Giving the strongest of the three initial speeches, zophar declares that job deserved even worse than what he got. Implied that job s sons had sinned and deserved the calamity that struck them and suggested that job. He calls down evil on his day, wishes he had not been born, or were out of existence. The three friends of job represent three ways of solving the mysterious problems of divine government in the affairs of men. Pdf a very short commentary on the book of job david. When three of jobs friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Eliphaz, bildad, and zophar refer to positions based on human reflection. Job bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. The easiest explanation for this silence is that job agreed with him. Perhaps they dont really know god at all, job thought. However, in the book of job, bildad was a shuhite and eliphaz was a temanite. Job probably lived some time during the lifetimes of the patriarchs of israelduring the time of abraham, isaac, and jacob. Reading 32 is an analysis of the book of job that captures the essence of the message and the effect of the literary form.
Bildad is the second friend to speak to job, picking up where eliphaz left off. And so it goes, the battle of words between job and these three men, words that at. Eliphaz the temanite is the symbol of human experience or history. Next, three friends came to visit job and the bulk of the book of job is a dialogue that took place between job and his friends. Eliphaz is the first of job s three interlocutors to respond, presumably out of deference to his honor, and his speeches are longer and more eloquently than those of bildad and zophar. The book of job, with warren hammack as job, joseph boley as bildad, john taylor as eliphaz, robert shy as zophar, and hal hackett as elihu, pine mountain state park, performed in pine mountain, kentucky, 1962. Job, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Three of job s friends, men of repute and position in their communities, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite, hear of the calamities that have befallen him. The poem includes the speeches of jobs three friends, jobs replies to them, and the discourses of the young man, elihu, who thinks he can do a better job of solving the riddle of jobs suffering than did eliphaz, bildad, and zophar.
Zophar s miserable counseling zophar job 11 and 20 also presents a works righteousness. Posts about eliphaz bildad zophar written by gillian gould lazarus. Job made his last speech in rebuttal to eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. Job s friend eliphaz started the first set of speeches by telling job that he needs only to admit his sin, god would release him from his. Elihu is identified only as the son of barakel the buzite, of the family of ram job 32.
And these were the kings who reigned in edom, which country he also ruled over. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and. The book of job, with warren hammack as job, joseph boley. In job 32 elihu focuses his response on rebuking job s three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. It looks as if eliphaz, bildad, and zophar made specific claims about god which were.
Job never responds to elihus speeches, though elihu asks for a response job 33. From the book of hours executed by jean fouquet for etienne chevalier get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. Near the end a man named elihu spoke, and then at the very end yahweh spoke and he restored. Bildad the shuhite bildad is a nonhebrew name, perhaps standing for lord adad,the storm god. Any book which so speaks as it does deserves the confidence of men who know the weight and bitterness of suffering. Perhaps they worship a god completely unknown to me. The book of job is glorious because it shows people acting the way people act. At the end, god steps in and communicates with job as well.
In verse 6, he states, know then that god exacts of you less than your guilt deserves esv. Eliphaz, bildad, and zophar new life fellowships blog. At this point, we hope that you have read the whole book 23 times. Since job s response to each friend is always longer than the corresponding speech, the short speech by bildad chap. Dec 09, 2015 that seems to explain why the dialogue of the book of job seems so long. The book of job must be inspired by the holy spirit since it contains information only which. They are eliphaz from the town of teman, bildad from shuha and zophar from naama. If job would seek god, bildad insists that god would restore. Zophar has been circling in, and now he bends down putting his long nose right in job s face, but job holds his own. All three friends believed that the unrighteous suffer. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles.
He is one of jobs three friends and wouldbe comforters. It is clear, therefore, that one has to bear in mind when reading or quoting from the book that the arguments presented by eliphaz, bildad and zophar are erroneous. Eliphaz was the oldest and considered the wisest of the three. He then compares his own weakness with the limitless power, majesty, and wonder of. Retributive punishment the book of job amazing facts. Three of jobs friends, men of repute and position in their communities, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naam athite, hear of the calamities that have befallen him. Eliphaz and bildad both speak three times, but zophar does not speak in the third cycle and so gives only two speeches. Bildad, eliphaz, and zophar are convinced it is because job must have done something wrong. Eliphaz thought that job must have sinned and that was why he was suffering. Shuah was a son of abraham and keturah in genesis 25. We resume our study of the book of job during the first set of speeches between job s three friends and job.
Along the way, we also hear from elihu, whos identified as the son of barakel the buzite. However, eliphaz, along with bildad and zophar, failed in his attempt to comfort his suffering friend. So eliphaz the temanite and bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite went and did what the lord had told them. Circa 1455, eliphaz, bildad and zophar visit job who is afflicted with boils and sleeps on a pile of dung. Job, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical. Each traveled from his own country eliphaz from teman, bildad from shuhah, zophar from naamathand went together to job to keep him company and comfort him. At times these three companions of job state true facts, but in a setting and with an application that is wrong. These guys have plenty to say, and job isnt their biggest fan. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing god and shunning evil. Suppose we could get one lesson from the book of job one that should. Their names were eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. They come together from afar to comfort job, but when they see the tragic change in him, they are struck silent, and for seven days and nights no word is spoken. He labels and libels job the evil man who knows not god. A study of job presents a particular challenge in a limited work such as this manual.
Every major character in the bookjob, eliphaz, bildad, zophar, and. He waits so eliphaz or bildad, his elders, may speak. The lxx refers to these three friends as kings of their respective peoples. Lying alone and immobile in the darkness, job accepted his powerlessness against the accusatory arrows aiming to fly from the mouth of his friend.
