Albert Barnes Commentary Job 18:20

"They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted." — Job 18:20 (ASV)

Those who come after him - Future ages; those who may hear of his history and of the manner in which he was cut off from life. The passage has generally been rendered this way; so, substantially, it is by Dr. Good, Dr. Noyes, Rosenmuller, and Luther. The Vulgate translates it novissimi; the Septuagint, ἔσχατοι (eschatoi) — “the last” — meaning those who would live after him, or at a later period. But Schultens supposes that the word used here denotes those in “the West,” and the corresponding word rendered “went before,” denotes those in “the East.” Wemyss concurs with this view, rendering the whole verse:

“The West shall be astonished at his end;
The East shall be panic-struck.”

According to this, it means that those who lived in the remotest regions would be astonished at the calamities that would come upon him. It seems to me that this accords better with the scope of the passage than the other interpretation, and avoids some difficulties that cannot be separated from the other view. The word translated in our version, “that come after him,” אחרינים ('achăryônı̂ym), is from אחר ('âchar) — to be after, or behind; to stay behind, to delay, remain. It then means “after,” or “behind”; and since in the geography of the Orientals the face was supposed to be turned to “the East,” instead of to the North, as with us (a much more natural position than ours), the word “after,” or “behind,” comes to denote West, the right hand the South, and the left the North (see the notes at Job 23:8-9).

Thus, the phrase האחרין הים (hayâm hā'achăryôn) — “the sea behind” — denotes the Mediterranean Sea (the West) (Deuteronomy 24:3; Deuteronomy 34:2; Joel 2:20), where the same phrase in Hebrew occurs. Those who lived in “the West,” therefore, would be accurately referred to by this phrase.

Shall be astonied - This means “shall be astonished” — “astonied” being the old way of writing the word (Isaiah 52:14). It is not known, however, to be used in any other book than the Bible.

As those who went before - Margin, or “lived with him.” Noyes states, “his elders shall be struck with horror.” The Vulgate has, “et primos invadet horror.” The Septuagint reads, “amazement seizes ‘the first’” — πρώτους (prōtous). But the more correct interpretation is that which refers it to the people of the East.

The word קדמנים (qadmônı̂ym) is from קדם (qâdam), meaning to precede or to go before. Consequently, the derivatives refer to that which goes before, which is in front, and so on. Since geographers traditionally oriented themselves facing East, the word comes to express that which is in the East, or near the sun-rising (Job 23:8; Genesis 2:8).

Hence, the phrase בני קדם (beney qedem) — “sons of the East” — means the people who lived east of Palestine (Job 1:3; Isaiah 11:14; Genesis 25:6; Genesis 29:1).

The word used here, קדמנים (qadmônı̂ym), denotes the people or the regions of the East (Ezekiel 47:8, 18; Zechariah 14:8). Here it means, as it seems to me, the people of the East. The idea is that people everywhere would be astonished at the doom of the wicked man; his punishment would be so sudden and complete as to hold the world mute with amazement.

Were affrighted - Margin, “laid hold on horror.” This is a more literal rendering. The sense is that they would be struck with horror at what would occur to him.