Literal Commentary on Job (Expositio super Iob ad litteram)

But Job, answering, said: "Hear, I beseech you," and so on. Because Sophar, in the words set forth above, had already to some extent agreed with Job's opinion, so as to hold that sins are punished after death — although he still retained, in this, his own opinion that sins are also punished temporally in this present life — Job was raised up into the hope of converting them entirely to the true opinion, and therefore he first humbly induces them to attention, when he says, "Hear, I beseech you, my words." And because up to now they had heard his words with a certain derision, he adds, "and do penance," namely for the fact that you have derided my words or that you have contradicted the truth; and because you have all now spoken twice, "suffer me that I also may speak," namely responding to those things which were last proposed. And lest, before they had heard it, they should pronounce a judgment of condemnation, he adds, "and after my words, if it seem good, laugh," as if he were saying: if you judge this opinion of mine to deserve derision, yet first hear my answer, which, if it does not satisfy you, you will afterward be able more justly to deride. And lest his words should seem to be things to be despised, he shows that he is about to speak of great matters, namely of the divine judgments, not of human ones; hence he adds, "Is my disputation against man, that I should not rightly be grieved?" As if he said: if the intent of my disputation tended toward this, that I should inquire whether some man had afflicted me justly or unjustly, however this had come about, I would rightly be free of sadness; but my disputation tends toward inquiring how this has come about by the just judgment of God. And because this disputation concerns a great matter, it is to be heard attentively; hence he says, "attend to me"; it is also to be heard not lightly and with derision but rather gravely and with astonishment; hence he adds, "and be astonished"; it is also to be heard silently and without murmuring; hence he adds, "and lay your finger upon your mouth." And lest he seem to say this boastfully, as it were to confer honor upon his own authority, he shows that he himself is astonished even at the loftiness of this question; hence he adds, "and when I remember, I am utterly astonished," lest, that is, in so great a question he should in any way fall short of the truth or speak irreverently of the divine judgments; and this fear does not remain in the mind but reaches even to the flesh; hence he adds, "and trembling shakes my flesh": for from a vehement passion of the soul even the flesh is altered. These things having been premised as sufficient to arouse attention, he proceeds to the question; and because Sophar had said that the prosperities of the wicked, if there are any, are quickly ended and turn to evil for them, Job therefore immediately disproves this, saying, "Why then do the wicked live," namely for a long time? As if he said: if the wicked man passes away quickly, like a bird flying off and like a vision of the night, how is it that many wicked men have length of life? Likewise, if the joy of the hypocrite is like a point and his ascent is quickly cast down, why "are they raised up," that is, promoted in honors? Likewise, if he vomits up the riches he has devoured, why "are they strengthened with riches," that is, why are their riches confirmed to them? Against this too, which he had said, that "his children shall be crushed with want," he says, "their seed continues before them," that is, their children endure while they themselves look on; and he adds the same concerning other persons joined to them, saying, "a crowd of kinsmen and grandchildren in their sight"; by which he designates a twofold prosperity, because neither are their kinsmen taken away by death, which is signified by his saying "continues," nor are they removed by exile or anything of that sort, which he designates by saying "before them" and "in their sight." Then he pursues part by part the aforesaid prosperity of the wicked, first indeed as regards themselves, prefacing their immunity from evil when he says, "their houses," that is, their households along with their necessary goods, "are secure," namely from the assault of enemies, "and peaceful," that is, lacking internal dissension; and they are also immune from the divine scourge, and as to this he adds, "and the rod of God is not upon them," because, that is, they are not corrected in this life for their sins. And he adds concerning the multiplication of goods, namely that their goods are not sterile nor deprived of their fruit, and he makes this manifest in the case of oxen, which among the ancients were most prized on account of agriculture. Hence he says, "their ox," that is, their cow, "has conceived," by which sterility is removed — for conception is the first stage in the fructification of animals; the second is the formation of the fetus conceived in the womb and its bringing to completion, which is hindered by miscarriage, and as to this he says, "and has not miscarried"; the third is the giving of birth, and as to this he says, "the cow has calved," signifying the same thing by the name of ox and cow, and he uses both either for the adornment of speech or for the necessity of the meter; the fourth is the rearing of the offspring, and as to this he adds, "and is not deprived of her calf," namely by death coming beforehand. Consequently he adds concerning their prosperity as regards their children, concerning which he first sets down the multitude of offspring when he says, "they go forth," namely walking in the streets, not overtaken by death, "like little flocks," namely in multitude and mutual concord; second he sets down their soundness of body when he adds, "and their infants exult in play," as though not groaning under infirmities; third he sets down their