Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just wishing for death; he’s asking God to put him into a state where he's completely hidden from suffering, a kind of protected slumber until God's anger subsides, revealing a profound hope that even in the grave, there’s a future appointment where God will remember and restore him. This isn't a simple desire for oblivion, but a plea for a divine pause, a secret keeping until God’s judgment is over and mercy can return.
Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is in the depths of despair, questioning the fairness of his suffering and God's seeming abandonment. He's just lamented the brevity and fragility of human life, seeing it as a fleeting shadow destined for the grave. Now, overwhelmed by his afflictions, he desperately wishes for death, not as an end, but as a hidden refuge until God's anger subsides and he is remembered.
Job is in such agony that he asks God to hide him, not just from the world, but in the grave. What does this reveal about his desperate state, and God's ultimate plan?
A Refuge from Wrath
Job sees the grave (Sheol) as more than just an end; he sees it as a refuge. In his extreme suffering, he cries out to be 'hidden' there.
A Secret Place, Not an Empty One
While Job feels unseen and forgotten by everyone else, he knows he can't hide from God. His request is to be hidden by God, in a place only God can access and protect. This hints at a deeper hope beyond mere escape.
Job doesn't just want to be hidden; he wants God to set a time and remember him. What does this desperate plea reveal about a future beyond the grave?
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The Hope of a Appointed Time
Job's request isn't for eternal hiddenness. He asks God to 'appoint me a set time.' This is crucial:
'Remember Me': A Glimmer of Resurrection
The cry, 'and remember me!' is laden with profound hope. It speaks to:
Understand the original words
she'ol · Hebrew Noun
The realm of the dead or the grave, the place where all humanity goes after death. In the Old Testament, it is often viewed as a place of darkness and silence, though in some contexts, it anticipates a future divine intervention.
apẖ · Hebrew Noun
Divine displeasure or judicial indignation directed against sin and rebellion. It refers to God's settled, holy opposition to evil.
choq · Hebrew Noun
A divinely determined point or limit in time. It implies that history and individual life are under the sovereign control of God, who marks the boundaries of human existence.
zakar · Hebrew Verb
To call to mind, to be mindful of, or to act upon a covenantal commitment. When God remembers, He initiates action to deliver, restore, or bless His people.
This passage offers a glimpse of God's people being hidden, like seeds in the ground, awaiting resurrection when God's judgment passes. This resonates with Job's desire to be hidden in Sheol until God's wrath is over.
Psalm 139:7-8Job's desire to be hidden in Sheol, yet still remembered by God, echoes the psalmist's reflection that there is no place, not even the depths of the grave, where God's presence cannot be found.
John 11:25-26Jesus' words to Martha about believing in Him as the resurrection and the life offer a profound answer to Job's yearning for a 'set time' and remembrance, pointing to a future life beyond the grave.
Romans 8:38-39This passage assures believers that nothing, not even death or the grave (Sheol), can separate them from God's love, which aligns with Job's ultimate hope that even in death, God's remembrance and love would prevail.
bensonJob 14:13: "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!"
Job 14:13 . O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave — The grave is not only a resting-place, but a hiding-place to the children of God: Christ has the key of the grave to open and let in now, and to let out at the resurrection. God hides his people in the grave as we hide our treasure in a place of secrecy and safety; an…
pooleJob 14:13: "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!"
In the grave; either, 1. In some dark vault under ground, such as good men hide themselves in times of persecution, Hebrews 11:38 . Lord, hide me in some hiding place from thy wrath, and all the intolerable effects of it, which are upon me; for I cannot be hid from thee, but by thee. Or, 2. In the grave, properly so called…
Job isn't just wishing for death; he’s asking God to put him into a state where he's completely hidden from suffering, a kind of protected slumber until God's anger subsides, revealing a profound hope that even in the grave, there’s a future appointment where God will remember and restore him. This isn't a simple desire for oblivion, but a plea for a divine pause, a secret keeping until God’s judgment is over and mercy can return.
Job is in the depths of despair, questioning the fairness of his suffering and God's seeming abandonment. He's just lamented the brevity and fragility of human life, seeing it as a fleeting shadow destined for the grave. Now, overwhelmed by his afflictions, he desperately wishes for death, not as an end, but as a hidden refuge until God's anger subsides and he is remembered.
Job is in the depths of despair, questioning the fairness of his suffering and God's seeming abandonment. He's just lamented the brevity and fragility of human life, seeing it as a fleeting shadow destined for the grave. Now, overwhelmed by his afflictions, he desperately wishes for death, not as an end, but as a hidden refuge until God's anger subsides and he is remembered.
"Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!" — Job isn't just wishing for death; he’s asking God to put him into a state where he's completely hidden from suffering, a kind of protected slumber until God's anger subsides, revealing a profound hop…
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Last reviewed October 2026