302 Chap. 2. An Expofition upon the Booh,of J pB. Verf. over, yea into firange Countries. Two things are fwiftly carried about upon the wings of fame, and polled about by reports: Firft, The fins Secondly, the aflliEtions ofGodly men. Ifthey fall into any fin, it will be heard of all a Country, it may be all a Kingdom over, h./ha be told in Gath, andpublifhedin theftreets ofAskelon. Again, if they fall into any great afflietion, everyone defcantsup- on it, and many will pats deep cenfures. It becomes matter of wonder, that men eminent in godlinefs, great profeffors, fuch as have held forth the name,and upheld the truth ofChrilt,that they (1 fay) fhould falhinto great afflüdions , is reported, difcourfed, admired all a Countryover. ' Nihil of magi, Thereisnothing that is more talked of,then the trouble that be- pY,dicobile lallcth Godly men ; When the threefriends of Job beard ofall thus quam bonì ho- evil that wascome upon him. mines ruino. When this report about job came to them, they came to job, They came (faith the Text) every onefrom his ownplace. The word Place, is often ufed in Scripture, to fignifie a Country, a City, or a Region. Now here it is conceived,that the place from whence they came,was not only the place where theydwelt,but theplace where they governed. It is frequently afferted by the Jewifb Donors, withwhom the Septuagint agree, and moll ofthe Jefuites are in it too,that thefe three friendsofJobwere Kings,eitherReges orRegu- d[Cüü=aut i li, fuchas had the government ofthofe Countries where they liv- rotidem fuÍ¡¡e ed. Beza rejeóts this as a Fable, and telleth us that this opinion regesefi exau- bath no footing or foundation in.Scripture, but is grounded only dacia iUH fi_ upon that ufiial boldnefs of the }ewifbDonors. But whether they miliari, Beza. were Kings or Subjens, whether they came from their private dwellings, or from the places of their dominion, needsnot trouble us. This is clear, that they were great men , eminent perlons in their Country : and the difputes which follow, teflifie that they were men of very great wifdome and underilanding, according to all the learningofthofe times. Thefe three friends of Jobare.here let forth byname, by a dou- ble name : By thename firft of their perfvns. Secondly, by the name of their Country, or oftheir Family. For that's a quefiion, whether the additional name be derived from the Countrywhere they dwelt, or from the Family out of which theywere extras- ed< Elipbaz theTemanite, he is the firfi. We read Gen. 36. i i. that that EJau begat Eliphaz ; that Eliphaz was the eldeft Son of Efau,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=