The verbal parallel is very strong,
and one can hardly imagine it to be accidental. The psalm speaks of the attention
God gives to humanity as a glorious thing: God cares about people and does not
forget them. Furthermore, humanity is the crown of creation, and God has set all
things under the feet of humanity. In Job, it is much darker. God constantly
examines people to find fault with them and to afflict them for their misdeeds.
This implies that the psalm was written first. It is more likely that a
familiar song of praise, Ps 8, should be turned into a protest against the
severity of God than that so dark a text should be snatched from obscurity and
turned into joyful thanksgiving. To Israelite readers familiar with the psalm,
Job’s inversion of the text is strong testimony to his grief and dismay. It
does not mean that he outright rejects the teaching of the psalm. But his angry
outburst does not imply that there is more to being under God’s eye than being
set in an honored place above all other creatures. It is also terrifying to
realize that an all-powerful being takes note of our every misstep. Job is, to
be sure, in great distress. Job complains that God is constantly testing him (v
18), by which he means that God is looking for faults to punish (ironically,
God has in fact tested him in the “wager” with Satan, but Job knows nothing
about that and does not realize that he passed). He does not understand why he
is so tormented by God, and he can only lash out, saying that if this is how
God treats his own, Job would rather be left alone. But he has a point. If God
does watch us that closely, then “Who can be saved?” (Matt 19:25). Even the
psalmist asks God to turn a blind eye toward him so that he might enjoy his
brief sojourn in life (Ps 39;13 [MT 39:14]). Job concludes with the memorable
protest, “Will you never let me alone long enough for me to swallow my spit?” (Duane
A. Garrett, Job [Evangelical Exegetical Commentary; St. Bellingham,
Wash.: Lexham Academic, 2024], 141-42)
