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3:1–26 This chapter initiates the cycle of speeches that make up most of the book (3:1–42:6). In this first speech, Job curses the day of his birth, essentially saying, “I wish I had never been born.” He expresses this wish in many different ways: wishing the day he was born never existed (vv. 3–10), wishing the night of his conception had never happened (v. 3), and lamenting that he did not die at birth (vv. 11–19). Finally, he longs for death (vv. 20–22).

Cycles in Job Table

3:1 cursed his day Instead of cursing God as the satan figure expected (2:5) and his wife advised (2:9), Job curses the day of his birth (vv. 1–10; compare note on 1:6).

The wish for death was common in ot lamentation. Jeremiah curses the day of his birth in a similar passage (Jer 20:14–18). The author of Ecclesiastes—when faced with the prevalence of oppression in the world—proclaims the dead more fortunate than the living, and the unborn more fortunate than both (Eccl 4:1–3).

Lament EDB

Lament ISBE

3:3 A man-child is conceived Job curses the night of his conception as well as the day of his birth.

3:4 Let that day become darkness Similar to the language of Gen 1:3, but here Job wishes to reverse his own creation. What God saw as “very good” (Gen 1:31) was anything but to Job.

In this first lament, Job introduces the themes of day and night, light and darkness (Job 3:4–10, 16, 20–23). These themes continue throughout his dialogue with the three friends (vv. 16, 20, 23; 10:21–22; 23:17). Light is a metaphor for life and what is revealed, while darkness is a metaphor for death and what is hidden or mysterious.

3:8 Leviathan A mighty sea creature (41:1; Pss 74:14; 104:26; Isa 27:1), who is also present in ancient Near Eastern mythology.

In ancient Near Eastern creation stories, Leviathan represents the dark chaos of the primeval world. For creation to occur, a creator deity had to control or defeat Leviathan. In the context of Job 3, where Job wishes he had never been born (or even conceived; v. 3), his reference to rousing Leviathan represents his wish for the day of his birth to revert back to dark, primordial nonexistence. See 9:13 and note; 41:1 and note.

Leviathan EBD

Leviathan AYBD

Leviathan DDD

3:10 did it hide trouble from my eyes If he hadn’t been born, Job would have avoided all of this misfortune (compare 5:6, 7; 7:3; 11:16; 16:2).

3:11 Why did I not die at birth Job’s curse (vv. 1–10) turns to a lament (vv. 11–19) in which he does not want his misfortunes reversed, but he wishes had never lived at all to encounter them.

Lament is a common genre of Hebrew poetry. Throughout the Psalms, poets implore God to help them (e.g., Pss 12:1; 13:3–4; 17:1–2). Job does not ask for God’s help; he laments that he survived to see such misfortune. The Psalms of lament frequently ask God why something is happening (e.g., Pss 10:1; 22:1); Job similarly asks five questions in this section (Job 3:11, 12, 16, 20, 23), but none of them is a cry for help out of his present distress

3:13 I would be asleep; then I would be at rest Sleep is a picture of death (compare Deut 31:16; Psa 13:3; 1 Cor 15:51).

Job wishes he were in Sheol—the ot term for the shadowy realm of the dead (see Job 14:13 and note). Although he would be dead, he would no longer be tormented by his life; there would be peace among the dead (compare vv. 17; 7:9).

Afterlife DBI

Old Testament Theology of the Afterlife

3:19 The small and the great Death indiscriminately brings together rich and poor, prestigious and lowly (see vv. 14–19). Death is the great equalizer.

Job considers the possibility of death as a welcome rest from his troubles. He enviously considers several groups who find relief from their struggles in death—“the weary,” “prisoners,” and “the slave”; even the wicked can escape their troubles (vv. 14–19).

3:20 Why does he give light to one in misery Job can find no meaning for his life.

Suffering raises the difficult questions of meaning, purpose, and value of life. It also brings to the surface questions about the nature of God and His involvement with His creation. The book of Job wrestles with these questions through the dialogue between Job and his friends and then through God’s speech at the end of the book (chs. 41–42).

3:21 treasures Extends the metaphor of darkness/death to hiddenness (see v. 4 and note) and introduces a theme of the book that ch. 28, especially, will develop.

3:23 God has fenced him in all around Job feels like God has surrounded him with suffering and turmoil, leaving him with no escape (19:7–12). This phrasing is an ironic twist of the satan figure’s words in 1:10, where he accuses God of putting a wall of protection around Job (compare note on 1:6).

3:24 my sighing comes before my bread Job’s suffering was a constant burden (Pss 42:3; 102:9).

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