. a So how could I show improper attention to a virgin? c 4 Does he not see my ways d And count all my steps? 5. There is much emphasis in the expression used here by Job. Rent his mantle": To testify his deep sense of and just sorrow for the heavy hand of God upon him, and his humiliation of himself under his hand (see Gen. 37:34). indulge myself in filthy and lustful thoughts? John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. What does this verse really mean? This is the third part of his discourse. will enchant all that behold her. Why then should I think upon a maid? # 31:10 Hebrew grind for. Withal he insinuates with how much more caution he kept himself from uncleanness with any married person. think--rather, "cast a (lustful) look." Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why…”: Translation, Meaning. it, and take every necessary precaution to guard against it. Perhaps nothing that Shakespeare has written exceeds this book in beauty of expression. lib. 4) Job’s Ultimate Challenge--An Oath of Innocence which ‘Legally’ Calls God to Answer” 31:1-40 a) Job Has Not Lusted: 31:1-4 b) Job Has Not Lied or Deceived: 31:5-8 c) Job Has Not Committed Adultery: 31:9-12 d) Job Has Not Failed to Help His Slaves: 31:13-15 e) Job Has Not Failed to Help the Poor and Needy: 31:16-23 Pope even "emended" the word "virgin" here, making it read "folly" instead. as a high-toned moralist, who looked upon chastity of the heart as no less important than chastity of the life. How? Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? So far have I been from wallowing in the mire of uncleanness, or any gross wickedness, wherewith you charge me, that I have abstained even from the least occasions and appearances of evil, having made a solemn resolution within myself, and a solemn covenant and promise to God, that I would not wantonly or lustfully fix mine eyes or gaze upon a maid, lest mine eyes should affect my heart, and stir me up to further filthiness. And so the Hebrew, as in the place before us, כרת ברית berı̂yth kârath - to cut a covenant, from cutting down, or cutting in pieces the victim over which the covenant was made; see this explained at length in the notes at Hebrews 9:16. Many of the ancients thought that it was best not to be born; and next best, if one were born, to quit the earth as soon as possible. That his eyes should be eyes of adamant, that will turn only to one point; that he would not look but where he might lawfully like. By the language here, Job means that he had resolved, in the most solemn manner, that he would not allow his eyes or thoughts to endanger him by improperly contemplating a woman. Job 31:1. It was not merely his intention to lead a chaste life, and to avoid open sin, but it was to maintain a pure heart, and not to suffer the mind to become corrupted by dwelling on impure images, or indulging in unholy desires. Hereby we plainly see that that command of Christ. - בתולה על אתבונן ומה umah ethbonen al bethulah . Job 31:1, NASB : "'I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?" I suppose that Job purges himself here from this species of idolatry. Stay Foolish. "Knowing that the look could lead to desire in the heart, which desire could lead to sinful action, Job had resolved that he would avoid the very source of potential sin" (Zuck p. 134). objects that might ensnare his heart, and lead him to the For what is the portion which God distributeth from above, and the inheritance of the Almighty from the place of his exaltation? A covenant or compact was usually made by slaying an animal in sacrifice, and the compact was ratified over the animal that was slain, by a kind of imprecation that if the compact was violated the same destruction might fall on the violators which fell on the head of the victim. 29.,) both in respect of his neighbours of all sorts, and in respect of God, to whom he again most solemnly appeals, in the conclusion of this discourse, for the truth of what he here asserts. Figure of speech Erotesis. 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? Let therefore as many as would be perfect be thus minded and thus mannered; propounding to themselves the highest pitch and the best patterns; resolving to resemble them as much as may be. Chap. Question: "What does it mean to make a covenant with your eyes?" Bochart supposes that the original word, rendered animated stones, signifies rather anointed stones. Matthew 5:29, was no new command peculiar to the gospel, as some would have it, but the very same which the law of God revealed in his word, and written in men’s hearts by nature, imposed upon men in the times of the Old Testament. Salem Media Group. At first, these idols were only rude stones or pillars; afterwards they were made in human and brutal forms. Do our eyes control us or do we control our eyes? Here we have Job’s holy care to flee fornication as a deadly evil; by avoiding the occasion, by taking bonds of his senses, and by doing all