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 Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
Parallel Translations
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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 Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
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Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
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Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to bemoan him and to comfort him.
Cross-references (26)
Passages linked to Job 2:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
- Job 42:11 Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
- Genesis 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
- Job 6:14 “To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
- Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.
- Jeremiah 49:7 Of Edom, Yahweh of Armies says: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
- 1 Corinthians 12:26 When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
- Genesis 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
- Genesis 36:15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
- Genesis 37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him.
- 1 Chronicles 1:32 The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: she bore Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.
- Job 6:19 The caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.
- Job 16:2 “I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters!
- Job 19:21 “Have pity on me. Have pity on me, you my friends; for the hand of God has touched me.
- John 11:19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
- Job 8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
- Job 13:4 But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value.
- Job 15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
- Job 16:20 My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God,
- Job 18:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
- Job 19:19 All my familiar friends abhor me. They whom I loved have turned against me.
- Job 42:7 It was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.
- Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
- Proverbs 27:10 Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother.
- Isaiah 51:19 These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you?
- Hebrews 13:3 Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which were men of authority, wise and learned, and…
Which were men of authority, wise and learned, and as the Septuagint writes, Kings, and came to comfort him, but when they saw how he was visited, they conceived an evil opinion of him, as though he had been but an hypocrite, and so justly plagued of God for his sins.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 2:11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of…
Job 2:11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
Ver. 11. And when Job’s three friends] His familiar friends, that did eat of his bread, as Psa 41:9, that were as his own soul, Deu 13:6, his bosom friends, and, therefore, precious jewels, such as could both keep counsel and give counsel. Of such there are but few to be found. Friends, there is no friend, said Socrates (φιλοι, ουδεις φιλος). Faithful friends, saith another, are in this age all for the most part gone in pilgrimage, and their return is uncertain. A friend is a changeable creature, saith a third; all in changeable colours, like the peacock, as often changed as moved. Job complaineth of these his chief and choice friends, that they were miserable comforters, physicians of no value, &c., Job 16:2. Amicitia sit tantum inter binos, eosque bonos; Let such friendship be between two, there and good. such as were Jonathan and David, Corporibus geminis spiritus unus erat. The soul and the body were on one accord.
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Heard of all this evil] Whether by the ministry of the good or bad angels, or of neither, it skilleth not. Ill news is swift of foot, saith the Greek proverb (αι βλαβαι ποδωκεις); and like ill weather, which comes ere it be sent for. The sins and miseries of good people are much talked of, and soon rumoured abroad. The Chaldee paraphrast here telleth of strange businesses, viz. that these three here mentioned (besides the report they heard of Job’s calamity) were moved to visit him by the wonders that happened with them at the same time; for their trees suddenly withered in their orchard, their bread at their table was turned into raw flesh, their wine into blood, &c. But this may well pass for a Jewish fable: the author of that paraphrase was R. Joseph Caecus, nothing so ancient or authentic as he who paraphraseth upon the historical books, but exceedingly full of mistakes, and seldom cometh he near the right meaning of the text, all along the Hagiographa.
They came every one from his own place] More than these came to such a sight, no doubt; but these out of a desire and design to condole with him, and comfort him. But it happened far otherwise; for they tormented Job well nigh as much as Satan himself; though it were by ignorance, and unwittingly, rather than by ill will, or premeditated malice. Their very silence and gesture, before ever they spake a word, did so torment his mind, that at last he cries out in that bitter manner, as Job 3:1-26., like a frantic man, which, through some grievous sickness, hath lost his wits.
Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, &c.] Idumeans all, likely, and men of much estimation for wisdom {Jer 49:7, "Is wisdom no more in Teman?"} and godliness, as descended all of Abraham, whose care was to catechise his whole family, and to teach them the ways of God, Gen 18:19. Their following disputations show as much, wherein they admonish him to repent; assuring him that he could be no less than a gross sinner, and a hypocrite, because so grievously afflicted. Job answereth their various speeches, tormented in body, perplexed in mind, but stoutly defending his own innocence, and seeming to tax the Lord also; like as dogs in a chase bark at their own masters
To this his friends reply sharply from Job 15:1-35; Job 16:1-22; Job 17:1-16; Job 18:1-21; Job 19:1-29; Job 20:1-29; Job 21:1-34; Job 22:1-30, and he answereth them again with greater boldness and courage than before. Hereupon they begin a second reply, and here Eliphaz and Bildad only spake; the third man fainted and spake no more, for that Job was invincible, &c., till at length Elihu moderateth, censuring both parties; and God determineth, to Job’s conviction and final commendation.
For they had made an appointment together to come] Not by accident, or at adventure, as Origen will needs have it against the text; but by solemn agreement: it was a pitched meeting. Neither stayed they till they were sent for, but came, as friends, to do Job all friendly offices; like as, in a fright, the blood and spirits run to the heart to relieve it. "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity," Pro 17:17. {See Trapp on "Pro 17:17"}
To mourn with him] Heb. To shake the head, or other parts of the body, in token of commiseration; to bewail his condition, as Cyprian did the persecuted saints of his time, Cum singulis pectus meum copulo, I join with him with the singleness of my heart, saith he Moeroris pondera luctuosa participo, &c. With heaviness of heart I join weaping, "Who is offended, and I burn not?" 2Co 11:29.
And to comfort him] This they intended, but proved miserable comforters too, by reason of the deceitfulness of their hearts, fitly, therefore, compared to a broken or a deceitful bow, that carrieth the arrow a clean contrary way, Psa 78:57. The word rendered to comfort, signifieth likewise to mourn with the mourning of repentance, to teach us here to begin our pity to others, to bewail their and our own sins. So Jonah prayed unto the Lord, Jon 4:2. He thought to have prayed, but it proved that he brawled: {See Trapp on "Jon 4:2"} These men’s words were as a murdering weapon in Job’s bones; pious they were and divine all along, but much misapplied. It is said of them that they handled an ill matter well, and Job a good cause as ill, especially when once he came to be wet through.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They were persons then eminent for birth and quality,…
They were persons then eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the posterity of Abraham, and akin to Job, and living in the same country with him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here an account of the kind visit…
We have here an account of the kind visit which Job's three friends paid him in his affliction. The news of his extraordinary troubles spread into all parts, he being an eminent man both for greatness and goodness, and the circumstances of his troubles being very uncommon. Some, who were his enemies, triumphed in his calamities, Job 16:10; Job 19:18; Job 30:1, etc. Perhaps they made ballads on him. But his friends concerned themselves for him, and endeavoured to comfort him. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Three of them are here named (Job 2:11), Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. We shall afterwards meet with a fourth, who it should seem was present at the whole conference, namely, Elihu. Whether he came as a friend of Job or only as an auditor does not appear. These three are said to be his friends, his intimate acquaintance, as David and Solomon had each of them one in their court that was called the king's friend. These three were eminently wise and good men, as appears by their discourses. They were old men, very old, had a great reputation for knowledge, and much deference was paid to their judgment, Job 32:6. It is probable that they were men of figure in their country-princes, or heads of houses. Now observe,
I. That Job, in his prosperity, had contracted a friendship with them. If they were his equals, yet he had not that jealousy of them - if his inferiors, yet he had not that disdain of them, which was any hindrance to an intimate converse and correspondence with them. to have such friends added more to his happiness in the day of his prosperity than all the head of cattle he was master of. Much of the comfort of this life lies in acquaintance and friendship with those that are prudent and virtuous; and he that has a few such friends ought to value them highly. Job's three friends are supposed to have been all of them of the posterity of Abraham, which, for some descents, even in the families that were shut out from the covenant of peculiarity, retained some good fruits of that pious education which the father of the faithful gave to those under his charge. Eliphaz descended from Teman, the grandson of Esau (Gen 36:11), Bildad (it is probable) from Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen 25:2. Zophar is thought by some to be the same with Zepho, a descendant from Esau, Gen 26:11. The preserving of so much wisdom and piety among those that were strangers to the covenants of promise was a happy presage of God's grace to the Gentiles, when the partition-wall should in the latter days be taken down. Esau was rejected; yet many that came from him inherited some of the best blessings.
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II. That they continued their friendship with Job in his adversity, when most of his friends had forsaken him, Job 19:14. In two ways they showed their friendship: -
1. By the kind visit they paid him in his affliction, to mourn with him and to comfort him, Job 2:11. Probably they had been wont to visit him in his prosperity, not to hunt or hawk with him, not to dance or play at cards with him, but to entertain and edify themselves with his learned and pious converse; and now that he was in adversity they come to share with him in his griefs, as formerly they had come to share with him in his comforts. These were wise men, whose heart was in the house of mourning, Ecc 7:4. Visiting the afflicted, sick or sore, fatherless or childless, in their sorrow, is made a branch of pure religion and undefiled (Jam 1:27), and, if done from a good principle, will be abundantly recompensed shortly, Mat 25:36.
(1.) By visiting the sons and daughters of affliction we may contribute to the improvement, [1.] Of our own graces; for many a good lesson is to be learned from the troubles of others; we may look upon them and receive instruction, and be made wise and serious. [2.] Of their comforts. By putting a respect upon them we encourage them, and some good word may be spoken to them which may help to make them easy. Job's friends came, not to satisfy their curiosity with an account of his troubles and the strangeness of the circumstances of them, much less, as David's false friends, to make invidious remarks upon him (Psa 41:6-8), but to mourn with him, to mingle their tears with his, and so to comfort him. It is much more pleasant to visit those in affliction to whom comfort belongs than those to whom we must first speak conviction.
(2.) Concerning these visitants observe, [1.] That they were not sent for, but came of their own accord (Job 6:22), whence Mr. Caryl observes that it is good manners to be an unbidden guest at the house of mourning, and, in comforting our friends, to anticipate their invitations. [2.] That they made an appointment to come. Note, Good people should make appointments among themselves for doing good, so exciting and binding one another to it, and assisting and encouraging one another in it. For the carrying on of any pious design let hand join in hand. [3.] That they came with a design (and we have reason to think it was a sincere design) to comfort him, and yet proved miserable comforters, through their unskilful management of his case. Many that aim well do, by mistake, come short of their aim.
2. By their tender sympathy with him and concern for him in his affliction. When they saw him at some distance he was so disfigured and deformed with his sores that they knew him not, Job 2:12. His face was foul with weeping (Job 16:16), like Jerusalem's Nazarites, which had been ruddy as the rubies, but were now blacker than a coal, Lam 4:7, Lam 4:8. What a change will a sore disease, or, without that, oppressing care and grief, make in the countenance, in a little time! Is this Naomi? Rut 1:19. So, Is this Job? How hast thou fallen! How is thy glory stained and sullied, and all thy honour laid in the dust! God fits us for such changes! Observing him thus miserably altered, they did not leave him, in a fright or loathing, but expressed so much the more tenderness towards him. (1.) Coming to mourn with him, they vented their undissembled grief in all the then usual expressions of that passion. They wept aloud; the sight of them (as is usual) revived Job's grief, and set him a weeping afresh, which fetched floods of tears from their eyes. They rent their clothes, and sprinkled dust upon their heads, as men that would strip themselves, and abase themselves, with their friend that was stripped and abased. (2.) Coming to comfort him, they sat down with him upon the ground, for so he received visits; and they, not in compliment to him, but in true compassion, put themselves into the same humble and uneasy place and posture. They had many a time, it is likely, sat with him on his couches and at his table, in his prosperity, and were therefore willing to share with him in his grief and poverty because they had shared with him in his joy and plenty. It was not a modish short visit that they made him, just to look upon him and be gone; but, as those that could have had no enjoyment of themselves if they had returned to their place while their friend was in so much misery, they resolved to stay with him till they saw him mend or end, and therefore took lodgings near him, though he was not now able to entertain them as he had done, and they must therefore bear their own charges. Every day, for seven days together, at the house in which he admitted company, they came and sat with him, as his companions in tribulation, and exceptions from that rule, Nullus ad amissas ibit amicus opes - Those who have lost their wealth are not to expect the visits of their friends. They sat with him, but none spoke a word to him, only they all attended to the particular narratives he gave of his troubles. They were silent, as men astonished and amazed. Curae leves loquuntur, ingentes stupent - Our lighter griefs have a voice; those which are more oppressive are mute.
So long a time they held their peace, to show
A reverence due to such prodigious woe.
- Sir R. Blackmore
They spoke not a word to him, whatever they said one to another, by way of instruction, for the improvement of the present providence. They said nothing to that purport to which afterwards they said much - nothing to grieve him (Job 4:2), because they saw his grief was very great already, and they were loth at first to add affliction to the afflicted. There is a time to keep silence, when either the wicked is before us, and by speaking we may harden them (Psa 39:1), or when by speaking we may offend the generation of God's children, Psa 73:15. Their not entering upon the following solemn discourses till the seventh day may perhaps intimate that it was the sabbath day, which doubtless was observed in the patriarchal age, and to that day they adjourned the intended conference, because probably then company resorted, as usual, to Job's house, to join with him in his devotions, who might be edified by the discourse. Or, rather, by their silence so long they would intimate that what they afterwards said was well considered and digested and the result of many thoughts. The heart of the wise studies to answer. We should think twice before we speak once, especially in such a case as this, think long, and we shall be the better able to speak short and to the purpose.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when they lifted up their eyes afar off,....…
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off,.... Either when at some distance from Job's house, and he being without in the open air, as some think; or as they entered his house, he being at the further part of the room, or in another further on, which they could see into:
and knew him not; at first sight; until they came nearer to him, his garments being rent, and his head shaved, and his body covered all over with boils; so that he was so deformed and disfigured that they could not know him at first, and could scarcely believe him to be the same person:
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they lifted up their voice and wept: they wept and cried aloud, being greatly affected with the sight of him, and their hearts sympathizing with him under his afflictions, being his cordial friends, and of that disposition, to weep with those that weep:
and they rent everyone his mantle, or "cloak"; in token of mourning, as Job had done before; see Gill on Job 1:20,
and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven; that is, they took up handfuls of dust from off the ground, and threw it up in the air over their heads, which fell upon them and covered them; which was another rite or ceremony used by mourners, as Jarchi observes, and showed the vehemence of their affections and passions, and the confusion they were in at seeing their friend in such a miserable condition; see Jos 7:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They - Who were persons eminent for birth and…
They - Who were persons eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the posterity of Abraham, a-kin to Job, and living in the same country. Eliphaz descended from Teman, the grandson of Esau, Gen. xxxvi, 11. Bildad probably from Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen. xxv, 2. Zophar is thought to be same with Zepho, (Gen. xxxvi, 11.) a descendant from Esau. The preserving of so much wisdom and piety among those who were not children of the promise, was an happy presage of God's grace to the Gentiles, when the partition wall should be taken down.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Job's three friends] The first was Eliphaz…
Verse 11. Job's three friends] The first was Eliphaz the Temanite; or, as the Septuagint has it, Ελιφαζ ὁ Θαιμανων βασιλευς, Eliphaz the king on the Thaimanites. Eliphaz was one of the sons of Esau; and Teman, of Eliphaz, Ge 36:10-11. Teman was a city of Edom, Jer 49:7-20; Eze 25:13; Amo 1:11-12.
Bildad the Shuhite] Or, as the Septuagint, Βαλδαδ ὁ Συχεων τυραννος, Baldad, tyrant of the Suchites. Shuah was the son of Abraham by Keturah: and his posterity is reckoned among the Easterns. It is supposed he should be placed with his brother Midian, and his brother's sons Sheba and Dedan. See Ge 25:2-3. Dedan was a city of Edom, see Jer 49:8, and seems to have been situated in its southern boundary, as Teman was in its western. Eze 25:13.
