Job 30:4

"They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation."

Key Reflection

In Job 30:4, the poet vividly describes a scene of profound suffering and deprivation. The "gaunt" and "famine-stricken" individuals are reduced to gnawing at the dry ground—a stark image suggesting they have no other sustenance. This cultural context reflects the harsh realities faced by those in dire straits, where even the sparse vegetation in desolate areas becomes essential for survival. Such a description underscores the depth of Job’s own suffering and the plight of those who have fallen from their former status, highlighting the severe consequences of divine judgment or human misfortune in the ancient Near East.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Who cut up mallows -For the purpose of eating. Mallows are common medicinal plants, famous for their emollient or softening properties, and the size and brilliancy of their flowers. It is not probable, however, that Job referred to what we commonly understand by the word mallows. It has been commonly supposed that he meant a species of plant, called by the Greeks Hallimus, a sunfish plant, or “salt wort,” growing commonly in the deserts and poor land, and eaten as a salad. The Vulgate renders it simply“herbas;”the Septuagint,ἄλιμαalima. The Hebrew word, according to Umbreit, means a common salad of a saltish taste, whose young leaves being cooked, constituted food for the poorer classes.

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