Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Job acknowledges God’s greatness and abandons his argument. The three friends then repent for misrepresenting God, and God restores Job’s life beyond its former glory.

II. Photo
Job humbles himself as he capitulates to God: “Therefore, I recant and relent, Being but dust and ashes.” (v. 6)

III. Important Verses
vv. 5-6: [Job said to God:] I had heard You with my ears, But now I see You with my eyes; Therefore, I recant and relent, Being but dust and ashes.
vv. 7-8: After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am incensed at you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me as did My servant Job. Now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to My servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. And let Job, My servant, pray for you; for to him I will show favor and not treat you vilely, since you have not spoken the truth about Me as did My servant Job.”
v. 10: The LORD restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends, and the LORD gave Job twice what he had before.
vv. 16-17: Afterward, Job lived one hundred and forty years to see four generations of sons and grandsons. So Job died old and contented.

IV. Outline
1-6. Job’s submission to God
7-9. God’s Judgement of the friends
10-16. God restores Job

V. Comment
Chapter 42 is the final chapter in the book of Job. It contains three sections: Job’s submission to God (vv. 1-6), God’s judgment of the friends (vv. 7-9), and Job’s restoration (vv. 10-16). It is a relatively short prosaic ending to a rather long poetic book.

In the chapter’s first section Job unequivocally capitulates: “I had heard You with my ears, But now I see You with my eyes; Therefore, I recant and relent, Being but dust and ashes” (vv. 5-6). One might ask, “Why does Job abandon his position so suddenly?” Murphy writes (p. 44): “The intention of the [God] speeches is to convey the impact of a direct confrontation with the Lord, for which Job had yearned. The series of questions, ironic and unanswerable, is shaped to lead Job to his final submission. Yet these speeches, while they illustrate God’s love for his varied creation, do not add anything significantly new to what had been expressed in earlier hymns (e.g. 5:10-16; 9:4-10; 26:5-14; etc.). No ‘answer’ is given to Job; in fact, his problem is ignored. But the speeches are designed to give flesh to Job’s experience (42:5, ‘Now my eye has seen you’) of his encounter with God. Job’s submission is not just an admission of defeat in an argument (42:2-3); it is an at of submission to the Lord, whom the vanquished has truly seen (v. 5); the vision of God is the reason for his disowning his own side in the debate (v. 6).” Thus, it seems that Job is “convinced” by his senses, not by God’s logic. Indeed, God tells the friends that Job’s argument was correct: “you have not spoken the truth about Me as did My servant Job” (v. 8c).

Job’s life is restored beyond its former glory: “Thus the LORD blessed the latter years of Job’s life more than the former. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand she-asses. He also had seven sons and three daughters” (vv. 12-13). Although we do not know the names of Job’s seven sons, his daughters are named yemima “Jemimah,” qetzi‘a “Keziah,” and qeren happukh “Keren-happuch.” All three names seem to refer to their beauty or charm, well in line with v. 15: “Nowhere in the land were women as beautiful as Job’s daughters to be found. Their father gave them estates together with their brothers.” The name Jemimah, if it is related to the arabic word yama’mon, may mean “turtledove.” The name Keziah means “cassia plant,” an aromatic plant mentioned in Ps. 45:9: “All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from ivoried palaces lutes entertain you.” The name Keren-happuch literally means “horn of antimony,” i.e. a container of black cosmetics. For the occurrence of qeren meaning “container,” see 1 Sam. 16:1 and 1 Kings 1:39, and for the word pukh meaning kohl see 2 Kings 4:30 and Jer. 4:30. In regards to the daughters’ inheritance, John C. Holbert writes (“Jemimah” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, V. III, pp. 676): “According to Num 21:1–8, a daughter would only inherit her father’s property if there was no male heir. By including his daughters in the inheritance, Job illustrates a practice of justice that far outstripped the norm in the ancient world.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Murphy, Wisdom Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature)
Holbert, “Jemimah,” “Keziah,” and “Keren-happuch” (Anchor Bible Dictionary)
Photo taken from  http://www.rmajko.com/flyash.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God continues to describe the Leviathan with mythological detail. He argues that if no person can stand up to the mighty Leviathan, then surely no person can stand up to Himself.

