The Pulpit Commentary on Job 5:23

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; i.e. there shall be peace between thee and all the rest of God's creation, even "the stones of the field," against which thou shalt not dash thy foot (Psalms 91:12); and if the senseless stones am thus in league with thee, and refrain from doing thee hurt, much more mayest thou be sure that the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. For they are not altogether senseless, and will in some sort understand that thou art under God's protection, and not to be molested by them. A misplaced ingenuity seeks to find either six or seven forms of calamity in the enumeration of Job 5:20-23; but there appear to be really only five:

The expression used in Job 5:19—"six, yea, seven"—means, as already explained, an indefinite number.

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