Chapter 5

1 The harm of inconsideration. 3 The end of the wicked is misery. 6 God is to be regarded in affliction. 17 The happy end of God’s correction.

1. Call now. In other words, “if you turn away from God and reproach Him, what aid can you invoke?”

Saints. Literally, “holy ones.” Here probably angels are meant (see Dan. 8:13; Zech. 14:5), but it must not be assumed that invocation of angels is endorsed. Eliphaz is no authority on religious questions.

2. Wrath. Or, “vexation.” Eliphaz implies that Job, like a fool, was permitting his vexation to destroy him. To this Job replied, “Oh that my grief [vexation] were throughly weighed” (ch. 6:2).

Envy. Or, “jealousy,” “passionate anger” (Prov. 14:30; Isa. 42:13).

Silly one. Better, “simple.”

3. Taking root. Eliphaz admits that the wicked may “take root” and prosper, but he does not believe such prosperity will be permanent.

I cursed. That is, I pronounced it accursed, knowing that the curse of God was resting upon it.

4. Crushed in the gate. The gate of the ancient city was the place where the court of justice convened. The expression may be equivalent to “deprived of their rights in the court of judgment” (see Prov. 22:22). Some see in this verse an allusion to the death of Job’s children.

5. The thorns. Even the thorn hedge around the field does not protect the crop of the fool from the bands of hungry marauders.

The robber. Heb. sammim. A word of doubtful meaning, probably “a snare,” “a trap.” A slight variation in the Hebrew vowels allows the translation “thirsty.” Such a rendering would improve the parallelism with “hungry” in the first line of the verse. This rendering is supported by two Greek versions, also the Syriac and the Vulgate. See Vol. I, pp. 34, 35.

Swalloweth up. Or, “pant after,” “long for.”

Their substance. A covert reference to Job’s great material losses.

6. Of the dust. See ch. 4:8, to which Eliphaz may be alluding. Sorrow and trouble, he asserts, do not grow like weeds out of the ground. The soil must be prepared and the evil seed implanted. Man is naturally sinful; therefore it is natural for him to suffer.

7. Sparks. Literally, “sons of the flame.” All men sin; therefore it is as natural for them to experience trouble as it is for sparks to fly upward. Why should Job complain of his lot so bitterly when sorrow is the common lot of all mankind? Eliphaz fails to recognize that stating a reason for trouble does not comfort the sufferer. The human heart is not healed by a knowledge of the inevitability of trouble any more than sin is forgiven by a knowledge of the universality of sin.

8. Seek unto God. “If I were you,” Eliphaz is saying, “I would cease complaining and seek God. Rather than wish for death, I would place my trust in Him.” It is easy for a person to assume that he would meet adversity more bravely than another. Actual experience sometimes betrays weakness in those who are most confident. Eliphaz was correct in what he said, but Job later evaluated its appropriateness in these words: “miserable comforters are ye all” (ch. 16:2).

9. Great things. In vs. 9–16 Eliphaz speaks of the hand of God in human events. He was unaware of the presence and operations of the great adversary, at whose door must be laid the responsibility of all earth’s suffering and woe.

12. Disappointeth. See Ps. 33:10; Isa. 8:10.

13. He taketh the wise. This is the only text in the book of Job that is quoted in the NT (1 Cor. 3:19). Paul probably translated the text directly from the Hebrew, or used some manuscript of the LXX not now extant. He expresses a thought similar to that of the LXX but makes use of different words.

Froward. Or, “wily.”

Carried headlong. Literally, “is hurried,” that is, “brought to a quick end” (RSV).

15. The poor. The Hebrew text reads literally, “But he saveth from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty, the needy.” The text does not follow the regular parallelism. Various revisions have been suggested to preserve the poetic meter, but none of these versions adds much to the understanding of the passage. God is pictured as a defender of the needy against his oppressor.

17. Happy. Verses 17–27 probably constitute the supreme passage among all the statements of Job’s friends; yet it is based on the assumption that Job was suffering punishment for sin.

Correcteth. Or, “reproves.” The idea that God’s reproof is a favor is found in other scriptures (see Ps. 94:12; Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5–11).

18. He maketh sore. See Deut. 32:39; Hosea 6:1.

19. Six troubles: yea, in seven. An expression found also in Ugaritic poetry. These numbers should not be taken literally. Six means many—seven means more. This is a poetic way of saying that God will deliver from all trouble (see Amos 1:3–11 for an example of similar numbering).

21. Scourge of the tongue. Calumny and abuse.

23. In league. A poetic figure. The animate (the beasts) and the inanimate (the stones) would be at peace with the servant of God.

24. Tabernacle. Or, “tent.”

Sin. Heb. chataХ, which may also be translated “to miss [a way or goal]” (see Judges 20:16). Hence the line may be rendered, “You shall inspect your fold and miss nothing” (RSV).

25. Thy seed. To be blessed with many descendants was accepted as a sign of divine favor.

26. Full age. Another sign of divine favor. Despite Job’s serious physical condition, his friend holds before him the hope of longevity.

Like as a shock of corn. Compare Milton:

“So mayest thou live; till like ripe fruit,

thou drop

Into thy mother’s lap; or be with ease

Gathered, not harshly plucked; for death

mature.”

27. So it is. Eliphaz was convinced that his observations and conclusions were correct, and urged Job to accept his counsel and to act upon it.

Ellen G. White comments

3    FE 348

18   PK 435