be could to be out of the way when the temptation came. All rights reserved. Job 31:1, KJV: "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" aggravated one: or he made a covenant with his eyes, to prevent Job 31:10. Charles V used to clap to his casement; and the young Lord Harrington to pull his hat over his eyes when fair ladies passed along. I made — So far have I been from any gross wickedness, that I have abstained from the least occasions and appearances of evil. "This list is not arranged according to conventional standards of logical development, degrees, or seriousness, or climactic order. — This is generally understood to mean the great care and circumspection which Job had used to avoid all temptations and occasions of sin; and he subjoins, in the following verses, the very high and reasonable motives which had urged him, and should urge every man, to such a circumspection; namely, to avoid destruction, the sure consequence of it. He protesteth his continency and chastity; God’s providence, presence, and judgments; his motives, Job 31:1-4. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Share. I made a covenant with mine eyes - The first virtue of his private life to which Job refers is chastity. Thus did Job continually. Joseph's views of this subject was similar to Job's, that wickedness is against GOD. I made a covenant with mine eyes. Not only was he innocent of adultery; he was not even guilty of the lustful look (Matthew 5:28). Compare with Isaiah 33:5 and Genesis 39. By his wife, in lawful wedlock, who was now living, and after mentioned. Introduction. every precaution to guard against it; and particularly this, to Job 31:10, KJV: "Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her." Job proceeds to prove that he deserved a better lot. Third division — JOB’S ASSEVERATION OF HIS INNOCENCE, UNDER THE MOST SOLEMN APPEALS TO GOD, chapter 31. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. I made a covenant with mine eyes, &c. — So far have I been from any gross wickedness, that I have abstained from the least occasions and appearances of evil. His imprecation against himself, if he spoke not the truth, Job 31:38-40. Job 31:1. In computing, a job is a unit of work or unit of execution (that performs said work). Job has “made a covenant”. Job 31:1. Reader, though I have made this long note upon this verse, yet it is so very important, that I venture to make it a little longer, and to observe, that since from the corruption of our poor fallen nature, evil thoughts, and the whole train of the imaginations of the heart arise, how infinitely precious ought it to be to us, to eye the grace of JESUS as our preservative against this, and every evil; and, conscious of the uncleanness within, to keep the heart with all diligence, and to beg of GOD to keep it for us, since out of it are the issues of life. Job 31:10 -. carefully shun all appearances of evil, and whatsoever leads unto As Hesser noted, "Impure thinking is the sin which Job disclaimed in these first four verses. lusting after her: why then should I think upon a maid; 31 The words of King Lemuel. eye affects the heart, and stirs up lust in it, and excites And the heritage from the Almighty on high? and may my crops be uprooted. of corrupting and defiling her, since he had made a covenant with He enters, somewhat more largely, into the particular justification of himself from that sin which he seemed so much hurt at having been charged with, hypocrisy, and closes the subject with this defense. Quell them therefore and crush them in the egg; it is not safe being at Satan’s meal, though our spoon be never so long; remember, that of looking comes thinking; and of thinking, worse. 11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; 12 for that would be … — This has been generally understood to mean the great care and circumspection which Job had used to avoid all temptations and occasions of sin; and he subjoins in the following verses the high and reasonable motives which had urged him, and should urge every man, to such a circumspection: Job 31:2 . The sins which Job here solemnly swears that he had not committed reveal a very high ethical standard of morality and excellence. Job Laments His Birth ... " From the womb" must mean, "as soon as I came out of the womb," not "while I yet remained within it" (comp. 2 Peter “The very passage of an impure thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it;” and the outbreaking crimes of life are just the result of allowing the imagination to dwell on impure images. And, therefore, lest it should confirm them in their old error, and they should take what he had said to be an argument of his guilt, he gives, in this chapter, a large and particular account of his integrity, which, in general, he had so often asserted; laying his very soul, and the most secret inclinations of it, open before them; together with the actions of his whole life in his private capacity, (for of his public he had spoken before, chap. As the eye is the great source of danger (compare Matthew 5:28; 2 Peter 2:14), there should be a solemn purpose that that should be pure, and that any sacrifice should be made rather than allow indulgence to a wanton gaze: compare Mark 9:47. VIII DECLARATION The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other higher education institution. Job 31:1-40. Proud member This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." I made a covenant with mine eyes - The first virtue of his private life to which Job refers is chastity. 