Eliphaz uniquely combines divine revelation (his mysterious nighttime vision in 4:12-16) with pedagogical language, calling Job a former teacher while positioning himself as the new instructor through supernatural authority.
Job 4
Eliphaz's First Speech
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2“If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3Behold, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands.
4Your words have supported him who was falling, you have made the feeble knees firm.
5But now it has come to you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled.
6Isn’t your piety your confidence? Isn’t the integrity of your ways your hope?
7“Remember, now, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
8According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, reap the same.
9By the breath of God they perish. By the blast of his anger are they consumed.
10The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11The old lion perishes for lack of prey. The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12“Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it.
13In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
15Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up.
16It stood still, but I couldn’t discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying,
17‘Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?
18Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error.
19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth!
20Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.
21Isn’t their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.’
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Theme
Eliphaz the Temanite begins the friends' response to Job's lament by offering what he believes is wise counsel. He reminds Job of his former role as a comforter of others and suggests that Job's current suffering indicates hidden sin, since the innocent do not perish and the wicked reap what they sow. Eliphaz supports his argument with a mysterious nighttime vision in which a spirit declared that no mortal can be more righteous than God, emphasizing human frailty and the certainty of divine judgment.
Context
This chapter begins the first cycle of speeches from Job's three friends, responding to Job's initial lament and curse in chapter 3.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-2 Eliphaz's Gentle Introduction Eliphaz hesitantly begins to speak, asking permission to offer his perspective on Job's situation.
- 3-6 Job's Former Ministry Recalled Eliphaz reminds Job how he previously strengthened others in their troubles, questioning why Job now falters when afflicted himself.
- 7-11 The Principle of Divine Retribution Eliphaz argues that the innocent never perish while the wicked inevitably face destruction, using agricultural and animal metaphors.
- 12-16 A Mysterious Nighttime Vision Eliphaz describes a terrifying supernatural encounter where a spirit appeared to him in the night.
- 17-21 The Spirit's Message on Human Frailty The vision's message emphasizes that no human can be more righteous than God and that mortals are inherently fragile and temporary.
Eliphaz's First Speech
4:1–5:27 wisdom speech solemn
Eliphaz responds to Job's lament by arguing that suffering comes from sin and that the innocent do not perish, sharing a vision that emphasizes human frailty before God.
person_contrast
Eliphaz uniquely combines divine revelation (his mysterious nighttime vision in 4:12-16) with pedagogical language, calling Job a former teacher while positioning himself as the new instructor through supernatural authority.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Job 4:1 5 references
Lexicals 5
Job 22:1 Lexical
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
Job 15:1 Lexical
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
Job 42:7 Lexical
It was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindle…
Job 2:11 Lexical
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the…
Job 42:9 Lexical
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD commanded them, and…
Job 4:2 1 reference
Job 4:4 1 reference
Job 4:7 1 reference
Job 4:9 3 references
Lexicals 3
Job 27:3 Lexical
(for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
Genesis 7:22 Lexical
All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
2 Samuel 22:16 Lexical
Then the channels of the sea appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare by the LORD’s rebuke, at the blast of…
Job 4:10 5 references
Lexicals 5
Zechariah 11:3 Lexical
A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed—a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pri…
Isaiah 31:4 Lexical
For the LORD says to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called t…
Amos 3:4 Lexical
Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
Isaiah 5:29 Lexical
Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and ca…
Psalms 91:13 Lexical
You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
Job 4:11 5 references
Lexicals 5
Isaiah 30:6 Lexical
The burden of the animals of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper…
Genesis 49:9 Lexical
Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Wh…
Isaiah 5:29 Lexical
Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and ca…
Numbers 23:24 Lexical
Behold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey,…
Job 38:39 Lexical
“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Job 4:13 1 reference
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