איוב, פרק ט״ז, פסוק י״ד

Job's suffering is unyielding, resembling a brutal and relentless military assault that offers no moment for recovery. The imagery conveys a continuous chain of disasters and physical blows, each crashing down immediately after the last. The primary approach among commentators is that this represents a rapid sequence of tragedy. Some emphasize the timing, noting that a second strike lands before the first has any chance to heal [מצודת דוד]. Others view this as repeated physical trauma inflicted upon limbs that are already completely shattered [מלבי״ם], or as a reflection of the rapid, successive loss of Job's children and wealth [תקות אנוש]. Offering a different perspective, one view suggests the strikes do not land precisely on the exact same spot, but rather right next to existing wounds. This is seen as a deliberate method to stretch out Job's agony without actually ending his life [אלשיך].

God is compared to a fierce warrior charging swiftly and powerfully into battle to deliver these torments [מצודת דוד, תקות אנוש, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This draws on military tactics: after firing arrows from a distance, the fighter rushes in for close-quarters combat with a drawn sword, acting as if the already broken victim still possessed the strength to fight back [מלבי״ם].

There is a calculated cruelty to this assault. If a powerful warrior were to trample a healthy person, the victim's bones would snap and death would be instant. However, because Job's body is already crushed and frail from previous attacks, the trampling causes immense pain but fails to kill him. This deliberately denies him the release of death he so desperately wants. In his despair, Job actually wishes that this warrior would simply run over him without care, stepping directly on his open wounds, so that the torment would finally end and he could find peace in death [אלשיך].