Bible Commentary - Job 18

In this chapter, Bildad criticizes Job.

It’s almost getting boring at this point, the back and forth between Job and his friends, because they really aren’t saying anything new or different from what they said previously.  Bildad criticized Job last time he spoke, and he’s criticizing Job now.

In verses 2-4, Bildad responds to Job sarcastically, accusing Job is talking down to them as if they were stupid animals.

The entire rest of the chapter is a long and vivid condemnation of the wicked.  Beginning with “the light of his tent is darkened” (v. 6) and ending with “he is driven from light into darkness” (v. 18), the recurring theme of Bildad’s speech is darkness.  Darkness is what awaits the wicked, when they step into the snare or trap of their own evil plans.  Darkness is also how Job speaks about himself, referring to his own life as being a “bed of darkness”.  Therefore we can understand that Bildad is speaking about Job, and doing it in a way that Job knows Bildad is talking about him.  Bildad speaks about Job in other ways too.  “his skin is devoured by disease” (v. 13) is also a reference to Job, who was struck with terrible boils all over his skin (see Job 2:7).  Verses 17, 19 talk about the destruction of the “posterity” of the wicked, and as we know Job’s sons and daughters were all killed when a house collapsed on them (Job 1:18-19).

In the end, “this is the place of him who does not know God” (v. 21).  Bildad is saying that Job is suffering the fate of an evil, godless man.

Why is Bildad saying all of this?  I would guess it’s similar to Eliphaz, that Bildad is offended by Job’s denials and self-proclaimed innocence.  Bildad thinks that all of the things happening to Job are hallmarks of a sinful man, and that it is hypocritical and deceitful for Job to claim innocence.

I don’t have much else to add, since this chapter so closely parallels previous material from this book.

In the next chapter, Job replies to Bildad in much the way that we would expect him to.