Job 21:12

"They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance."

Key Reflection

In Job 21:12, the image of sending out "little ones like a flock" and having "their children dance" portrays the prosperity and happiness of a household. This vivid scene contrasts sharply with the misfortunes experienced by Job himself, highlighting the disparity between appearances of fortune and actual suffering in life.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

They take the timbrel -They have instruments of cheerful music in their dwellings; and this is an evidence that they are not treated as the friends of Job had maintained. Instead of being, as they asserted, overwhelmed with calamity, they are actually happy. They have all that can make them cheerful, and their houses exhibit all that is usually the emblem of contentment and peace. Rosenmuller and Noyes suppose this to mean, “They sing to the timbrel and harp;” that is, “they raise up” (ישׂאוyı̂s'û) “the voice” to accompany the timbrel. Dr. Good renders it, “They rise up to the tabor and harp, and trip merrily to the sound of the pipe.” So Wemyss.

More from Job 21

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Go deeper with Bible.talk - your AI Bible study companion