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Zophar the Naamathite] Or, according to the Septuagint, Σωφαρ Μιναιων Βασιλευς, Sophar king of the Minaites. He most probably came from that Naamah, which was bordering upon the Edomites to the south and fell by lot to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:21-41. These circumstances, which have already been mentioned in the introduction, prove that Job must have dwelt in the land of Edom, and that all his friends dwelt in Arabia Petraea, or in the countries immediately adjacent. That some of those Eastern people were highly cultivated, we have at least indirect proof in the case of the Temanites, Jer 49:7: Concerning Edom thus saith the Lord of hosts, Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished? They are celebrated also in Baruch 3:22, 23. Speaking of wisdom he says: It hath not been heard of in Chanaan; neither hath it been seen in Theman. The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran and of Theman, the expounders of fables, and searchers out of understanding, none of these have known the way of wisdom. It is evident enough from these quotations that the inhabitants of those districts were celebrated for their knowledge; and the sayings of Job's three friends are proofs that their reputation for wisdom stood on a very solid foundation.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 2:11. When Job’s three friends heard of all…
Job 2:11. When Job’s three friends heard of all this, &c. — Who were persons eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably, as has been observed on Job 1:1, of the posterity of Abraham, akin to Job, and living in the same country with him. See that note. The preserving so much wisdom and piety among those that were not children of the promise was a happy presage of God’s grace to the Gentiles, when the partition wall should, in the latter days, be taken down. Esau lost the birthright, and when he should have regained it, was rejected, yet it appears many of his descendants inherited some of the best blessings.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Now when Job’s three friends heard - It would…
Now when Job’s three friends heard - It would seem from this that these men were his particular friends.
They came every one from his own place - His residence. This was the result of agreement or appointment thus to meet together.
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Eliphaz the Temanite - This was the most prominent of his friends. In the ensuing discussion he regularly takes the lead, advances the most important and impressive considerations, and is followed and sustained by the others. The Septuagint renders this Ελιφὰζ ὁ Θαιμαινῶν βασιλεὺς Elifaz ho Thaimainōn basileus - Eliphaz, the king of the Themanites. The Hebrew does not intimate that he held any office or rank. The word rendered “Temanite” תימני têymânı̂y is a patronymic from תמן têmân, meaning properly “at the right hand,” and then “the South.” The Hebrew geographers are always represented as looking to the East, and not toward the North, as we do; and hence, with them, the right hand denotes the South. Teman or Theman was a son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau; see Gen 36:15, where he is spoken of as “duke” or prince אלוּף 'alûph a head of a family or tribe, a chieftain.
He is supposed to have lived on the east of Idumea. Eusebius places Thaeman in Arabia Petrara, five miles from Petra (see the notes at Isa 16:1), and says that there was a Roman garrison there. The Temanites were cclebrated for wisdom. “Is wisdom no more in Teman?” Jer 49:7. The country was distinguished also for producing men of strength: “And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed;” Oba 1:9. That this country was a part of Idumea is apparent, not only from the fact that Teman was a descendant of Esau, who settled there, but from several places in the Scriptures. Thus, in Eze 25:13, it is said, “I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and I will make it desolate from Toman, and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.” In Amo 1:12, Teman is mentioned as in the vicinity of Bozrah, at one time the capital of Idumea: “But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah;” see the notes at Isa 21:14. The inhabitants of this country were distinguished in early times for wisdom, and particularly for that kind of wisdom which is expressed in close observation of men and manners, and the course of events, and which was expressed in proverbs. Thus, they are mentioned in the book of Baruch, 3:23: “The merchants of Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding,” οἱ μυθολόγοι καὶ οἱ ἐκζητηταὶ τῆς συνέσεως hoi muthologoi kai hoi ekzētētai tēs suneseōs.
And Bildad the Shuhite - The second speaker uniformly in the following argument. The Septuagint renders this, “Bildad the sovereign of the Saucheans,” Σαυχέων τύραννος Saucheōn turannos. Shuah שׁוּח shûach (meaning a pit) was the name of a son of Abraham, by Keturah, and also of an Arabian tribe, descended from him, Gen 25:2. “The country of the Shuhites,” says Gesenius, “was not improbably the same with the Σακκαία Sakkaia of Ptolemy, v. 15, eastward of Batanea.” But the exact situation of the Shubites is unknown. It is difficult to determine the geography of the tribes of Arabia, as many of them are migratory and unsettled. It would seem that Bildad did not reside very far from Eliphaz, for they made an “agreement” to go and visit Job.
And Zophar the Naamathite - An inhabitant of Naamah, whose situation is unknown. The Septuagint renders this, “Zophar, king of the Minaians - Μιναίων βασιλεύς Minaiōn basileus. A place by the name of Naamah is mentioned in Jos 15:41, as in the limits of the tribe of Judah. But this was a considerable distance from the residence of Job, and it is not probable that Zophar was far from that region. Conjecture is useless as to the place where he lived. The Editor of the Pictorial Bible, however, supposes that Zophar was from the town in Judah mentioned in Jos 15:41. He observes that this town is “mentioned in a list of the uttermost cities of Judah’s lot, ‘toward the coast of Edom southward; ‘ it is further among that portion of those towns that lay ‘in the valley’ Jos 15:33, wbich valley is the same that contained Joktheel Jos 15:38, which is supposed to have been Petra. Naamah was probably, therefore, in or near the Ghor or valley which extends from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba. - These considerations,” he adds, “seem to establish the conclusion that the scene of this book is laid in the land of Edom.” In the first part of this verse, a remarkable addition occurs in the Chaldee paraphrase. - It is as follows: “And the three friends of Job heard of all the evil which had come upon him, and when they saw the trees of his gardens (Chaldean, “Paradise” פרדסיהון) that they were dried up, and the bread of his support that it was turned into living flesh (לבסרא אתהפך סעודתחון ולחם חיא), and the wine of his drink turned into blood (אתהפך משתיחון וחמר לדמא).”
Here is evidently the doctrine of “transubstantiation,” the change of bread into flesh, and of wine into blood, and bears the marks of having been interpolated by some friend of the papacy. But when or by whom it was done is unknown. It is a most stupid forgery. The evident intention of it was to sustain the doctrine of transubstantiation, by the plea that it was found far back in the times of Job, and that it could not be regarded, therefore, as an absurdity. To what extent it has ever been used by the advocates of that doctrine, I have no means of ascertaining. Its interpolation here is a pretty sure proof of the conviction of the author of it that the doctrine is not found in any fair interpretation of the Bible.
For they had made an appointment together - They had agreed to go together, and they evidently set out on the journey together. The Chaldee - or someone who has interpolated a passage in the Chaldee - has introduced a circumstance in regard to the design of their coming, which savors also of the Papacy. It is as follows: “They came each one from his place, and for the merit of this they were freed from the place destined to them in Gehenna,” a passage evidently intended to defend the doctrine of “purgatory,” by the authority of the ancient Chaldee Paraphrase.
To come to mourn with him, and to comfort him - To show the appropriate sympathy of friends in a time of special calamity. They did not come with an intention to reproach him, or to charge him with being a hypocrite.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Eliphaz--The view of RAWLINSON that "the names of Job's…
Eliphaz--The view of RAWLINSON that "the names of Job's three friends represent the Chaldean times, about 700 B.C.," cannot be accepted. Eliphaz is an Idumean name, Esau's oldest son (Gen 36:4); and Teman, son of Eliphaz (Gen 36:15), called "duke." EUSEBIUS places Teman in Arabia-Petræa (but see on Job 6:19). Teman means "at the right hand"; and then the south, namely, part of Idumea; capital of Edom (Amo 1:12). Hebrew geographers faced the east, not the north as we do; hence with them "the right hand" was the south. Temanites were famed for wisdom (Jer 49:7). BARUCH mentions them as "authors of fables" (namely, proverbs embodying the results of observation), and "searchers out of understanding."
Bildad the Shuhite--Shuah ("a pit"), son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2). PTOLEMY mentions the region Syccea, in Arabia-Deserta, east of Batanea.
