The Meaning of Job 1:19 Explained

Job 1:19

KJV: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

YLT: And lo, a great wind hath come from over the wilderness, and striketh against the four corners of the house, and it falleth on the young men, and they are dead, and I am escaped -- only I alone -- to declare it to thee.'

Darby: and behold, there came a great wind from over the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they died; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.

ASV: and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And, behold, there came  a great  wind  from  the wilderness,  and smote  the four  corners  of the house,  and it fell  upon the young men,  and they are dead;  and I only am escaped  alone to tell  thee. 

What does Job 1:19 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 1:19 mean?

And suddenly a wind great came from across the wilderness and struck four the corners of the house and it fell on the young people and they are dead and have escaped only I alone to tell you
וְהִנֵּה֩ ר֨וּחַ גְּדוֹלָ֜ה בָּ֣אָה ׀ מֵעֵ֣בֶר הַמִּדְבָּ֗ר וַיִּגַּע֙ בְּאַרְבַּע֙ פִּנּ֣וֹת הַבַּ֔יִת וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־ הַנְּעָרִ֖ים וַיָּמ֑וּתוּ וָאִמָּ֨לְטָ֧ה רַק־ אֲנִ֛י לְבַדִּ֖י לְהַגִּ֥יד לָֽךְ

וְהִנֵּה֩  And  suddenly 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
ר֨וּחַ  a  wind 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
גְּדוֹלָ֜ה  great 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
בָּ֣אָה ׀  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֵעֵ֣בֶר  from  across 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵבֶר  
Sense: region beyond or across, side.
הַמִּדְבָּ֗ר  the  wilderness 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
וַיִּגַּע֙  and  struck 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַע  
Sense: to touch, reach, strike.
בְּאַרְבַּע֙  four 
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, feminine singular construct
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
פִּנּ֣וֹת  the  corners 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: פִּנָּה  
Sense: corner.
הַבַּ֔יִת  of  the  house 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
וַיִּפֹּ֥ל  and  it  fell 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
הַנְּעָרִ֖ים  the  young  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
וַיָּמ֑וּתוּ  and  they  are  dead 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וָאִמָּ֨לְטָ֧ה  and  have  escaped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
רַק־  only 
Parse: Adverb
Root: רַק  
Sense: only, altogether, surely.
לְבַדִּ֖י  alone 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בַּד 
Sense: alone, by itself, besides, a part, separation, being alone.
לְהַגִּ֥יד  to  tell 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.