Job 8:4
If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;
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
בָּנֶ֥יךָ
If thy children
H1121
בָּנֶ֥יךָ
If thy children
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
2 of 7
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
חָֽטְאוּ
have sinned
H2398
חָֽטְאוּ
have sinned
Strong's:
H2398
Word #:
3 of 7
properly, to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn
וַֽ֝יְשַׁלְּחֵ֗ם
against him and he have cast them away
H7971
וַֽ֝יְשַׁלְּחֵ֗ם
against him and he have cast them away
Strong's:
H7971
Word #:
5 of 7
to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern wisdom assumed direct correlation between sin and suffering, righteousness and prosperity (Deuteronomy 28). This covenant pattern, true in general revelation, doesn't apply mechanically to individual cases—a nuance Bildad misses. The book of Job systematically dismantles simplistic retribution theology while affirming God's ultimate justice.
Questions for Reflection
- How do we avoid Bildad's error of using correct theology to reach incorrect conclusions about specific suffering?
- What does this verse teach about the danger of reading divine judgment into every tragedy?
- How should Jesus' teaching in Luke 13:1-5 and John 9:2-3 shape our pastoral response to those experiencing loss?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Bildad cruelly suggests Job's children deserved their deaths: 'If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression.' The conditional 'if' (im, אִם) is rhetorical—Bildad assumes their sin as fact. The phrase 'cast them away' (shalach be-yad, שָׁלַח בְּיַד, literally 'sent them into the hand') means to deliver them over to the power of their sin's consequences. This brutal assessment adds profound insult to Job's injury.
Bildad's theology contains truth—sin brings death (Romans 6:23)—but lacks compassion and misapplies general principle to specific case. He cannot know whether Job's children sinned; he simply assumes they must have because they died. This reasoning inverts proper theological method: rather than moving from revelation to application, Bildad moves from observation (death) to theological conclusion (sin), forcing reality into his theological grid.
The New Testament explicitly rejects this interpretive method. When disciples asked whether the blind man or his parents sinned (John 9:2), Jesus denied the assumption. When told of Galileans killed by Pilate and those killed when a tower fell (Luke 13:1-5), Jesus warned against inferring guilt from tragedy. Bildad's error isn't theological ignorance but pastoral insensitivity and epistemological overreach.