Job 17:7
Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
Original Language Analysis
וַתֵּ֣כַהּ
also is dim
H3543
וַתֵּ֣כַהּ
also is dim
Strong's:
H3543
Word #:
1 of 6
to be weak, i.e., (figuratively) to despond (causatively, rebuke), or (of light, the eye) to grow dull
עֵינִ֑י
Mine eye
H5869
עֵינִ֑י
Mine eye
Strong's:
H5869
Word #:
3 of 6
an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
Historical Context
Ancient physiology understood tight connections between emotional and physical health (compare Proverbs 17:22, 'a broken spirit drieth the bones'). Job's description isn't metaphorical but literal—prolonged grief and suffering were destroying his body, validating his complaints against friends who insisted he must be secretly sinful.
Questions for Reflection
- How does recognizing suffering's physical toll change how we minister to the grieving?
- What comfort can faith offer when our bodies fail and become 'as a shadow'?
- In what ways do modern Christians sometimes deny or minimize the legitimate physical effects of emotional and spiritual suffering?
Analysis & Commentary
Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow (וַתֵּכַהּ מִכַּעַשׂ עֵינִי, vattekhah mikka'as eini)—Tekhah (grows dim/darkens) describes failing vision from grief or age. Ka'as (sorrow/grief/vexation) is emotional and physical anguish. Job's suffering has literal physiological effects, contradicting his friends' assumption that only the wicked suffer visibly.
And all my members are as a shadow (וִיצֻרַי כַּצֵּל כֻּלָּם, viytsurai khatsel kullam)—Yetsurai (my members/forms/frame) refers to Job's bodily parts. Khatsel (as a shadow) evokes Psalm 102:11 and 144:4—human life's brevity and fragility. Job describes his body wasting to nothing, becoming insubstantial as a passing shadow.