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Zophar the Naamathite--not of the Naamans in Judah (Jos 15:41), which was too distant; but some region in Arabia-Deserta. FRETELIUS says there was a Naamath in Uz.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE VISIT OF CONSOLATION, Job_2:11-13.
THE VISIT OF CONSOLATION, Job_2:11-13.
11. Three friends — Their conduct, as seen in this verse, shows them to have been sincere in their friendship at first, however they may have failed and become subsequently involved in angry dispute and bitter recriminations.
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Eliphaz the Temanite — The word Eliphaz signifies “God the dispenser of riches.” (Furst,) or, according to J.D. Michaelis, “My God is gold.” Since an Eliphaz appears in Gen_36:4; Gen_36:11, as one of the sons of Esau, and the father of Teman, we are justified in supposing that the home of Eliphaz was in the Idumaean region bearing that name. (1Ch_1:43; 1Ch_1:45.) Teman was probably the capital of Edom, (Amo_1:12) and lay, according to Eusebius, fifteen Roman miles from Petra, or, more probably, about five miles, as in Jerome. “This part of Arabia always had the most excellent philosophers.” — Grotius. (See Jer_49:7; Bar_3:22.) The Septuagint calls Eliphaz the king of the Thaemans.
Bildad the Shuhite — So called after a national deity of the Edomites, according to Furst, though Gesenius (Thesaurus) renders the name, the Strenuous Defender. The Septuagint makes him the ruler of the Sanchaeans. Shuah was the youngest son of Keturah by Abraham, (Gen_25:2,) who sent Shuah and the other children of the concubines “eastward into the east country.” The Shuhites probably dwelt not far from Edom, though Rawlinson conjectures that they may have been the Tsukhi, who dwelt on the northern confines of Babylon, both sides of the Euphrates. (Herodotus, i, p. 380.)
Zophar the Naamathite — Zophar, the shaggy, the rough, (Furst.) The place of his residence is uncertain. It could not have been the Naamah spoken of in Jos_15:41. The Septuagint calls him the king of the Minaeans. This leads Dillmann to suggest the identity of Naamah with Maan, an ancient city whose ruins still remain, somewhat to the east of Petra. (Comp. EWALD, Hist. of Israel, 1:239.)
An appointment together — When a calamity befalls a family among the Arabs of the present day, all their relations, connexions, and friends immediately hasten together to console them. — PIEROTTI. Customs, p. 240. To mourn with him — נוד, noudh; English, nod, to shake (the head.) Among highly excitable races deep grief is expressed by the movement of the head.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. for they had made an appointment] Or, and…
11. for they had made an appointment] Or, and they met together. They came each from his own place and met at one point to go to visit Job together.
to mourn with him] Or, condole with him, and shew their sympathy with him in his sufferings.
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11–13. Job’s three friends, having heard of his misfortunes, come to condole with him
How long time intervened between Job’s second affliction and the arrival of his friends cannot be accurately ascertained. From the allusions in chaps. 7, 19, and 30, it is probable that a considerable time elapsed. A man of Job’s rank would not choose his friends from the men of inferior station around him; they would be, like himself, Eastern princes, all but his equals in rank and influence. Their abodes would therefore be distant from one another, and more distant from his, and travelling in the East is slow. The tone of Job’s mind, too, as reflected in ch. 3, has undergone a change, the effect, no doubt, of protracted sufferings.
Eliphaz is an old Idumean name (Gen_36:4), and Teman, the place of his abode, is frequently mentioned in connexion with Edom. The place was famed for the wisdom of its inhabitants (Amo_1:12; Oba_1:8; Jer_49:7; Eze_25:13). Shuah was a son of Abraham by Keturah. The descendants of this wife were sent by Abraham to the East (Gen_25:2; Gen_25:6). Bildad may be connected by the Author with this family. Naamah, the dwelling-place of Zophar, means, perhaps, pleasant abode (Beauséjour, Reuss). A place of this name is mentioned, Jos_15:41, but this, being in Palestine, can hardly have been the home of Zophar. The place is doubtless supposed by the Writer to lie east of the Jordan.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Eliphaz the Temanite.—Teman was the son of Eliphaz,…
(11) Eliphaz the Temanite.—Teman was the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, to whose family this Eliphaz is probably to be referred (Gen_36:4; Gen_36:10-11). If so, this may roughly indicate the date of the book. The inhabitants of Teman, which lay north-east of Edom, were famed for their wisdom (Jer_47:7).
Bildad the Shuhite probably derived his origin from Shuah, the son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen_25:2). Of the district from which Zophar the Naamathite came nothing is known. It probably derived its name from a Naamah or Naaman, of which there were several (e.g., Gen_4:22; 1Ki_14:21; Gen_46:21; Num_26:40; 2Ki_5:1), as names of persons or places called after them.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Now when Job"s three friends heard of all this…
Now when Job"s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him. It is not to be supposed that Job had no more than three friends indeed, Elihu the Buzzite appears later on as one of his friends (Job_32:2-6) but he had three contemporaries with whom he was especially intimate, old men, (Job_32:6) with whom he was probably accustomed to confer from time to time, and who were in the habit of giving him their advice. All three, apparently, lived at a distance; and it seems to have been some weeks before the news of his misfortunes reached them. When the news came they held communication one with another, and agreed to pay him visits of condolence at a certain definite time, which was determined upon between them. Some months at least two seem to have elapsed between the date of Job"s latest affliction and the time of their arrival. (Job_7:3) They came every one from his own place. They had separate homes, and probably lived at some considerable distance from one another. Eliphaz the Temanite. There was an Eliphaz, the son of Esau by his wife Adah, who had a son Teman; (Gen_36:4 1Ch_1:35, 1Ch_1:36) but it is not supposed that this can be the person here intended. The name Teman did not become geographical until the descendants of this Eliphaz"s son had multiplied into a tribe, when they gave name to the portion of Arabia which they inhabited. This tract seems to have been either a part of Edom, or in its immediate vicinity, (Gen_36:42, 43 Jer_49:7, Jer_49:8, 20 Eze_25:15 Oba_1:8, Oba_1:9) but cannot be located with accuracy. The Temanitee were celebrated for their wisdom, as we learn from Jeremiah, who says, (Jer_49:7) "Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?" Job"s friend was probably among their wisest men at the time; and his discourses certainly show a considerable knowledge of human nature. They do not, however, solve the riddle of the universe. And Bildad the Shuhite. Bildad is a name which does not occur elsewhere in Scripture, neither is there any other mention of Shuhites. Conjecture has identified the Shuhites with the Saccaei of Ptolemy ("Geograph.," 5:15), whom he places in the neighbourhood of Batanaea and Trachonitis. But the Saccaei are unheard of till Ptolemy"s time, and seem to be a tribe of very small importance. Perhaps Bildad belonged to the people known to the Assyrians as the Tsukhi, or Sukhi ("Records of the Past," vol. 1. p. 14), who dwelt on the Middle Euphrates from about Anah to Hit ("Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. pp. 66, 67). And Zophar the Naamathite. Zophar, or rather Tsophar, is another unknown name. There was a Naamah, a city, in south-western Judaea, (Jos_15:41) to which Zophar may have belonged, though probably a region, rather than a city, is here intended. For they had made an appointment together; or, agreed together, by message or letter probably. To come to mourn with him and to comfort him. A good intention, at any rate, and one agreeable to the apostolic injunction to us to "weep with them that weep". (Rom_12:15) That they failed to carry out their intention (Job_16:2 Job_21:34) was owing to a want of judgment, and, perhaps, in part, to a want of love.
Vers. 11-13. The patriarch"s third trial; or the coming of the friends.
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I THE HONOURABLE NAMES THEY BORE.
1. Eliphaz the Temanite. Probably a descendant of Teman, the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau by his wife Adah; (Gen_36:10, 11 1Ch_1:35, 1Ch_1:36) belonging to the race of Teman, which extended over a considerable portion of Arabia, about midway between Palestine and the Euphrates; very likely the oldest of the three friends.
2. Bildad the Shuhite. Perhaps sprung from Shush, the youngest son of Abraham by Keturah, (Gen_25:2) and residing in a district of Arabia, not far from the Temanite country; may be reasonably supposed the second oldest of the friends.