1.With mine eyes — The eyes, says a Talmudic proverb, are “the procuresses of evil.” So intimately is this most delicate and precious of the senses related to the soul, that Pliny said of the mind. "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin? Job is compelled to proclaim his own praises, for his vindication, as St. Paul was, being at the same time convinced that he had only done his duty, Luke xvii. . . Job proceeds to prove that he deserved a better lot. Any charge of that kind, or any suspicion of it, he would repel with indignation. v. 92, &c. represents the eye as the way through which the beauty of a woman passes swifter than an arrow into the hearts of men, and makes impressions there; see 2 Peter 2:14; hence Zaleucus ordered adulterers to be punished, by plucking out the eyes of the adultererF21Aelian. As in Job 29:1-25 he showed his uprightness as an emir, or magistrate, in public life, so in this chapter be vindicates his character in private life. Job here steppeth one degree further, from a prayer to a vow; yea, from a vow to an imprecation, Job 31:7. "This priceless testament is a fitting consummation of `the words of Job' (Job 31:40). Job 31:1-40. Job 31:10, NIV: "then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her." Job 31:11 -. Good Melancthon, about the beginning of the Reformation, mournfully complained, Quos fugiamus habemus; quos sequamur non intelligimus, We have whom to flee from (meaning the Papists), but whom to follow, we yet understand not (by reason of the many divisions among Protestants). Even as Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount, Job here traced adultery to the lust of the eye which precedes it. In this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:— ''Administrator'', the personnel administrator of the human resources division within the executive office for administration and finance. I made a covenant with mine eyes] This chapter, since it is one of the largest in all the book, so it is elegant, various, and very full of matter; for it shows us, as in a mirror, both what we should do and what we should not do. Job 1:2 "And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters." So the Greek ὅρκια τέμνειν, πέμνἔιν σπονδάς horkia temnein temnein spondas and the Latin icere foedus - to strike a league, in allusion to the striking down, or slaying of an animal on the occasion. Improve this question. There are several verses found in Job that reveal things to us that confirm that it belongs in the Bible and that it is the inspired information from the Spirit of God. See Peters, and the note on Job 31:13; Job 31:23. The custom, indeed, of anointing pillars was very ancient. The phrase here, “I made a covenant with mine eyes,” is poetical, meaning that he solemnly resolved. A maid; which is emphatically added, to show that that circumstance which provokes the lust of others had no such power over him, and that he restrained himself from the very thoughts and desires of filthiness with such persons, wherewith the generality of men allowed themselves to commit gross fornication, as deeming it to be either none, or but a very little sin. 31 “I made a covenant with my eyes. Job 31:1, KJV: "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" Google's free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages. An oracle that his mother taught him: 2 What are you doing, my son? What’s this? Unless the sarcastic tone/meaning is maintained, the radical (i.e., to the root of the ‘religious’ T/O paradigm) position pressed by Job from the ‘scrapheap’ cannot be sustained. When Job, therefore, says the same thing, namely, that a sure destruction attends the wicked; it is their portion, an inheritance from God; it is plain he must understand it in another sense than his antagonists did; namely, of their final retribution in a future state. "[9] Job's ideas, as revealed in this chapter, are not very far from the glorious ideals proclaimed by the Christ himself. Job begins another section -- the poetical books of the Bible -- which also includes Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and the little book of Lamentations, tucked in behind Jeremiah. Section 1. his eyes, and this would be a breach of that covenant: and His just carriage to his servants, and the reason, Job 31:13-15. Such was his sense of the importance of this, and of the danger to which man was exposed, that he had solemnly resolved not to think upon a young female. Is it not destruction to the wicked, and a rejection of the workers of iniquity? Note the "I" of self-justification; and see note on Job 29:2. why . a virgin (from her privacy); sometimes (by continuation) a bride; also (figuratively) a … Such was his sense of the importance of this, and of the danger to which man was exposed, that he had solemnly resolved not to think upon a young female. Thus translated, there is a striking resemblance in this question to the saying of Christ, (, .) Jobs Companies Teams. "Here we have the high-water mark of the Old Testament ethic. Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Why then should I think upon a maid - Upon a virgin - על־בתולה ‛al -bethûlâh compare Proverbs 6:25, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids;” see, also, the fearful and solemn declaration of the Saviour in Matthew 5:28. No man was ever too much guarded on this subject; no one ever yet made too solemn a covenant with his eyes, and with his whole soul to be chaste. Troubled low-income neighborhoods, for instance, are more likely to experience the need for services. And it was so, that when the days of their feasting were ended, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? (St. Gregory xx. Job 31:1 Context. plucking out the eyes of the adulterer F21; 1 What are you doing, f son of my womb? We shall receive and interpret the text as it stands. Job said in Job 31:1, "I made a covenant with my eyes that I would not look upon a maid." the law of Moses; and that Job better understood the spirituality Answer: In Job 31:1, Job says that he had made a covenant with his eyes—a promise not to look at something: “I made a covenant with my eyes / not to look lustfully at a young woman.” It is clear that Job was speaking about his personal purity. any impure thoughts, desires, and inclinations in him; for the 1-4. Free 30 Day Trial ... What does it mean? ? There may be many causes, in the difficulty of attainment, or the shame and punishment which might attend the gratification of unlawful passions, which restrain the actual commission of the sin; but nothing but the grace of GOD can preserve the chastity of the mind from so much as wishing it, or thinking upon it. Such was his sense of the importance of this, and of the danger to which man was exposed, that he had solemnly resolved not to think upon a young female. "[6] This is exactly the kind of meddling with the sacred text which this writer finds so offensive. & Leand. Have you said, O my God, with all of my heart I determine to be pure. The passage throughout, says he, has no relation to adultery or fornication, but to idolatry. That Bethulah may here signify an idol, is very likely. 1. I made a covenant with mine eyes,.... Not to look upon a woman, and wantonly gaze at her beauty, lest his heart should be drawn thereby to lust after her; for the eyes are inlets to many sins, and particularly to uncleanness, of which there have been instances, both in bad men and good men, Genesis 34:2; so the poetF20Musaeus de Heron. See Peters, and the note on Job 31:13; Job 31:24. "[4] This is especially important, because it removes any reason for allowing the various rearrangements of the text which certain scholars have presumed to make. Sacr. 2:14 ) ; hence Zaleucus ordered adulterers to be punished, by Question: "What does it mean to make a covenant with your eyes?" ver.4. Job as Predictors of an Applicants Intention to Pursue the Job––. had bound himself by a covenant, made a resolution in the And the Hebrew idea is that I will not lust after a woman. Job 31:2. An apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). There is a great beauty in Job's expression in this verse, of having made a covenant with his eyes, to preserve, under grace, the chastity of the mind and body. 2 For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? Hist. Or, why then should I consider, or contemplate, or look curiously, or thoughtfully, or diligently? View Chapter California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. or for rulers to take l strong drink, 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? At a time when polygamy or some other form of concubinage almost universally prevailed, Job stands conspicuously forth as a high-toned moralist, who looked upon chastity of the heart as no less important than chastity of the life. 1,470 4 4 gold badges 15 15 silver badges 29 29 bronze badges. It was Steve Jobs's ending comment in the Stanford Commencement in 2005, and Jobs mentioned: Stay Hungry. "Seven sons and three daughters": Next to his religious character, his graces, and spiritual blessings, and as the chief of his outward mercies and enjoyments, his children are mentioned. And which are indeed blessings from the Lord, and such as good men, and … Some have said that it is perhaps even the greatest poem in all literature. I. thought of sin is sin; that fornication was reckoned a sin before Job 31:1, ESV: "“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" Circe {In Greek and Latin mythology the name of an enchantress who dwelt in the island of Aea, and transformed all who drank of her cup into swine; often used allusively.