II. Photo
God describes the Leviathan in v. 6: “Who can pry open the doors of his face? His bared teeth strike terror!”

III. Important Verses
vv. 2-3: There is no one so fierce as to rouse [the Leviathan]; Who then can stand up to Me? Whoever confronts Me I will requite, For everything under the heavens is Mine.
vv. 10-13: [The Leviathan’s] sneezings flash lightning, And his eyes are like the glimmerings of dawn. Firebrands stream from his mouth; Fiery sparks escape. Out of his nostrils comes smoke As from a steaming, boiling cauldron. His breath ignites coals; Flames blaze from his mouth.
v. 25: There is no one on land who can dominate him, Made as he is without fear.
v. 26: He sees all that is haughty; He is king over all proud beasts.

IV. Outline
1-3. God aggrandizes himself
4-26. The Leviathan is described

V. Comment
In this chapter God finishes his description of the Leviathan. One major question is, “Why is God telling Job so much about the Leviathan?” Clines gives a compelling explanation (Job 1-20, p. xlvi): “The point must be that hippopotamus [behemot “Behemoth”] and crocodile [liwyatan “Leviathan”], however alarming, are part of God’s creation. God expects Job to realize, and Job is not slow at grasping the point, that the natural order—the principles on which the world was created—is analogous to the moral order—the principles according to which it is governed. In both these orders, there is much that is incomprehensible to humans, even threatening their existence, but all of it is the work of a wise God who has made the world the way it is for his own inscrutable purposes. Innocent suffering is a hippopotamus. The only sense it makes, it makes to God, for it is not amenable to human rationality.”

He continues, “Job has no right to an explanation for his suffering, any more than he has a right to have the purpose of crocodiles explained to him. He is not even entitled to be told whether he is being punished for some fault he has committed, or whether he is indeed the innocent sufferer he believes himself to be. The order of creation sets the standard for the moral order of the universe; and that is, that God must be allowed to know what he is doing, and lies under no obligation to give any account of himself.” In other words, while we know that Job is innocent (cf. 1:1, 1:8, 2:3), God never explains why he punishes innocent people.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Photo taken from  http://www.angelfire.com/ca/antiquescrimshaw/whalemouth.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God asks Job to respond, and Job says he will remain silent. God then describes two giant creatures which Job has no control over.

II. Photo
God scoffs at Job: “Can you draw out Leviathan by a fishhook? Can you press down his tongue by a rope? Can you put a ring through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a barb?” (vv. 25-26)

III. Important Verses
vv. 3-5: Job said in reply to the LORD: See, I am of small worth; what can I answer You? I clap my hand to my mouth. I have spoken once, and will not reply; Twice, and will do so no more.
vv. 15-19: Take now behemoth, whom I made as I did you… His bones are like tubes of bronze, His limbs like iron rods. He is the first of God’s works; Only his Maker can draw the sword against him.
vv. 25, 32: Can you draw out Leviathan by a fishhook? Can you press down his tongue by a rope? … Lay a hand on him, And you will never think of battle again.

IV. Outline

1-2. God confronts Job
3-5. Job retracts his claims
6-32. God’s speech
    6. Introduction
    7-14. Confrontation
    15-24. Job cannot handle the Behemoth (hippopotamus?)
    25-32. Job cannot handle the Leviathan (crocodile? whale?)

V. Comment
Chapter 40 begins with a brief dialogue between God and Job, and ends with the first part of God’s final speech. The speech contains a harsh introduction (vv. 7-14), and the description of two mighty creatures, the behemot “Behemoth” and the liwyatan “Leviathan.” God describes these animals in order to discredit Job: since Job cannot control these animals, he surely cannot understand the rules of the universe. Let us now explore the nature of these two creatures.

