The Meaning of Job 1:20 Explained

Job 1:20

KJV: Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

YLT: And Job riseth, and rendeth his robe, and shaveth his head, and falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance,

Darby: And Job rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped;

ASV: Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then Job  arose,  and rent  his mantle,  and shaved  his head,  and fell down  upon the ground,  and worshipped, 

What does Job 1:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 1:13-22 - Stripped Of Every Possession
There are dark days in our lives, when messenger follows on the heel of messenger, and we sit down amid the ruins of our happiness. All that made life gay and beautiful has withered and we are treading a dreary waste; our soul is almost dead within us and our feet are blistered.
Then our friends come and lay the blame on the Chaldeans and lightning, the Sabeans and the hurricane. They pity us as unfortunate and miserable. But we say to ourselves, looking beyond the secondary causes to the Cause beyond them all, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." Sometimes we can get no farther than this, but how happy we are when we can go on to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." The true soul is reckless of what happens to himself, so long as the glory of the Lord's name remains unsullied and enhanced. Let us, above all, never charge God with foolishness by impeaching His love or the rectitude of His decisions. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 1

1  The holiness, riches, and reverent care of Job for his children
6  Satan, appearing before God, obtains leave to afflict Job
13  Understanding of the loss of his children and goods, in his mourning Job blesses God

What do the individual words in Job 1:20 mean?

And arose Job and tore - his robe and shaved his head and he fell to the ground and worshiped
וַיָּ֤קָם אִיּוֹב֙ וַיִּקְרַ֣ע אֶת־ מְעִל֔וֹ וַיָּ֖גָז רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל אַ֖רְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ

וַיָּ֤קָם  And  arose 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
אִיּוֹב֙  Job 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִיּׄוב  
Sense: a patriarch, the subject of the book of Job.
וַיִּקְרַ֣ע  and  tore 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרַע  
Sense: to tear, tear in pieces.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מְעִל֔וֹ  his  robe 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מְעִיל  
Sense: robe.
וַיָּ֖גָז  and  shaved 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּזַז  
Sense: to shear, mow.
רֹאשׁ֑וֹ  his  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
וַיִּפֹּ֥ל  and  he  fell 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
אַ֖רְצָה  to  the  ground 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ  and  worshiped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.