3. Zophar the Naamathite. Otherwise unknown except through this book; though, from his acquaintance with Bildad, Eliphaz, and Job, it may be inferred he also was a person of distinction. Probably all three were, like the patriarch in his prosperity, powerful Arabian sheiks.
II THE EXCELLENT CHARACTERS THEY POSSESSED.
1. Points of agreement.
(1) Intellectual ability. Without alleging that air three stood upon the same platform in respect of mental calibre (which they did not, Eliphaz holding unmistakably the preeminence), it is apparent that they all were thinkers of no mean capacity. It is a special ornament to men in high social position to be possessed of corresponding mental faculties; besides immensely adding to their personal enjoyment and public usefulness. (cf. Ecc_10:16)
(2) Religious principle. Unquestionably good men, who not only revered Jehovah, but practised the Divine will so far as they understood it. They were likewise sincerely desirous of promoting Job"s highest welfare, while they unfeignedly sympathized with him in his appalling trouble. If we cannot quite adopt their speculative and religious formulas, any more than we can commend their wisdom or kindness in lecturing the patriarch as they did; on the other hand, it is due to them not to estimate their characters from the gall and wormwood outpoured on their devoted heads by Job, when stung to madness through their reproaches.
(3) Mistaken views. All three were equally astray in the fundamental doctrine they propounded in the course of their debate with the patriarch, viz. that suffering was so indissolubly associated with sin that the one was the measure of the other a theory which Job strenuously combats throughout the poem; thus giving rise to what we designate the second problem of the book, viz. as to the precise relation subsisting between sin and suffering as they appear on earth.
2. Points of difference.
(1) Eliphaz, a man of erudition, a person given to profound spiritual reflection, a seer who discerned spirits, dreamed dreams, and enjoyed intercourse with the unseen world, may be held to represent the prophet of the period.
(2) Bildad, of smaller build and narrower vision, a strong traditionalist in religion, with a profound veneration for the ancients, who accepted his theology from his ancestors without putting ugly questions as to its truth, and was prepared, by quoting maxims and citing proverbs of hoary antiquity, to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, was probably designed to typify the sage of the time.
(3) Zophar the Naamathite, an echo of his friends as to sentiment, as to manner more boisterous and arrogant than either, full of commonplaces and conventional dogmas, which he enunciated with imposing dignity and tremendous authority, may be regarded as the good man of the day"the vulgar but sincere formalist, who says sharp and bitter things, and always means what he says, as well as says what he means (Cox).
III THE MELANCHOLY TIDINGS THEY RECEIVED. How they learned the news of Job"s evil fortunes is not related, but the fact that they did reminds us of:
1. The rapidity with which evil tidings usually spread; since it was obviously not long before the report of their friend"s calamities reached their ears.
2. The organic unity of society; which renders it impossible for any one to either suffer or rejoice alone. (cf. 1Co_12:26)
3. The special susceptibility of friendly hearts for learning of others" woes.
IV THE MUTUAL APPOINTMENT THEY MADE. A token of:
1. Lively interest in the patriarchs welfare. Seeing they must have communicated with each other concerning their neighbour"s evil hap, thus showing they were not indifferent to what had occurred.
2. Loving sympathy with the patriarchs distress. For they meant to mourn with him and to comfort him, not to treat him to a mere call of ceremony.
3. High appreciation of the patriarchs worth. Since they planned to go together to the scene of sorrow, which, if it did spring from a due regard to their own dignity as princes, was perhaps also traceable to their Sense of what was owing to the rank and worth of their old friend. It says much for the three neighbours that they did not neglect Job now that he was a poor, diseased leper.
V THE FERVENT EMOTION THEY DISPLAYED.
1. Tearful sympathy. Catching a sight of their former neighbour, whom they had known and revered in his prosperity, now sitting on the ash-heap, outside his house, and hardly recognizing, in the emaciated features on which they gazed, the noble form of the quondam prince whose glory outshone the radiance of all his contemporaries, they lifted up their voices and wept. Orientals are proverbially more emotional and lachrymose than phlegmatic Occidentals; but still it must have been an affecting spectacle to behold the three great princes moved to tears by the patriarch"s distress.
2. Genuine amazement. "They rent every one his mantle." A symbol of horror and astonishment, as in the case of Jacob, (Gen_37:34) Jos_7:6 Ezr_9:3, Caiaphas. (Mat_26:65)
3. Profound sorrow. "They sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven;" i.e. threw handfuls of dust into the air, as the Arabs still do, that it might fall upon their heads, in token that they were deeply moved by the troubles and calamities that had fallen on their friend.
VI THE PECULIAR ATTITUDE THEY ASSUMED. It is unnecessary to suppose that they were absolutely silent, but merely that they spake nothing to him during all that period, certainly not in any way alluding to the cause of his distress. And this silent attitude may have been expressive of
(1) ceremonial propriety"if this was the customary manner of Oriental mourning, which is doubtful; but was more probably dictated by
(2) delicate sensibility"which forbade them to intrude upon the solitude of a sorrow so overpowering as that which they beheld; and
(3) reverential awe"as seeing in the patriarch one upon whom the hand of God was visibly laid; (cf. Gen_34:5 Lev_10:3 Eze_3:15) if it did not also spring from
(4) rising suspicion"the thought beginning to thrust itself into view, which indeed, according to their philosophy, could not long be repressed, that the agonized and wretched sufferer before them must have been, notwithstanding his previous high reputation for piety, a hypocrite at bottom, whose disguised insincerities and secret iniquities had at length drawn down upon him the just judgment of a holy and incensed God.
Learn:
1. That good men may often misunderstand God"s truth, misconstrue God"s providence, and misjudge God"s people.
2. That good men should always study to be distinguished for sympathy towards the suffering and sorrowing.
3. That good men who aspire to be brothers of consolation should not forget that silence is sometimes more soothing than speech.
4. That good men should never cherish secret suspicious of those whom they seek to comfort.
Vers. 11-13. A picture of friendship.
In this short section we have a beautiful picture of true friendship in its prompt sympathy, its ready offices. The three intimate friends of Job, on hearing of his troubles, arrange to visit him and offer the comfort of their presence and condolence. We are reminded
I OF THE BLESSING OF FRIENDSHIP. Sympathy is the indispensable need of the heart. It deepens the colour of all our pleasures; it throws a gleam of light athwart our deepest gloom. "Rejoice with them that do rejoice; and weep with them that weep." Our joys do not burst into flower till they feel the warm atmosphere of friendship. Our heaviest griefs only cease to be crushing when we have poured our tale into the ear of one we love. One of the humblest, yet best offices a friend can render to a sufferer is to be a good listener. Draw him out; get him to talk; movement and change of mind are what he needs. Exertion, if only the exertion of speech, will do him good. Do not pour upon him a cataract of well-meaning but stunning commonplaces. Imitate the kindness of Job"s friends, but not their want of tact and perception. Let him only feel that in your presence he can relieve himself of all that is on his mind, and will not fail to be kindly understood.
II SEASONABLE SILENCE IN THE PRESENCE OF SORROW. On the arrival of the friends, seeing the heart-rending condition of the noble chieftain, whom they had last seen in the height of his health and prosperity, now sitting in the open air, banished by disease from his dwelling, defaced by that disease beyond recognition, an utterly broken man, they express their grief by all the significant gestures of Eastern manners weeping, rending their clothes, sprinkling dust upon their heads. They then take their places by his side, and keep a profound and mournful silence for a week, as Ezekiel did when he visited his countrymen captives by the river Chebar. What exquisite manners are taught us in the Bible! And the great superiority of its teaching in this respect over the common teaching of the world is that it founds all manners upon the heart. It is truth, love, sympathy, which can alone render us truly polite, refined, and delicate in our relations to others, teaching us always to put ourselves in thought in the other"s place. "There is a time to keep silence." In great grief we recognize the hand of God, and he bids us be still and own him. Our smaller feelings bubble, our deeper ones are dumb. There are times when reverence demands silence, and a single word is too much. Leave the sufferer alone at first. Let him collect himself; let him ask what God has to say to him in the still, small voice that comes after the earthquake and the storm. "Sacred silence, thou that art offspring of the deeper heart, frost of the mouth, and thaw of the mind!" Sit by your friend"s side, clasp his hand, say simply, "God comfort you, my brother!" In the earlier stage of a fresh and sudden grief this will be enough. We cannot doubt that the wounded heart of Job was greatly comforted by the silent presence of his sympathizing friends. It was better than all their spoken attempts at consolation. Let us thank God for friendship and for true friends; they are messengers from him. "God, who comforteth them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus! J.