Hakham writes regarding the Behemoth (p. 214 fn. 17, translation my own): “[The behemoth] refers to the hippopotamus amphibius, the largest dry land creature in the region…” Indeed, many statements in our chapter indicate that the Behemoth is a large hippopotamus-like animal. For example, v. 15 says “He eats grass, like the cattle,” and v. 21 says, “He lies down beneath the lotuses, In the cover of the swamp reeds.” In regards to the Leviathan Hakham writes (p. 217 fn. 36, translation my own): “It seems that the liwyatan mentioned here is the crocodile, the largest reptile of our day… It also logical that it also refers to the largest of the mammals, what we today called the whale.”

Unlike Hakham, a large number of scholars view the creatures to be mythical in nature. There are two main reasons for this belief: (1) many verses in Tanakh indicate that these are mythical creatures, and (2) there seems to have been a popular Canaanite myth which speaks about God’s battle with the great primordial sea creatures. John Day writes (“Leviathan,” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. IV pp. 295-296): “In Job 40:25–41, 26 [—Eng 41:1–34] part of the second divine speech is a detailed description of Leviathan. Many commentators have believed, following the view of S. Bochart expressed in 1663, that Leviathan is here the crocodile, and similarly that Behemoth in Job 40:15–24 is the hippopotamus. However, good reasons can be put forward against Leviathan’s equation here with the crocodile, or for that matter with any other actually existing beast. For example, Leviathan is said to breathe out fire and smoke (Job 41:11–13—Eng 19–21), which is suggestive of a mythological creature, and it is implicit in God’s argument that no human is able to capture him. We probably have here the same mythological Leviathan who is attested elsewhere in the OT, and whom God overcame at the creation (though it is arguable that he now has only one head rather than seven). The point of God’s argument seems to be that since Job cannot overcome Leviathan, how much less can he hope to overcome in argument the God who defeated him.”

Indeed, God appears to be at odds with sea creatures in other places of Tanakh. Ps. 74:13-14 says, “it was You who drove back the sea with Your might, who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters; it was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan, who left him as food for the denizens of the desert,” and Ps. 89:10-11 says, “You rule the swelling of the sea; when its waves surge, You still them. You crushed Rahab; he was like a corpse; with Your powerful arm You scattered Your enemies.” Yet, it is still possible that the word liwyatan has two meanings, one mythical and one tangible. One place where the word might mean a whale is Ps. 104:26: “There go the ships, and Leviathan that You formed to sport with.” Needless to say, more research into this topic is required.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Day, “Leviathan” (Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. IV pp. 295-296)
Photo taken from  http://www.neiu.edu/~dcgreer/whale4.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God continues to belittle Job by pointing out that he doesn’t control any of the wild animals.

II. Photo
God asks Job if he controls the eagle: “Does the eagle soar at your command, Building his nest high, Dwelling in the rock, Lodging upon the fastness of a jutting rock?” (vv. 27-28)

III. Important Verses
vv. 19-23: Do you give the horse his strength? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? … He paws with force, he runs with vigor, Charging into battle. He scoffs at fear; he cannot be frightened; He does not recoil from the sword. A quiverful of arrows whizzes by him, And the flashing spear and the javelin.
vv. 27-28: Does the eagle soar at your command, Building his nest high, Dwelling in the rock, Lodging upon the fastness of a jutting rock?

IV. Outline

1-30. Job neither understands nor controls the...
    1-4. Mountain goat
    5-8. Wild donkey
    9-12. Wild ox
    13-18. Ostrich
    19-25. Horse
    26-30. Eagle

V. Comment
No comment today. I hope to revisit this chapter after finishing the cycle.

VI. Works Used
Photo taken from  http://northislandexplorer.com/birds/eagle3b.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God belittles Job by asking if he took part in creation or if he understands the world’s secrets.

II. Photo
God asks Job if he controls the stars: “Can you tie cords to Pleiades Or undo the reins of Orion? Can you lead out Mazzaroth in its season, Conduct the Bear with her sons?” (vv. 31-32)

III. Important Verses
vv. 1-3: Then the LORD replied to Job out of the tempest and said: Who is this who darkens counsel, Speaking without knowledge? Gird your loins like a man; I will ask and you will inform Me.
vv. 4-5: Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Speak if you have understanding. Do you know who fixed its dimensions Or who measured it with a line?
v. 16: Have you penetrated to the sources of the sea, Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
v. 17: Have the gates of death been disclosed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
vv. 31-32: Can you tie cords to Pleiades Or undo the reins of Orion? Can you lead out Mazzaroth in its season, Conduct the Bear with her sons?

