Job 4:15

15 A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.

Job 4:15 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
English Standard Version (ESV)
15 A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
New Living Translation (NLT)
15 A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end.
The Message Bible (MSG)
15 A spirit glided right in front of me - the hair on my head stood on end.
American Standard Version (ASV)
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
15 A spirit passed in front of me. It made my hair stand on end.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
15 A wind passed by me, and I shuddered with fear.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
15 A spirit glided past my face. The hair on my body stood on end.

Job 4:15 Meaning and Commentary

Job 4:15

Then a spirit passed before my face
Which some interpret of a wind F17, a blustering wind, that blew strong in his face; and so the Targum renders it, a stormy wind, such an one as Elijah perceived when the Lord spoke to him, though he was not in that, ( 1 Kings 19:11 ) ; or such a whirlwind, out of which the Lord spake to Job, ( Job 38:1 ) ; or rather, as Jarchi, an angel, an immaterial spirit, one of Jehovah's ministering spirits, clothed in an human form, and which passed and repassed before Eliphaz, that he might take notice of it:

the hair of my flesh stood up;
erect, through surprise and dread; which is sometimes the case, when anything astonishing and terrible is beheld; the blood at such times making its way to the heart, for the preservation of that, leaves the external members of the body cold, and the skin of the flesh, in which the hair is, being contracted by the impetuous influx of the nervous fluid, causes the hair to stand upright, particularly the hair of the head, like the prickles or hedgehogs F18; which has been usual at the sight of an apparition F19.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (xwr) "ventus", Vatablus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Broughton.
F18 "Obstupui, steteruntque comae----". Virgil. Aeneid. l. 2. ver. 774. & l. 3. ver. 48. "arrectaeque horrore comae". Aeneid. 4. ver. 286. & l. 12. ver. 888.
F19 Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. p. 665.

Job 4:15 In-Context

13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people,
14 fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.
16 It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice:
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?

Cross References 1

  • 1. Daniel 5:6; Daniel 7:15,28; Daniel 10:8; Matthew 14:26
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