New International Version
Job 1:3
3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
Job 1:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Context of Job 1:3
1In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 4His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
Read all of Job 1Job 1:3 word by word
וַיְהִ֣י מִ֠קְנֵהוּ שִֽׁבְעַ֨ת אַלְפֵי־צֹ֜אן וּשְׁלֹ֧שֶׁת אַלְפֵ֣י גְמַלִּ֗ים וַחֲמֵ֨שׁ מֵא֤וֹת צֶֽמֶד־בָּקָר֙ וַחֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵא֣וֹת אֲתוֹנ֔וֹת וַעֲבֻדָּ֖ה רַבָּ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד וַיְהִי֙ הָאִ֣ישׁ הַה֔וּא גָּד֖וֹל מִכָּל־בְּנֵי־קֶֽדֶם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- His substanceמִקְנֶהmiqneh · livestockH4735
- also was sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- and threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- camelsגָּמָלgâmâl · camelH1581
- and fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- yokeצֶ֫מֶדtsemed · pairH6776
- of oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- she assesאָתוֹן'âthôn · she-assH860
- and a veryמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
- greatרַבrab · manyH7227
- householdעֲבֻדָּה‛ăbûddâh · serviceH5657
- so that this manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- was the greatestגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- of all the menבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
Cross-references for Job 1:3
- Genesis 12:5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
- Genesis 13:6But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.
- Genesis 34:23Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”
- 2 Chronicles 32:29He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.
- Job 42:12The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
- Genesis 12:16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
- Numbers 31:32The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep,
- Judges 6:5They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.
- 1 Samuel 25:2A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
- 2 Kings 3:4Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
- Proverbs 10:22The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
- Job 29:9the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
- Judges 6:3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.
- Judges 7:12The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
- Judges 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.
Commentaries on Job 1:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep - A thousand, says the Chaldee, for each of his sons. Three thousand camels: a thousand for each of his daughters. Five hundred yoke of oxen for himself. And five hundred she-asses for his wife. Thus the Targum divides the substance of this eminent man. A very great household - מאד רבה עבדה abuddah rabbah meod, "a very great estate." The word עבדה abuddah refers chiefly to husbandry, including all manner of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3His substance - Margin, or “cattle.” The word used here מקנה mı̂qneh is derived from קנה qânâh to gain or acquire, to buy or purchase, and properly means anything acquired or purchased - property, possessions, riches. The wealth of nomadic tribes, however, consisted mostly in flocks and herds, and hence the word in the Scripture signifies, almost exclusively, property in cattle. The word, says Gesenius, is used “strictly” to denote sheep, goats, and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3God gave Job prosperity with many sons, daughters, cattle and other domestic animals, and servants (compare Genesis 30:43; Deuteronomy 7:13; Psalm 107:38). Numbers like seven and three (and 7,000 and 3,000) show the full extent of God's blessings for Job (see Job 42:13; also see Psalms 127:3–5; 128:3). Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East: The numbers describing Job’s wealth might not be exact, but they are realistic for a wealthy man of…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. she-asses--prized on account of their milk, and for riding (Jud 5:10). Houses and lands are not mentioned among the emir's wealth, as nomadic tribes dwell in movable tents and live chiefly by pasture, the right to the soil not being appropriated by individuals. The "five hundred yoke of oxen" imply, however, that Job tilled the soil. He seems also to have had a dwelling in a town, in which respect he differed from the patriarchs. Camels are well called…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 1:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries