Job 7:2

“As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, etc.] Either the shadow of some great rock, tree, or hedge, or any shady place to shelter him from the heat of the sun in the middle of the day, which in those eastern countries is hot and scorching; and very burdensome and fatiguing it is for servants and labourers to work in fields and vineyards, or in keeping herds and flocks in such countries, and at such a time of the day; to which the allusion is in (<220107>Song of Solomon 1:7) (<232504>Isaiah 25:4 32:2 <402012>Matthew 20:12). Wherefore they “gape” for, or “pant” after some shady place for refreshment, as the word f288 used signifies; or for the shadow of the evening, or the sun setting,…”

“earnestly desireth--Hebrew, "pants for the [evening] shadow." Easterners measure time by the length of their shadow. If the servant longs for the evening when his wages are paid, why may not Job long for the close of his hard service, when he shall enter on his "reward?" This proves that Job did not, as many maintain, regard the grave as a mere sleep.”

“As a servant earnestly desireth - Margin, gapeth after. The word here שׁאף shâ'aph means to breathe hard, to pant, to blow, and then to desire earnestly. The shadow - This may refer either to a shade in the intense heat of the day, or to the night. Nothing is more grateful in oriental countries, when the sun pours down intensely on burning sands, than the shadow of a tree, or the shade of a projecting rock. The editor of the Pictorial Bible on this verse remarks, “We think we can say, that next to water, the greatest and deepest enjoyment we could ever realize in the hot climates of the East was, when on a journey, any circumstance of the road brought us for a few minutes under some shade.…”

“Shadow - That is, the sun - set, the time allotted for his rest. Job 7:3”

“7:2 A worker was to be paid at the end of each day (Lev 19:13; Deut 24:15), though this did not always happen (Jer 22:13; Mal 3:5; Jas 5:4).”

“earnestly desireth: Heb. gapeth after, Psa 119:131, Psa 143:6 the shadow: Jer 6:4 as an hireling: Lev 19:13; Deu 24:15; Mal 3:5; Jam 5:4 Job 7:3”