instruction, by which among the ancients children were trained in music; hence he says, "they hold the timbrel and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ," as though instructed both to use music fittingly themselves and, by listening, to judge others prudently. But lest someone say that this prosperity of theirs lasts only a little while, like a point, he adds against this, "they spend their days in good things," as if he said: they pass all the days of their life in prosperity. It is necessary, however, by the common condition, that they should finally experience death, but nevertheless they suffer this without any preceding anguish; hence he adds, "and in a moment they go down to hell," that is, into death: for all the ancients before the coming of the Redeemer, of whom he had spoken above, went down to hell; but some, pressed by adversities in life, went down to hell not suddenly but through many bitternesses, just as Jacob said (Genesis 37:35), "I will go down mourning to my son into hell"; but those who flourish in prosperity even until death go down to hell as it were in a moment. Now it could be answered that the wicked, among the many evils they do, have merited earthly prosperity from God, either by loving him or by knowing him or by serving him with whatever works, or at least by asking temporal goods from him; but he excludes this by adding, "who have said to God," namely from a set purpose of heart, sinning as it were out of settled malice, "depart from us," which pertains to the lack of love, "we do not desire the knowledge of your ways," which pertains to the lack of knowledge through affected ignorance — for the ways of God are called his precepts and judgments, by which we are ordered by him; "who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?" which pertains to the lack of good works arising from contempt of God; "and what does it profit us if we pray to him?" which pertains to contempt of petition arising from a lack of hope. Thus, then, he has most evidently refuted their opinion, showing that temporal prosperity is not always the reward of virtue, nor temporal adversity the punishment of sin, since the wicked frequently prosper in this life, meriting nothing good from God, and along with this suffer no grave adversities. But someone could object: if prosperous things happen to the wicked and they lack adversities, then there is no reason for turning away from malice; hence it is said (Ecclesiastes 9:3), "the same things happen to all, and so the hearts of the sons of men are filled with malice"; but he answers this objection, saying, "yet because their good things are not in their own hand, let their counsel be far from me." Concerning which it must be known that in the hand of man, that is, in his own power, are certain goods, namely the voluntary works of the virtues, of which he is master through free will assisted by the grace of God, and therefore the virtuous can always retain such goods as long as they wish, and on this account the counsel of pursuing such goods is to be accepted; but the goods of temporal prosperity are not in the power of those who have them, such that they can acquire or retain them whenever they wish, and therefore their counsel, by which they contemn God and justice in order to live prosperously, is to be rejected, because by this they cannot attain what they intend, but are sometimes crushed by adversities. It must further be considered that the adversity of the wicked man is graver than that of the just man, because when the just man suffers temporal adversity, there remains to him the support of virtue and consolation in God, so that he is not utterly cast down; but for the wicked, once the temporal goods which alone they sought for themselves are lost, no support remains: hence it is added, "as often as the lamp," that is, the prosperity, "of the wicked is put out," that is, ends, "and a flood," that is, a grave tempest of adversity, "comes upon them," namely by the divine judgment, "and God distributes," that is, apportions in a fixed measure, "sorrows," that is, certain afflictions, "of his fury," that is, arising from his fury, "they," namely the wicked, "shall be like chaff before the face of the wind," which, on account of its lightness, cannot resist the wind, "and like ash," which indeed remains from burnt wood, "which the whirlwind scatters," because it has no moisture by which to hold itself together: so also the wicked, when adversity comes, cannot resist because they lack the support of divine hope, and, lacking the moisture of virtue, are scattered by diverse thoughts. And after this he adds concerning the adversity that regards the children, when he says, "God will keep sorrow in store for his children," namely for the father, because the punishment of the father reaches even to the children who imitate the father's malice. Nor will this be deferred until after the father's death, but it will happen while the father is living and aware; hence he adds, "and when he shall repay," namely when God repays the punishment to the children, "then he shall know," namely the father; hence he adds, "his eyes shall see his own slaughter," that is, that of his sons, or whatever adversity, "and of the fury of the Almighty he shall drink," because this very thing pertains to the punishment of the father, that the children are punished while he is alive — but not so if they were punished after his death; hence he adds, "for what does it matter to him concerning his house after him?" That is, he would not be afflicted by the future misfortunes of his descendants, especially since the sinner after death is ignorant of this, just as was said above (Job 14:21), "whether his children be noble or ignoble, he shall not understand"; or again, what does it matter to him if the number of his months be cut in half? He cannot grieve over this in life, because he did not know it would happen.

