the idea suggested by the appearance of the Goel on the dust of
Job's burial-place, and such a development is not supplied by the
received text. We must not look at any corrupt passage by itself,
but take it with the context. Those who defend the text of ver. 26 as
it stands have on their side the parallelism of (
Hebrew characters) and (Hebrew characters) (comp.
ver. 20); but this parallelism is counterbalanced by the want of
correspondence between (Hebrew characters) and (Hebrew characters) Dr. C. Taylor
suggests an aposiopesis, and gives the sense intended by the writer
thus, 'When they have penetrated my skin, and of my flesh have
had their fill' (comp. ver. 22b). Is it not more likely that (Hebrew characters)
came into the text through a reminiscence of ver. 22b? 'I shall see
these things from Shaddai' will be, on Bickell's view, equivalent to
'I shall see these things attested by Shaddai.' As yet, the sufferer exclaims,
I can recognise this, viz. my innocence, for myself alone; mine
eyes have seen it, but not another's (Prov. xxvii 2). The connexion
is in every way improved. Job first of all desired an inscribed testimony
to his innocence, but now he aspires to something better.
Bickell's is the most natural reconstruction of the passage as yet
proposed; so far as ver. 26b is concerned, it is supported in the main
by the Septuagint. More violent corrections are offered by Dr. A.
Neubauer, Athenæum, June 27, 1885—As a rendering of the text as it stands, I think R.V. is justified in giving 'from my flesh' (with
marg., 'Or, without'); 'mine eyes shall see' (= 'will have seen')
certainly suggests that Job will be clothed with some body when he
sees God (Dillmann's reply is not adequate). 'Without my flesh'
(so Amer. Revisers) is in itself justifiable (see especially xi. 15); in the
use of the privative (Hebrew characters) became more and more frequent in the later
periods (comp. the Talmudic (Hebrew characters) = 'blind').
5. Page 39. Job's catalogue of the sins which he repudiates. The parallel suggested between Job and an Egyptian formulary may be illustrated by a passage in the life of the great Stoic Emperor. A learned Bishop, popular in his day, reminds us of 'that golden Table of Ptolomy (sic) Arsacides, which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius found at Thebes, which for the worthiness thereof that worthy Emperour caused every night to be laid at his bed's head, and at his death gave it as a singular treasure to his sonne Commodus. The Table was written in Greeke characters, and contained in it these protestations: "I never exalted the proud rich man, neither hated the poor just man: I never denied justice to the poor for his poverty neither pardoned the wealthy for his riches. . . . I alwaies favoured the poor that was able to do little, and God, who was able to do much, alwaies favoured me."' (The Practice of Quietnesse, by George Webbe, D.D., 1699?)]
