FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation Job 7:17
KJVWhat is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Read it in context
Job Continues: Life Seems Futile
Start reading at Job 7:1 (Job 7:1 to Job 7:21).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
- 7:1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
- 7:2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
- 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
- 7:4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
- 7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
- 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
- 7:7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
- 7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
- 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
- 7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
- 7:11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- 7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
- 7:13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
- 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
- 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
- 7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
- 7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
- 7:18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
- 7:19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
- 7:20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
- 7:21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 6:1–7:21): Job replies to his friends and addresses God within his lament. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Job Continues: Life Seems Futile. Read Job 7:1 through Job 7:21 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Job Continues: Life Seems Futile (Job 7:1 to Job 7:21). Start reading at Job 7:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 7:1, Job 7:21, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- What is man Ps 8:4 Ps 144:3 Heb 2:6
- magnify Job 7:12 1 Sam 24:14
- set thine Job 34:14-15
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 7
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.