Job 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE. This chapter records the speech of Bildad the Shuhite (one of Job's friends), which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising –31:40.
The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 21 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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The structure of the book is as follows:
Within the structure, chapter 18 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:
The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar.
Chapter 18 can be divided into two parts:
Whereas in their first speech both Eliphaz and Bildad focus on the nature of God, in their second speech both explore the topic of the fate of the wicked, suggesting in the course of the conversation they become more convinced that Job is among the wicked.
The chapter opens with Bildad's rebuke of Job for considering his friends as fools (like cattle, verse 3; cf Job 17:10) and urge for Job to be sensible and have broader perspective.
[Bildad said:] "“Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of his fire does not shine."[2]
The second part of the chapter contains Bildad's extended description of the fate of the wicked: insecurity, terror and hopelessness. It can be implied that Job is at least on the way to be one of the wicked, so the whole section serves as a strong warning to Job. This is strongly emphasized in the last two verses of the chapter (verses 20–21), which demonstrates Bildad's view of Job's descent into the wickedness.
[Bildad said:] "They who come after him will be astonished at his day,
as they who went before were seized with fright."[4]
In relation to the geography, there are Hebrew terms of the seas: "the hinder sea", referring to the Mediterranean (in the "West"), and "the front sea", referring to the Dead Sea (Zechariah 14:8), namely, the "East".[6] The Greek Septuagint (among other versions) understood the verse as temporal: "the last groaned for him, and wonder seized the first".[6]
. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .
. Henry Hampton Halley. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary . 24th (revised). Zondervan Publishing House . 1965 . 0-310-25720-4.