Job 27:20
Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
Original Language Analysis
כַ֭מַּיִם
on him as waters
H4325
כַ֭מַּיִם
on him as waters
Strong's:
H4325
Word #:
2 of 6
water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen
לַ֝֗יְלָה
in the night
H3915
לַ֝֗יְלָה
in the night
Strong's:
H3915
Word #:
4 of 6
properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e., night; figuratively, adversity
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern literature often depicted divine judgment as storm or flood—chaotic waters representing threat and destruction (see Psalm 18:4, 16; 69:1-2, 14-15). The storm theophany appears throughout Scripture as God's instrument of judgment (Psalm 83:15, Nahum 1:3). Job's audience, familiar with devastating storms in the ancient Near East, would recognize this imagery's power. Nighttime storms were particularly terrifying without modern weather prediction or lighting.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Job's description of divine judgment challenge comfortable assumptions about security and safety?
- What is the relationship between fearing God (reverential awe) and the terror that comes upon the wicked?
- How can we prepare spiritually for life's sudden storms, whether judgment or permitted testing?
Analysis & Commentary
Terrors take hold on him as waters—the noun בַּלָּהוֹת (ballahot, terrors/calamities) with the verb נָשַׂג (nasag, overtake/seize) depicts overwhelming dread. The simile "as waters" (כַּמַּיִם, kamayim) suggests a flood drowning the victim—uncontrollable, inescapable destruction. A tempest stealeth him away in the night uses סוּפָה (sufah, storm/whirlwind) with גָּנַב (ganav, steal away), emphasizing sudden, secret removal. Night (לַיְלָה, laylah) suggests vulnerability and lack of warning—he cannot see the storm coming.
Job concludes his description of the wicked's end with vivid catastrophe imagery: overwhelming terror like drowning, sudden destruction like a nighttime storm. This poetic climax emphasizes divine judgment's inevitability and inescapability. The wicked may accumulate wealth (v. 16-17) and build houses (v. 18), but terror and tempest will ultimately sweep them away. Yet Job himself has experienced this terror—the Satan-sent "great wind" that killed his children (1:19) came suddenly. Job maintains that despite experiencing the wicked's described fate, he remains innocent.