HEBREW WORD STUDY – SKIN OF MY TEETH – ‘OR SINNAY עור שני Ayin Vav Resh Shin Nun Yod

Job 19:20: “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”

One of my students from my All-Access Learning Channel asked about this verse. I have often thought of doing a study on this because teeth do not have skin and I wondered about this cliché that made its way into our English dictum. Since a student asked about it I thought now was a good time to do some research on this.

David Blumenthal notes in his book “A Play on Words in the Nineteenth Chapter of Job” that in the first clause “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh,” we have the use of the Hebrew word ‘or which in its usual sense for skin is associated with flesh and bones. In the second clause, he uses the Hebrew ‘or as derived from the Arabic ghar for the bones in which the teeth are set. He concludes that the correct reading would be “My skin and flesh cling to my bones and I am left with only my skull” which is saying that his disease left him just skin and bones. This is a liberal interpretation suggesting authorship much later than that taught by conservative and rabbinic scholars. Rabbinac teaching ascribes the authorship to Moses, others to Job himself or one of his friends. This could date the writing to be over 3,500 years old. The Arabic language is only about fifteen hundred years old with the earliest dialect found around 2,000 years ago. There are no other known earlier documents in Arabic found prior to the first century although the origins or Arabic are surely much earlier.

Choon-leong Seow, a liberal brilliant scholar of Semitic languages in his commentary on the Book of Job noted the conservative spelling and the exceptionally large number of words and forms which are not found anywhere else in the Bible would suggest that he was possibly written in a language other than Hebrew, most likely Aramaic. All that to say that I feel the word as a reference to the skull is not likely.

Some have suggested that the skin of the teeth means his lips but the Beth preposition for in, on or with clearly indicate that the skin and teeth are bonded together. Others suggest it was the enamel of his teeth, that part that protects the teeth. But why would the enemy leave that untouched, he could have taken that out just as easily as he took the rest of Job’s body out. Some suggest that the skin of the teeth was the gums. He lost all his teeth and only the gums remain. But that sounds too petty compared to the other ravishes of the rest of his body.

Rabbi Samson Hirsch the Hebrew master and linguist traces the word ‘or for skin to a Semitic origin for an awakening, being naked, blind, feeling the outside world or absorbing an external force. That absorbing an external force sounds interesting. The word ‘or is linguistically related to ‘or spelled with an Aleph for light. This would likely suggest a play on words ‘or with an Ayin for skin or absorbing an external force and ‘or with an Aleph for light. Thus, Job could be saying that he escaped by absorbing the external force of the Light (of God). This would suggest that even though God gave the enemy practically full range over Job to afflict him in every way, God’s light still shined on Job to protect his life. God was still there and was with Him. God did not abandon Him.

I never heard a sermon about where God was during Job’s trial. I believe this little wordplay tells us that although He allowed the enemy to afflict Job, God never left His side. Job still felt the force of the Light of God. John 8:12: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

God never left Job’s side during this whole time of trial. He knew just like Paul who said in Romans 8:28 that nothing would separate Him from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God may allow the enemy to buffet us, we may wonder where God is during those times but he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us Deuteronomy 31:8. God never left Job and Job continued to believe it and was comforted by Him. No matter what we go through in life, even a Job experience God is right there with us. If we have been cast overboard and the ship has sailed away leaving us treading in water, Jesus is right there treading water with us.

Finally, let me leave with you one other thought that I really like. Immanuel Tremellius, a sixteenth-century Italian who converted to Christianity from Judaism and is a leading Hebraist, Bible translator and commentator takes a position on this skin of teeth issue by suggesting that

when the enemy struck Job from head to feet with ulcers he spared his mouth, lips, and teeth. These are the instruments of speech. The enemy left that untouched so Job could curse God which was the ultimate aim of the enemy for bringing on this affliction in the first place.

Yet, with the one thing He left for Job, the one thing the enemy allowed Job to keep so he could curse God, Job turned it against the enemy to praise God. Job 1:21: “The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”