Devotional Short Note to Job 16

Koot van Wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Devotional Short Note to Job 16: There are common Hebrew words and rare Hebrew words in the Hebrew text which is are in different percentages in different books of the Bible. Job has the highest number of rare words than any book in the Bible. Even though it is high, one can assume that about 85% of Job can be understood fairly well. It is the 15% rare words that confused the scholars. Scholars placed themselves in jeopardy by buying into Rationalism of their generation before and after. This disease of anthropo-centrism has done tremendous harm to the Word of God. Most of these critics were actually not Hebrew scholars but Arabic, like Wellhausen. The Rabbis of the Middle Ages suffered from the same handicap. Arabic was the lingua franca after 8^th century A.D. They spoke and wrote their commentaries in Arabic and used Arabic as a convenience to try to explain rare words in Job and the Bible. Rationalist scholars’ problem is that they rejected inspiration, rejected historicity, adopted propaganda theories and thus with scissors and glue rearranged the strata of the text to fit their assumed dating frame. The biblical chronology they rejected and also the historical frame of the scriptures. So they allocated to Job a late date sometimes into Hellenistic times. Cognate Semitic languages available for comparison were only Aramaic and at times they were willing to let Akkadian or Assyrian help them, but not all scholars did it. The most popular way was Arabic. Even though the history of the text affirmed that Moses was living and studying in Egypt, an assumption that would have developed, should it be realistically true, that Egyptian Dictionaries and Grammars will explain the difficult grammar and rare words of Job. But, sticking to their own glasses they were wearing, just like Evolutionists stuck to the glasses of Lyell to look at geology, they kept to their heart-hardened views of lateness, they could not see light at the end of the tunnel and allocated the verses as “corrupt” because they could not make sense of what was written. Nihilism is born. No text, no meaning. No meaning, no message. No message, no hope. No hope, only useless nothingness prevails. They start with man and end with man with no answer where we came from, why are we here and where are we going? In their world everything becomes a vicious circle. Job is here in Job 16 hospitalized, in a laying down position but through his tears he still looks up to God. This is a man that sticks to the Word of God though the heavens may fall. His relationship is secure since he pays attention to God’s sense for detail. God knew He could trust him since He has measured his shoulders to determine the size of the yoke he can carry.