Job 27:12
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
Original Language Analysis
כֻּלְּכֶ֣ם
H3605
כֻּלְּכֶ֣ם
Strong's:
H3605
Word #:
3 of 8
properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
חֲזִיתֶ֑ם
Behold all ye yourselves have seen
H2372
חֲזִיתֶ֑ם
Behold all ye yourselves have seen
Strong's:
H2372
Word #:
4 of 8
to gaze at; mentally to perceive, contemplate (with pleasure); specifically, to have a vision of
וְלָמָּה
H4100
וְלָמָּה
Strong's:
H4100
Word #:
5 of 8
properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and
זֶּ֝֗ה
H2088
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern wisdom relied on observable patterns to discern divine order. Job's friends assumed a rigid retribution principle: righteousness yields prosperity, wickedness yields suffering. Job forces them to confront counter-examples their system cannot explain, exposing the vanity of theology that denies rather than engages reality.
Questions for Reflection
- How do you respond when observed reality challenges your theological assumptions—do you adjust theology or deny reality?
- What makes theological reasoning 'vain' or futile according to Job's critique?
- In what ways can we guard against the vanity of forcing God's ways into our systematic categories?
Analysis & Commentary
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it (הֵן־אַתֶּם כֻּלְּכֶם חֲזִיתֶם)—the emphatic 'you yourselves' (attem kullekhem, אַתֶּם כֻּלְּכֶם) stresses that Job's friends have witnessed the same realities he describes. The verb chazah (חָזָה) means to see, perceive, or behold—often used of prophetic vision. Why then are ye thus altogether vain? (וְלָמָּה־זֶּה הֶבֶל תֶּהְבָּלוּ)—hebel (הֶבֶל) means vapor, breath, vanity, or futility (the key word in Ecclesiastes).
Job indicts his friends' interpretation despite shared observation—they've seen that the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer (counter to their retribution theology), yet they persist in 'vain' explanations. The doubled hebel (תֶּהְבָּלוּ, 'become vain') emphasizes complete futility. This challenges the human tendency to force reality into preconceived theological systems rather than submitting our understanding to observed truth. Paul warns against 'vain philosophy' (Colossians 2:8), and Job anticipates this—theology disconnected from reality becomes 'vapor.' Only God's self-revelation (chapters 38-41) can correct human vanity.