Job 11

Naamah’s location is unknown.

The Hebrew title of God used here is Shaddai.

Literally Sheol, a Hebrew word for the place of the dead. Greeks later translated the word as “Hades.”

In Job’s case, if Zophar’s theology is correct, Job’s tragedies serve as the mark that lets everyone know God considers him a sinner. That mark is as real as a branding iron that sears into his forehead the word “sinner.”

Literally a “wild ass,” which refers to several species of wild equine mammals, generally considered ancestors of domesticated donkeys. “Jackass” seems a word that best fits the insult Zophar intended. A jackass is a male donkey. In human terms, it’s a fool. Which is ironic because with that understanding, a jackass has become human, so there’s hope for a fool. But that’s probably not where Zophar was headed.

It seems clear that Zophar was talking about Job, who had just finished giving speeches saying he didn’t want to live. “I would rather choke to death” (Job 7: 15). “I wish I had been born dead on arrival” (Job 10:18).