Job 27:1

Job. This chapter may be divided into three distinct parts. In the first (vs. 1-6), Job maintains his integrity and his determination to remain faithful to the end. In the second (vs. 7-12), he denounces his enemies. In the third (vs. 13-23), he returns to the consideration of God’s treatment of the wicked, and admits their ultimate punishment and destruction. This speech is cast in the form of a series of proverbs he quotes, one following another.

Parable. Heb. mashal, used to describe (1) a proverbial statement (1 Sam. 10:12; Eze. 18:2, 3); (2) a byword (Deut. 28:37; 1 Kings 9:7); (3) a prophetic, figurative discourse (Num. 23:7, 18; Isa. 14:4; Micah 2:4); (4) a similitude (Eze. 17:2; 20:49); (5) a poem (Num. 21:27-30); (6) short sentences of ethical wisdom (1 Kings 4:32; Prov. 10:1)). This term suggests a new trend in the words of Job. The controversial and emotional is giving way to the well-thought-out expression of deliberate judgment. Note the repetition of the term in Job 29:1.