Job 23:11-13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Job 23:11 tn Heb “my foot.”
2. Job 23:11 tn Heb “held fast.”
3. Job 23:11 tn The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (ʾat) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (ʾatteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).
4. Job 23:12 tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (cf. Prov 30:8). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (b^ekheqi, “in my bosom”).
5. Job 23:13 tc The MT has “But he [is] in one.” Many add the word “mind” to capture the point that God is resolute and unchanging. Some commentators find this too difficult, and so change the text from בְאֶחָד (v^eʾekhad, here “unchangeable”) to בָּחָר (bakhar, “he has chosen”). The wording in the text is idiomatic and should be retained. R. Gordis (Job, 262) translates it “he is one, i.e., unchangeable, fixed, determined.” The preposition ב (bet) is a bet essentiae—“and he [is] as one,” or “he is one” (see GKC 379 §119.i).
6. Job 23:13 tn Heb “cause him to return.”
7. Job 23:13 tn Or “his soul.”