IV. Outline

1. Introduction
2-3. Confrontation
4-18. Job does not know about...
    4-7. Earth’s creation
    8-11. The sea
    12-15. Daybreak
    16. The sea
    17. The gates of death
    18. The inside of the earth
19-21. Belittling Job
22-41. Job does not know about...
    22-30. The weather
    31-33. The heavens
    34-38. The weather
    39-40. Job is unable to provide for the lion
    41. Job is unable to provide for the raven

V. Comment
No comment today. I hope to revisit this chapter after I finish the cycle.

VI. Works Used
Photo taken from  http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0601/pleiades_gendler.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Elihu continues his hymn from the previous chapter. He praises God’s control of nature, and tells Job that God is too great to be understood.

II. Photo
Elihu praises God’s control of nature in v. 6: “He commands the snow, ‘Fall to the ground!’”

III. Important Verses
v. 5: God thunders marvelously with His voice; He works wonders that we cannot understand.
v. 14: Give ear to this, Job; Stop to consider the marvels of God.
vv. 23-24: Shaddai — we cannot attain to Him; He is great in power and justice And abundant in righteousness; He does not torment. Therefore, men are in awe of Him Whom none of the wise can perceive.

IV. Outline
1-13. Hymn (continued from previous chapter)
14-24. Lesson: Job does not understand

V. Comment
Today’s comment will be brief. I hope to revisit this chapter after completing the cycle.

Hakham gives an excellent summary of Elihu’s speeches. He writes (pp. 287-288, translation my own): “What did Elihu come to teach us? Did he add anything that the friends did not say? Is there a good answer in his words to Job’s questions? The commentators to the book of Job deal with these questions, and their opinions are split from one extreme to the other… In this commentary we said that Elihu takes a balanced approach between the two opposite positions of Job and the friends. He disagrees with both Job and the friends, and he also partially agrees to both. Unlike the friends, Elihu doesn’t think that Job’s suffering is an indication of sin… But, he disagrees with Job about the claim that God treated Job immorally. Elihu claims that even if Job isn’t wicked, it isn’t immoral for God to punish him.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Elihu defends God’s righteousness. He also begins a hymn in praise of God’s control of the rain.

II. Photo
Elihu tells Job that God punishes the wicked kings: “If they are bound in shackles And caught in trammels of affliction, He declares to them what they have done, And that their transgressions are excessive…” (vv. 7-8)

III. Important Verses
vv. 5-6: See, God is mighty; He is not contemptuous; He is mighty in strength and mind. He does not let the wicked live; He grants justice to the lowly.
v. 17: You are obsessed with the case of the wicked man, But the justice of the case will be upheld.
v. 23: Who ever reproached [God] for His conduct? Who ever said, “You have done wrong”?
v. 26: See, God is greater than we can know; The number of His years cannot be counted.

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-4. Opening remarks
5-15. God punishes the wicked and helps the righteous
16-21. Admonition to Job
22-25. Introduction to the hymn
26-33. Hymn: God controls the rain

V. Comment

Today’s comment will be brief today. I hope to revisit this chapter after finishing the cycle.
Elihu’s final speech consists of two main sections, a defense of God’s righteousness (vv. 2-21), and a hymn in praise of God’s control of the rain (36:22-37:24). The major question is, “Why is Elihu singing a hymn to God at this point in time?” Clines writes (p. 853-854): “How these two parts fit together, if at all, is a difficult question. They are ‘so distinct in tone and content as to give the impression that they are independent compositions and could have been separate speeches’ (Andersen). It is unlikely, however, that the theme of Part 2 is simply the power of God, for that is a subject deeply irrelevant to God’s justice, which has been the overriding theme of all Elihu’s interposition. There are enough hints that the power of God in creation and nature is for Elihu not a subject of praise in its own right, but somehow connected with the matter of God’s justice. God’s creatorial energies and world governance are not displays of power, they are the vehicle of his righteous judgments. The sending of clouds and rain, for example, is for Elihu not some evidence of supreme power but an exhibition of divine justice (37:13; cf. 36:31; 37:23).”
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])

