In this section of the chapter, Iyov reaches the final stage of his defense. He goes one by one through the accusations his companions hurled at him, swearing regarding each of them that he never stumbled in it: neither in trusting in wealth, nor in denying Divine Providence, nor in gloating over another's misfortune, nor in concealing sins, nor in stealing land. At the end of the passage comes the signature: "The words of Iyov are ended" - and from this point onward, Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite enters the picture.
אִם־שַׂמְתִּי זָהָב כִּסְלִי וְלַכֶּתֶם אָמַרְתִּי מִבְטַחִי׃ - If I made gold my hope, or said to fine gold, "You are my security."
Eliphaz accused Iyov: "For he stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Almighty," and told him, "And you say: 'What does God know? Can He judge through the thick cloud?'" - as if to say, you removed your trust from Hashem entirely, claiming that the Holy One, Blessed be He, neither sees nor knows, that there is a fog and a veil concealing things so He does not know what is happening with you. Iyov replies to him: It is not so. I never removed my trust from Hashem, and I never placed my trust in my gold.
The Malbim notes the precise distinction between "kisli" and "mivtachi." "Kesel" denotes security against harm: a person places his confidence in something so that trouble will not befall him, so that an accident will not happen, so that he will not be harmed. "Mivtach," on the other hand, is the confidence that good will actively come to him through that thing. Iyov says: I did not make gold my fortress so that evil would not reach me, nor did I say to fine gold - which is more precious than ordinary gold - that good would come upon me by virtue of it. Do not mistakenly think that I trusted in my wealth; all my trust was in Hashem alone.
אִם־אֶשְׂמַח כִּי־רַב חֵילִי וְכִי־כַבִּיר מָצְאָה יָדִי׃ - If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had found so much.
"Cheili" refers to my possessions and my strength. Iyov says: I did not rejoice over the abundance of my assets, nor did I rely on the notion that my success was so vast that I could manage on my own. There are wealthy people whose entire attitude is like Bar Kokhba's words to the Holy One, Blessed be He: "Master of the Universe, neither help us nor hinder us" - as though one manages entirely by himself and lives independently. Iyov says: I was never like that.
אִם־אֶרְאֶה אוֹר כִּי יָהֵל וְיָרֵחַ יָקָר הֹלֵךְ׃ - If I looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor.
Did I fix my mind on the light of fortune shining over me, on the sun of success radiating upon me, or on the moon marching forth, reflecting my honor and prosperity?
וַיִּפְתְּ בַּסֵּתֶר לִבִּי וַתִּשַּׁק יָדִי לְפִי׃ - And my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand kissed my mouth.
Not only did I not express such things with my mouth - which would already be improper in itself - but even in secret, my heart was never enticed to think that everything was due to my own fortune and success. "And my hand kissed my mouth" - an expression of bringing one thing close to another: even if it had only occurred to me to utter this from my mouth.
גַּם־הוּא עָוֺן פְּלִילִי כִּי־כִחַשְׁתִּי לָאֵל מִמָּעַל׃ - This too would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have denied God above.
Iyov says: had such a thought crossed my mind in my inner heart - that I am the one who succeeds, that I possess silver and gold and no evil will befall me - even such a thought is a grave iniquity, and I would deserve all the punishments that Hashem brought upon me, for in this "I would have denied God above": denying Divine Providence and attributing success to the moon, the stars, the constellations, and wealth. And although one is generally not punished for mere thought, regarding heresy against Hashem we have an established rule that one is indeed punished for the thought, since the very heresy is akin to idol worship. Iyov says: if I had thought this, I would deserve every punishment; but I testify about myself that not only did I not speak it aloud, but not even a thought of this sort crossed my mind, and I knew with certainty that my trust was in Hashem alone.
אִם־אֶשְׂמַח בְּפִיד מְשַׂנְאִי וְהִתְעֹרַרְתִּי כִּי־מְצָאוֹ רָע׃ - If I rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or exulted when evil found him.
Do not say that afflictions came upon me because I rejoiced at the downfall of my enemies, for it is said (Mishlei 24:17-18): "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls... lest Hashem see it and it displease Him, and He turn His wrath away from him." "Pid" means misfortune or calamity. Iyov says: far be it from me to rejoice in the calamity of my foe.
