Job 30:8
in Job 30A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.
KJV
They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
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This verse in Job 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseChildren of fools - Children of nabal; children without a name; persons of no consideration, and descendants of such. Viler than the earth - Rather, driven out of the land; persons not fit for civil society.
This site's exposition
They cried out among the shrubs
on Job 30:7-9
Barnes reads the Hebrew verb behind “cried out among the shrubs” as the braying of animals. “A senseless and nameless brood” names men without lineage, who were “driven off the land”. “And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them” completes the reversal.
This site's exposition
A senseless and nameless brood
Barnes reads senseless as nabal, the fool, and nameless as men of no name. They had no lineage. This brood was driven off the land, and now its sons mock him in song at Job 30:9.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
After enumerating their miseries one by one, as an epilogue he summarizes what he has said then saying, "The sons of fools," in mind, "and of disreputable men," in birth, "and not known on earth at all," conspicuous for no dignity or glory.
They were children of fools, yea, children of base men; and in the earth not appearing at all. That is to say, the children of those, who were the masters of errors. So they are called 'children,' not as engendered by the seed, but by the imitating of those, who by teaching what is wrong were 'fools' in respect of ignorance, and by living wicked lives 'base men' in respect of conduct. Who are not allied to our Redeemer by any relationship of wisdom, or by any of life.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They were children of fools,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Horites in Mount Seir (Ge 14:6 with which compare Ge 36:20, 21; De 2:12, 22) were probably the aborigines, driven out by the tribe to which Job's ancestors belonged; their name means troglodytæ, or "dwellers in caves." To these Job alludes here (Job 30:1-8, and Ge 24:4-8, which compare together).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They were children of fools - The word rendered “fools” נבל nâbâl, means, (1) stupid, foolish; and (2) abandoned, impious; compare 1Sa 25:3, 1Sa 25:25. Here it means the worthless, the refuse of society, the abandoned. They had no respectable parentage. Umbreit, “A brood of infamy.” Coverdale, “Children of fools and villains.” Children of base men - Margin, as in Hebrew, “men of no name.” They were men of no reputation; whose ancestors had in no way been distinguished; possibly meaning, also, that they herded together as beasts without even a name. They were viler than the earth - Gesenius renders this, “They are frightened out of the land.” The Hebrew word (כאה) means “to chide, to upbraid,” and then in the niphal “to be chidden away,” or “to be driven off.” The sense is, as an impious and low-born race they were driven out of the land.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּֽנֵי־ | benei- | sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נָ֭בָל | navol | a fool | H5036 → | |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְלִי־ | veli- | not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| שֵׁ֑ם | shem | a name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| נִ֝כְּא֗וּ | nikeu | they have been scourged | H5217 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
בְּֽנֵי־sons of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
נָ֭בָלa fool
navolH5036 →
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
בְּנֵ֣יsons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
בְלִי־not
veli-H1097 →58 times
שֵׁ֑םa name
shemH8034 →864 times
נִ֝כְּא֗וּthey have been scourged
nikeuH5217 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
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
Proverbs 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
it leads to
- Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Ecclesiastes 12:13
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- Job 28:28
Through
Proverbs 16:22Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:14
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one from the snares of death.
- Proverbs 13:14
Through
Jeremiah 7:18The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 19:13
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…
- Jeremiah 19:13
Through
Proverbs 1:22“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
it leads to
- Proverbs 5:12
and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
- Proverbs 5:12
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XX; 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.