Job 27:18
He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
Original Language Analysis
בֵּית֑וֹ
his house
H1004
בֵּית֑וֹ
his house
Strong's:
H1004
Word #:
3 of 6
a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
Cross References
Isaiah 1:8And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.Isaiah 51:8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
Historical Context
Ancient agricultural societies used temporary booths (sukkot) for field workers during planting and harvest. These simple structures provided minimal shelter and were abandoned afterward. Israel's Feast of Tabernacles commemorated wilderness wandering by requiring Israelites to dwell in temporary shelters (Leviticus 23:42-43), teaching dependence on God rather than permanent dwellings. Job's imagery would resonate powerfully with his original audience.
Questions for Reflection
- What "houses" (securities, achievements, reputations) are we building that might be as fragile as a moth's cocoon?
- How does the temporary nature of earthly dwelling challenge our investment in material security?
- What does it mean to build our lives on the eternal foundation rather than temporary structures?
Analysis & Commentary
He buildeth his house as a moth—the Hebrew עָשׁ (ash, moth) creates a startling image. The moth's "house" is its cocoon, easily destroyed and temporary. Some translations render this "moth-eaten house," but the point is fragility—elaborate construction with no permanence. As a booth that the keeper maketh uses סֻכָּה (sukkah, temporary shelter), the same word for the temporary dwellings in the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:42-43). A watchman's booth (נֹצֵר, notser, keeper/guard) was a flimsy structure in fields or vineyards, abandoned after harvest.
Job employs two images of impermanence: the moth's cocoon and the watchman's temporary hut. Despite the wicked person's investment in building security—house, wealth, legacy—it's fundamentally unstable. This contrasts with the righteous, whose house is built on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27). The imagery anticipates Jesus's teaching about foolish builders.