Job 30:8
They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
Original Language Analysis
בְּנֵ֣י
They were children
H1121
בְּנֵ֣י
They were children
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
1 of 9
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
גַּם
H1571
גַּם
Strong's:
H1571
Word #:
3 of 9
properly, assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correl. both...and
בְּנֵ֣י
They were children
H1121
בְּנֵ֣י
They were children
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
4 of 9
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
בְלִי
H1097
בְלִי
Strong's:
H1097
Word #:
5 of 9
properly, failure, i.e., nothing or destruction; usually (with preposition) without, not yet, because not, as long as, etc
שֵׁ֑ם
of base men
H8034
שֵׁ֑ם
of base men
Strong's:
H8034
Word #:
6 of 9
an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character
Cross References
Isaiah 32:6For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.Proverbs 1:22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?Proverbs 16:22Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.Mark 6:24And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern society operated on strict honor-shame hierarchies. The 'men of base repute' Job describes were likely nomadic outlaws, expelled from towns for crimes or moral failures. That such men now mock Job demonstrates his complete social reversal. In patriarchal culture, a man's honor came from ancestry, wealth, and reputation—Job has lost all three. His description of their baseness isn't merely personal offense but recognition of how far he's fallen when society's dregs feel emboldened to scorn him.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Job's humiliation by society's outcasts deepen our understanding of Christ's identification with the despised and rejected?
- When has loss of status or reputation revealed who truly values you for character versus position?
- How should Christians respond when mocked or scorned by those they once would have pitied?
Analysis & Commentary
They were children of fools, yea, children of base men (בְּנֵי־נָבָל גַּם־בְּנֵי בְלִי־שֵׁם)—Job describes his mockers' ancestry using devastating Hebrew terms. Nabal (נָבָל) means not merely foolish but morally degenerate, the same word describing the churlish Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Beli-shem (בְלִי־שֵׁם) literally means 'without name'—men of no reputation, nameless outcasts. In honor-shame culture, this denotes the absolute bottom of society.
They were viler than the earth (נִכְּאוּ מִן־הָאָרֶץ)—The verb nikka'u means 'beaten out' or 'driven out,' suggesting violent expulsion from civilized society. These are not merely poor but debased, the socially invisible. The bitter irony: Job, once greatest of the East (1:3), now mocked by those beneath even earth's dignity. This descent from honor to shame prefigures Christ, who was despised and rejected (Isaiah 53:3), numbered with transgressors though innocent.