Hebrew-English Text
I. Photo
Elihu criticizes wicked people for not praising God: “None [of them] say, ‘Where is my God, my Maker… [the One who] makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’” (vv. 10-11)

II. Summary
Elihu speaks to Job and the friends about God. He begins by saying that, for good or bad, God is not affected by any of man’s actions. He then says that if God does not respond to a sufferer, it is not because God is unjust, but because there is a shortcoming in the particular person.

III. Important Verses
v. 2: Do you think it just To say, “I am right against God”?
vv. 6-7: If you sin, what do you do to Him? If your transgressions are many, How do you affect Him? If you are righteous, What do you give Him; What does He receive from your hand?
vv. 9-12: Because of contention the oppressed cry out; They shout because of the power of the great. But none says, “Where is my God, my Maker, Who gives strength in the night; Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, Makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?” Then they cry out, but He does not respond Because of the arrogance of evil men.

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-4. Opening remarks to Job and the friends
5-8. God is not affected by man’s righteous/wicked deeds
9-15. Wicked men are punished, and God doesn’t listen to them
16. Job is incorrect

V. Comment
Elihu’s third speech can be divided into two sections: vv. 1-8 deal with the so called benefits of serving God, and vv. 9-16 deal with the fact that God doesn’t answer people who call upon Him. Clines quotes scholars who write that the chapter’s logic is hard to follow (p. 795). One author writes, “much is awkwardly expressed; and the argument is none too clearly articulated.” Another feels that the chapter is “not easy to follow,” and that it may be “rather futile to try to make sense of this chapter.” Yet, let us make an attempt.

The first part of Elihu’s speech deals with the benefits of serving God. Elihu tells Job (vv. 3-4): “If you ask how it benefits you, ‘What have I gained from not sinning?’ I shall give you a reply, You, along with your friends.” Elihu explains that God is ultimately unchanging; He is unaffected if people serve him or not. What does this mean, and why is Elihu telling it to Job and the friends? While I must admit that I do not have a strong answer to this question, I will quote Clines (pp. 794-795): “Elihu takes up Job’s complaints, (a) that he is no better off than if he had sinned (v 3b) and (b) that there is no benefit in righteousness (v. 3a). There are two ways of reading Elihu’s response. Either, he regards Job’s first complaint as an impious statement, since it implies that God is not operating the principal of retributive justice, and thus that God is unjust. Naturally, if you say that God is unjust, it means that you think you are more just than God (v. 2b). Or, Elihu is simply arguing that talk about MY rights and MY benefit is not how we should speak about justice: a truly pious person would not be so self-centered. Indeed, piety should not even be focused on the question of its value to God (vv 5-7). The mark of true piety is whether it brings benefits to others, while justice is not a matter of my getting what I deserve but others benefiting from my virtue. This seems the preferable reading.”

The speech’s second section appears to be more coherent. Elihu tells Job that God does listen to people’s prayers: “Surely it is false that God does not listen, That Shaddai does not take note of it.” (v. 13) Yet, God does not listen to people who aren’t deserving, i.e. those that do not praise God in their prayers: “But none says, ‘Where is my God, my Maker, Who gives strength in the night; Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, Makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’” Clines writes (p. 795), “When a sufferer remains unanswered by God, it is not because God is unjust, as Job alleges, but because there is some fault in the person who is calling for help… Job too is not being answered, despite his conviction that he has laid his case before God and is awaiting a decision (v 14), because there is something wrong with Job himself – which Elihu does not further specify here.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Photo taken from  http://migrationandliterature.engerom.ku.dk/migrating_birds_lille.jpg/

Hebrew-English Text
I. Photo
Elihu defends God’s ability to judge fairly: “Would one who hates justice govern? Would you condemn the Just Mighty One?” (v. 17)

II. Summary
Elihu’s speech contains two sections, one addressed to the friends and one addressed to Job. In both sections he explains that God is a righteous and fair-minded judge.

