If only I were as in the months of old

Although the phrase “as in the months of old” refers to one’s entire past, some commentaries understand the phrase as meaning that Job was yearning specifically for the time when he was in his mother’s womb. At that time, a person experiences total ecstasy, a feeling that does not return anytime during one’s life. The following verse, “when His lamp would shine over my head, and by His light I would walk through darkness,” is interpreted in a similar manner as well: A lit lamp is placed above the head of a fetus, and he can see from one end of the world to the other (see Nidda 30b).