Job 6:19 - The caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.

Generated Verse: Job 6:19

What does "Job 6:19" mean?


Job 6:19 describes the disappointment of those who expected help from Job's friends but found none. Let's break down the imagery:

"The caravans of Tema looked..." Tema was an oasis city in northern Arabia, known for its caravan trade. Caravans traveled long distances through harsh environments, relying on finding water and supplies along the way. The "caravans of Tema" represent people in great need, eagerly looking for assistance or sustenance. They are straining their eyes, anticipating relief.

"The companies of Sheba waited for them." Sheba was a kingdom in southern Arabia (modern-day Yemen) famous for its trade in spices, gold, and precious stones. "Companies of Sheba" refers to groups of merchants or traders who had expected to do business with Job's friends or to receive goods from them. They are waiting with anticipation, presumably for resources that Job's friends were thought to possess or have access to.

In Context:

Job is lamenting the unreliability of his friends. He is bitterly comparing them to a dried-up brook that fails to provide water in the heat of summer. In this verse, he extends that metaphor. Just as the caravans and trading companies of Tema and Sheba would be sorely disappointed to find a vital water source has run dry, Job is conveying the idea that desperate people or people anticipating trade trusted in the help that Job's friends could provide but would find their trust betrayed because Job's friends offered no comfort, advice, or practical help in his suffering.

In simpler terms:

Imagine desert travelers relying on finding a specific well. They arrive, parched and exhausted, only to discover the well is completely dry. This verse uses that image to show how Job feels betrayed by his friends. People in need (caravans of Tema) and people expecting to gain something from Job's friends (companies of Sheba) are left disappointed and empty-handed. Job's friends had the reputation or potential to help, but in Job's time of crisis, they proved to be unreliable and useless, like a dried-up well.

The verse emphasizes the contrast between the expectation of help and the reality of emptiness and disappointment. It adds to Job's overall complaint about the lack of genuine support from those who should have been his closest allies.