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Job 16 · a question people ask

Who is the witness Job says is in heaven?

In the text

In this chapter Job doesn't say. He says where his witness is and what he hopes for: "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor!" (16:19-21). He had said before, "There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both" (9:33), and in Hebrew maintain the right (16:21) is the verb behind umpire there. Later he says, "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth" (19:25). Christians read these verses in more than one way. Chapter 19's honest question will set out the main readings, each resting on its verses, without choosing between them. Here, notice only what 16:19 says: Job's witness is "in heaven", "on high", and Job says it "even now".

The verses

“Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor!”
Job 16:19-21 · World English Bible
“There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both.”
Job 9:33 · World English Bible
“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth.”
Job 19:25 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Job 16

Job 16: My witness is in heaven

When Job says, "my witness is in heaven" (16:19), his word for witness is the same word he used a few verses earlier of his own shriveled body: "This is a witness against me" (16:8). And He who vouches for me (16:19) is a Hebrew word found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions