26 There are two words for “man” in this verse. The first (גֶּבֶר, gever) can indicate a “strong” or “mature man” or “mighty man,” the hero; and the second (אָדָם, ’adam) simply designates the person as mortal.
27 The word חָלַשׁ (khalash) in Aramaic and means “to be weak” (interestingly, the OT translated חָלַשׁ [khalash] with “fade away” here). The derived noun “the weak” would be in direct contrast to “the mighty man.” In the transitive sense the verb means “to weaken; to defeat” (Exod 17:13); here it may have the sense of “be lifeless, unconscious, inanimate” (cf. E. Dhorme, Job, 199). Many commentators emend the text to יַחֲלֹף (yakhalof, “passes on; passes away”). A. Guillaume tries to argue that the form is a variant of the other, the letters שׁ (shin) and פ (pe) being interchangeable (“The Use of halas in Exod 17:13, Isa 14:12, and Job 14:10,” 14 [1963]: 91–92). G. R. Driver connected it to Arabic halasa, “carry off suddenly” (“The Resurrection of Marine and Terrestrial Creatures,” 7 [1962]: 12–22). But the basic idea of “be weak, powerless” is satisfactory in the text. H. H. Rowley (Job [], 105) says, “Where words are so carefully chosen, it is gratuitous to substitute less expressive words as some editors do.”
28 This break to a question adds a startling touch to the whole verse. The obvious meaning is that he is gone. The weakens it: “and is no more.”