Vers. 11-13. Human impotence in presence of great sorrow.
The prompting of pure and faithful friendship leads Job"s friends to hurry to his help. They "come to mourn with him and to comfort him." When yet afar off they lift up their eyes and behold their friend. But, alas! disease has wrought so great a change in him that they know him not. Then "they lifted up their voice, and wept." In their wild, ungoverned passionate grief "they rent every one his mantle," and seizing the dust of the ground they cast it in the air toward heaven, and let it fall on their heads in token of their grief. Thus with signs of deep suffering in sympathy with their friend they cast their cry with the sand upwards to heaven. Then, with great skill, the writer indicates the helplessness of men in the presence of overwhelming Sorrow. "They sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great." So the sorrow that extorted the wild cry of pity closed the lips of consolation. We behold the men staggered by the bitterness of their friend"s lot. He cannot help himself, and they cannot help him. How true a picture of all deep Sorrow! It is to be said by every severe sufferer as by the typical One," Of the people there was none with me;" for even tender, loving sympathy cannot penetrate to the depths of another"s sufferings. With these feelings we gaze on the sufferer, feeling how painful it is to be unable to extend a helpful hand or to speak an effectual word. It is humiliating to us. It is abasing to our pride.
I THE CAUSES OF OUR IMPOTENCE IN PRESENCE OF SEVERE SUFFERING ARE:
1. Our inability to descend to the depth of the sorrow of another. It is only as we ourselves are sufferers that we can know what others feel. We must have drunk of the same cup if we would know its bitterness.
2. But even though we have suffered as we see others suffer, no words, even of the tenderest pity, can effectually relieve the mourner. Hollow human words, words of merely pretended sympathy, only wound the sufferer more deeply; while words of true friendship, cooling and cheering as they may be, can take up no part of the burden. For a time they draw off the mind of the sufferer from his sorrow, but it returns as a flowing tide.
II THE PAINFULNESS TO A TRUE FRIEND OF CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE EFFECTUALLY TO AID THE SUFFERER. Days or hours of silence are days or hours of keen suffering to the faithful friend unable to stanch the wound, to abate the fever, to restore the lost possession or the lost friend. By all we are driven to
III THE TRUE AND ONLY EFFECTUAL SYMPATHIZER, THE GOD-MAN, who, having suffered, and having power to descend to the lowest depths of the human heart, and having the Divine resources at command, the power to inspire the word of consolation and supporting strength; and who, measuring the need of the sufferer, can abate the severity of bodily pain or mental anguish. To the sufferer the welcome of this honest sympathy opens the door for the incoming of the true Healer and Comforter and Helper, who can give strength to the feeble, and, above all, can sanctify sorrow and calamity to higher ends, and make all things work together for good. He can brighten hope and sustain faith and strengthen patience, can soothe the fretted spirit, and give peace and joy and life. R.G.
Vers. 11-13. Job"s comforters.
We now enter on a new scene, one that prepares for the main action of the drama. Hitherto the court of heaven, the roving errands of Satan, the personal and domestic afflictions of Job, have engaged our attention. Now the light of the larger human world is let in on this scene. Job is not in purgatory, shut off from companionship of living men. Indeed, his greatest trouble is yet to come from the blundering conduct of that companionship.
I TROUBLE SHOULD COLLECT FRIENDS. We see very much of the faults of Job"s three friends in the course of the poem. Let us be fair to them, and recognize their good points. They were true friends; they did honestly desire and attempt to render to Job all the consolation that was in their power. They aimed at being "friends in need." False friends fall off in the hour of trouble. Such a spectacle as that of Job on his dung heap would not invite the crowd of sycophants that swarms about the table of the great man. No doubt Job had been pestered with plenty of such pretended friends in the old days of his fame. Doubtless one blessing among his many calamities was that he was now relieved of their presence. But three genuine friends still hold to him and seek him out in the time of his deepest distress. It is well to go to the house of mourning. But few are they who know how to conduct themselves when them.
II SYMPATHY IS THE BEST COMFORT. The three friends were amazed at the sight which presented itself. They were prepared to see trouble) but no imagination could picture so huge a distress as that of Job. It needed to be witnessed to be believed. The sight of it calls forth natural sympathy. Although the decorous Orientals proceeded at once to adopt the conventional forms of mourning, there is every reason to believe that their sympathy was genuine and heartfelt. It is only the heart made callous by selfishness that is incapable of sympathy. In this most Divine attribute of human nature we may recognize the root of what is moot fruitful in good. Sympathy is the spring of all the most helpful service, and when the service is impossible, the sympathy itself is consoling; for it is much to know that friends feel with us in our trouble.
III SYMPATHY MAY BE SHOWN IN SILENCE. Those seven days sad seven nights of silence are a sublime spectacle. Job"s comforters began well. It would have been good for their reputation if they had gone home at the end of the week. Then they would have been known as model comforters instead of becoming bywords for tormentors. We often make a mistake in thinking we ought "to say something." Great distress should hush hasty words. There are times when the gentlest words sound harsh on pained ears. What is wanted in trouble is not advice, but sympathy; and this is best shown by the unbidden tear, the silent pressure of the hand, the look of love. We feel a sad separation from one who is in great sorrow, for sorrow is naturally lonely. Only Christ can perfectly enter into it. He needs no words. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Now when Jobs three friends heard of all this…
Job_2:11
Now when Jobs three friends heard of all this evil.
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Jobs friends
They had good intentions, and goodness of heart. We have here a striking instance of disinterested friendship.
I. Its constancy. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar heard of the reverses that had come upon Job. The general way of the world would have caused them to turn their backs upon him. When a man is alone, and possessing no social advantages, he is neglected. So also a man in full health and vigour, amusing, instructive, energetic, is sought after as a companion, but when laid low with disease few care for his company. Jobs friends set us a notable example then in their constancy. His losses, poverty, distress, and disease did not alienate their friendship or their regard.
II. Its activity. An idle friendship is a useless one. Profession is all very well, but something more than profession is required in a friend. Even kind words will not bind up broken vows. The friendship of Jobs friends was active. We see this--
1. From the trouble they took. Apparently they lived at some distance off. But distance is nothing to affectionate interest, and they took the journey with the best of motives--that of affording comfort and solace.
2. From the means they employed. They did not run off to Job direct, but they met together and took counsel how they might best accomplish the means they had in view. This involved additional trouble, but it proved how true was the interest they felt.
III. Its wisdom. Sympathy is often misdirected. It loses its power and efficacy by some shortsighted indiscretion. It takes a long time to learn how to administer consolation in the most acceptable manner. How did they begin their purpose? By openly blurting out their purpose and object? By commonplaces of condolence? By wisely shaking their heads and parrot-like repeating the expression, We thought it would come to this! This is the lot of all men? Nay, they manifested their sympathy by silent tears. We must all have sorrow, we shall all need sympathy. Let us be very thankful if we have faithful friends, and may we know how best to show them regard. And may the subject lead us to value above all the blessed sympathy of Christ. (J. J. S. Bird.)
