Job 7:3
so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Job doesn't just have bad months; he's "made to possess" them, a phrase often used for inheritance, suggesting this affliction is his grim, involuntary legacy. He calls them "months of vanity," meaning they are empty, useless, and unfulfilling, highlighting how even the passage of time offers no relief or solace, only prolonged suffering.
Job is deeply immersed in suffering, viewing his afflictions as an inherited lot. His days are marked by emptiness and fruitless labor, leading him to yearn for rest like a hired servant. The nights offer no relief, only prolonged misery and restless suffering that stretches on for months.
Job feels like he's 'made to possess' something unwelcome. What does it mean to inherit emptiness, and how does this connect to God's sovereignty?
Job uses the powerful phrase "made to possess" (or "made to inherit"). This isn't a desired inheritance like wealth or land; it's an involuntary, dismal assignment. The commentaries highlight the irony: inheriting is usually joyful, but Job's inheritance is "months of vanity" – empty, useless, and unsatisfying.
This points to God's sovereign hand in Job's suffering. It's not random chance; it's appointed. God, in His ultimate authority, has assigned these empty months and miserable nights to Job. This doesn't mean God is cruel, but that Job feels utterly subject to a divine decree that has stripped his life of meaning and comfort.
For Job, days are bad, but nights are worse. What makes these nights so "wearisome," and what does it reveal about the nature of his suffering?
Job specifically calls his nights "wearisome." The commentaries explain that for the sick and suffering, night amplifies misery. There's no distraction, no change of scenery, just darkness, solitude, and the intensification of pain and sorrowful thoughts.
Some medical insights suggest that certain diseases, like the one Job likely had, can cause intense suffering at night, preventing sleep and leading to dread. Job isn't just sad; he's describing a physical and emotional torment that makes even the time meant for rest a source of exhaustion and dread. The "weariness" comes from the sheer, unrelenting nature of his pain and anxiety.
Understand the original words
shav · Hebrew Noun
Used poetically to describe time that lacks substance, purpose, or satisfaction, reflecting the futility of life apart from divine meaning.
amal · Hebrew Noun
Refers to labor, trouble, or painful effort; it signifies the experience of distress, sorrow, or annoyance that accompanies fallen human existence.
This Psalm powerfully echoes Job's lament, describing days and nights filled with distress and unanswered cries, highlighting the shared experience of profound suffering and a sense of divine abandonment.
Psalm 38:6Here, the psalmist describes a physical and emotional agony that consumes him, mirroring Job's experience of being afflicted to the point where 'day and night' are marked by torment and pain.
Lamentations 1:2The prophet's lament over Jerusalem's destruction uses language of betrayal and lack of comfort, drawing a parallel to Job's feeling of being forsaken and his months and nights yielding no solace.
Ecclesiastes 4:8This passage speaks of a life lived with ceaseless toil, where one has no rest day or night, and can find no satisfaction, reflecting Job's sense of unending misery and emptiness in his time of affliction.
jfbJob 7:3: "So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me."
3.—Months of comfortless misfortune.I am made to possess—literally, "to be heir to." Irony. "To be heir to," is usually a matter of joy; but here it is the entail of an involuntary and dismal inheritance.Months—for days, to express its long duration.Appointed—literally, "they have numbered to me"; marking well the unavoidable doom assigned to him.
pulpitJob 7:3: "So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me."
Verse 3. - So am I made to possess months of vanity. "Months of vanity" are "months of which he can make no use " - "months which are no good to him." It has been concluded from this theft some considerable time had elapsed since Job was stricken by his disease. But he is perhaps looking to the future as much as to the past, anticipating a long, lingering illness. Elephantiasis is a disease which oft…
Job doesn't just have bad months; he's "made to possess" them, a phrase often used for inheritance, suggesting this affliction is his grim, involuntary legacy. He calls them "months of vanity," meaning they are empty, useless, and unfulfilling, highlighting how even the passage of time offers no relief or solace, only prolonged suffering.
Job is deeply immersed in suffering, viewing his afflictions as an inherited lot. His days are marked by emptiness and fruitless labor, leading him to yearn for rest like a hired servant. The nights offer no relief, only prolonged misery and restless suffering that stretches on for months.
Job is deeply immersed in suffering, viewing his afflictions as an inherited lot. His days are marked by emptiness and fruitless labor, leading him to yearn for rest like a hired servant. The nights offer no relief, only prolonged misery and restless suffering that stretches on for months.
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"so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me." — Job doesn't just have bad months; he's "made to possess" them, a phrase often used for inheritance, suggesting this affliction is his grim, involuntary legacy. He calls them "months of vanity," mea…
