Out of profound existential despair, a suffering soul may reach a point of wishing to retroactively erase their very entry into the world. Job expresses this ultimate anguish by directing his bitterness toward the two foundational moments of his existence: the day of his birth and the night of his conception [שטיינזלץ]. Rather than cursing God directly, he carefully channels his anger toward the specific moments of his beginning, a choice that reflects his underlying righteousness even in the depths of his pain [תקות אנוש].
Job's plea to erase his existence is expressed by wishing that his time of origin would simply perish. Some commentators explain that he speaks from a perspective before his birth, wishing that the impending day would be lost so that he would never enter the world at all [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. Alternatively, he is looking back at the actual day he was born, demanding its retroactive destruction [רמב״ן, תקות אנוש]. This desired loss means that the date should be completely wiped from the calendar of human history [רמב״ן]. Another perspective suggests that whenever this annual date arrives, it should be plunged into darkness and its memory forgotten [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. On a spiritual level, he asks that this day never be counted among the good, illuminated days of a person's life, which are elevated through good deeds [חומת אנך].
Turning to the night of his conception, the imagery shifts to a declaration of his creation. The primary approach among commentators is that a messenger joyfully announced the pregnancy or birth. However, other interpretations suggest that the night itself spoke, decreeing the pregnancy [רמב״ן, מלבי״ם]. A tradition from the Sages introduces a more mystical element, identifying the speaker as the angel appointed over conception, who is actually named "Night" [רש״י, רלב״ג, מלבי״ם].
The description of the conception itself is generally understood as the standard process of pregnancy, associated with the night since it is the natural time for intimacy [רש״י, רלב״ג, שטיינזלץ]. A more vivid interpretation connects the concept to the act of shooting, describing the seed being launched like an arrow [תקות אנוש]. Contrasting views suggest this moment actually refers to the birth itself, picturing the fetus being expelled from the womb with the forceful momentum of a shot arrow [אבן עזרא, רמב״ן, תקות אנוש]. Despite being merely a newly formed fetus, the unborn child is described as a grown man, reflecting its ultimate potential to become a strong and mighty individual [מלבי״ם, תקות אנוש].
The dual mention of day and night prompts several explanations. Job might be speaking out of uncertainty, wishing the day to perish if he was born during the day, and the night to perish if he was born at night [רמב״ן, אבן עזרא, תקות אנוש]. Alternatively, these represent two distinct phases of existence: the public birth during the day, visible to all, and the hidden conception at night, understood only by the wise [מצודת דוד]. It is also possible that he is simply referring to a single twenty-four-hour period that encompasses both stages of his arrival [תקות אנוש].
A deeper layer of this lament involves the concept of destiny. Some explain that Job targets his birth and conception because these are the precise moments when the stars and constellations supposedly fix a person's fate. By asking for these times to darken, he wishes for the constellations to lose their power to inflict harm upon him [מלבי״ם, אלשיך, רמב״ן]. However, this astrological approach is disputed. Critics argue that Job did not believe in celestial decrees at all; rather, in his despair, he believed humanity was simply subject to blind, random tragedies without any intentional direction [תקות אנוש].