Job 18:16

“His roots shall be dried up beneath, etc.] Wicked men are sometimes compared to trees; to trees of the wood, barren, and unfruitful; to trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; and sometimes to green bay trees, very flourishing for a while, and which on a sudden perish, and come to nothing, (see <220203>Song of Solomon 2:3) (<650112>Jude 1:12 <193735> Psalm 37:35, 36); and such a simile is here used; and by his roots may be meant his family, from whence he sprung, which now should be extinct with him, (see <231101>Isaiah 11:1 <271107>Daniel 11:7); or his substance, which being greatly increased, he seemed to take root in the earth, and not only to be in a prosperous, but in…”

“Roots--himself. branch--his children (Job 8:12; Job 15:30; Mal 4:1).”

“His roots shall be dried up - Another image of complete desolation - where he is compared to a tree that is dead - a figure whose meaning is obvious, and which often occurs; see Job 15:30, note; Job 8:12-13, notes. Above his branch - Perhaps referring to his children or family. All shall be swept away - an allusion which Job could not well hesitate to apply to himself. return to 'Top of Page'”

“roots: Job 29:19; Isa 5:24; Hos 9:16; Amo 2:9; Mal 4:1 shall his branch: Job 5:3, Job 5:4, Job 15:30 Job 18:17”

“16 His roots wither beneath, And above his branch is lopped off. 17 His remembrance is vanished from the land, And he hath no name far and wide on the plain; 18 They drive him from light into darkness, And chase him out of the world. 19 He hath neither offspring nor descendant among his people, Nor is there an escaped one in his dwellings. The evil-doer is represented under the figure of a plant, Job 18:16, as we have had similar figures already, Job 8:16., Job 15:30, Job 15:32.; (Note: To such biblical figures taken from plants, according to which root and branch are become familiar in the sense of ancestors and descendants (comp. Sir. 23:25, 40:15; Wisd. 4:3-5; Rom 11:16), the arbor…”