Job 31:15
in Job 31Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
KJV
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
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This verse in Job 31
Commentary
9 notes on this verseDid not He Who made me in the womb make him? And did not One make us in the womb? To persons possessed of power, the equality of creation kept in the thoughts is great goodness of humility. For all of us men are equal by nature, but it has been added by a distributive arrangement, that we should appear as set over particular persons. So then if we keep down from the imagination that thing which has accrued temporarily, we find out the sooner that which we are naturally.
This site's exposition
the cause of my manservant
on Job 31:13-15
“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant” turns the oath to Job's servants, whom the ancient world rarely allowed to complain. He asks whether the same One did not form us in the womb, which Henry reads as the ground of the servant's claim.
This site's exposition
the same One form us
Barnes calls this a very advanced view. He who made Job in the womb also made his manservant and maidservant, one Creator and one nature. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the verse against every claim that a slave is born inferior.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He proves as a consequence that all men naturally share the same condition, and so he says, "Did he not make me in the womb who also made him?" He means: I have the same soul created by God as my servants. My body has …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?....
He enlarges most upon this head because in this matter he was most particularly accused. That he had never been wanting to do good to them, as there was occasion, to the utmost of his ability. He was always compassionate to the poor, and careful of them, especially the widows and fatherless, that were destitute of help.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? - Had we not one and the same Creator, and have we not consequently the same nature? We may observe in regard to this sentiment, (1.) That it indicates a very advanced state of view in regard to man. The attempt has been always made by those who wish to tyrannize over others, or who aim to make slaves of others, to show that they are of a different race, and that in the design for which they were made, they are wholly inferior.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Slaveholders try to defend themselves by maintaining the original inferiority of the slave. Eph 6:9 make the common origin of masters and servants the argument for brotherly love being shown by the former to the latter.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Did not he that made me - make him? - I know that God is the Judge of all; that all shall appear before him in that state where the king and his subject, the master and his slave, shall be on an equal footing, all civil distinctions being abolished for ever. If, then I had treated my slaves with injustice, how could I stand before the judgment-seat of God? I have treated others as I wish to be treated.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and form us both in the womb? I in my mother’s womb and he in his mother’s womb—did not One creator form us?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
then what will I do etc. I took this to heart, and when He visits, what will I answer Him?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲֽ֝לֹא־ | halo'- | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בַ֭בֶּטֶן | vabeten | in the belly | H990 → | 72 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֣נִי | ʾoseni | [the one who] made me | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עָשָׂ֑הוּ | ʾasahu | did he make him | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַ֝יְכֻנֶ֗נּוּ | vaykhunenu | and did prepare us? he | H3559 → | 217 times |
| בָּרֶ֥חֶם | barechem | in the womb | H7358 → | 26 times |
| אֶחָֽד׃ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
הֲֽ֝לֹא־¿ not
halo'-H3808 →5168 times
בַ֭בֶּטֶןin the belly
vabetenH990 →72 times
עֹשֵׂ֣נִי[the one who] made me
ʾoseniH6213 →2628 times
עָשָׂ֑הוּdid he make him
ʾasahuH6213 →2628 times
וַ֝יְכֻנֶ֗נּוּand did prepare us? he
vaykhunenuH3559 →217 times
בָּרֶ֥חֶםin the womb
barechemH7358 →26 times
אֶחָֽד׃one
ʾechadH259 →971 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
Malachi 2:10Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
it leads to
- Psalms 100:3
Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
- Malachi 2:11
Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and…
- Psalms 100:3
Through
Proverbs 22:2The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:7
The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Proverbs 29:13
The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
- 1 Samuel 2:7
Through
Job 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Deuteronomy 10:17
Through
Proverbs 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:2
The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
- Proverbs 22:2
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.