Job 19:24
in Job 19by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
That with an iron pen and lead They were graven in the rock for ever!
KJV
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
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This verse in Job 19
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIron pen and lead - Some suppose that the meaning of this place is this: the iron pen is the chisel by which the letters were to be deeply cut in the stone or rock; and the lead was melted into those cavities in order to preserve the engraving distinct. But this is not so natural a supposition as what is stated above; that Job refers to the different kinds of writing or perpetuating public events, used in his time: and the quotations from Pliny and Pausanias confirm the opinion already expressed.
This site's exposition
inscribed in a book
on Job 19:23-24
Job wishes his protest made permanent in rising degrees: "recorded", "inscribed in a book", "by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever". Clarke notes that the Hebrew asks for engraving, the lead run into letters cut in rock. Henry observes the wish was granted beyond its asking.
This site's exposition
by an iron stylus on lead
Barnes describes the iron stylus as a sharp tool for cutting letters into stone. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the lead as poured into the chiseled letters. Job wishes his words recorded forever.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Job had said above that his hope had been taken away, "like an uprooted tree." (19:10) He certainly said this referring to the hope of recovering temporal prosperity, to which the friends urged him many times. But he showed in many ways above (vv.11-20) that …
O that my words were now written! O that they were graven in a book with an iron pen, and a plate of lead, or surely that they were hewed in the flint! ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION Whereas all that blessed Job underwent, that heavy Jewish people, being instructed by the strong declaration of the Fathers, was brought to know, they were written with 'an iron pen' and 'a plate of lead;' but whereas the hard hearts of the Gentiles also were made acquainted with them, what is this but that we see them 'hewn in the flint?'
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
His words are written; they are printed in God's book; so that, wherever that book is read, there shall this be told for a memorial concerning Job. He believed, therefore he spoke.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
pen--graver. lead--poured into the engraven characters, to make them better seen [UMBREIT]. Not on leaden plates; for it was "in the rock" that they were engraved. Perhaps it was the hammer that was of "lead," as sculptors find more delicate incisions are made by it, than by a harder hammer.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That they were graven - Cut in, or sculptured - as is done on stones. That they might become thus a permanent record. With an iron pen - A stylus, or an engraving tool - for so the word (עט ‛êṭ) means. The instrument formerly used for writing or engraying was a small, sharp-pointed piece of iron or steel, that was employed to mark on lead or stone - somewhat in the form of small graying tools now. When the writing was on wax, the instrument was made with a flat head, that it could be obliterated by pressing it on or passing it over the wax. The reason why Job mentions the iron pen here is, that he wished a perment record. He did not desire one made with paint or chalk, but one which would convey his sentiments down to future times. And lead - That is, either engraved on lead, or more probably with lead. It was customary to cut the letters deep in stone, and then to fill fill them up with lead, so that the record became more permanent. This I take to be the meaning here. The Hebrew will scarcely allow of the supposition that Job meant that the records should be made on plates of lead - though such plates were used early, but perhaps not until after the time of Job. In the rock - It was common, at an early period, to make inscriptions on the smooth surface of a rock. Perhaps the first thai were made were on stones, which were placed as way marks, or monuments over the dead - as we now make such inscriptions on grave-stones. Then it became common to record any memorable transaction - as a battle - on stones or rocks; and perhaps, also, sententious and apothegmatical remarks were recorded in this manner, to admonish travelers, or to transmit them to posterity. Numerous inscriptions of this kind are found by travelers in the East, on tombs, and on rocks in the desert. […]
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּעֵט־ | beet- | with a stylus of | H5842 → | |
| בַּרְזֶ֥ל | barzel | iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| וְעֹפָ֑רֶת | veofaret | and lead | H5777 → | |
| לָ֝עַ֗ד | laad | for ever | H5703 → | |
| בַּצּ֥וּר | batzur | in the rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| יֵחָצְבֽוּן׃ | yechatzevun | they will be engraved ! | H2672 → |
בְּעֵט־with a stylus of
beet-H5842 →
בַּרְזֶ֥לiron
barzelH1270 →76 times
וְעֹפָ֑רֶתand lead
veofaretH5777 →
לָ֝עַ֗דfor ever
laadH5703 →
בַּצּ֥וּרin the rock
batzurH6697 →78 times
יֵחָצְבֽוּן׃they will be engraved !
yechatzevunH2672 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 17:1“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:3
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
- 2 Corinthians 3:3
It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on…
- Proverbs 7:3
Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
- Leviticus 4:25
Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of…
- Job 19:23–24
I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book,
- Proverbs 3:3
Through
Deuteronomy 27:8And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.”
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:2
Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
- Habakkuk 2:2
Through
Exodus 32:16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
it leads to
- Exodus 31:18
When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Exodus 31:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.