איוב, פרק ל׳, פסוק י״ח

Job's physical agony takes on a deeply tangible form through his relationship with his clothing. His illness and pain do not merely affect his body; they close in on him from every possible direction, turning the basic act of wearing clothes into a source of suffering.

The primary approach among commentators views this as a direct physical consequence of his severe condition. Because of the sweat and pus flowing from his wounds, Job is forced to constantly change his clothes [מצודת דוד]. Others interpret this constant changing differently, suggesting that it is the scabs on his skin that continuously replace one another [רש״י]. Another perspective notes that his current clothing is actually the dust and ashes he sits in, which shift and change over his body [מלבי״ם].

Beyond the physical changing of garments, the immense pain makes his clothes feel entirely foreign. They become so heavy and tight that he no longer recognizes them, feeling as though he is wearing another person's clothes [רמב״ן, אבן עזרא]. A more graphic interpretation describes how bodily fluids literally glue the fabric to his skin. If he tries to remove the garment with great force, it simply tears, remaining stuck to his body like a tight belt [אלשיך]. Taking a metaphorical approach, the pain itself clings to him with overwhelming force, acting as his actual clothing [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This sense of being trapped is further emphasized by the feeling of being tightly wrapped and surrounded. The commentators agree that whether this constriction feels like being wrapped in the full measure of a garment [מצודת ציון] or being choked by a tight collar [רש״י, רלב״ג], the resulting sensation is the same. Just as a shirt covers the entire body, or a collar circles the neck, the illness completely surrounds Job [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Ultimately, it is the intense pain that binds and restricts him, entirely replacing the normal clothing he once wore [רמב״ן].