Lexical Summary aruts: Fearful, dreadful, terrifying Original Word: עָרוּץ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cliffs Passive participle of arats; feared, i.e. (concretely) a horrible place or chasm -- cliffs. see HEBREW arats NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom arats Definition dreadful NASB Translation dreadful (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [עָרוּץ] adjective dreadful (properly Passive participle) construct בַּעֲרוּץ נְחָלִים Job 30:6 in the (most) dreadful of ravines. Topical Lexicon Concept and Semantics עָרוּץ paints the picture of a deep, sharply–cut ravine or gorge—a place carved out by the relentless action of floodwaters in an arid land. In Scripture it functions as a vivid emblem of desolation, isolation, and the extremities to which the marginalized may be driven. Old Testament Usage Job 30:6 contains the sole biblical occurrence: “so that they lived on the cliffs and among the rocks of the ravines”. Here the “ravines” are inhospitable recesses where the outcasts of society are forced to dwell. The word heightens Job’s lament by contrasting his former honor (Job 29) with the ignominy of those now deriding him. Contextual Background in Job 1. Literary setting: Job 30 reverses the honors catalogued in Job 29. The ravine–dwellers typify social disgrace. Historical–Geographical Insight In the Ancient Near East such wadis and gullies were flood-carved channels. Dry most of the year, they could become torrents overnight (Job 6:15). They offered minimal shelter, scant vegetation, and constant danger from flash floods and predators. Choosing or being forced to inhabit them signaled extreme poverty and social expulsion. Archaeological surveys of the Judean Wilderness still uncover makeshift cave dwellings that illustrate the harsh realism behind Job’s description. Biblical Theology 1. Exile Motif: The ravine parallels other exile images—the wilderness wanderings (Numbers 14), the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1), and Elijah’s Cherith ravine (1 Kings 17:3). Each underscores dependence upon God amid desolation. Ministry Reflections • Compassion for the Marginalized: Job 30:6 challenges believers to identify with and serve those pushed to society’s edges—literal and figurative ravine-dwellers. Related Vocabulary and Images • נָחַל (nachal, stream/valley) often denotes life-giving watercourses, contrasting with the dry, perilous עָרוּץ. Application for Today Believers facing spiritual “ravines” can remember: 1. The Lord knows every crevice (Psalm 139:8). Forms and Transliterations בַּעֲר֣וּץ בערוץ ba‘ărūṣ ba·‘ă·rūṣ baaRutzLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 30:6 HEB: בַּעֲר֣וּץ נְחָלִ֣ים לִשְׁכֹּ֑ן NAS: So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, KJV: To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, INT: dreadful valleys dwell 1 Occurrence |
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