וְלֹא־נָתַתִּי לַחֲטֹא חִכִּי לִשְׁאֹל בְּאָלָה נַפְשׁוֹ׃ - Neither did I suffer my mouth to sin by demanding his soul with a curse.
Not only did I not rejoice, but I also did not curse him nor ask Hashem that a curse come upon him, nor did I utter anything evil against him with my mouth or palate. Furthermore - "or was stirred up when evil found him": when evil befell him, I did not say, "It does not concern me"; rather, I was stirred to inquire and investigate.
אִם־לֹא אָמְרוּ מְתֵי אׇהֳלִי מִי־יִתֵּן מִבְּשָׂרוֹ לֹא נִשְׂבָּע׃ - If the men of my tent did not say, "Who can give of his flesh that we be not satisfied?"
I would investigate lest a curse had emerged from the mouths of "the men of my tent" - the members of my household and frequent visitors. I myself said nothing, but perhaps one of them said, "Who can give of his flesh that we be not satisfied," meaning, would that we could take of his flesh without being sated - as a metaphor, let us cut him to pieces. Even this I investigated. In simple terms: not only did I not seek harm for my enemies, but even when misfortune befell them, I would investigate lest someone from my household had wished this evil upon them. To that extent I did not rejoice in the misfortune of my enemies.
בַּחוּץ לֹא־יָלִין גֵּר דְּלָתַי לָאֹרַח אֶפְתָּח׃ - The stranger did not lodge in the street; I opened my doors to the traveler.
Iyov has already described giving bread to orphans and clothing to the poor. Now he adds: Do not think I was satisfied with just that - I also provided them with shelter. I did not let even a stranger lodge in the street, and to an ordinary wayfarer I would open my doors and host him in my home, as it is written: "Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him?"
אִם־כִּסִּיתִי כְאָדָם פְּשָׁעָי לִטְמוֹן בְּחֻבִּי עֲוֺנִי׃ - If I covered my transgressions as men do, hiding my iniquity in my bosom.
כִּי אֶעֱרוֹץ הָמוֹן רַבָּה וּבוּז־מִשְׁפָּחוֹת יְחִתֵּנִי וָאֶדֹּם לֹא־אֵצֵא פָתַח׃ - Because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I was silenced and would not go out the door.
Lest you say: perhaps he sinned in secret and had iniquities he concealed? To this Iyov responds: "If I covered my transgressions as men do" - in the manner of ordinary people who cover their transgressions; "hiding my iniquity in my bosom" - concealing sins in hiding. And why does a person do this? "Because I feared the great multitude" - because one is afraid to reveal his iniquities lest the great multitude find out about his sins; "and the contempt of families terrified me" - that they would pour contempt upon him, demean him, strip him of his status, or break him; "so that I was silenced and would not go out the door" - to the point that he is forced into silence and is embarrassed even to step outside his front door. Iyov says: I fear no man, nor the multitude, and I have no need to hide sins out of fear of what others will say.
The Malbim analyzes the precise difference between pesha (willful transgression) and avon (iniquity). A pesha is open rebellion, which is why the term covering is used: "If I covered my transgressions as men do" - an overt act that one must cover so it is not exposed. An avon is a perversion of thought, and thought is inherently concealed and not public; therefore, regarding it the verse says "hiding my iniquity in my bosom" - it is already covered by nature, and merely requires extra burying so that it is not discovered later.
מִי יִתֶּן־לִי שֹׁמֵעַ לִי הֶן־תָּוִי שַׁדַּי יַעֲנֵנִי וְסֵפֶר כָּתַב אִישׁ רִיבִי׃ - Oh, that I had someone to hear me! Behold, here is my mark; may the Almighty answer me, and would that my adversary had written an indictment.
"Oh, that I had someone to hear me" - if only someone would listen to me and acknowledge my arguments. "My adversary" refers to the one who comes to argue with me, asserting my guilt while unaware of my innocence. He answers me: Why do you argue over whether you have sins or not? Let us read the record - and that record is engraved upon your body. "Tavi" is related to tav, a mark or sign. As it were, the Holy One, Blessed is He, expresses your iniquities through the punishment He inflicts upon you, revealing your transgressions through the afflictions upon your flesh; this is the document God writes, recording your sins upon it. Why do you ask for God to reveal your sins? Here, everything is written - your entire being is a sign, a mark, and an omen, with iniquities and transgressions engraved upon your body.