III. Important Verses
vv. 7-9: What man is like Job, Who drinks mockery like water; Who makes common cause with evildoers, And goes with wicked men? For he says, “Man gains nothing When he is in God’s favor.”
v. 12: For God surely does not act wickedly; Shaddai does not pervert justice.
vv. 21-22: For His eyes are upon a man’s ways; He observes his every step. Neither darkness nor gloom offers A hiding-place for evildoers.
v. 27: [God kills people] because they have been disloyal to Him And have not understood any of His ways.

IV. Outline

1. Introduction
2-15. Elihu addresses the friends
    2-4. Summons
    5-6. Quotation of Job
    7-8. Job’s wickedness
    9. Quotation of Job
    10-15. God controls the world and must therefore judge fairly
16-37. Elihu addresses Job
    16-20. God is unbiased
    21-30. God judges the wicked at undetermined times
    31-33. Job did not turn to God
    34-37. Everyone knows Job speaks sacrilegiously

V. Comment
Elihu’s speech is made up of two sections. The first section (vv. 2-15) is an address to the friends, and Elihu says that Job doesn’t understand God. The second half (vv. 16-37) is an address to Job, and Elihu says that Job is misguided. In terms of form/structure, this speech is similar to other speeches in the book. For example, it is filled with rhetorical questions (vv. 7-8, 13, 17-19, 29, 33) and begins by mentioning “words” or “speech” (v. 2, cf. vv. 4:2, 8:2, 9:2, 11:2–3, 15:2–3, 16:2–3, 18:2, 19:2, 20:2, 21:2, 32:6–33:3, 36:2, and 38:2). Yet, the speech is unique in that it contains many quotations (roughly one quarter of the speech is quotation, cf. vv. 5-6, 9, 18, 31-32, 35-37).

Elihu asks the friends in vv. 7-8, “What man is like Job, Who drinks mockery like water; Who makes common cause with evildoers, And goes with wicked men?” A question one might ask is, “Is Elihu accusing Job of any sin?”While Eliphaz did accuse Job of sin in 22:6 (“You exact pledges from your fellows without reason, And leave them naked, stripped of their clothes”), most commentators follow Ibn Ezra in their understanding of this verse. Ibn Ezra writes (translation my own), “[Job’s] words makes it seem as if he belongs to a wicked crowd.” Hakham writes (p. 260, translation my own): “Unlike Eliphaz, Elihu doesn’t think that Job sinned. Elihu recognizes Job’s righteousness, and subsequently asks how a righteous man like Job could speak like the wicked ones.”

Elihu’s fundamental argument is that God is a just ruler: “Would one who hates justice govern? Would you condemn the Just Mighty One?” (v. 17) As a proof to his position he explains that God removes wicked rulers: “He is not partial to princes; The noble are not preferred to the wretched; For all of them are the work of His hands. Some die suddenly in the middle of the night; People are in turmoil and pass on; Even great men are removed — not by human hands.” (vv. 19-20) While it might seem pointless to judge the merits of Elihu’s argument from a modern perspective, Clines does so in order to clarify what the speech must have meant to Job. He writes, (786): “There are just two flaws in Elihu’s argument. First, the evidence of history is against it. Tyrants may fall in an instant, but do they, as a matter of course? Secondly, he does not allow for the possibility that the supreme governor of the universe is himself an arbitrary tyrant. If the second rung of world governors, kings and princes and the like, can include evildoers who should be deposed, who is to say that the very top rung is not occupied by the ultimate malign force? It is not a question that very often arises, for most of those who do not believe in an all-just God do not believe in any God at all. But it is precisely Job’s question, for while he does not for a moment doubt the existence of God, he deeply questions God’s integrity. And so Elihu, like all the ohter frineds, talks right past Job.” Thus, Elihu’s dogmatic words probably fell on Job’s deaf ears.

VI. Works Used
(See “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Clifford, Wisdom Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature)

Photo taken from  http://www.livinginplainfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/gavel.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Elihu tells Job that both dreams and suffering are ways for God to communicate with human beings.

