איוב, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״ד

The hope of finding comfort and escape in sleep is sometimes entirely overturned, transforming the night into a scene of suffering and terror. This nighttime experience involves being broken by fear and overwhelmed by deep panic through imagined sights during sleep [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. While some view the dual experience of bad dreams and harsh visions as a repetition meant simply to emphasize the sheer weight of the night terrors [מצודת ציון], others draw a clear distinction between the two. In this view, the dreaming state brings bad news about the future, breaking a person emotionally and physically, whereas the nighttime visions involve seeing actual terrifying shapes that cause immediate, gripping panic [מלבי״ם].

Commentators explore exactly why these severe nighttime terrors occur, offering a progression of three distinct explanations. The first is a natural approach, linking the night to the thoughts of the day. The harsh thoughts and constant suffering that occupy a person while awake simply follow them into their sleep [מצודת דוד]. A second approach focuses on the physical state, explaining that the severity of bodily illness and internal physical pain directly produce these frightening dreams [רמב״ן]. Finally, a supernatural approach suggests that the visions stem from external forces. Because Satan was commanded to guard Job's life, he remains closely attached to him. It is the very presence of Satan and his surroundings that injects such intense fear and provokes the harsh nighttime visions [רמב״ן, אלשיך].