Job 4:12
in Job 4Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper thereof.
KJV
Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
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This verse in Job 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseNow a hidden word was spoken to me. For the invisible Son is called 'the hidden Word,' concerning Whom John saith, In the beginning was the Word. Which he the same person teaches to be 'hidden' in that he adds, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. But this 'hidden Word' is delivered to the minds of the Elect, when the power of the Only-Begotten Son is made manifest to believers.
This site's exposition
Now a thing was secretly brought to me
on Job 4:12-14
Eliphaz turns from proverb to private experience, now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof, introducing the vision that will carry his doctrine's authority. The setting is deep sleep and midnight, the hour thoughts from the visions of the night names directly, and fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake describes a physical terror before any word is spoken. Davidson notes that Eliphaz stakes his whole argument on this private experience rather than on any word of Scripture, since none had yet been given him to appeal to. Henry observes that fear and trembling before an unnamed presence is itself evidence of nothing certain, since terror can attend a true visitation or a troubled imagination alike.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it is but a little of divine knowledge that the best receive in this world. We know little in comparison with what is to be known, and with what we shall know when we come to heaven. How little a portion is heard of God! ch. xxvi.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Now a thing was secretly brought to me - To give himself the more authority, he professes to have received a vision from God, by which he was taught the secret of the Divine dispensations in providence; and a confirmation of the doctrine which he was now stating to Job; and which he applied in a different way to what was designed in the Divine communication.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Now a word was conveyed secretly to me He returns to his rebuke with which he has been chastising him till now: Why are you crying? “Remember now who was innocent that perished..As I have seen, etc.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
A lion perishes without prey The princes perished like a lion who perishes without food; so did their strength to commit violence dissipate.
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. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭אֵלַי | veelai | and to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּבָ֣ר | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְגֻנָּ֑ב | yegunav | it was brought secretly | H1589 → | 40 times |
| וַתִּקַּ֥ח | vatikach | and it received | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אָ֝זְנִ֗י | ʾazeni | ear my | H241 → | 187 times |
| שֵׁ֣מֶץ | shemetz | a whisper | H8102 → | |
| מֶֽנְהֽוּ׃ | menhu | of it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
וְ֭אֵלַיand to me
veelaiH413 →5510 times
דָּבָ֣רa word
davarH1697 →1440 times
יְגֻנָּ֑בit was brought secretly
yegunavH1589 →40 times
וַתִּקַּ֥חand it received
vatikachH3947 →966 times
אָ֝זְנִ֗יear my
ʾazeniH241 →187 times
שֵׁ֣מֶץa whisper
shemetzH8102 →
מֶֽנְהֽוּ׃of it
menhuH4480 →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
1 Corinthians 13:12Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
it leads to
- 1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as…
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 13:9–10
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
- Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
- Revelation 22:4
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
- 1 John 3:2
Through
Psalms 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
it leads to
- Revelation 19:1
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Job 33:14
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Revelation 19:1
About Job
This page draws on A. B. Davidson, The Book of Job, Cambridge Bible; Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book V and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.