II. Photo
While Elihu is younger than Job, he gives him a reason to pay attention to what he has to say: “The breath of God formed me; The breath of Shaddai sustains me.” (v. 4)

III. Important Verses
vv. 9-12: [I heard you say] “I am guiltless, free from transgression; I am innocent, without iniquity. But He finds reasons to oppose me, Considers me His enemy. He puts my feet in stocks, Watches all my ways.” In this you are not right; I will answer you: God is greater than any man.
vv. 13-15: Why do you complain against Him That He does not reply to any of man’s charges? For God speaks time and again — Though man does not perceive it — In a dream, a night vision, When deep sleep falls on men, While they slumber on their beds.
vv. 31-33: Pay heed, Job, and hear me; Be still, and I will speak; If you have what to say, answer me; Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you. But if not, you listen to me; Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.

IV. Outline

1-7. Adress to Job
8-11. Quoting Job
12-30. Message
    12-16. God speaks to man in dreams
    17-21. Man is punished because of pride
    22-25. God spares man from death
    26-30. A portrayal of an ideal penitent
31-33. Appeal for Job to listen

V. Comment
Elihu addresses Job in ch. 33. He tells him to listen to his speech (vv. 1-7), quotes Job’s argument (vv. 8-11), and proceeds to expound upon the meaning of suffering (vv. 12-30). He ends with a second appeal for Job to listen to him (vv. 31-33). In terms of form, Elihu’s speech is similar to many other speeches in the book. Yet, he is the only one of the friends to address Job by name (vv. 1, 31; also at 32:12 and 37:14).

Elihu introduces his main point with v. 13: “Why do you complain against [God] That He does not reply to any of man’s charges?” Elihu’s message, which is delivered by means of an analogy about a healed sufferer (vv. 19-28), is that God does communicate with man. Human suffering, according to Elihu, is a form communication. God is essentially telling Job, “You are suffering because you are proud (v. 17), but if you turn to Me in prayer (v. 26) I will make you even healthier than you were in your youth (v. 25).” Elihu also mentions that God communicates with human beings in their dreams (vv. 12-16).

The reader was told about Elihu’s anger in 32:3 : “He was angry as well at his three friends, because they found no reply, but merely condemned Job.” In v. 5 this anger comes to the fore: “If you can, answer me; Argue (‘erkhah) against me, take your stand (hityatzavah).” While Elihu is definitely referencing Job’s judicial language (cf. 23:4), it seems that he is also using a military metaphor to challenge Job to a debate. For a militaristic meaning of the word ‘erkhah, see 2 Sam. 10:8: “The Ammonites marched out and took up their battle position (waya‘arkhu) at the entrance of the gate…” Also, for a militaristic meaning of the word yatzav, see 1 Sam. 17:16: “The Philistine stepped forward morning and evening and took his stand (wayityatzeiv) for forty days.”

In v. 18 Elihu tells Job that God communicates with man in dreams (nightmares?) in order to “To turn man away from an action, To suppress pride in man.” Clines writes (pp. 732-733, parentheses omitted): “Nightmares may be very unpleasant, but God has to be cruel to be kind. His gracious intention is to prevent a person from incurring a fatal penalty for some dreadful sin. If those into whose ears these nocturnal warnings are poured will realize their significance, they will abandon their evil ways and so be ‘spared’ or ‘restrained’ from the pit, that is, delivered from descending into the underworld.” In other words, Elihu believes that “suffering is a means of divine communication with humans. He does not abandon the concept of suffering as retribution, but he displaces it with the idea of education.” (Clines, 742)

Elihu tells Job about God’s kindnesses in v. 18: “He spares him from the Pit, His person, from perishing by the sword.” Clines points out that according to Elihu staying alive is the “ultimate good” (cf. vv. 22, 24, 28, 30). Yet, just like the three friends who came before him, Elihu misses the point that Job actually desires death: “Why does [God] give light to the sufferer And life to the bitter in spirit; To those who wait for death but it does not come, Who search for it more than for treasure?” (3:20-21) Job could care less about life and death, all he wants is justice (cf. 16:18, 19:25-26).

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Sefer Iyov (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Murphy, Wisdom Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature)

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