Job 19:20

My Notes

What Does Job 19:20 Mean?

"My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." Job describes his PHYSICAL deterioration: he's so emaciated that his BONES cling to his skin — no muscle, no fat, no flesh between skeleton and surface. The body has been consumed from within. The suffering has eaten the body. The man who was 'the greatest in all the east' (1:3) is now a SKELETON with skin.

The phrase "my bone cleaveth to my skin" (be'ori uvivisari daveqah atzmi — to my skin and to my flesh my bone clings) uses DAVAQ — the word for CLEAVING, the same word used for marriage (Genesis 2:24 — 'a man shall cleave unto his wife'). Job's bones CLEAVE to his skin with the intimacy that should exist between husband and wife. The bonding-word is applied to the bonding of skeleton to surface — the marriage of bone and skin that happens when everything between them is consumed.

The phrase "escaped with the skin of my teeth" (va'etmalletah be'or shinnay — I escaped with the skin of my teeth) has become a universal PROVERB: barely surviving, just barely getting through, escaping by the thinnest possible margin. Teeth don't HAVE skin — the expression describes survival by something that essentially doesn't exist. The escape is so narrow it's measured by the nonexistent. The margin of survival is NOTHING.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What 'skin of your teeth' survival are you barely living through right now?
• 2.What does the CLEAVING word (marriage-language for bone-to-skin) teach about how suffering creates terrible intimacies?
• 3.How does the body's story (emaciation, deterioration) speak louder than theological arguments?
• 4.What does surviving by a margin that DOESN'T EXIST describe about the impossibility of your continued endurance?

Devotional

Bones clinging to skin. The flesh between them — GONE. Job's body has been consumed from the inside out. The man who was the greatest in the east is now a skeleton in skin. The physical deterioration matches the spiritual devastation. The body tells the same story as the soul.

The CLEAVING word (davaq) is the marriage-word: the same verb used for 'a man shall cleave unto his wife' (Genesis 2:24) now describes bones cleaving to skin. The most intimate bonding-language is applied to the most devastating medical reality. The marriage of bone to skin is the marriage that happens when everything BETWEEN them has been eaten away. The intimacy is the disease.

The 'SKIN OF MY TEETH' is the narrowest possible survival: teeth don't have skin. The expression describes escape by a margin that DOESN'T EXIST. The survival is measured by something so thin it's essentially nothing. Job has survived — barely, minimally, by a margin so narrow it's measured by the impossible. The phrase has endured three thousand years because the experience is universal: barely making it, surviving by nothing.

The PHYSICAL description is Job's appeal for COMPASSION: he's telling his friends (who continue to accuse him) what his BODY looks like. The bones against the skin. The teeth-width survival margin. The emaciation. The deterioration. The description says: LOOK AT ME. Do you really think I need more theology? I need COMPASSION. The body speaks louder than the argument.

What 'skin of your teeth' survival are you living through — and does your community see the body's story?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture