Job 17:14
I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
I have said to corruption, thou art my father,.... Not to the corruptible seed, of which he was begotten; nor to the corruption or purulent matter of his boils and ulcers, and the worms his flesh was now clothed with, Job 7:5; but to that corruption his body would turn to in the grave, lying long enough to see it, which Christ's body did not, Psalms 16:10; that is, "to the pit of corruption" {c}, as it may be rendered, meaning the grave, so called because in it dead bodies corrupt and putrefy: in houses are families consisting of various persons, of different relations, who dwell together in friendship and harmony, very lovingly and familiarly, as father and mother, brother and sister; so in the grave, the dwelling house of men, there are inhabitants that dwell together, as if they were familiar friends and acquaintance; and with these, Job claims kindred, such as corruption, rottenness, dust and worms, and these he speaks unto, not only very familiarly, but very respectfully; the note of Bar Tzemach is,
"I honour the grave as a son a father, that it may receive me quickly;''
yea, he speaks as not ashamed of the relation, but is fond of it; "I called" or "cried" {d} that is, aloud, with great vehemency and affection:
to the worm, Thou art my mother and my sister; these are the rather mentioned, because the relation is near, and they are very loving and tender, and abide in the house, see Proverbs 7:4; he calls these his mother and sister, as the above Jewish commentator observes, because the might lie in their bosom; by all this Job would represent how familiar death and the grave were to him, and how little he dreaded them; yea, how desirable they were to him, since he should be at home, and among his relations and friends.
{c} txvl "foveam", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Drusius, &c.
{d} ytarq "vocavi", Montanus; "clamavi", Mercerus.