Bible Discussion Thread

I don't understand Job 21 vs 24, it speaks of his breasts being full of milk.

In Job 21:24 Job is poetically showing how little can be discerned by looking at the outward state of a man. Men die in the midst of perfect health and ease, fully satisfied with ample food and good things, as Job once had been, or they can die in the midst of sorrow and want, as Job currently found himself. Outward sight is a poor judge of what God thinks.

A male having breasts filled with milk most likely refers to a man who from the moment of his birth had a mother with breasts full of milk that amply nursed him and cared for him tenderly and ever attentively until he was fully weaned. This may extend to a future wife that he was able to provide for so that his children received the same care. The verse says that the man being described is an individual who lived a life that never knew want and saw the only the best life had to offer that made his bones full of marrow right up to the moment of his sudden death, or in Job's case his sudden downfall in the eyes of his friends.

Mr. Fairhurst,

Thank you for clarification on the poetic nature of Job 21:24. It was really helpful.