אִם־לֹא עַל־שִׁכְמִי אֶשָּׂאֶנּוּ אֶעֶנְדֶנּוּ עֲטָרוֹת לִי׃ - Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it like a crown upon myself.
מִסְפַּר צְעָדַי אַגִּידֶנּוּ כְּמוֹ־נָגִיד אֲקָרְבֶנּוּ׃ - I would recount the number of my steps to him; like a prince I would present it.
Iyov replies: This book, the afflictions, the boils, and everything I suffer - "surely I carry it upon my shoulder," a heavy burden upon my back that I cannot bear. Yet if a book of truth were written about me, "I would bind it like a crown upon myself" - I would wear it as a crown upon my head, for my record contains numerous merits and not sins. A true book would count "the number of my steps" - how worthwhile each of my steps was for good - and I would draw it close to me "like a prince," like a leader and a nobleman, adorning myself with the record of my deeds inscribed therein. But you seek to draw conclusions from my suffering - and from suffering, no conclusions can be drawn, nor should it be viewed as a book recording my iniquities.
אִם־עָלַי אַדְמָתִי תִזְעָק וְיַחַד תְּלָמֶיהָ יִבְכָּיוּן׃ - "If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together."
Iyov concludes his words and asks: Does the land, crying out because it lies desolate, cry out against me? Did I cause its desolation? And its furrows weeping because there is no one to hoe, plow, sow, and harvest - is their complaint against me? Surely it was not because of me that my land was forced into desolation, nor is it my fault that it yields no seed.
אִם־כֹּחָהּ אָכַלְתִּי בְלִי־כָסֶף וְנֶפֶשׁ בְּעָלֶיהָ הִפָּחְתִּי׃ - "If I have eaten its yield without money, or caused the life of its owners to expire."
Did I eat the strength of the land without paying, meaning did I steal the field from its owner without payment? And "caused the life of its owners to expire" - did I snuff out his soul, killing him to take his field? Is the field stolen property in my hands, and is that why it produces thistles instead of wheat and turns into a wasteland? Surely I purchased my fields with money; I neither robbed nor extorted, and therefore my land has no reason to complain against me.
תַּחַת חִטָּה יֵצֵא חוֹחַ וְתַחַת־שְׂעֹרָה בׇאְשָׁה תַּמּוּ דִּבְרֵי אִיּוֹב׃ - "Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Iyov are ended."
The simple meaning of the text is: his replies to his three companions have come to an end. The three companions also ceased answering from this point on, and at this juncture Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite enters the picture - and he is the first to begin speaking words of genuine substance, unlike Iyov's companions and friends who spoke accusations that held no truth.
The Yalkut asks: But does not Iyov later speak several more prophecies, so how can you say "The words of Iyov are ended"? According to what we explained, this is readily understood: only his replies to his companions ended, for from now on they do not accuse him and he sees no need to answer them. But the Midrash interprets differently: Iyov said, if I did not act in this manner, let my words be ended, and let me have no opening of the mouth to say before You, "I have cleared out the holy things from the house"; therefore Moshe cautions Israel, "You shall surely tithe." In other words, Iyov claims that he gave all the gifts to the poor that were due from the field, each receiving his proper share, so why then should thistles grow instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley? And if indeed I did not act properly, let my words be ended - let me have no opening of the mouth before Hashem, may He be blessed, and I will be silent, possessing no claim whatsoever.
It was taught in the name of Rabbi Nechemiah: The way of the world is that a person who owns a field gives it to another to work it in exchange for a half, a third, or a quarter - according to the accepted agreement between the landowner and the sharecropper. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so: He causes the winds to blow, brings up clouds, brings down rain, causes dews to blossom, grows vegetation, and fattens fruit. If He performed ninety percent of the labor, presumably He would be entitled to ninety percent; and what did you do? You took the seed, scattered it, and at the end harvested what came up. Yet despite this, "He did not command us to separate more than one in ten." To a tenant farmer you would have paid far more, while the Holy One, blessed be He, Who did almost everything, asks you to bring Him nothing - only to give the poor what is rightfully theirs.
