Job 31:17
in Job 31if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
KJV
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
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This verse in Job 31
Commentary
8 notes on this verseOr have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof. That is to say, reckoning that he prejudiced his pitifulness, if he ate alone what the Lord of all created in common. Which same fellowship of intercourse should be carried on within the domestic walls with those persons, by whom the rewards of eternal retribution may be promoted. Whence the holy man describes himself as having had not any indifferent person, but, for eating, the 'fatherless' as his companions.
This site's exposition
If I have denied the desires of the poor
on Job 31:16-18
“If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail” turns the rescues in chapter 29 into oath form. It was a lifelong practice, and Gill reads the verse as evidence that Job raised orphans in his own household from his earliest years.
This site's exposition
eaten my morsel alone
Barnes reads my morsel alone as even the smallest portion, still shared with others. Clarke adds that friends and strangers were welcome at supper. The fatherless, the poor and the widow of Job 31:16 had their fill at that table.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Others do not refuse nor defer giving what is asked, but they give nothing from their own initiative. He excludes this from himself, showing that he did not wish to use his smallest possessions alone, but rather to share them with others, and so he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone,....
As it is one of the greatest grievances of poverty that it exposes to contempt, so it is none of the least supports to the poor to be respected. (3.) He was very tender of them, and had a fatherly concern for them,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone - If I have not imparted what I had though ever so small, to others. This was in accordance with the Oriental laws of hospitality. It is regarded as a fixed law among the Arabians, that the guest shall always be helped first, and to that which is best; and no matter how needy the family may be, or how much distressed with hunger, the settled laws of hospitality demand that the stranger-guest shall have the first and best portion.
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone - Hospitality was a very prominent virtue among the ancients in almost all nations: friends and strangers were equally welcome to the board of the affluent. The supper was their grand meal: it was then that they saw their friends; the business and fatigues of the day being over, they could then enjoy themselves comfortably together. The supper was called coena on this account; or, as Plutarch says, Το μεν γαρ δειπνον φασι κοινα δια την κοινωνιαν καλεισθαι· καθ’ ἑαυτους γαρ ηριστων επιεικως οἱ παλαι ρωμαιοι, συνδειπνουντες τοις φιλοις. “The ancient Romans named supper Coena, (κοινα), which signifies communion (κοινωνια) or fellowship; for although they dined alone, they supped with their friends.” - Plut. Symp. lib. viii., prob. 6, p. 687. But Job speaks here of dividing his bread with the hungry: Or have eaten my morsel myself alone. And he is a poor despicable caitiff who would eat it alone, while there was another at hand, full as hungry as himself.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֹכַ֣ל | veokhal | and I may eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| פִּתִּ֣י | piti | morsel of bread my | H6595 → | |
| לְבַדִּ֑י | levadi | to alone me | H905 → | 200 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָכַ֖ל | ʾakhal | he ate | H398 → | 810 times |
| יָת֣וֹם | yatom | a fatherless one | H3490 → | 42 times |
| מִמֶּֽנָּה׃ | mimenah | some of it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
וְאֹכַ֣לand I may eat
veokhalH398 →810 times
פִּתִּ֣יmorsel of bread my
pitiH6595 →
לְבַדִּ֑יto alone me
levadiH905 →200 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָכַ֖לhe ate
ʾakhalH398 →810 times
יָת֣וֹםa fatherless one
yatomH3490 →42 times
מִמֶּֽנָּה׃some of it
mimenahH4480 →1188 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
Deuteronomy 15:11For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your…
it leads to
- Matthew 26:11
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
- Mark 14:7
The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- John 12:8
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
- Deuteronomy 15:8
Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
- 1 John 3:16–18
By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- Matthew 26:11
Through
Luke 11:41But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.
it leads to
- Luke 12:33
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
- Titus 1:15
To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Luke 12:33
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; 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.