Job 3:13
For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
Original Language Analysis
כִּֽי
H3588
כִּֽי
Strong's:
H3588
Word #:
1 of 8
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
עַ֭תָּה
H6258
שָׁכַ֣בְתִּי
For now should I have lain still
H7901
שָׁכַ֣בְתִּי
For now should I have lain still
Strong's:
H7901
Word #:
3 of 8
to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)
יָ֝שַׁ֗נְתִּי
I should have slept
H3462
יָ֝שַׁ֗נְתִּי
I should have slept
Strong's:
H3462
Word #:
5 of 8
properly, to be slack or languid, i.e., (by implication) sleep (figuratively, to die); also to grow old, stale or inveterate
אָ֤ז׀
H227
Historical Context
Old Testament believers understood death as descent to Sheol, a shadowy realm of rest for the dead (compare Jacob in Genesis 37:35). The fuller revelation of resurrection and eternal judgment comes later in Scripture.
Questions for Reflection
- How does the Christian hope of resurrection transform the Old Testament view of death as rest?
- When has suffering made rest—even death's rest—seem desirable?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Job imagines that had he died at birth, 'then should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest.' He pictures death as peaceful rest contrasting with his current agony. This reflects the Old Testament understanding of Sheol as a place of rest for the dead, though without the fuller New Testament revelation of resurrection and judgment. Job's desire for death's rest reveals that suffering has made existence itself burdensome.