Old Testament · Wisdom

Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks

The first friend steps forward with a dream and a theory: the innocent don't suffer. It sounds right. It isn't.

King James Version BSB KJV

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

3Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

4Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

5But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

7Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

8Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

9By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

10The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

11The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.

12Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

13In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

14Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

15Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

16It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

18Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

19How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

20They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Understand This

Job 4, explained

What Job 4 is saying

Eliphaz the Temanite opens the dialogue cycles with the gentlest approach among the three friends. He appeals to Job's past role as a counselor, then argues from personal experience—including a mysterious nocturnal vision—that no mortal is righteous before God. He implies that suffering is corrective and that the innocent never truly perish.

The background behind it

Teman was associated with Edomite wisdom traditions. Eliphaz's nighttime theophany (vv. 12-21) employs language and imagery common to ancient Near Eastern divine encounter narratives. His theology represents the standard retribution principle of ancient wisdom literature.

Themes running underneath

Eliphaz introduces the retribution theology that all three friends share: suffering results from sin, and righteousness produces prosperity. His argument from experience ('As I have seen,' v. 8) and revelation (the night vision) lends authority to his position, yet the reader knows from the prologue that his premise is fundamentally wrong in Job's case.

Why it still matters

Eliphaz represents the danger of applying general theological principles to specific situations without nuance. His compassionate tone makes his wrong theology more insidious—polite error is still error.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.