So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
The verse describes a sickness so severe that hunger fails and even plain bread and rich, desirable food become loathsome. That loathing belongs to a wasting of the body in which flesh disappears, bones stick out, and life draws near to death, the grave and the destroyers. The chastening comes when man does not heed God speaking by His Word and by dreams to turn him from pride and keep him from the pit, so pain upon the bed and in the bones is permitted to open dull ears and bring his soul back from the pit into the light of the living. The life and soul that loathe food are the living person himself and his bodily appetite, for soul here is the Hebrew nephesh, the life common to man and beast that can sicken, weaken and draw near the grave. It is therefore mortal and destructible, not an immortal conscious entity separate from the body, and it cannot mean reasoning principle here, since a reasoning principle does not loathe dainty food.
Illness and Context
The sickness in view is so severe that hunger itself fails and the sufferer loses all desire for food. Even ordinary bread becomes repellent, and rich, choice, desirable food is loathed and rejected by the afflicted life and soul. The pain and bodily distress can grow so intense that appetite is taken away altogether.
This loathing of food belongs to a grave bodily decline in which the sufferer refuses nourishment and wastes away. The flesh is consumed until the bones become visible and stick out. In that condition life and soul are described as drawing very near to death, to the grave, and to the destroyers.
The words belong to the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37. Those chapters form the third of the four parts of the book of Job, coming after the prose prologue and after the debate between Job and his three friends, and coming before the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud.
Correction Through Affliction
God first speaks once, yea twice, by His Word and by visions and dreams, to withdraw man from his proud purpose and to keep back his soul from the pit, but when man does not heed and does not perceive through hearing, He permits chastening with pain upon the bed and strong pain in the bones until life abhors bread and soul abhors dainty meat. When hearing fails, He speaks through other nerves in a more impressive way, letting the sufferer refuse food and waste away with bones sticking out and draw very near death.
This affliction does not come by accident or chance but is controlled by the Lord for correction. It is sent to open ears dull of hearing, to teach in trouble the truth that was offered in prosperity but failed to be learned, to withdraw man from proud purposes and turn him back to the path of right, to preserve him and bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living. In this surrounding suffering, bodily pain that takes away appetite for ordinary bread and choice food belongs to God's effort to turn people back from destruction and enlighten them with life, and to teach the person more truth.
Fullness of bread and persistent indulgence in dainty meat had made the nerves too dull to hear God's voice, so the affliction that takes away desire for that food became necessary. The loss of appetite is correction to mold and fashion man after the divine similitude when he will not bend, leaving him sick spiritually and physically with his soul drawing near to the grave and his life to the destroyers until a messenger can show God's uprightness. The suffering here shows that affliction can be disciplinary rather than punishment for sin.
Mortal Soul Proved
Here life and soul mean the physical self, the living person, and the appetite itself, which in severe sickness is so weakened that ordinary bread turns repulsive and even choice, desirable food is unwanted. In suffering the person loathes bread and dainty food, showing soul can mean a person's life or appetite rather than a conscious immortal entity separate from the body. The word rendered soul in this place is the Hebrew nephesh, which is never rendered spirit. It denotes the life common to humans and animals, and it can mean a person, life, or the emotions and mental capacities.
When a person is gravely ill, life and soul are described as drawing near to the grave, with failing appetite, wasting flesh, and bones becoming visible and sticking out. The soul here is afflicted by illness until food is repulsive, weakened and in danger of the grave. It stands among the texts proving the soul is mortal, destructible, and liable to destruction like the soul elsewhere spoken of as killed and destroyed, going into the grave, and not an immortal part capable of conscious existence apart from the person. To put reasoning principle in place of soul, so that a reasoning principle abhors dainty meat, is nonsensical, and therefore soul cannot bear that definition uniformly in every Bible passage.
The verse describes a sickness so severe that hunger fails and even plain bread and rich, desirable food become loathsome. That loathing belongs to a wasting of the body in which flesh disappears, bones stick out, and life draws near to death, the grave and the destroyers. The chastening comes when man does not heed God speaking by His Word and by dreams to turn him from pride and keep him from the pit, so pain upon the bed and in the bones is permitted to open dull ears and bring his soul back from the pit into the light of the living. The life and soul that loathe food are the living person himself and his bodily appetite, for soul here is the Hebrew nephesh, the life common to man and beast that can sicken, weaken and draw near the grave. It is therefore mortal and destructible, not an immortal conscious entity separate from the body, and it cannot mean reasoning principle here, since a reasoning principle does not loathe dainty food.
Illness and Context
The sickness in view is so severe that hunger itself fails and the sufferer loses all desire for food. Even ordinary bread becomes repellent, and rich, choice, desirable food is loathed and rejected by the afflicted life and soul. The pain and bodily distress can grow so intense that appetite is taken away altogether.
This loathing of food belongs to a grave bodily decline in which the sufferer refuses nourishment and wastes away. The flesh is consumed until the bones become visible and stick out. In that condition life and soul are described as drawing very near to death, to the grave, and to the destroyers.
The words belong to the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37. Those chapters form the third of the four parts of the book of Job, coming after the prose prologue and after the debate between Job and his three friends, and coming before the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud.
Correction Through Affliction
God first speaks once, yea twice, by His Word and by visions and dreams, to withdraw man from his proud purpose and to keep back his soul from the pit, but when man does not heed and does not perceive through hearing, He permits chastening with pain upon the bed and strong pain in the bones until life abhors bread and soul abhors dainty meat. When hearing fails, He speaks through other nerves in a more impressive way, letting the sufferer refuse food and waste away with bones sticking out and draw very near death.
This affliction does not come by accident or chance but is controlled by the Lord for correction. It is sent to open ears dull of hearing, to teach in trouble the truth that was offered in prosperity but failed to be learned, to withdraw man from proud purposes and turn him back to the path of right, to preserve him and bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living. In this surrounding suffering, bodily pain that takes away appetite for ordinary bread and choice food belongs to God's effort to turn people back from destruction and enlighten them with life, and to teach the person more truth.
Fullness of bread and persistent indulgence in dainty meat had made the nerves too dull to hear God's voice, so the affliction that takes away desire for that food became necessary. The loss of appetite is correction to mold and fashion man after the divine similitude when he will not bend, leaving him sick spiritually and physically with his soul drawing near to the grave and his life to the destroyers until a messenger can show God's uprightness. The suffering here shows that affliction can be disciplinary rather than punishment for sin.
Mortal Soul Proved
Here life and soul mean the physical self, the living person, and the appetite itself, which in severe sickness is so weakened that ordinary bread turns repulsive and even choice, desirable food is unwanted. In suffering the person loathes bread and dainty food, showing soul can mean a person's life or appetite rather than a conscious immortal entity separate from the body. The word rendered soul in this place is the Hebrew nephesh, which is never rendered spirit. It denotes the life common to humans and animals, and it can mean a person, life, or the emotions and mental capacities.
When a person is gravely ill, life and soul are described as drawing near to the grave, with failing appetite, wasting flesh, and bones becoming visible and sticking out. The soul here is afflicted by illness until food is repulsive, weakened and in danger of the grave. It stands among the texts proving the soul is mortal, destructible, and liable to destruction like the soul elsewhere spoken of as killed and destroyed, going into the grave, and not an immortal part capable of conscious existence apart from the person. To put reasoning principle in place of soul, so that a reasoning principle abhors dainty meat, is nonsensical, and therefore soul cannot bear that definition uniformly in every Bible passage.