Job 29:6

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 29:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
Job 29:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 29

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“When I washed my steps with butter, etc.] Not the steps of his house or palace; for to have done this, or his servants by his orders, as it would have been a very great impropriety, so a piece of great prodigality, which Job could never have been guilty of; but either his footsteps, the prints of his feet; and the sense be, that his cattle produced such a vast quantity of milk, that when his servants brought it from the fields to the dairy, their milk pails ran over in such abundance, that Job could not step out of his house, and take a walk in his fields, but he stepped into puddles of milk, of which butter was made: this is an exaggerated phrase, like that by which the land of Canaan is…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“butter--rather, "cream," literally, "thick milk." Wherever I turned my steps, the richest milk and oil flowed in to me abundantly. Image from pastoral life. When I washed my steps--Literal washing of the feet in milk is not meant, as the second clause shows; Margin, "with me," that is, "near" my path, wherever I walked (Deu 32:13). Olives amidst rocks yield the best oil. Oil in the East is used for food, light, anointing, and medicine.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“When I washed my steps with butter - On the word rendered “butter,” see the notes at Isaiah 7:15. It properly means curdled milk. Umbreit renders it, Sahne; cream. Noyes, milk, and so Wemyss. The Septuagint, “When my ways flowed with butter” - βουτύρῳ bouturō. So Coverdale, “When my ways ran over with butter.” Herder, “And where I went a stream of milk flowed on.” The sense may be, that cream or butter was so plenty that he was able to make use of it for the most common purposes - even for that of washing his feet. That butter was sometimes used for the purpose of anointing the feet - probably for comfort and health - as oil was for the head, is mentioned by Oriental travelers.…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I washed: Job 20:17; Gen 49:11; Deu 32:13, Deu 33:24; Psa 81:16 me out: Heb. with me Job 29:7”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification