Job 3:11

11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?

Job 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

Job 3:11

Why died I not from the womb?
&c.] That is, as soon as he came out of it; or rather, as soon as he was in it, or from the time that he was in it; or however, while he was in it, that so he might not have come alive out of it; which sense seems best to agree both with what goes before and follows after; for since his conception in the womb was not hindered, he wishes he had died in it; and so some versions render it to this sense F14:

[why] did I [not] give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
since he died not in the womb, which was desirable to him, he wishes that the moment he came out of it he had expired, and is displeased because it was not so, see ( Jeremiah 20:17 ) ( Hosea 9:11 ) ; thus what is the special favour of Providence, to be taken out of the womb alive, and preserved, he wishes not to have enjoyed, see ( Psalms 22:9 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F14 (Mxrm) (en koilia) , Sept. "in vulva", V. L. "aut, in utero", Beza, Mercerus, Cocceius, Junius, Michaelis; so R. Abraham Peritzol, and Simeon Bar Tzemach.

Job 3:11 In-Context

9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning;
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
12 Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck?
13 For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then I should have been at rest,
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.