Job 21:13

"They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe."

Key Reflection

In Job 21:13, the description of singing to tambourines and rejoicing to the sound of pipes paints a vivid picture of festive occasions in ancient Near Eastern cultures. The original audience would have recognized these instruments as part of joyful celebrations, weddings, and religious festivals, illustrating a contrast between the prosperity and merriment described here and the suffering experienced by Job, highlighting the complexity of divine justice in their worldview.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

They spend their days in wealth -Margin, or, “mirth.” Literally, “they wear out their days in good” -בטובbaṭôb. Vulgate“in bonis.”Septuagint,ἐν ἀγαθοῖςenagathois- “in good things;” in the enjoyment of good. They are not oppressed with the evils of poverty and want, but they have abundance of “the good things” of life. And in a moment go down to the grave -Hebrew toשׁאולshe'ôl- but here meaning evidently the grave. The idea is, that when they die they are not afflicted with lingering disease, and great bodily pain, but having lived to an old age in the midst of comforts, they drop off suddenly and quietly, and sleep in the grave.

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