Genuine friendship
I. It was deepened by adversity. The effect on their minds of the overwhelming calamities which overtook Job was not to drive them from him, but to draw them to him. Adversity is one of the best tests for friendship. The Germans have a proverb, Let the guests go before the storm bursts. False friends forsake in adversity. When the tree is gay in summer beauty, and rich in aroma, bees will crowd around it and make music amongst its branches; but when the flower has fallen, and the honey has been exhausted, they will pass it by, and avoid it in their aerial journeys. When your house is covered with sunshine, birds will chirp at your windows, but in the cloud and the storm their notes are not heard--such bees and birds are types of false friends. Not so with true friendship; it comes to you when your tree of prosperity has withered; when your house is shadowed by the cloud and beaten by the storm. True friends, says an old writer, visit us in prosperity only when invited, but in adversity they come to us without invitation. In this respect, Christ is the highest manifestation of genuine friendship. He came down from His own bright heavens because of our adversity. He came to seek and to save the lost, etc.
II. It was prompted to relieving labour. The friendship of these men was not a passing sentiment, an evanescent emotion, it was a working force; it set them to--
1. A self-denying work. They bit their homes and directed their footsteps to the scene of their afflicted friend. Travelling in those days meant something more than it does in these times, when means of transit are so accessible, agreeable, and swift. And then, no doubt, it required not a little self-denying effort to break away from their homes, their numerous associations, and the avocations of their daily life. Their friendship meant self-denying effort. This is always a characteristic of genuine friendship--spurious friendship abounds in talk and evaporates in sighs and tears; it has no work in it.
2. A self-denying work in order to relieve. They came to mourn with him and to comfort him. Man can comfort man. The expressions of true sympathy are balm to a wounded heart, and courage to a fainting soul. In this feature of genuine friendship Christ was again transcendent. He came to preach deliverance to the captive--to open the prison door to them that are bound--to bind up the broken-hearted, etc.
III. It was vicariously afflicted. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they rent everyone his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. If this language means anything, it means soul suffering. The very sight of their friends over whelming afflictions harrowed their hearts. We are so constituted that the personal sufferings of our friend can bring sufferings to our heart as great, and often greater.
IV. It was tenderly reticent. Why were they silent? We are sometimes silent with amazement; sometimes because we know not what words to utter on the occasion; sometimes because the tide of our emotion rises and chokes the utterance. Why were these men silent? For any of these reasons? Perhaps for all. Anyhow, in their silence there was wisdom--silence on that occasion was better than speech. (Homilist.)
Sympathy
Weep with them that weep. Just as we should be glad in the gladness of others, so we must grieve in the griefs of others. There are people who find it almost impossible to do this. They can neither feel for nor with others. They are naturally unsympathetic. This exhortation comes to such as a duty. They must learn the art, and so thoroughly that they will sympathise naturally and truly. It is no excuse to say that we cannot. We must. Dr. Dale is a case in point. This is what his son says of his father: He was not selfish, but he was apt to be self-absorbed, engrossed by his own thoughts, and so absorbed as to be heedless of those whom he met, and of what was going on around him; he often gave offence unwittingly. His nature was not sympathetic. The faculty so bestowed on some, he had to cultivate sedulously and patiently as one of the moral virtues . . . He was conscious of his defect, and set himself to overcome it, not as a mere infirmity, but as a fault: He became sympathetic by sympathising. Dr. Dale was not singular in this instinctive lack of sympathy. There are many similarly destitute of the grace of sorrowing. (Homilist.)
Interview of Job and his three friends
The misfortunes of princes have a particular tendency to excite our pity and compassion, even though their afflictions may have arisen from their own imprudent and culpable behaviour. Many instances of such generous behaviour might be collected from profane history. See the case of David in his treatment of King Saul. Among the foremost of those who seem to have been hurled suddenly from the highest pinnacle of fortune to the very lowest pit of misery and wretchedness stands holy Job, a powerful and wealthy prince of the patriarchal ages. Touched with the sad tidings of his sufferings, three neighbouring chieftains agree to visit and condole with their suffering friend. Their design was, on their setting out, humane, charitable, and friendly. Yet from the unhappy turn things took, their visit was but the occasion of new sorrow to Job. They had heard of Jobs calamities, but appear to have been overwhelmed when they saw his miserable condition. They evidently thought thus: As his afflictions are so extraordinary and personal, so must his crimes have been his own also. We have heard of no public wickedness, so he must be a secret sinner; and the best advice we can give is, urge him to confess and bewail his guilt, that so he may obtain Gods pardon, and be restored to his former prosperity. The false principle they maintained was, that God never suffers the righteous to be afflicted. To them Jobs calamities were a sure sign of his proportionate wickedness. One of them was cruel enough to say, God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Practical reflections. By the tenor of Eliphazs speeches we may judge that he was artful and insinuating, specious and plausible, one who knew how to make the most of a bad argument. Bildad speaks in a graver and milder strain; but the fierceness of Zophar exceeds all bounds. When reason fails, anger and abuse supply its place. Let us be cautious how we trample down a bruised reed, how we despise one over whom the rod of affliction, and poverty, and misery hangeth; as if we thought that the faculties of the soul, the integrity of the heart, depended on the health and clothing of the body. Let us be cautious how we let pride and perverseness influence our reason; and particularly in disputes about matters of opinion let us be careful never to judge harshly or uncharitably of those who differ from us; never to entrench and fortify ourselves within the pale of error, when conviction and truth knock aloud for admittance. What positive good may we learn from imitating the behaviour of holy Job himself? View him in the great and exalted character of a pious and good man, combating adversity, and vexed and harassed with the unjust and cruel suspicions, the peevish and petulant accusations of mistaken friends. He tries to convince them of their mistake. At last he appeals to the whole tenor of his life and manners. See how remarkably pious were all his principles, how solid his virtue, how eminent his true wisdom in fearing God, and God alone! Jobs patience is proverbially known. A word is necessary on Jobs infirmities. Job was not without his failings. As long as he was left to the workings of his own mind, it is said that he sinned not. But when his integrity was called in question by his perverse friends, it wrung from him some little excursion of complaint, some few passionate exclamations, which, in the bitterness of his anguish, he could not suppress. There was sometimes also a weariness of life, a wishing for death, an impatience of spirit, which were shades and blemishes in character. Job was sometimes led beyond the bounds of decency, but he quickly repented in dust and ashes, and was as quickly received again into Gods favour. From whence we may learn how readily God overlooks and forgives the infirmities of our nature, provided the heart is staunch in its obedience. (C. Moore, M. A.)
The mistaken friends
Job was irritated and out of temper when he said to his friends, Miserable comforters are ye all. Like many another man, before and since, Job was wounded in the house of his friends. The individuality of these three men comes to view in their first speeches. They are not represented as foolish, obstinate bigots, but as wise, humane, almost great men. True-hearted, truly loving, devout, religious men. Eliphaz is the true patriarchal chieftain, grave and dignified, erring only from exclusive adherence to tenets hitherto unquestioned. He deals with the infirmity of all mortal natures, and the blessed virtue of repentance. Bildad, with little originality or independence of character, reposes partly on the wise saws of antiquity, partly on the authority of his older friend. His mistake is this: It is quite true that nothing which God sends to man proceeds from injustice, but it is not true that everything comes from justice. Bildad thinks his commonplace utterance is sufficient to explain all the mysteries of human life. Zophar was, apparently, a younger man; his language is violent, at times coarse and offensive; he represents the prejudiced and narrow-minded bigots of every age. From the haughty elevation of his narrow dogma he cannot even apprehend Jobs form of experience. The very point of the poem is that what these men say is true in itself, but becomes unsuitable, and even false, when attempt is made to apply it to a particular case.
