He took him a potsherd; partly to allay the itch which his ulcers caused; and partly to squeeze out or take away that purulent matter which was under them, or flowed from them, and was the great cause of his torment. And this he did not with soft linen cloths, either because he had not now a sufficient quantity of them for so much use, or because therein he must have had the help of others, who abhorred to come near him, Job 19:13-15; nor with his own hands or fingers, which were also ulcerous, and so unfit for that use; and besides he loathed to touch himself: but with potsherds, either because they were next at hand, and ready for his present use; or in token of his repentance and deep humiliation under God's heavy hand, which made him decline all things which favoured of tenderness and delicacy. Among the ashes, Heb. in dust or ashes, as mourners used to do; of which see Job 42:6 Jonah 3:6 Matthew 11:21.
Related Commentaries of Job 2:8
Job 2:8
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.