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Job 32:15,16
They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking…

Job 33:31-33
Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak…

Isaiah 52:15
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: forthat which had not been told them shall they see; andthat which they had not heard shall they consider.

speech

Deuteronomy 32:2
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Song of Solomon 4:11
Thy lips, Omy spouse, dropas the honeycomb: honey and milkare under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garmentsis like the smell of Lebanon.

Ezekiel 20:46
Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and dropthy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

my speech settled on them like dew.
Dew in the biblical context often symbolizes blessing and refreshment (Deuteronomy 32:2). Job's speech being compared to dew suggests that his words were not only authoritative but also life-giving and refreshing to those who heard them. This imagery can be connected to the teachings of Jesus, whose words were described as spirit and life (John 6:63). The metaphor of dew also implies a gentle and pervasive influence, indicating that Job's wisdom was absorbed and appreciated by his listeners, much like how dew nourishes the earth quietly and effectively.

Job recalls, “After my words, they spoke no more” (Job 29:22a). In his former days of honor:

• His counsel carried unmistakable weight. Like Solomon’s “words of the wise heard in quiet” (Ecclesiastes 9:17), Job’s insights ended debate.

• Listeners recognized both wisdom and authority, much as crowds “were amazed at His teaching, because He spoke with authority” (Luke 4:32).

• Silence wasn’t forced; it was the natural response to truth plainly stated—echoingProverbs 10:19, where restraint marks the wise.

Job is grieving the loss of that respected voice, contrasting past influence with present humiliation (Job 30:1).

Job continues, “my speech settled on them like dew” (Job 29:22b). He pictures his words as:

• Gentle refreshment, not a pounding storm—paralleling Moses’ prayer, “May my teaching fall like rain, my words descend like dew” (Deuteronomy 32:2).

• Life-giving moisture that quietly nourishes, just as “He shall be like rain that falls on mown grass, like showers watering the earth” (Psalm 72:6).

• Steady and dependable; dew arrives every morning (Genesis 27:28), hinting that Job’s counsel was consistently edifying.

• A reminder that God often ministers through calm persuasion rather than force, much like Elijah hearing the “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).

Job 29:22 paints a portrait of a man whose godly wisdom once commanded respectful silence and brought quiet refreshment to all who heard. His words were decisive enough to end argument, yet tender enough to revive weary souls—authority and grace in a single sentence.