Job - 31:27



27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Job 31:27.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
And my heart in secret hath rejoiced, and I have kissed my hand with my mouth:
And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,
And my heart has been secretly enticed, or my mouth has kissed my hand:
A secret feeling of worship came into my heart, and my hand gave kisses from my mouth;
so that my heart rejoiced in secret and I kissed my hand with my mouth,

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And my heart hath been secretly enticed - That is, away from God, or led into sin.
Or my mouth hath kissed my hand - Margin, my hand hath kissed my mouth. The margin accords with the Hebrew. It was customary in ancient worship to kiss the idol that was worshipped; compare 1-Kings 19:18, "I have left me seven thousand in Israel - and every mouth which hath not kissed him." See, also, Hosea 13:2. The Muslims at the present day, in their worship at Mecca, kiss the black stone which is fastened in the corner of the Beat Allah, as often as they pass it, in going round the Caaba. If they cannot come near enough to kiss it, they touch it with the hand, and kiss that. An Oriental pays his respects to one of a superior station by kissing his hand and putting it to his forehead. Paxton. See the custom of kissing the hand of a Prince, as it exists in Arabia, described by Niebuhr, Reisebeschreib. 1, S. 414. The custom prevailed, also, among the Romans and Greeks. Thus, Pliny (Hist. Nat. 28:2) says, Inter adorandum dexterarm ad osculum referimus, et totum corpus circumagimus. So Lucian in the book, περὶ ὀρχήτεως peri orchēseōs, says, "And the Indians, rising early, adore the sun - not as we, kissing the hand - τὴν χείρα κύσαντες tēn cheira kusantes - think that our vow is perfect." The foundation of the custom here alluded to, is the respect and affection which is shown for one by kissing; and as the heavenly bodies which were worshipped were so remote that the worshippers could not have access to them, they expressed their veneration by kissing the hand. Job means to say, that he had never performed an act of homage to the heavenly bodies.

And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my (s) hand:
(s) If my own doings delighted me.

And mine heart hath been secretly enticed,.... Drawn away by beholding the magnitude of these bodies, the swiftness of their motion, their glorious appearance, and great usefulness to mankind, to entertain a thought of their being deities; and privately to worship them, in secret acts of devotion, as by an honourable esteem of them as such, reverence and affection for them, trust and confidence in them; for, as there is a secret worshipping of the true God, so there is a secret idolatry, idolatry in the heart, and setting up of idols there, as well as worshipping them in dark places, in chambers of imagery, as the Jews did, Ezekiel 8:12;
or my mouth hath kissed my hand; idols used to be kissed by their votaries, in token of their veneration of them, and as expressive of their worship of them; so Baal and Jeroboam's calves were kissed by the worshippers of them, 1-Kings 19:18. Kissing is used to signify the religious veneration, homage, and worship of a divine Person, the Son of God, Psalm 2:12; and such deities especially that were out of the reach of their worshippers, as the sun, moon, and stars were, they used to put their hands to their mouths, and kiss them, in token of their worship; just as persons now, at a distance from each other, pay their civil respects to one another: instances of religious adoration of idols performed in this manner; see Gill on Hosea 13:2. Job denies that he had been guilty of such idolatry, either secretly or openly.

enticed--away from God to idolatry.
kissed . . . hand--"adoration," literally means this. In worshipping they used to kiss the hand, and then throw the kiss, as it were, towards the object of worship (1-Kings 19:18; Hosea 13:2).

Kissed - In token of worship, whereof this was a sign.

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