Job 2:7

Boils. Heb. shechin, from a root that means, “to be hot,” “to be inflamed.” The word is used for the boils of the Egyptian plagues (Ex. 9:9), the eruptions of leprosy (Lev. 13:20), and for Hezekiah’s disease (2 Kings 20:7). The same disease may not be described in every case. Many have attempted to diagnose Job’s disease from the various symptoms indicated (Job 7:4, 5, 14; 17:1; 19:17-20; 30:17-19, 30). Some have assumed that Job’s boils were the purulent skin tumors commonly known today. Others have thought that Job was afflicted with elephantiasis. This disease takes its name from the appearance of the affected parts, which are covered with a knotty and fissured bark like the hide of an elephant. It is precarious to try to diagnose the disease of a man who lived 3,500 years ago, when our only information consists of a few nontechnical observations recorded in a book that is largely poetic. In the first place, it cannot safely be assumed that all the diseases of today are identical with those of Job’s day. Second, the symptoms are too vague to warrant a conclusion. Third, it is not even certain that Satan’s affliction of Job followed the plan of any then-known or now-known disease. It is sufficient to see Job as a great sufferer without trying to diagnose his specific ailment.

Boils. Hebrew shechin, from a root that means, “to be hot,” “to be inflamed.” The word is used for the boils of the Egyptian plagues (Exodus 9:9), the eruptions of leprosy (Leviticus 13:20), and for Hezekiah’s disease (2 Kings 20:7). The same disease may not be described in every case. Many have attempted to diagnose Job’s disease from the various symptoms indicated (Job 7:4, 5, 14; 17:1; 19:17-20; 30:17-19, 30). Some have assumed that Job’s boils were the purulent skin tumors commonly known today. Others have thought that Job was afflicted with elephantiasis. This disease takes its name from the appearance of the affected parts, which are covered with a knotty and fissured bark like the hide of an elephant. It is precarious to try to diagnose the disease of a man who lived 3,500 years ago, when our only information consists of a few nontechnical observations recorded in a book that is largely poetic. In the first place, it cannot safely be assumed that all the diseases of today are identical with those of Job’s day. Second, the symptoms are too vague to warrant a conclusion. Third, it is not even certain that Satan’s affliction of Job followed the plan of any then-known or now-known disease. It is sufficient to see Job as a great sufferer without trying to diagnose his specific ailment.