Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,
- KJV Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
- NKJV “Do you not know this of old, Since man was placed on earth,
- NASB “Do you know this from ancient times, From the establishment of mankind on earth,
- NLT “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zophar appeals to ancient, well-known wisdom: a truth as old as humanity itself. He grounds his argument in long-standing tradition.
Overview
Zophar opens his case by invoking timeless knowledge passed down since mankind was placed on earth, claiming it is obvious to all. He uses the weight of tradition to lend authority to his coming claim about the wicked. While appealing to inherited wisdom can be valuable, Zophar wrongly assumes the rule he cites applies neatly to Job, ignoring the mystery of righteous suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Job 8:8–9Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.
- Gen 9:1–3And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
- Job 32:7I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom.
- Ps 115:16The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
- Gen 1:28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
- Job 15:10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 20:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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