Albert Barnes Commentary Job 19:25

"But as for me I know that my Redeemer liveth, And at last he will stand up upon the earth:" — Job 19:25 (ASV)

For I know that my Redeemer liveth—There are few passages in the Bible that have excited more attention than this, or about which the opinions of commentators have been more divided. The importance of the passage (Job 19:25–27) has greatly contributed to the eagerness to understand its meaning, since, if it refers to the Messiah, it is one of the most valuable testimonies remaining of the early faith on that subject. The importance of the passage justifies a somewhat more extended examination of its meaning than is customary to give in a commentary on a single passage of Scripture; and I will:

1. Give the views held about it by the translators of the ancient and some of the modern versions;
2. Investigate the meaning of the words and phrases that occur in it; and
3. State the arguments, for and against, its supposed reference to the Messiah.

The Vulgate renders it, “For I know that my Redeemer—Redemptor meus—lives, and that in the last day I will rise from the earth; and again, I will be enveloped—circumdabor—with my skin, and in my flesh I will see my God. Whom I myself will see, and my eyes will behold, and not another—this, my hope, is laid up in my bosom.” The Septuagint translates it, “For I know that he is Eternal who is about to deliver me—ὁ ἐκλύειν με μέλλων (ho ekluein me mellōn)—to raise again upon earth this skin of mine, which draws up these things—τὸ ἀναντλοῦν ταῦτα (to anantloun tauta) (the meaning of which, I believe, no one has ever been able to divine). For from the Lord these things have happened to me of which I alone am conscious, which my eye has seen, and not another, and which have all been done to me in my bosom.” (Thompson’s translation in part).

The Syriac is, for the most part, a simple and correct rendering of the Hebrew: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the consummation he will be revealed upon the earth, and after my skin I will bless myself in these things, and after my flesh. If my eyes will see God, I will see light.” The Chaldee accords with our version, except in one phrase: “And afterward my skin will be inflated (משכי אתפת)—then in my flesh I will see God.” It will be seen that some perplexity was felt by the authors of the ancient versions regarding the passage. Much more has been felt by commentators. Some notes on the views of modern scholars, regarding particular words and phrases, will be given in the exposition.

I know—I am certain. On that point Job desires to express the utmost confidence. His friends might accuse him of hypocrisy—they might charge him with a lack of piety, and he might not be able to refute all that they said; but in the position referred to here he would remain fixed, and with this firm confidence he would support his soul. It was this that he wished to have recorded in the eternal rocks, so that the record might go down to future times. If future ages should be made acquainted with his name and his sufferings—if they should hear of the charges brought against him and of the accusations of impiety that had been so harshly and unfeelingly urged—he wished that this testimony might be recorded, to show that he had unwavering confidence in God.

He wished this eternal record to be made to show that he was not a rejecter of truth, that he was not an enemy of God, and that he had a firm confidence that God would yet come forth to vindicate him and would stand up as his friend. It was a testimony worthy of being held in everlasting remembrance, and one that has had, and will have, a permanence much greater than he anticipated.

That my Redeemer—This important word has been variously translated. Rosenmüller and Schultens render it vindicem; Dr. Good, Redeemer; Noyes and Wemyss, vindicator; Herder, avenger; Luther, Erlöser—Redeemer; Chaldee and Syriac, Redeemer. The Hebrew word גאל (gōʾal) is from גאל (gāʾal)—“to redeem, to ransom.” It is applied to the redemption of a farm sold, by paying back the price (Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 4:4, 6); to anything consecrated to God that is redeemed by paying its value (Leviticus 27:13); and to a slave that is ransomed (Leviticus 25:48–49). The word גאל (gōʾel) is applied to one who redeems a field (Leviticus 25:26) and is often applied to God, who had redeemed His people from bondage (Exodus 6:6; Isaiah 43:1). See the notes at Isaiah 43:1; and on the general meaning of the word, see the notes at Job 3:5.

Among the Hebrews, the גאל (gōʾel) occupied an important place as a blood-avenger or a vindicator of violated rights. See Numbers 35:12, 19, 21, 24-25, 27; Deuteronomy 19:6–12; Ruth 4:1, 6, 8; Joshua 20:3. The word גאל (gōʾel) is rendered kinsman (Ruth 4:1, 3, 6, 8), near kinsman (Ruth 3:9, 12), avenger (Numbers 35:12; Joshua 20:3), Redeemer (Job 19:25; Psalms 19:14; Isaiah 47:4; Isaiah 63:16; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 60:16), kin (Leviticus 25:25), and elsewhere. Moses found the office of the גאל (gōʾel)—or avenger—already instituted (see Michaelis’s Commentary on laws of Moses, section 136), and he adopted it into his code of laws. It would seem, therefore, not improbable that it prevailed in the adjacent countries in the time of Job, or that there may have been a reference to this office in the passage before us. The גאל (gōʾel) is first introduced in the laws of Moses as having a right to redeem a mortgaged field (Leviticus 25:25–26), and then as buying a right, as kinsman, to the restoration of anything that had been unjustly acquired (Numbers 5:8).

Then he is often referred to in the writings of Moses as the blood-avenger, or the kinsman of one who was slain, who would have a right to pursue the murderer, take vengeance on him, and whose duty it would be to do so. This right of a near relative to pursue a murderer and take vengeance seems to have been one that was early conceded everywhere. It was so understood among the American Indians and probably prevails in all countries before there are settled laws for the trial and punishment of the guilty. It was a right, however, that was liable to great abuse. Passion would take the place of reason, the innocent would be suspected, and the man who had slain another in self-defense was as likely to be pursued and slain as one who had been guilty of willful murder.

To guard against this, in the unsettled state of jurisprudence, Moses appointed cities of refuge, where the manslayer might flee until he could have a fair opportunity for trial.

It was impossible to put an end at once to the office of the גאל (gōʾel). The kinsman, the near relative, would feel himself called on to pursue the murderer; but the manslayer might flee into a sacred city and remain until he had a fair trial (see Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 19:6–7). It was a humane arrangement to appoint cities of refuge, where the man who had slain another might be secure until he had an opportunity for trial—an arrangement that eminently showed the wisdom of Moses. On the rights and duties of the גאל (gōʾel), the reader may consult Michaelis’s Commentary on the laws of Moses, articles 136 and 137. His essential office was that of a vindicator—one who took up the cause of a friend, whether that friend was murdered, oppressed, or wronged in any way.

Usually, perhaps always, this pertained to the nearest male kin and was instituted for the aid of the defenseless and the wronged.

In times long afterward, a somewhat similar feeling gave rise to the institution of chivalry and the voluntary defense of the innocent and oppressed. It cannot now be determined whether Job in this passage refers to the office of the גאל (gōʾel) as it was afterward understood, or whether it existed in his time. It seems probable that the office would exist at the earliest periods of the world, and that in the rudest stages of society the nearest of kin would feel himself called on to vindicate the wrong done to one of the weaker members of his family.

The word properly denotes, therefore, either vindicator or redeemer; and as far as the term is concerned, it may refer either to God as an avenger of the innocent, or to the future Redeemer—the Messiah. The meaning of this word would be met if it were understood as referring to God, coming forth in a public manner to vindicate the cause of Job against all the charges and accusations of his professed friends; or to God, who would appear as his vindicator at the resurrection; or to the future Messiah—the Redeemer of the body and the soul. No argument in favor of either of these interpretations can be derived from the use of the word.

Liveth—Is alive—חי (ḥay). The Septuagint has immortal—ἀένναός (aennaos). He seems now to have forsaken me as if He were dead, but my faith is unwavering in Him as a living vindicator. A similar expression occurs in Job 16:19: My witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. It is a declaration of entire confidence in God and will beautifully convey the emotions of the sincere believer in all ages. He may be afflicted with disease, or the loss of property, or be forsaken by his friends, or persecuted by his foes, but if he can look up to heaven and say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” he will have peace.

And that he shall stand—He will stand up, as one does who undertakes the cause of another. Jerome has rendered this as though it referred to Job, “And in the last day I will rise from the earth”—de terra surrecturus sum—as if it referred to the resurrection of the body. But this is not in accordance with the Hebrew, דקוּם (d^eqûm)—“he will stand.” There is clearly no necessary reference in this word to the resurrection. The simple meaning is, “He will appear, or manifest Himself, as the vindicator of my cause.”

At the latter day—The word “day” here is supplied by the translators. The Hebrew is יאחרין (y^eʾaḥărôn)—and after, afterward, hereafter, at length. The word literally means hinder, hinder part—opposite to foremost, former. It is applied to the Mediterranean Sea, as being behind when the eye of the geographer was supposed to be turned to the East (see the notes at Job 18:20); then it means after, later, applied to a generation or age (Psalms 48:14), to a day—to future times (יוֹם אַחֲרוֹן (yôm ʾaḥărôn)) (Proverbs 31:25; Isaiah 30:8). All that this word necessarily expresses here is that at some future period this would occur. It does not determine when it would be. The language would apply to any future time and might refer to the coming of the Redeemer, to the resurrection, or to some subsequent period in the life of Job.

The meaning is that however long he was to suffer, however protracted his calamities were and were likely to be, he had the utmost confidence that God would at length, or at some future time, come forth to vindicate him. The phrase “the latter day” has now acquired a kind of technical meaning, by which we naturally refer it to the day of judgment. But there is no evidence that it has any such reference here. On the general meaning of phrases of this kind, however, the reader may consult my notes at Isaiah 2:2.

Upon the earth—Hebrew עַל־עָפָר (ʿal ʿāphār)—upon the dust. Why the word dust is used, instead of אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) earth, is unknown. It may be because the word dust is emphatic, as being contrasted with heaven, the residence of the Deity (Noyes). What kind of an appearance God would assume when He should thus come forth, or how He would manifest Himself as the vindicator and Redeemer of Job, Job does not intimate, and conjecture would be useless. The words do not necessarily imply any visible manifestation—though such a manifestation would not be forbidden by the fair construction of the passage.

I say, they do not necessarily imply it; see Psalms 12:5, For the sighing of the needy, now will I arise (Hebrew: stand up—אָקוּם (ʾāqûm))—saith the Lord. See also Psalms 44:26, arise (Hebrew קוּמָה (qûmāh)—stand up) for our help. Whether this refers to any visible manifestation on behalf of Job is to be determined by factors other than the mere meaning of this word.