“And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.”
I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and snatched the prey from his teeth, employing violent imagery to describe Job's intervention against injustice, suggesting that he actively opposed and defeated those who preyed on the vulnerable. The breaking of fangs suggests disarming the predatory power of the wicked. The snatching of prey from teeth suggests rescuing victims from their exploiters. The verse establishes that Job's righteousness included not only care for the vulnerable but active opposition to the wicked.
Church Fathers on Job 29:17
And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Oh what a spoil did “he take from the mouth of the devil, when by converting she carried off Saul himself the spoiler; when still breathing threats he was on his way to Damascus, having received letters, and whereas by persecuting the faithful he was gathering prey for the devil, he was, by being made acquainted with the faith, himself gathered to Christ. As many times did the Church ‘pluck the spoil…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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