Albert Barnes Commentary Job 42:11

"Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold." — Job 42:11 (ASV)

Then came there unto him all his brethren ... - It seems remarkable that none of these friends came near him during his afflictions, and especially that his sisters should not have been with him to sympathize with him. But it was one of the bitter sources of his affliction, and one of the grounds of his complaint, that in his trials his relatives kept their distance from him; so in Job 19:13-14, he says, “He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.” It is not easy to account for this.

It may have been, however, that some were kept from showing any sympathy, in accordance with the general fact that there are always professed friends, and sometimes relatives, who forsake a man in affliction; and that some regarded him as abandoned by God, and forsook him on that account—from a mistaken view of what they regarded as duty, that they ought to forsake one whom God had forsaken.

When his calamities had passed, however, and he again enjoyed the tokens of the divine favor, all returned to him full of condolence and kindness; some, probably, because friends always cluster around one who comes out of calamity and rises again to honor, and the others because they supposed that as God regarded him now with approval, it was proper for them to do it also. A man who has been unfortunate, and who is visited with returning prosperity, never lacks friends. The rising sun reveals many friends that darkness had driven away, or brings to light many—real or professed—who were concealed at midnight.

And did eat bread with him in his house - An ancient token of friendship and affection. (Proverbs 9:5; Proverbs 23:6).

And every man also gave him a piece of money - This is probably one of the earliest instances in which money is mentioned in history. It is, of course, impossible now to determine the form or value of the “piece of money” here referred to. The Hebrew word (קשׂיטה qeśı̂ṭâh), occurs only in this place and in Genesis 33:19, where it is rendered “pieces of money,” and in Joshua 24:32, where it is rendered “pieces of silver.” It is evident, therefore, that it was one of the earliest names given to coin, and its use here is an argument that the book of Job is of very early origin. Had it been composed at a later age, the word “shekel,” or some word in common use to denote money, would have been used. The Vulgate here renders the word “ovem,” a sheep; the Septuagint similarly, ἀμνάδα amnada—“a lamb;” and the Chaldee does as well.

In the margin, in both the other places where the word occurs (Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32), it is also rendered “lambs.”

The reason why it is so rendered is unknown. It may have been supposed that in early times a sheep or lamb, having something like a fixed value, might have been the standard by which to estimate the value of other things; but there is nothing in the etymology of the word to support this interpretation. The word in Arabic (kasat) means to divide out equally, to measure; and the Hebrew word probably had some similar meaning, denoting that which was measured or weighed out, and hence became the name of a certain “weight” or “amount” of money. It is very probable that the first money consisted of a certain amount of the precious metals “weighed out,” without being “coined” in any way.

It is not an improbable supposition, however, that the figure of a sheep or lamb was the first figure stamped on coins, and this may be the reason why the word used here was rendered this way in the ancient versions. On the meaning of the word, Bochart may be consulted, “Hieroz.” P. i. Lib. c. xliii. pp. 433-437; Rosenmuller on Genesis 33:19; Schultens “in loc;” and the following work in Ugolin’s “Thes. Antiq. Sacr.” Tom. xxviii., “Otthonis Sperlingii Diss. de nummis non cusis,” pp. 251-253, 298-306. The arguments of Bochart to prove that this word denotes a piece of money, and not a lamb, as it is rendered by the Vulgate, the Septuagint, the Syriac, the Arabic, and by Onkelos, are briefly:

1. That in more than a hundred places where reference is made in the Scriptures to a lamb or a sheep, this word is not used. Other words are constantly employed.
2. The testimony of the rabbis is uniform that it denotes a piece of money. Akiba says that when he traveled into Africa he found there a coin which they called kesita. Likewise, Rabbi Solomon, and Levi Ben Gerson, in their commentaries, and Kimchi, Pomarius, and Aquinas, in their Lexicons.
3. The authority of the Masoretes in relation to the Hebrew word is the same. According to Bochart, the word is the same as קשׁט qāshaṭ or קשׁט qosheṭ—changing the Hebrew letter שׁ for the Hebrew letter שׂ. The word means true, sincere (Psalms 60:6; Proverbs 22:21). According to this, the name was given to the coin because it was made of pure metal—unadulterated silver or gold. See this argument at length in Bochart.
4. The feminine form of the noun used here shows that it does not mean a lamb—since it is wholly improbable that the friends of Job would send him ewe lambs only.
5. In the early times of the patriarchs—as early as the time of Jacob—money was in common use, and trade was conducted using it as a medium (Genesis 17:12–13; Genesis 47:16).
6. The statement in Acts 7:16 leads to the supposition that “money” is referred to by the word as used in Genesis 33:19. If, as is supposed there, the purchase of the same field is referred to in Genesis 23:16 and Genesis 23:19, then it is clear that money is referred to by the word. In Genesis 23:16 it is said that Abraham paid for the field of Ephron in Machpelah “four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.” And if the same purchase is referred to in both these places, then by a comparison of the two, it appears that the kesita was heavier than the shekel, and contained about four shekels. It is not easy, however, to determine its value.

And every one an earring of gold - The word rendered “earring” (נזם nezem) may mean a ring for the nose (Genesis 24:47; Isaiah 3:21; Proverbs 11:22; Hosea 2:13), as well as for the ear (Genesis 35:4). The word “ring” would better express the sense here without specifying its particular use. (Proverbs 25:12). Ornaments of this kind were much worn by the ancients (compare Isaiah 3; Genesis 24:22), and a contribution of these from each one of Job’s friends would constitute a valuable property. . It was not uncommon for friends to bring presents in this way to one who was restored from great calamity. (See 2 Chronicles 32:23).