Job 7:5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust. My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh.
The setting
Ancient Uz. Job's skin condition is so severe that worms breed in the open sores, and dirt cakes with the dried blood and pus. He scrapes himself with broken pottery to find momentary relief.
The emotion here: revulsion at his own body, feeling subhuman
The original word
rimmāh (רִמָּה) — maggots or worms that feed on decaying flesh of the living
Why it matters
Job's condition matches descriptions of cutaneous leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease still common in the Middle East
Read with care
What most readers miss in Job 7:5
The skin 'closes up and breaks out afresh' - this isn't healing, it's a cycle of false hope followed by renewed agony
Common misconceptionPeople sanitize Job's suffering as 'boils' but this is graphic physical decay - maggots in living flesh, a body eating itself alive.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Job 7:5
Bible Genome reading
Job 7:5 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Job 7:5 comes from the book of Job, written during the Patriarchal period. These words are attributed to Job. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include suffering, physical pain. Notable phrases: clothed with worms; skin breaks out.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does Job 7:5 mean to you, today?
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