“O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!”
My Notes
What Does Job 14:13 Mean?
Job's prayer here is paradoxically hopeful: he asks God to hide him in Sheol (the grave) — not as a place of punishment but as a shelter. He wants to be "kept secret" until God's wrath passes, then remembered and brought back. It's a request for temporary hiding, not permanent death. Job is reaching for a concept that barely exists in his theological vocabulary: resurrection.
The phrase "appoint me a set time, and remember me" is extraordinary. Job asks for a divine appointment — a scheduled time when God will think of him again and retrieve him from death. The word "remember" (zakar) is covenantal language. When God "remembers" in the Bible, it means He acts — He remembered Noah and sent the wind, remembered Rachel and opened her womb. Job is asking for that kind of active, purposeful remembering.
This verse is one of the earliest hints of resurrection hope in the Old Testament. Job imagines death as a waiting room, not a final destination. God's wrath will pass, and then — maybe — there will be a set time, an appointed moment, when God remembers and restores.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever wanted to just be hidden from your pain until it passes? How did you express that to God?
- 2.What does it mean to you that God's 'remembering' always involves action?
- 3.Where do you see hope in this verse — even though it's spoken from the depths of suffering?
- 4.What would you ask God to 'appoint a set time' for in your life right now?
Devotional
Job asks God to hide him in death — and then remember him. Not forget him. Not leave him there permanently. Just hide him until the storm passes, and then come back for him.
This is a prayer born from unbearable pain. Job doesn't want to die permanently — he wants to escape temporarily. He wants a hiding place from the suffering, a shelter where the wrath can't reach him, and a promise that someone will come back for him when it's over.
The most remarkable word in this verse is "remember." Job asks God to remember him. Not in the casual sense of recalling a name, but in the biblical sense where God's remembering always produces action. Remember me the way you remembered Noah. Remember me the way you remembered your promises. Active, purposeful, saving remembering.
If you're in a season of suffering that feels endless — where the pain is so constant you'd welcome the oblivion of just being hidden somewhere until it passes — Job's prayer is yours. You can ask God to shelter you. You can ask for a set time. You can ask to be remembered. And the God who remembers covenant promises is a God who comes back for His people.
The pain won't last forever. There is a set time. And God does not forget.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And that thou wouldest hide me in the grave,.... The house appointed for all living, which some understand by the…
Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave; - compare the notes at Job 3:11 ff. Hebrew “in Sheol” - ב־שׁאול bı̂-she'ôl.…
We have seen what Job has to say concerning life; let us now see what he has to say concerning death, which his thoughts…
Having pursued the destiny of man through all its steps down to its lowest, its complete extinction in death, Job, with…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture