Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit, And his life to the destroyers." — Job 33:22 (ASV)
Yes, his soul draws near to the grave - That is, he himself does, for the word "soul" is often used to denote self.
And his life to the destroyers - — לממתים (lammitiym), literally, "to those causing death." The interpretation commonly given of this is "the angels of death," who were believed to come to end human life (Compare to 2 Samuel 24:16–17). But it probably refers to diseases and pangs as having power to terminate life and being the cause of the end of life. The meaning is that the afflicted man comes very near to those acute sufferings which terminate life, and which by personification are here represented as the authors of death.