We need to remember that the story of Job is given us in a context before the Mosaic Covenant. There was no Law, per se! So, what did Eliphaz mean, when he referred to the law, which came from the mouth of God, which he further defines as the words of God (Job 22:22)? In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he claimed that at one time in the history of mankind men knew God, but they didn’t honor him as God, and, as a result, their hearts and imaginations became dark (Romans 1:21). In other words, they lost the light of the truth. They declared themselves wise, meaning clever, in the way of wickedness (Romans 1:22; cp. 16:19), but, if the Law of Moses didn’t exist, what was wickedness? What image of God did men reject in favor of what they held to be a ‘better’ way of doing things (cp. Genesis 3:4-7)?
Notice, as well, what Paul concludes in Romans 1:18. He says God’s wrath is revealed or unveiled (G601) from heaven against the wickedness (G763) and injustice (G93) of men, who hold the truth to be unjust (G93). In other words, men weren’t satisfied with the grace and blessings of God, but were unthankful (cp. Romans 1:21), and engaged in wickedness and injustice (v.18) to satisfy their appetites (cp. Genesis 3:4-7).
If we consider the world that existed prior to the Flood, it may be surprising that God didn’t interfere with the trend of mankind until Genesis 6, when the whole world was filled with violence (cp. Genesis 6:11). What happened? How did the earth become so full of violence that the Lord destroyed everyone but the family of Noah?
Genesis 6:1 is a terrible and illogical translation. I am not a language expert, but I know illogical speech when I see it. Ask yourself how would it be possible for men to multiply on the face of the earth without women. If women must be involved, what is the meaning of daughters being born to men? Weren’t daughters born to men from the time of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden to the time of the Flood? If daughters weren’t born to Adam and Eve, who did Cain marry? Who did Seth marry? Do you see the problem? And, let’s not get into the vain, illogical tradition of the men, which claims it was actually angels who married the women. This is a pagan idea, and the Greek myths are full of such garbage. Suffice to say that such an illogical idea contradicts the word of God. Not only do angels not marry (cp. Mark 12:25), but God established the fact that kind produces after its own kind. Therefore, men and angels don’t mix, like animals and plant life can’t mix! So, what does Genesis 6:1 mean?
The only logical answer to this question, as far as I can see, is that the term daughters (H1323; bath) should be rendered towns or villages, which is an alternate translation for the Hebrew word.[1] Thus, the verse would now read: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and towns (or villages) were brought forth unto them.” That makes sense. The present translation does not. Now, we are able to see what was done. As the towns or villages multiplied, the sons of the patriarchs saw the profit in controlling them, and they took all they wanted, probably by marrying the chief’s daughter (verse-2). As the sons of the patriarchs grew larger and stronger, they became tyrants, and violence erupted between opposing families, engulfing the world in violence (Genesis 6:4-5, 11).
Similarly, the book of Job opens with violence against the Lord’s servant (Job 1:13-22). Men took for themselves what Job had. Not satisfied with their own wealth, they coveted that of another (cp. Romans 1:18, 21; Genesis 3:4-7). Therefore, in the context of what Job and the friends knew about the will (or law) of God, doing good or obeying God (being his image; cp. Genesis 1:27), the one who is blessed by God has the responsibility to share that blessing with those who lack the necessities of life. Contrarily, wickedness would be defined as doing what is opposite. Not only would wickedness be understood in not sharing one’s wealth with the poor, but outright rebellion would be understood in the theft of what others possessed as their own (cp. Job 1:14-17), especially taking the possessions of the poor for oneself (Job 6:27; 22:9).
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[1] See bath (H1323), rendered towns at: Joshua 15:45, 47; 17:11, 16; Judges 1:27; 11:26; 1Chronicles 5:16; 7:18; 8:12; 18:1; 2Chronicles 13:19; and rendered villages at: Numbers 21:25, 32; 32:42; 2Chronicles 28:18; Nehemiah 11:25, 27-28, 30-31.
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