} He wisheth God would answer, and his words might be recorded, Job 31:35-37. I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? Job said this in the midst of defending himself against three … I made a covenant with mine eyes - The first virtue of his private life to which Job refers is chastity. I understand this may also seem philosophical, but when studying English, often we not only study the words, but we often study what the meaning is, and what a phrase or writing may mean or imply. First strophe, A preliminary declaration that he had prescribed terms to the most treacherous of the senses, and planted a guard over his entire being, and that, too, impelled by the highest considerations of regard for God, — The eyes, says a Talmudic proverb, are “the procuresses of evil.” So intimately is this most delicate and precious of the senses related to the soul, that Pliny said of the mind. Which is a further proof that his prospects were to another life; for, had he spoken of a temporal destruction, it would have been the very thing which his antagonists had repeated over and over to him, and had urged as an argument of his guilt that he was thus miserably destroyed. l. 13. c. 24. ; wherefore Job, to prevent this, entered into a solemn engagement with himself, laid himself under a strong obligation, as if he had bound himself by a covenant, made a resolution in the strength of divine grace, not to employ his eyes in looking on objects that might ensnare his heart, and lead him to the commission of sin; he made use of all ways and means, and took every precaution to guard against it; and particularly this, to shut or turn his eyes from beholding what might be alluring and enticing to him: it is saidF24Tertullian. Job is a great poem. Job begins by disclaiming private sins of the heart—lust (Job 31:1), vain deceit (Job 31:5), covetousness (Job 31:7). adultery as he had; and that good men are not without temptation Exodus 34:13. “it certainly dwells in the eyes.” Here the eye is singled out as a representative sense, as if he who had the mastery of this were lord of all. What does this phrase mean? Job 31:1. Should I think upon, i.e. For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. Matthew 5:28. This the following verses evidently demonstrate: בתולה bethulah, therefore is certainly an idol; and what that idol was we are informed by Eusebius, who, from Sanchoniathan's history, tells us, that Ouranos was the first introducer of Baitulia, when he erected animated stones. In defending his conduct, Job says that he worked diligently not to look at young … See also 2 Peter 2:14 1 John 2:16. I made. Job 31:1 King James Version (KJV) with a word-for-word translation and meaning from the original Hebrew Scriptures, its context and search popularity level. And what is its value? What are you doing, g son of my vows? For more on the subject of the Baithulia, see the notes on Genesis 28:19. 9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, 10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her. her, he would be a covenant breaker, and so his sin would be an The Words of King Lemuel. Job cites his attitudes as well as his actions. A covenant is of a sacred and binding nature; and the strength of his resolution was as great as if he had made a solemn compact. "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? Contemplarer in virginem, Lustfully consider her beauty, till my heart be hot as an oven with lawless lusts, and my body wollows in the mire of that abominable filth. Var. through which the beauty of a woman passes swifter than an arrow For unbridled lust, like the wild fig, will soon mount over the wall; and those base, vain, wanton, capering thoughts will break out, if not timely suppressed; if we handle them not roughly at the door (as Elisha said), their master’s feet will not be far behind them. His bounty to the poor, for fear of God, and his highness, Job 31:6-23. These pillars were afterwards turned to idolatrous uses; and it is one of the commands to the children of Israel to break them in pieces on their entrance into the land of Canaan. c++ operators. said she, I know not; I saw no one but my husband. Job 31 - "I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? "[2] "The picture that Job here presents of himself is extraordinarily like that of a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, as revealed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Seeing I was obliged, and accordingly took care, to guard mine eyes, I was upon the same reason obliged to restrain my imagination. Job makes a solemn protestation of his integrity, and concludes with a prayer that his defence might be heard and recorded.