Job 23:12

12 I went not away from the commandments of his lips; and I hid in my bosom the words of his mouth.

Job 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

Job 23:12

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips,
&c.] From any of the commandments his lips had uttered; meaning not the ten commandments given to Israel, which perhaps as yet were not given, or had not come to the knowledge of Job; some speak of the seven commandments, given to the sons of Noah; (See Gill on Genesis 9:4). It seems to design any and every commandment that God had given to Noah or Abraham, or any of the patriarchs, before the times of Job, and which he had knowledge of, and which he carefully observed, kept close to, and did not deviate from; but made it the rule of his walk and practice:

I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary [food];
the words of the Lord, the doctrines of grace that came from his mouth, are food for faith; there are in them milk for babes, and meat for strong men; they are savoury, salutary, and wholesome words, by which the people of God are nourished up unto eternal life; and they are esteemed by them more than the food that is necessary and convenient for their bodies; see ( Proverbs 30:8 ) ; for as the soul is preferable to the body, so the food of the one is preferable to the food of the other, and is sweeter, as the words of God are, to the taste of a believer, than honey, or the honeycomb: or "I have hid or laid up, the words of his mouth" F2; he had laid them up in his heart, in order to meditate upon them, and receive comfort and spiritual nourishment from them when he should want it, as men lay up their food in a proper place against the time they want it for their support and refreshment; and Job was more careful to lay up the one than the other; see ( Psalms 119:11 ) ; here Job meets with, and has respect unto, the advice of Eliphaz, ( Job 22:22 ) ; and signifies that he had no need to have given him it, he had done this already.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 (ytnpu) "abscondi", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Bolducius; "recondidi", Tigurine version, Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens; so Broughton.

Job 23:12 In-Context

10 But he knoweth my way, and he shall prove me as gold (and he shall assay me like gold), that passeth through the fire.
11 My foot followed his steps; I kept (to) his way, and I bowed not away from it.
12 I went not away from the commandments of his lips; and I hid in my bosom the words of his mouth.
13 For he is alone, and no man may turn away his thoughts; and whatever thing he would, his will did this thing. (For he alone decideth, and no one can turn away his thoughts; and whatever he desired to do, his did it.)
14 When he hath [ful]filled his will in me, also many other like things be ready to him. (For he hath fulfilled his will for me, and many other plans like these be ready with him.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.