The Yalkut states: Iyov said, "If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together." They said to Iyov: Do you possess anything of it other than four cubits at the time of your death, and yet you say, "If my land cries out against me"? How is it yours - how does it belong to you? The grievance against Iyov addresses the very phrase "my land," as though he holds ownership and is the master of the house. They say to him: What kind of master are you? Over what are you ultimately the owner? Over four cubits, over the grave alone. As the saying goes: it does not matter what you drive here, a Subaru or a Mazda - in the end everyone is taken away in a Mercedes. What remains to you in the end? Only four cubits, and nothing more. And you call it "my land"?
Rabbi Chiyya Rabbah said: A parable of one who was selling a cloak in the marketplace. A man passed by, saw it, and said, "It is mine." The seller said to him, "Wrap yourself in it; if it fits you, it is yours, and if not, it is not yours." That is to say, put it on and let us see if the size fits you; and if you are extra-large and the garment is small, you cannot even fit your arms into the sleeves. So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Iyov: Was it not I about Whom it was written, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" And you say, "If my land cries out against me"? Let us see your ownership over it - how much can you contain? Four cubits in the end.
Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta said: A parable of one who was selling a maidservant in the marketplace. A man passed by, saw her, and said, "She is mine." The seller said to him, "Rebuke her; if she obeys you, she is yours, and if not, she is not yours." A servant cowers before his master, and a maidservant before her master and mistress - let us see if she cowers before you. So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Iyov: Was it not I about Whom it was written, "Who looks on the earth and it trembles, Who touches the mountains and they smoke"? I merely gaze at the earth and it trembles; and you who say "my land" - say something to it and let us see if it obeys you.
At that moment Iyov said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, that is not what I meant before You. Rather, in this sense I spoke: "If my land cries out against me" - let it cry out against me if I did not separate its tithes properly; "and its furrows weep together" - if I sowed it with mixed species (kilayim); "if I have eaten its fruits without money" - this refers to Ma'aser Sheni (the Second Tithe), regarding which it is said, "and you shall turn it into money," that I ate it without redeeming it with money; "and caused the soul of its owners to expire" - this refers to Ma'aser Ani (the Poor Man's Tithe). And if I did not do so, failing to fulfill my obligations properly, then I deserve that "instead of wheat let thistles come forth." But Heaven forbid that I meant by "my land" that I hold ownership over it; rather, that the land should avenge itself upon me if I did not treat it properly.
Rabbi Hoshaya taught: The Torah teaches you practical worldly wisdom (derech eretz) - a field that yields thistles is suitable for sowing wheat; a field that yields weeds (ba'ashah) is suitable for sowing barley. What is the reason? "Instead of wheat let thistles come forth, and instead of barley weeds." We learn that the place where barley naturally grows is where weeds take root, and the place where wheat naturally grows is where thistles take root. Therefore, one who sees weeds growing in a certain place and wishes to uproot them and sow - he should not sow cucumbers there, but barley, for the place of weeds is the place of barley, and the place of thistles is the place of wheat.
At the conclusion of his speech, Iyov swore that he never placed his trust in gold or fine gold, neither as security against harm nor as a source of good, and did not rejoice in the abundance of his wealth like someone who can manage without the Holy One, blessed be He. Even a fleeting thought of attributing success to constellations and stars never crossed his mind, for heresy is punished even in thought. He did not rejoice over the downfall of his enemies, and even investigated whether the members of his household had cursed them; he opened his doors to the stranger and the wayfarer, and did not conceal sins out of fear of public contempt. He refuses to accept his afflictions as an indictment: a book of truth recording his deeds he would wear like a crown, whereas the book of suffering is a heavy burden on his shoulder. Finally, he testifies that his land does not cry out against him, that he did not seize it unjustly and did not deprive the poor of their rightful gifts from it - and on this point, the Midrash observes that man has no true ownership of the land beyond four cubits of the grave, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, Who performs all the labor, asks only that man give the poor their portion. Here, "the words of Iyov are ended," and from this point onward Elihu ben Barachel the Buzite enters the discussion.