To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
The verse stands within the long colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 concerning the cause and object of human suffering. It belongs to Job's side of that dispute, uttered by one who knew his own integrity yet could not understand God's dealings with him, though he did not charge God foolishly. His friends spoke from their own wisdom and observation, misapplying principles generally true to his case.
It is part of Job's answer to Bildad's third speech about God's majesty and perfection, in which Job exalts God's power and wisdom. It comes as Job's last reply after his friends ceased troubling him with their constant accusations, implied and otherwise, and belongs with Job 25 and Job 27 and with the earlier accusations and responses in Job 8 through Job 24. Its chapter describes God's greatness, power, and wisdom in creation and mighty works, presenting human knowledge of Him as only a faint whisper compared with His power.
The word rendered spirit is the Hebrew neshama, meaning breath, rather than ruach, the word translated spirit elsewhere in the Old Testament. Ruach is the source of spirit in every other Old Testament instance, with only this verse and Proverbs 20:27 as exceptions. This is thus one of only two places where the Authorized Version renders neshama as spirit. Neshama primarily means simply air or breath, and here spirit means breath. The word is also translated breath, blast, soul, and inspiration. It means breath, spirit, the breath of God including wind and the breathing of anger, the breath and life of man and beasts, the mind and intellect, and a living thing or animal. Like every other use of neshama it never means an immortal entity in man.
God saw the end from the beginning in Job's suffering and was working out what would glorify Himself forever after, give comfort and hope to thousands of suffering ones, and prove a blessing to Job. The verse must therefore be studied as part of the whole book and not taken alone.
The verse stands within the long colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 concerning the cause and object of human suffering. It belongs to Job's side of that dispute, uttered by one who knew his own integrity yet could not understand God's dealings with him, though he did not charge God foolishly. His friends spoke from their own wisdom and observation, misapplying principles generally true to his case.
It is part of Job's answer to Bildad's third speech about God's majesty and perfection, in which Job exalts God's power and wisdom. It comes as Job's last reply after his friends ceased troubling him with their constant accusations, implied and otherwise, and belongs with Job 25 and Job 27 and with the earlier accusations and responses in Job 8 through Job 24. Its chapter describes God's greatness, power, and wisdom in creation and mighty works, presenting human knowledge of Him as only a faint whisper compared with His power.
The word rendered spirit is the Hebrew neshama, meaning breath, rather than ruach, the word translated spirit elsewhere in the Old Testament. Ruach is the source of spirit in every other Old Testament instance, with only this verse and Proverbs 20:27 as exceptions. This is thus one of only two places where the Authorized Version renders neshama as spirit. Neshama primarily means simply air or breath, and here spirit means breath. The word is also translated breath, blast, soul, and inspiration. It means breath, spirit, the breath of God including wind and the breathing of anger, the breath and life of man and beasts, the mind and intellect, and a living thing or animal. Like every other use of neshama it never means an immortal entity in man.
God saw the end from the beginning in Job's suffering and was working out what would glorify Himself forever after, give comfort and hope to thousands of suffering ones, and prove a blessing to Job. The verse must therefore be studied as part of the whole book and not taken alone.