The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job paints a vivid picture of hope turning to dust by describing caravans from distant lands, who looked and waited for vital water, only to find none. This isn't just about literal water; it’s about how desperately people in parched lands relied on predictable sources, just as Job had relied on his friends.
The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is illustrating the utter disappointment of his own hopes by comparing them to desert travelers. Caravans from Tema, a region known for trade routes, are pictured looking for expected relief, while companies from Sheba anxiously wait for their companions' return, both ultimately finding their hopes dashed by the harsh reality of the desert's emptiness. These images immediately follow Job's lament that his friends, who he once relied on, have become like dried-up riverbeds, failing him in his time of deepest need.
Imagine the scorching heat, the endless sand. You're traveling with a caravan, desperate for water. Your only hope rests on a dried-up riverbed you passed in the wetter season.
Job uses vivid imagery of Arabian travel to describe the crushing disappointment of failed expectations.
The Arid Landscape
Tema and Sheba were regions known for their dry, desert climates where water was incredibly scarce and precious. Caravans, like those from Tema, and traveling companies from Sheba, would journey for days, relying on predictable water sources.
The Bitter Letdown
These travelers weren't just looking for a casual sip; they were depending on these water sources for survival. In the dry season, these normally reliable spots, like riverbeds that held water in the cooler months, would be completely dry. The hope for refreshment would turn into despair. Job is drawing a parallel: his friends, who he expected to bring him comfort and relief, have instead become a source of further disappointment.
Job's friends arrived to comfort him, but their words and actions became like a mirage in the desert – offering the appearance of relief but delivering only more pain.
In this passage, Job isn't just lamenting his physical suffering; he's deeply wounded by the spiritual and emotional betrayal of his closest companions.
The Expectation of Comfort
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Friends traditionally offered comfort and support, especially to those in deep affliction. Job's friends, coming from afar, likely had a reputation or an expected role of providing solace and wisdom.
The Reality of Accusation
Instead of offering the life-giving water of comfort, Job's friends brought accusations. They insisted his suffering was a direct result of hidden sin, essentially telling him he was the cause of his own misery. This completely undermined the expected role of a comforter and turned their presence into a source of further agony, much like finding a dry riverbed when desperately thirsty.
Understand the original words
qavah · Hebrew Verb
The act of desiring or waiting for something with expectation. Biblical hope is not a wishful thought but a confident expectation based on the character or promise of the object of one's hope.
Job uses the image of desert caravans from Tema and Sheba desperately searching for water that never comes to illustrate the crushing disappointment he feels from his friends' hollow words and lack of true comfort.
c. 1000 BC
Sheba and Tema Flourish
Sheba, located in modern-day Yemen, and Tema, in northwestern Arabia, were significant centers of trade and travel in ancient times. Their caravans moved essential goods across the Arabian peninsula.
c. 1000 BC
Caravan Travel Common in Arabia
Travelers, merchants, and troops commonly moved in companies across the Arabian deserts for safety against robbers and wild animals, and for mutual support. Water sources were vital and anxiously sought.
c. 1000 BC
Water Scarcity in Arabian Deserts
Regions like Tema and Sheba were known for their arid climates where water was extremely scarce, making even temporary streams or promised water sources incredibly valuable to travelers.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
Job's Friends Offer Disappointing Counsel
Job's friends, initially expected to offer comfort and wisdom, instead offer harsh judgment and platitudes, failing to provide the relief Job desperately needs, much like a dried-up riverbed.
This passage uses similar imagery of travel and dashed hopes, portraying Moabites looking towards a destination that offers no relief, mirroring Job's description of caravans seeking nonexistent water.
Isaiah 21:14This verse directly mentions the Tema and Dedan caravans, linking them to a message of judgment and the need for travelers to bring provisions, reinforcing the context of desert travel and its inherent uncertainties that Job evokes.
Psalm 146:3This verse warns against putting trust in human leaders, comparing them to 'breath' that fails, which resonates with Job's theme of friends being like unreliable, vanishing streams.
Job 30:26Job himself speaks of looking for good but finding only trouble, and for light but finding darkness, which is a parallel to the caravan's expectation of refreshment and finding none.
clarkeJob 6:19: "The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them."
The troops of Tema looked - The caravans coming from Tema are represented as arriving at those places where it was well known torrents did descend from the mountains, and they were full of expectation that here they could not only slake their thirst, but fill their girbas or water-skins; but when they arrive, they find the waters totally dissipated and lost. In vain did the caravans of Sheba wait for them; they did n…
wesleyJob 6:19: "The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them."
6:19 Tema - This place and Sheba were both parts of the hot and dry country of Arabia, in which waters were very scarce, and therefore precious and desirable, especially to travellers. Companies - Men did not there travel singly, as we do, but in companies for their security against wild beasts and robbers.
Job paints a vivid picture of hope turning to dust by describing caravans from distant lands, who looked and waited for vital water, only to find none. This isn't just about literal water; it’s about how desperately people in parched lands relied on predictable sources, just as Job had relied on his friends.
Job is illustrating the utter disappointment of his own hopes by comparing them to desert travelers. Caravans from Tema, a region known for trade routes, are pictured looking for expected relief, while companies from Sheba anxiously wait for their companions' return, both ultimately finding their hopes dashed by the harsh reality of the desert's emptiness. These images immediately follow Job's lament that his friends, who he once relied on, have become like dried-up riverbeds, failing him in his time of deepest need.
Job is illustrating the utter disappointment of his own hopes by comparing them to desert travelers. Caravans from Tema, a region known for trade routes, are pictured looking for expected relief, while companies from Sheba anxiously wait for their companions' return, both ultimately finding their hopes dashed by the harsh reality of the desert's emptiness. These images immediately follow Job's lament that his friends, who he once relied on, have become like dried-up riverbeds, failing him in his time of deepest need.
"The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope." — Job paints a vivid picture of hope turning to dust by describing caravans from distant lands, who looked and waited for vital water, only to find none. This isn't just about literal water; it’s a…
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Last reviewed October 2026