Job 7:4

Authorized King James Version

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When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

Original Language Analysis

אִם H518
אִם
Strong's: H518
Word #: 1 of 11
used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not
שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי When I lie down H7901
שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי When I lie down
Strong's: H7901
Word #: 2 of 11
to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)
וְאָמַ֗רְתִּי I say H559
וְאָמַ֗רְתִּי I say
Strong's: H559
Word #: 3 of 11
to say (used with great latitude)
מָתַ֣י H4970
מָתַ֣י
Strong's: H4970
Word #: 4 of 11
properly, extent (of time); but used only adverbially (especially with other particle prefixes), when (either relative or interrogative)
אָ֭קוּם When shall I arise H6965
אָ֭קוּם When shall I arise
Strong's: H6965
Word #: 5 of 11
to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)
וּמִדַּד be gone H4059
וּמִדַּד be gone
Strong's: H4059
Word #: 6 of 11
flight
עָ֑רֶב and the night H6153
עָ֑רֶב and the night
Strong's: H6153
Word #: 7 of 11
dusk
וְשָׂבַ֖עְתִּי and I am full H7646
וְשָׂבַ֖עְתִּי and I am full
Strong's: H7646
Word #: 8 of 11
to sate, i.e., fill to satisfaction (literally or figuratively)
נְדֻדִ֣ים of tossings to and fro H5076
נְדֻדִ֣ים of tossings to and fro
Strong's: H5076
Word #: 9 of 11
properly, tossed; abstractly, a rolling (on the bed)
עֲדֵי H5704
עֲדֵי
Strong's: H5704
Word #: 10 of 11
as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)
נָֽשֶׁף׃ unto the dawning of the day H5399
נָֽשֶׁף׃ unto the dawning of the day
Strong's: H5399
Word #: 11 of 11
properly, a breeze, i.e., (by implication) dusk (when the evening breeze prevails)

Analysis & Commentary

Job's description of insomnia captures the torment of sleepless suffering. The question 'When shall I arise?' (matay akum, מָתַי אָקוּם) expresses desperate longing for morning—yet when morning comes, he longs for it to pass. This psychological agony reveals suffering's disorienting power. The phrase 'full of tossings' uses the Hebrew nadad (נָדַד), meaning restless wandering or fleeing, suggesting violent, involuntary movements from pain.

The temporal marker 'unto the dawning of the day' (neshef, נֶשֶׁף) refers to twilight or dawn—Job endures all night awaiting relief that brings only continued misery. This creates a vicious cycle where neither night nor day provides respite. Theologically, this reflects humanity's inability to escape suffering through mere time's passage. Only divine intervention, not temporal progression, brings redemption.

Job's experience foreshadows the psalmists' cries (Psalm 6:6, 'I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim') and anticipates Christ's agony in Gethsemane where the night hours brought intensifying dread. The Reformed tradition recognizes that God sometimes answers prayer not with immediate relief but with sustaining grace through prolonged trial (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Historical Context

Ancient Near Eastern culture practiced sunrise-to-sunset daily rhythms without artificial lighting. Nighttime represented vulnerability to danger and inability to work. For Job, night's normal rest becomes torment, inverting creation's good pattern (Genesis 1:5). This inversion signals creation's subjection to futility through the fall.

Questions for Reflection