Job 3:16
Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
Original Language Analysis
א֤וֹ
H176
א֤וֹ
Strong's:
H176
Word #:
1 of 9
desire (and so probably in proverbs 31:4); hence (by way of alternative) or, also if
לֹ֣א
H3808
לֹ֣א
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
4 of 9
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה
H1961
אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה
Strong's:
H1961
Word #:
5 of 9
to exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
לֹא
H3808
לֹא
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
7 of 9
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
Cross References
Psalms 58:8As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.Ecclesiastes 6:3If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.1 Corinthians 15:8And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Historical Context
Miscarried infants in the ancient Near East were typically buried without the ceremonies accorded to those who lived. Job considers such anonymous non-existence preferable to his painful notoriety.
Questions for Reflection
- What does Job's wish for complete obscurity teach us about how suffering affects our desire for significance?
- How do you maintain hope when suffering makes even existence itself seem undesirable?
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Analysis & Commentary
Job wishes he had been 'as an hidden untimely birth'—a miscarriage buried without ceremony. The Hebrew 'nephel' (untimely birth/miscarriage) represents the ultimate obscurity—existence so brief it never achieves recognition. Job considers this preferable to his current suffering. The phrase 'as infants which never saw light' emphasizes that even momentary existence with subsequent suffering seems worse than never having lived at all from Job's current perspective.