What does Job mean "naked shall I return thither" in Job 1:21?
Job 1:21 “And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:1 - 22
ESV - 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
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Asked March 16 2022
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In my opinion, when Job spoke of returning "thither", he was referring to burial in the earth, which in other biblical imagery is sometimes regarded as a "mother" to humankind -- imagery reinforced by such as events (for example) as man having originally been created out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 3:19).
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
It's poetry. "While the first half of the couplet is to be taken literally as referring to his coming into this life, this second part must be interpreted only generally to refer to his departure from this life. It is parallel to 1 Tim 6:7, 'For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.'” bible.org Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe says that the imagery of "nakedness“ means “poverty“ and he cites only this verse in Job 1:21; Ecc. 5:15; and 1 Tim. 6:7. This comes from his book, Index of Biblical Images. “Mother’s womb” is poetically the earth, the universal mother (Ec 5:15; 12:7; Ps 139:15). Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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