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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 14:7-15

We have seen what Job has to say concerning life; let us now see what he has to say concerning death, which his thoughts were very much conversant with, now that he was sick and sore. It is not unseasonable, when we are in health, to think of dying; but it is an inexcusable incogitancy if, when we are already taken into the custody of death's messengers, we look upon it as a thing at a distance. Job had already shown that death will come, and that its hour is already fixed. Now here he shows,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:14

If a man die ,.... This is said not as if it was a matter of doubt, he had before asserted it; as sure as men have sinned, so sure shall they die; nothing is more certain than death, it is appointed by God, and is sure; but taking it for granted, the experience of all men, and the instances of persons of every age, rank, and condition, testifying to it; the Targum restrains it to wicked men, "if a wicked man die:' shall he live again ? no, he shall not live in this earth, and in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 14:14

If a man die, shall he live again? - The Chaldee translates, If a wicked man die, can he ever live again? or, he can never live again. The Syriac and Arabic thus: "If a man die, shall he revive? Yea, all the days of his youth he awaits till his old age come." The Septuagint: "If a man die, shall he live, having accomplished the days of his life? I will endure till I live again." Here is no doubt, but a strong persuasion, of the certainty of the general resurrection. All the days of my... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:1-22

This chapter, in which Job concludes the fourth of his addresses, is characterized by a tone of mild and gentle expostulation, which contrasts with the comparative vehemence and passion of the two preceding chapters. It would seem that the patriarch, having vented his feelings, experiences a certain relief, an interval of calm, in which, his own woes pressing less heavily upon him, he is content to moralize on the general condition of humanity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:7-14

Is there a life beyond the grave? We have here one of the dim Old Testament speculations on the life beyond, that stand out in startling contrast to the prevalent obscurity and apparent indifference of ancient Hebrew thought in regard to the great future. This serves as a good starting-point from which to approach the more full Christian light on the resurrection. I. THE CRAVING FOR IMMORTALITY IS INSTINCTIVE . The craving may be hidden by more pressing desires of the moment;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:7-15

Job to God: 3. A glimpse into the life beyond. I. " IF A MAN DIE , SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN ?" No! 1 . The voice of nature is against it. "For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again," etc. (verses 7-9). But nothing like this occurs in the case of man, of whom rather the cheerless proverb holds that, as the tree falls, so shall it lie ( Ecclesiastes 11:3 ). Hewn down by the axe of death, or laid prostrate by age beneath the sod, there is in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:13-15

Self-defence before God: 3. Dawning of a new hope. The thoughts of the sufferer now carry him beyond the confines of the present life. He has just been speaking of Sheol, or Hades, as his destined end, and now the reflection occurs—What may happen then? It is the nature of thought to travel on and on, to know no bounds that it will not seek to overleap. It is perpetually asking, when one goal has been reached, for the after, the beyond. And in some such way must human thought have travelled... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:14

If a man die, shall he live again? The question is clearly intended to be answered in the negative. It is not a dispassionate inquiry, but an expression of hopelessness. Let a man once die, and of course he cannot live again. Were it otherwise, then, Job says, all the days of my appointed time will I wait; or, rather (as in the Revised Version), all the days of my warfare would I wait ; i.e. I would patiently endure any sufferings in the larger hope that would then be open to me. I... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 14:14

The future life. "If a man die, shall he live again?" The true answer to this solemn question is the only sufficient response to the sad wail of the previous verses. "There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,… but man dieth, and wasteth away." The answer cometh from afar. It is difficult to determine the measure of light that Job had on the question of the future life. Read in the light of our New Testament teaching, some of his phrases are full of hope; but we... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 14:14

If a man die, shall he live again? - This is a sudden transition in the thought. He had unconsciously worked himself up almost to the belief that man might live again even on the earth. He had asked to be hid somewhere - even in the grave - until the wrath of God should be overpast, and then that God would remember him, and bring him forth again to life. Here he checks himself. It cannot be, he says, that man will live again on the earth. The hope is visionary and vain, and I will endure what... read more

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