job 8:13; Job 8:13); they take the same way that the rush does, for the hypocrite's hope shall perish. Note, [1.] Forgetfulness of God is at the bottom of men's hypocrisy, and of the vain hopes with which they flatter and deceive themselves in their hypocrisy. Men would not be hypocrites if they did not forget that the God with whom they have to do searches the heart and requires truth there, that he is a Spirit and has his eye on our spirits; and hypocrites would have no hope if they did not forget that God is righteous, and will not be mocked with the torn and the lame. [2.] The hope of hypocrites is a great cheat upon themselves, and, though it may flourish for a while, it will certainly perish at last, and they with it.

      2. They are here compared to a spider's web, or a spider's house (as it is in the margin), a cobweb, Job 8:14; Job 8:15. The hope of the hypocrite, (1.) Is woven out of his own bowels; it is the creature of his own fancy, and arises merely from a conceit of his own merit and sufficiency. There is a great deal of difference between the work of the bee and that of the spider. A diligent Christian, like the laborious bee, fetches in all his comfort from the heavenly dews of God's word; but the hypocrite, like the subtle spider, weaves his out of a false hypothesis of his own concerning God, as if he were altogether such a one as himself. (2.) He is very fond of it, as the spider of her web; pleases himself with it, wraps himself in it, calls it his house, leans upon it, and holds it fast. It is said of the spider that she takes hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces,Proverbs 30:28. So does a carnal worldling hug himself in the fulness and firmness of his outward prosperity; he prides himself in that house as his palace, fortifies himself in it as his castle, and makes use of it as the spider of her web, to ensnare those he has a mind to prey upon. So does a formal professor; he flatters himself in his own eyes, doubts not of his salvation, is secure of heaven, and cheats the world with his vain confidences. (3.) It will easily and certainly be swept away, as the cobweb with the besom, when God shall come to purge his house. The prosperity of worldly people will fail them when they expect to find safety and happiness in it. They seek to hold fast their estates, but God is plucking them out of their hands; and whose shall all those things be, which they have provided? or what the better they will be for them? The confidences of hypocrites will fail them. I tell you, I know you not. The house built on the sand will fall in the storm, when the builder most needs it and promised himself the benefit of it. When a wicked man dies his expectation perishes. The ground of his hopes will prove false; he will be disappointed of the thing he hoped for, and his foolish hope with which he buoyed himself up will be turned into endless despair; and thus his hope will be cut off, his web, that refuge of lies, swept away, and he crushed in it.

      3. The hypocrite is here compared to a flourishing and well-rooted tree, which, though it do not wither of itself, yet will easily be cut down and its place no it no more. The secure and prosperous sinner may think himself wronged when he is compared to a rush and a flag; he thinks he has a better root. "We will allow him his conceit," says Bildad, "and give him all the advantage he can desire, and bring him in suddenly cut off." He is here represented as Nebuchadnezzar was in his own dream (Daniel 4:10) by a great tree. (1.) See this tree fair and flourishing (Job 8:16; Job 8:16) like a green bay-tree (Psalms 37:35), green before the sun, it keeps its greenness in defiance of the scorching sun-beams, and his branch shoots forth under the protection of his garden-wall and with the benefit of his garden-soil. See it fixed, and taking deep root, never likely to be overthrown by stormy winds, for his roots are interwoven with the stones (Job 8:17; Job 8:17); it grows in firm ground, not, as the rush, of mire and water. Thus does a wicked man, when he prospers in the world, think himself secure; his wealth is a high wall in his own conceit. (2.) See this tree felled and forgotten notwithstanding, destroyed from his place (Job 8:18; Job 8:18), and so entirely extirpated that there shall remain no sign or token where it grew. The very place say, I have not seen thee; and the standers by shall say the same. I sought him, but he could not be found,Psalms 36:36. He made a great show and a great noise for a time, but he is gone of a sudden, and neither root nor branch is left him,Malachi 4:1. This is the joy (that is, this is the end and conclusion) of the wicked man's way (Job 8:19; Job 8:19); this is that which all his joy comes to. The way of the ungodly shall perish,Psalms 1:6. His hope, he thought, would in the issue be turned into joy; but this is the issue, this is the joy. The harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow,Isaiah 17:11. This is the best of it; and what then is the worst of it? But shall he not leave a family behind him to enjoy what he has? No, out of the earth (not out of his roots) shall others grow, that are nothing akin to him, and shall fill up his place, and rule over that for which he labored. Others (that is, others of the same spirit and disposition) shall grow up in his place, and be as secure as ever he was, not warned by his fall. The way of worldlings is their folly, and yet there is a race of those that approve their sayings,Psalms 49:13.