Job 17:14

14 If I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' And to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister,'

Job 17:14 Meaning and Commentary

Job 17:14

I have said to corruption, thou [art] my father
Not to the corruptible seed, of which he was begotten; nor to the corruption or purulent matter of his boils and ulcers, and the worms his flesh was now clothed with, ( Job 7:5 ) ; but to that corruption his body would turn to in the grave, lying long enough to see it, which Christ's body did not, ( Psalms 16:10 ) ; that is, "to the pit of corruption" F3, as it may be rendered, meaning the grave, so called because in it dead bodies corrupt and putrefy: in houses are families consisting of various persons, of different relations, who dwell together in friendship and harmony, very lovingly and familiarly, as father and mother, brother and sister; so in the grave, the dwelling house of men, there are inhabitants that dwell together, as if they were familiar friends and acquaintance; and with these, Job claims kindred, such as corruption, rottenness, dust and worms, and these he speaks unto, not only very familiarly, but very respectfully; the note of Bar Tzemach is,

``I honour the grave as a son a father, that it may receive me quickly;''

yea, he speaks as not ashamed of the relation, but is fond of it; "I called" or "cried" F4 that is, aloud, with great vehemency and affection:

to the worm, [thou art] my mother and my sister;
these are the rather mentioned, because the relation is near, and they are very loving and tender, and abide in the house, see ( Proverbs 7:4 ) ; he calls these his mother and sister, as the above Jewish commentator observes, because the might lie in their bosom; by all this Job would represent how familiar death and the grave were to him, and how little he dreaded them; yea, how desirable they were to him, since he should be at home, and among his relations and friends.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (txvl) "foveam", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Drusius
F4 (ytarq) "vocavi", Montanus; "clamavi", Mercerus.

Job 17:14 In-Context

12 They change the night into day; 'The light is near,' they say, in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' And to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister,'
15 Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?
16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?"
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.