"Shall anyone teach God knowledge," and so on. Because Job had proposed above that sometimes prosperous, sometimes adverse things come upon the wicked in this life, which causes doubt among men, therefore, in approaching the resolution of this doubt, he premises that this does not come about from a defect of divine knowledge, as though the malice of those to whom things turn out well were hidden from him; and so he says, "shall anyone teach God knowledge?" As if he said: he does not need to be instructed by anyone concerning the merits of men, so as to know to whom he should render prosperous things and to whom adverse ones. Now what he adds, "who judges the lofty," can be joined in two ways: in one way, so that the sense is that God does not need the instruction of anyone in order to be able to judge the lofty, that is, those who prosper in this world, just as in human affairs judges need to be instructed by witnesses concerning the merits of those to be judged; in another way it can be understood as adduced by way of proof of what precedes: for that God knows all things, and that he does not need to be instructed by others, is clear from the fact that he has judgment over however lofty things may be — for no one judges what he does not know: hence it cannot be that anyone, however lofty his knowledge, should be hidden from him. Having therefore premised the sufficiency of divine knowledge, he adds the matter of the doubt which can arise concerning the diverse disposition of human affairs, in which some prosper even unto death, while others die in misery. Now temporal prosperity consists, first, in power, and as to this he says, "this one dies robust"; second, in bodily health, and as to this he adds, "and healthy"; third, in the abundance of external things, and as to this he adds, "rich"; fourth, in the prosperous outcome of counsels and works, and as to this he adds, "and happy" — for a man is called happy, among some, to whom all things fall out according to his wish. Now in order to signify not only sufficient but even superabundant riches, he adds, "his bowels are full of fat" — for fat is generated on account of superabundance of nourishment. And again, in order to show his power sustained by manifold aids, he adds, "and his bones are moistened with marrow" — for by the bones is designated strength, whose vigor is sustained by the nourishment of the marrow. He then adds concerning the adversity of others, saying, "but another dies in the bitterness of his soul," which pertains to the interior sorrows which men conceive either from bodily harms or from unfortunate events; and he adds "without any riches" to designate the lack of external things. But yet, since they are thus diversified in life while their merits are equal, it cannot be said that at least in those things which come after death and pertain to the body their lot is changed: for their bodies are disposed equally after death; hence he adds, "and yet they shall sleep together in the dust," that is, they shall be buried equally in the earth, "and worms shall cover them," that is, their bodies shall rot equally: hence it is clear that no reason can be assigned for the difference that exists between men as to prosperity and adversity, in those who are of equal merit or demerit, from a different disposition of their bodies after death. Now it was the opinion of Job's friends that the reason for the aforesaid diversity was the diversity of merits, which is contrary to what appears from experience, namely that some of the wicked prosper while others suffer adversities; hence, as though now disproving their opinion, he recalls it with reproach when he adds, "surely I know your thoughts," by which, that is, they rashly condemned Job, "and your unjust sentences," namely those uttered in outward words, "against me," because, that is, you accuse me of unjust impiety on account of the adversities I suffer; hence he adds, "for you say: where is the house of the prince? And where are the tabernacles of the wicked?" As if they were saying: you, together with your household, have fallen from the height of so great a principality, just as the tabernacles of the wicked are wont to fail. Thus, then, having shown by the things he had said above the iniquity of their opinion, he proceeds to determine the truth. And he prefaces this, that what he is about to say is not something new but something spread abroad among many; for he adds, "ask any one of the wayfarers," as if he said: I need not seek testimony with great effort, since it can be had from whoever passes by on the road; or by "wayfarers" he means those who make use of this life not as a terminus but as a way; "and you shall know that he understands these same things," namely the things I am about to say to you: hence you are inexcusable, who depart from the truth which all hold in common. Which truth indeed he expounds, adding, "because the wicked man is kept for the day of destruction," as if he said: the fact that he is not punished in this life but prospers is for this reason, that his punishment is reserved for another time, when he will be more gravely punished; hence he adds, "and he shall be led to the day of fury": for since fury is anger enkindled, by the name of fury a sharper vengeance is signified. Now as to why he is kept for the day of destruction and of fury, he shows this, adding, "who shall reprove his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he has done?" Here he seems to assign two reasons, of which the first is that his way is so imperceptible to wisdom that he is not even instructed by punishments so as to recognize his own guilt, but murmurs amid the scourges as though he were punished unjustly; and this is what he says, "who shall reprove him to his face," that is, so that he himself may recognize his way, namely his wicked way? The other reason is that the punishments of this life are not sufficient for the punishment of such great faults, because if they are severe they quickly kill; and this is what he says, "and who shall repay him what he has done," namely in this life? And so, as if concluding that the aforesaid day of destruction and of fury is not in this life but after death, he adds, "for he himself shall be led to the grave," namely dead, and yet according to the soul he shall live, and this is what he adds, "and he shall keep watch in the heap of the dead," because although he seems to sleep through the death of the body, he shall nevertheless keep watch through the life of the soul. And lest he seem to pass after death to joy, he adds, "he was sweet to the gravel of Cocytus": for since he has invoked the testimony even of wayfarers, he sets forth the truth concerning the punishments of the wicked after death under a story that was commonly told, namely that in hell, among others, there was a certain river named Cocytus, which is interpreted "mourning," by which the souls of the wicked are carried along; and just as other rivers draw along gravel, so that river in a certain way enfolded the souls of the wicked: the wicked man, then, is said to have been sweet to the gravel of Cocytus because his manner of life was acceptable to the wicked, and therefore he will have a place among the wicked who are in mourning. Now he adds the effect of this river as regards men: "and he draws every man after him," because indeed all men die with a certain mourning: for what comes after death is, as it were, the latter part of this river, whose former part is what is done in this life; and so he adds, "and before him innumerable," because indeed mourning overtakes very many even in this life. Thus, then, Job has set forth his opinion in order, first indeed above (Job 19:25) showing that the hope of the just tends toward the reward of the future life, and here he expresses that punishment is reserved for the wicked after death; and so, the opinion of his adversaries having been refuted from both sides, he adds, "how then do you comfort me in vain," namely by promising temporal prosperity, since your answer has been shown to be opposed to the truth? — in that you say that rewards and punishments are allotted to men in this life, which has above been disproved in many ways.