Job 24:9
They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
Original Language Analysis
יִ֭גְזְלוּ
They pluck
H1497
יִ֭גְזְלוּ
They pluck
Strong's:
H1497
Word #:
1 of 6
to pluck off; specifically to flay, strip or rob
מִשֹּׁ֣ד
from the breast
H7699
מִשֹּׁ֣ד
from the breast
Strong's:
H7699
Word #:
2 of 6
the breast of a woman or animal (as bulging)
וְֽעַל
H5921
וְֽעַל
Strong's:
H5921
Word #:
4 of 6
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
Historical Context
Debt-bondage was widespread in the ancient Near East. Children could be sold to pay family debts, becoming servants until jubilee year (Leviticus 25:39-43) or until debt was repaid. The Mosaic law attempted to limit this practice, but Job describes its abuse—creditors seizing children as collateral, tearing nursing infants from mothers. This violated both the letter and spirit of covenant law. Nehemiah later confronted this exact abuse (Nehemiah 5:1-13), forcing creditors to return seized property and children.
Questions for Reflection
- How does this verse expose the cruelty of economic systems that treat humans, especially children, as commodities?
- What modern equivalents exist—child labor, human trafficking, family separation due to incarceration or deportation?
- How can believers work to ensure that economic pressures never justify separating families or exploiting children?
Analysis & Commentary
They pluck the fatherless from the breast (יִגְזְלוּ מִשַּׁד יָתוֹם, yigzelú mishád yatóm)—The verb gazal (גָזַל) means to tear away violently or rob, the same word used in verse 2 for seizing flocks. The shad (שַׁד, breast) indicates a nursing infant. This horrific image depicts creditors seizing even nursing babies as payment for debt—the ultimate cruelty, separating mother and child at the most vulnerable life stage. Whether literal or hyperbolic, it represents the complete ruthlessness of oppression that respects no human bond.
And take a pledge of the poor (וְעַל־עָנִי יַחְבְּלוּ, ve'al-aní yachbélu)—The verb chabal (חָבַל) means to take as security or pledge. The preposition 'al (עַל) can mean 'upon' or 'against,' suggesting the pledge falls upon or oppresses the poor person. Mosaic law prohibited taking necessities as pledge—millstones (Deuteronomy 24:6), cloaks overnight (Exodus 22:26-27). Here the pledge taken is human—children themselves become collateral. This practice, though condemned, occurred in Israel (2 Kings 4:1, Nehemiah 5:5). Leviticus 25:39-43 specifically forbids treating Israelites as slaves, yet debt-slavery persisted when covenant law was ignored.