Job 6:12
Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
Original Language Analysis
אִם
H518
אִם
Strong's:
H518
Word #:
1 of 7
used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not
כֹּחִ֑י
Is my strength
H3581
כֹּחִ֑י
Is my strength
Strong's:
H3581
Word #:
2 of 7
vigor, literally (force, in a good or a bad sense) or figuratively (capacity, means, produce)
כֹּחִ֑י
Is my strength
H3581
כֹּחִ֑י
Is my strength
Strong's:
H3581
Word #:
4 of 7
vigor, literally (force, in a good or a bad sense) or figuratively (capacity, means, produce)
אִֽם
H518
אִֽם
Strong's:
H518
Word #:
5 of 7
used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not
Historical Context
Stone and brass (bronze) represented maximum durability in ancient materials. Job's denial that he possesses such strength emphasizes his mortality and vulnerability—a countercultural admission in wisdom literature that often idealized the sage's strength.
Questions for Reflection
- How do you balance acknowledging human frailty with trusting in God's strength?
- What does Job's admission of weakness teach us about authentic versus pretended spirituality?
Analysis & Commentary
Job continues: 'Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?' The rhetorical questions emphasize human frailty. Job isn't stone or brass—he's flesh, vulnerable and limited. Eliphaz's exhortations ignore Job's human limitations. This challenges the stoic ideal that the wise should be unmoved by circumstance, instead affirming that embodied humans legitimately feel pain. Reformed anthropology recognizes human frailty while pointing to God's strength perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).