Bible Commentary - Job 15

In this chapter, Eliphaz seems genuinely offended by Job’s rebuke, and he replies in kind.

If anyone thought that Job’s friends would back down or apologize when he rebuked them, well, you were wrong.  Job’s friend Eliphaz seems to double down in this case, extending his criticism of Job to great lengths.

This chapter contains two parts.  The first part is verses 1-19, and the second part is verses 20-35.

In the first part, Eliphaz makes an argument that is quite similar to Job in the overall tone.  In Job 12:1-5, Job is sarcastically criticizing his friends for thinking that they have all the wisdom and that Job is just some idiot.  In this chapter, Job’s friend replies with less sarcasm but not much less.  He calls Job’s words “windy knowledge” or like the hot wind, possibly the first recorded instance anywhere in the world when someone has been called a blowhard.

Even in this first part, Eliphaz reiterates his belief that Job is guilty, and in fact says that Job is providing evidence of his own guilt by his complaints (v. 5-6).

The core of this chapter is in verses 17-19.  In these three verses, Eliphaz basically says that his philosophy comes down from ancient tradition, taught by their elders.  In other words, it is a cultural tradition and a reflection of common beliefs at the time.

More to the point, the common belief is that God punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous.  That is the theme and purpose of the second part, when Eliphaz describes at length the suffering and despair of the wicked.  Eliphaz’s purpose in these statements is clear: Job is suffering; the wicked suffer; therefore Job is wicked.  This is a thinly veiled criticism of Job, with the same intent as their earlier commentary: Eliphaz is urging Job to repent of whatever sins he has committed, so that God would grant him relief.

This is not a new argument and indeed it tracks closely with Eliphaz’s original rebuke of Job in chapter 4.  In fact, Job 4:18-19 is nearly identical to verses 15-16 in this chapter.

I think what’s different is that Eliphaz certainly feels much more angry now than he was before.  In chapters 4-5, Eliphaz offers a vision to Job of both punishment and redemption, depending on his choice.  In this chapter, Eliphaz speaks entirely about God’s judgment, and of course has the long ad-hominem section in verses 1-13.  Why is Eliphaz so angry?

Besides Job’s rebuke in chapter 12, I think Eliphaz is angry because he sees Job contradicting their ancestral traditions.  The traditional wisdom was that God punishes the wicked, so it was a natural conclusion that Job is sinning somehow.  Job is contradicting this whole chain of logic, insisting that he is righteous and also demanding to have an explanation from God, and to Eliphaz this is an act of tremendous pride.  I think that’s why Eliphaz says that Job is condemning himself, because he thinks Job is acting out of pride against God which is itself a sin (v. 12-13).

Except for that dimension, Eliphaz is making the same argument he did before and he has not changed his position at all.

In the next chapter, Job responds to Eliphaz once more.