Job 30:9
And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
Original Language Analysis
וְ֭עַתָּה
H6258
נְגִינָתָ֣ם
And now am I their song
H5058
נְגִינָתָ֣ם
And now am I their song
Strong's:
H5058
Word #:
2 of 6
properly, instrumental music; by implication, a stringed instrument; by extension, a poem set to music; specifically, an epigram
הָיִ֑יתִי
H1961
הָיִ֑יתִי
Strong's:
H1961
Word #:
3 of 6
to exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern cultures preserved memory through oral tradition—songs, proverbs, and bywords. To become someone's 'song' meant your fate was memorialized as entertainment or warning. The book of Lamentations shows how conquered Jerusalem became a 'byword' among nations (Lamentations 2:15). Job's transformation from honored sage to ridiculed outcast would have been preserved in local folk memory, perhaps for generations. This public shaming intensified personal suffering—Job grieves not just pain but permanent disgrace.
Questions for Reflection
- How does public humiliation compound personal suffering, and how did Christ endure both on the cross?
- When have you been misrepresented or become the subject of gossip? How did you respond?
- What does Job's willingness to describe his shame teach us about honest lament before God?
Analysis & Commentary
And now am I their song (וְעַתָּה הָיִיתִי נְגִינָתָם)—The Hebrew neginah (נְגִינָה) means a mocking song or taunt, used of enemies' ridicule in Lamentations 3:14, 63. Job has become street entertainment, the subject of satirical ballads. I am their byword (אֶהְיֶה לָהֶם לְמִלָּה)—Millah (מִלָּה) means proverb or byword, suggesting Job's name has become proverbial for calamity, like we might say 'a real Job situation.' His reputation, once synonymous with righteousness and blessing, now signifies cursed misfortune.
This verse captures devastating social death. In oral cultures, reputation was everything—to become a cautionary tale while still alive constitutes civic extinction. The psalmist echoes this agony: 'I am become a reproach...a byword among them' (Psalm 44:13-14). Yet Christ fulfilled this pattern perfectly, becoming 'a reproach of men, and despised of the people' (Psalm 22:6), mocked with a crown of thorns and a title of derision.