Jun 20, 2019 the issue was job s privileged opportunity to be a universal witness to gods goodness. Job did know much about him, in fact much more than the knowledge of deity held by zophar and bildad and eliphaz. Jobs friend sophar zophar was king of the minaeans or naamathites jb. They met together to go and console and comfort him. Then three friends of job heard of his trouble, eliphaz the temanite probably an edomite. Jan 02, 2020 after eliphaz and bildad, zophar spoke third in offering advice to job. We saw that the book of job seems to be set in the patriarchal period job. The book of job contains both positions within the.
After eliphaz and bildad, zophar spoke third in offering advice to job. Newsom 2003, 96129, most agree that eliphaz is exemplary and that. Oct 10, 2014 the book of job takes the form of a dialogue between job, and his three friends, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. When they first caught sight of him, they couldnt believe what they sawthey hardly recognized him. It takes about 75 minutes to read it through aloud. One of the great surprises of a difficult and surprising book comes in its final.
They analyzed his recent experiences and correctly knew what he needed. Zophar begins with a caustic, judgmental rebuke of job 11. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad and zophar used similar arguments in attempting to answer job. Job begins his response with remarkable sarcasm directed at his friends, whose approach has been impervious to his suffering 26. Neither job, nor bildad, nor eliphaz, nor zophar has the slightest idea why job is suffering. Eliphaz and zophar looked at one another with unabashed disapproval on their faces. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar come to comfort him and sit with him this long in silence. Each traveled from his own countryeliphaz from teman, bildad from shuhah, zophar from naamathand went together to job to keep him company and comfort him. His three speeches were shorter and more hurtful than those of eliphaz.
International standard version so eliphaz from teman, bildad from shuah, and zophar from naamath did precisely as the lord had spoken to them, because the lord showed favor to job. This long central portion of job is made up of three cycles of speeches, in which eliphaz, bildad and zophar speak, each receiving a response from job. Near the end a man named elihu spoke, and then at the very end yahweh spoke and he restored jobs health, wealth, and family. Job chapter 26 explained discover books of the bible. Job had three friends visit him, eliphaz, bildad and zophar. So eliphaz the temanite and bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite went, and did according as jehovah commanded them. I touched on it briefly last week, but youve got job and his three friends, and then a fourth friend shows up im not going to talk about him yet, before the discourse is done. Thus it was written well after jacob and esaus time. Job refutes every speech of the three with eight speeches of his own. Although quickwitted, and quick to respond, eliphaz loses his composure in chapter 22, accusing job of oppressing widows and orphans, a far cry from how he had originally described job.
The book is long, and its poetic form is often difficult to follow. Every major character in the book job, eliphaz, bildad, zophar, and. Jobs friends job 337 neviim tovim, blogs by gillian. They genuinely cared for him on the deepest human level. Feb 11, 2010 job s 3 friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, came to his side intending to sympathize and comfort him. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. Sep 21, 2019 when three of jobs friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. He sees the intimate details of my life, but i cant reach him. Job had been successful in silencing eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, but he does not say one word against elihu even though elihu challenged him in 33. He then compares his own weakness with the limitless power, majesty, and wonder of yahweh.
Jul 24, 2015 eliphaz, bildad, and zophar get no more than three speeches apiece, with the speeches growing shorter as the book progresses. In the testament of job, the three friends are three kings. There were secret things that god had withheld from him, including why god had decreed such waves of pain to suddenly crash into his life. In job 3237 elihu offers a response to job that lifts up the lord, condemns job s three friends, and rightly confronts job.
Job was the greatest man of all the people of the east. Although differences between their speeches are recognized and important cf. Then eliphaz of teman, bildad of shuah, and zophar of naama went and did what the lord had told them to do. Eliphaz, bildad, zophar meet by appointment, mourn over job. Job supposed eliphaz had been calibrating his next oratory while job was busy grappling with god in the dirt. Jun 28, 2011 job chapters 337 haftarah circle 26 january 2011. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Job spoke first, then eliphaz, then job, then bildad, then job, then zophar, then job again, and this pattern kept repeating. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared god and turned away from evil.
Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. A very short commentary on the book of job david j. Why would job be secure 2 according to zophar what would. Biblical books gen exod lev num deut josh judg ruth 12 sam 12 kgs 12 chron ezra neh esth job pss prov eccl song isa jer lam ezek dan hos joel amos obad jonah mic nah hab. Christopher schwinger origin of the book of job eliphaz the temanite is. Job s three friends, eliphaz, bildad and zophar used similar arguments in attempting to answer job. Job pokes fun at bildad asking him what spirit revealed it to him because he recognizes the argument as eliphaz s spiritual revelation. Like the other two comforters, bildad and eliphaz, zophar emphasizes an old hebrew conceptsuffering is the inevitable lot of the evil man. Circa 1455, eliphaz, bildad and zophar visit job who is.
But job answered and said, job himself has virtually said much the same as bildad job 9. Eliphaz bildad zophar neviim tovim, blogs by gillian gould lazarus. Bildad the shuhite is the symbol of human tradition or philosophy. Zophar the naamathite job some think that zophar from naama zophar is the same as esaus grandson greek translation of the old testament, south of the arabian peninsula. Now, job is actually sometimes harder for us to figure out than his friends. Do not come to the bible only for condolence and sympathy. Aug 14, 2020 eliphaz, bildad, and zophar then speak in turn, for three cycles, and job responds to every one of their speeches. Typical commentaries on the book of job run to several hundred pages. Rotherham emphasized bible so eliphaz the temanite and bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite went, and did according to that which yahweh had spoken unto them, and yahweh accepted job. Zophar the naamathite is the symbol of human merit or moral law. Eliphaz, bildad, and zopharfalse accusers book of job. Eliphaz is the first friend to speak, and shows the only hint of kindness from the three friends. Job is the central figure of the book of job in the bible.
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