Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Job 7 Bible study: What is man?
Job's "What is man, that you should magnify him" (7:17) opens with the same three Hebrew words as Psalm 8:4, and his visit (7:18) is the psalm's care for. But where the psalm goes on to "glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5), Job goes on to "test him every moment" (7:18).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should set your mind on him, that you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Job 7 begins with a question about a man in general before Job speaks of himself.”
Is that in Job 7, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
A hired hand's days
Chapter 7 has no heading of its own: Job's answer began at 6:1 and runs to the end of this chapter. He opens with a question about everyone: "Isn’t a man forced to labor on earth? Aren’t his days like the days of a hired hand?" (7:1) (tap forced to labor, hired hand). In Hebrew forced to labor is one word, tsava', which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "army, war, warfare", with "service" among its senses; Job uses it again of himself: "Changes and warfare are with me" (10:17). Then two workers: "As a servant who earnestly desires the shadow, as a hireling who looks for his wages" (7:2). Only then does he say I: "so I am made to possess months of misery, wearisome nights are appointed to me" (7:3), and "I toss and turn until the dawning of the day" (7:4). The servant longs for the shadow and the hireling looks for his wages (7:2); what Job says comes to him is months of misery and wearisome nights (7:3).
Where it leads to Jesus
"Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Job 7:21leads toMark 2:10
Job asks, "Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity?" (7:21). In Mark, Jesus says to a paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you" (Mark 2:5); some scribes reason, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7); and Jesus answers, "that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10). Mark doesn't name Job, so setting them side by side is a reading, resting on a shared subject: the pardon of sin, which Job asks of the one he speaks to and the scribes say belongs to God alone. The line meets only that question, the one that opens 7:21. Some read the two together: what Job asks about in 7:21, Jesus says the Son of Man has authority to do on earth. Others read each in its own setting: Jesus spoke to one paralytic and said nothing of Job, and Job's question stands in his own speech (6:1-7:21). Neither reading says Job had sinned (the chapter doesn't settle it, 7:20), and neither makes Job a picture of Jesus.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Job 7
That was a taste
The rest of Job 7 is waiting in Favor
- A shuttle and a breath
- From a man to you
- Words from Exodus 34, in Job 7
- 9 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Job 7 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
אֱנוֹשׁenoshsay e-NOSH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "man, mankind". Strong's: "properly, a mortal". Job opens the chapter with it, "Isn’t a man forced to labor on earth?" (7:1), and comes back to it in "What is man, that you should magnify him" (7:17). Psalm 8:4 begins with the same three Hebrew words as 7:17, mah enosh ki, what is man, that: "what is man, that you think of him?" (Psalm 8:4). Eliphaz will open a question with the same three words: "What is man, that he should be clean?" (15:14). The word comes 42 times in the Hebrew Bible, 18 of them in Job.
For your group
Job 7 Bible study questions
- 1Job compares a man's days to a hired hand's (7:1), like a servant longing for the shadow or a hireling looking for his wages (7:2). When have you felt you were just getting through the days, and what helped?
- 2Job says, "Therefore I will not keep silent" (7:11), and says what he feels to the one he speaks to. What makes it easier or harder for you to be that honest in prayer?
- 3The psalm asks, "what is man, that you think of him?" (Psalm 8:4), and Job asks, "What is man, that you should magnify him" (7:17), then speaks of being tested every moment (7:18). Which of the two sounds closer to your own question this week, and why?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Job 7 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Job 7 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Job 7 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Job 7
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home