The Meaning of Job 42:16 Explained

Job 42:16

KJV: After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

YLT: And Job liveth after this a hundred and forty years, and seeth his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations;

Darby: And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.

ASV: And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons'sons, even four generations.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

After  this lived  Job  an hundred  and forty  years,  and saw  his sons,  and his sons'  sons,  [even] four  generations. 

What does Job 42:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 42:1-17 - Restored To Right Relations With God
In complete surrender Job bowed before God, confessing his ignorance and owning that he had spoken glibly of things which he understood not. He had retorted to his friends that he was as good as they, but now he confessed, as did the Apostle after him, that he was of sinners the chief. It is one thing to hear of God, another to see and know Him close at hand. Well may we loathe our proud words and repent in dust and ashes, Job 42:6, r.v., margin.
When Job was right with God, the Almighty took his side against his accusers and silenced them. It was through Job's intercessions that they were forgiven. He himself was not fully forgiven till he could pray for them with loving forgiveness. But immediately he had done so God turned "the shadow of death into the morning" and gave him the double portion of the first-born. Thus men, when forgiven and restored, are heirs of riches greater than they had forfeited. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 42

1  Job submits himself unto God
7  God, preferring Job's cause, makes his friends submit themselves, and accepts him
10  He magnifies and blesses Job
16  Job's age and death

What do the individual words in Job 42:16 mean?

And lived Job after this a hundred and forty years - and saw - his children and sons grandchildren [for] four generations
וַיְחִ֤י אִיּוֹב֙ אַֽחֲרֵי־ זֹ֔את מֵאָ֥ה וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָ֑ה [וירא] (וַיִּרְאֶ֗ה) אֶת־ בָּנָיו֙ וְאֶת־ בְּנֵ֣י בָנָ֔יו אַרְבָּעָ֖ה דֹּרֽוֹת

וַיְחִ֤י  And  lived 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
אִיּוֹב֙  Job 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִיּׄוב  
Sense: a patriarch, the subject of the book of Job.
אַֽחֲרֵי־  after 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
זֹ֔את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
מֵאָ֥ה  a  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים  and  forty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
שָׁנָ֑ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
[וירא]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
(וַיִּרְאֶ֗ה)  and  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
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.
בָּנָיו֙  his  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
בְּנֵ֣י  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
בָנָ֔יו  grandchildren 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אַרְבָּעָ֖ה  [for]  four 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
דֹּרֽוֹת  generations 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: דֹּור 
Sense: period, generation, habitation, dwelling.