1. Observe the condition of mind in which these friends found Job. It was precisely the condition most difficult of comprehension by anyone who thinks that religious experience ought to take certain definite and prescribed forms. Job had not that light of immortality shining on the mystery of life and suffering, which has come to us in Christ. What could we do with human suffering if that blessed light were blotted out? The calamities of Job had been overwhelming. He was in the first stage of distress. He was desperate, he was bowing, almost in despair, while all the waves and billows were passing over him. He was crushed, humbled, agonised; for the moment his trust in God was paralysed. Self-restraint was temporarily lost; he half suspected change in God, and felt all the agony of a soul that was being forsaken. Such a state of mind is not guilty. It is but natural response. But it puzzles many. The condition revealed in chap. 3 seems to many persons hopelessly wrong. And unless something in our own experience reveals the secret, it is quite hopeless to attempt to vindicate it. We have seen men in just this state of mind. We have passed through it ourselves. The man Christ Jesus shows us the truth of this experience. In agony of soul, that is in harmony with the agony of Job, He cried from the darkness of His Cross, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
2. How did these friends think to comfort such a man, in such a frame of mind? The friends had three rounds of conversation (if Zophars third be recognised in chap. 27); but they have only one idea, which is variously presented and illustrated. It may be stated in the form of a syllogism. God, who is just, bestows blessings on the godly, but afflicts the wicked. But Job is most heavily afflicted by God. Therefore Job is wicked, and deserves the punishment of his sins; and is bound to repent, confess, and bewail those sins. In the first speech all this is stated in general terms; all is impersonal, indirect; the rule of the world, the order of providence, the infirmity of mortal nature, the virtue of repentance. In the next speech Eliphaz takes Jobs desperate words as the proof that their suspicion was well founded. Some secret and terrible impiety accounted for his exceptional sufferings. Becoming excited as their views are resisted, the friends get so far as to threaten Job with even more and greater sufferings. It was manifest in those days; it is much more manifest now, that no one explanation of human suffering can be sufficient. The troubles of life may be sent as the punishment of sin; they may be sent as chastisement and discipline. But there are continually cases arising of suffering for which neither punishment nor discipline provide adequate explanation. The dealings of God with men cannot be arbitrarily mapped out and limited, as the believers in dogma think they can.
3. What was the effect of their representations on Job? It brought him deeper suffering than any of his former calamities; because it brought him very near to questioning and mistrusting God. It is desperate work keeping hold of God, when a man is compelled to doubt Gods justice, and see nothing but His power. The friends who came to comfort Job, in fact, lead him down into the lowest depth of misery, smiting the good man in his tenderest part, in his confidence and hope in God. There is no darkness over any human soul like the darkness of a lost or mistrusted God. Let us learn that the relations between God and His people are large and wide and free. We need to beware of theories and forms of belief, however plausible they may seem, which are forced to explain every case that may arise, or are felt to be untrue to life, to conscience, and genuine feeling. In contrast with the mistaken comforting of these friends we may put the holy charm of Christs sympathy. His is a fellow feeling of our infirmity, without any limitation from received opinion. Christ does not approach His suffering disciples as their fellow men do, Men say: According to our system and theories, it must be thus and thus with him. But Christ comes to the man and says: How is it with thee? Nay, Christ knows exactly how it is with him, and comforts His suffering servant, as one whom his mother comforteth. (Robert Tuck, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain I. The Friends. (Job_2:11.) “Now when Job’s three friends…
CONCLUDING PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION.—VISIT OF JOB’S FRIENDS
I. The Friends. (Job_2:11.) “Now when Job’s three friends heard.” Rather, “three friends of Job.” Probably friends most intimate with him, and from whom he had most to expect (ch Job_6:14-15). Perhaps connected with him by kindred as well as acquaintance and religion. Worshippers of the true God. Eminent in their day and country for wisdom and piety. Their religions views those of the age. Regarded retribution as very much a thing of this life. Hence their unfavourable view of Job’s character from his condition. Much older than Job. Intending comfort, they become under Satan’s influence, and from their narrow mistaken views, his severest trial. Instead of soothing they add to his grief,—by uncharitable suspicions, false reasonings, unseasonable admonitions, and bitter reproofs. Good easily perverted to evil by Satan’s malice. Satan used Job’s wife to jeer him out of his religion, and his friends to dispute him out of it [Caryl.]—“Came,”—probably, when his disease was now considerably advanced (Job_7:4). Affliction should draw us to our friends, not drive us from them. Adversity one of the best tests of friendship (Pro_17:17). Good manners to be an unbidden guest in the house of mourning. [Caryl]. True friendship shewn in self-denying effort.
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“Eliphaz.” An old Edomite name. A district also so called (Gen_36:11; Gen_36:15). Denotes “my God is strength.” Indicates his parent’s piety.—“Temanite.” Prom the stock he sprung from, or the place (Teman) where he lived. Temanites celebrated for their wisdom (Jer_49:7; Oba_1:8-9).—“Shuhite.” Of Shuah, in the east part of North Arabia. Shuah one of the settlements of the sons of Keturah (Gen_25:2).—“Naamathite.” From Naamah, probably a district in Syria. The town in Judah so named (Jdg_15:9), too far distant.
II. Object of the Friends’ visit. “Had made an appointment together.” Probably living not far apart from each other. Good to unite together in works of charity and mercy (Mar_2:3).—“To mourn with him.” Sympathy in sorrow an instinct of humanity and a Christian duty (Rom_12:15). Example of Jesus (Joh_11:33-34). Job’s own character (ch. Job_30:25). Tears shed with our own, often the. most soothing balm in sorrow. A world of meaning in the child’s words,—“I only cried with her.”—“And to comfort him.” The motive good, though the execution faulty. A friend in trouble one of our choicest blessings. A brother born for adversity. Comfort of mourners one of the objects of the Lord’s ministry (Isa_61:2). See His mode of dispensing it, Isa_42:3; Mat_11:28-30. To comfort in trouble one of the leading parts of Christian duty (1Th_5:18; 1Th_4:11; Jas_1:27; Mat_25:36). Job’s own character and practice (ch. Job_29:25).—Job_2:12, “Lifted up their eyes afar off.” Where yet they might easily have recognised him. So the father of the prodigal (Luk_15:20). Job apparently now in the open air, and, as a leper, outside the city.—“Knew him not.” So altered by his disease, his sorrow, and his place among the ashes. Marks the depth of his calamity. Unrecognizable by his friends. When men know us least, is the time that God knows us best. (Psa_31:7.)
III. Their Sympathy. Job_2:12. “They lifted up their voice and wept.” Marks their deep sympathy and their friend’s deep sorrow. In the east, full vent usually given to grief (Gen_27:38; Gen_29:11; Jdg_2:4; Rth_1:9; 1Sa_24:16).—“Sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven.” Casting it into the air, so as to fall down on their heads (Act_22:23). Token of grief, astonishment, and humiliation towards God under a great sorrow (Jos_7:6; Neh_9:1; 1Sa_4:10). Their feeling, consternation and sorrow at the sight of so sad a change.—“Sat down with him upon the ground” (Job_2:13). Another token of sympathetic grief (2Sa_12:16; Isa_3:26; Lam_2:10; Ezr_9:3). True sympathy to sit down on the ground with one so loathsome in himself, and apparently an object of the Divine displeasure.—“Seven days.” Usual time of mourning for the dead (Gen_1:10; 1Sa_31:13). Job’s children dead, and himself virtually so. So in time of great affliction (Eze_3:15). Depth of Job’s calamity marked by that of his friends’ sympathy.—“None spake a word unto him.” True sympathy expressed by silence as well as tears. Silence usual and becoming in presence of deep distress (Lam_2:10). “A reverence due to such prodigious woe” [Sir R. Blackmore]. Unseasonable words an aggravation of the sufferer’s grief. The friends confounded at Job’s calamity and unable to speak to it. Ignorant as to the cause, and apprehensive of Divine displeasure. Prudence and skill required in administering consolation.—“For they saw.” His affliction apparently much greater than they had anticipated. The heart affected by the eye. Good to place ourselves in the presence of sorrow (Ecc_7:2).—“That his grief was very great.” The stroke as heavy as it was possible for Satan to inflict, and the grief proportionate. No sin for our feelings to keep pace with. God’s dealings.
Lessons from Job’s grief and the occasion of it:—
1. God’s dearest children and most faithful servants may be the subjects of deepest suffering.
2. No part of piety to render the sou insensible to calamity.
3. The sudden removal of all earthly comforts possible, and to be prepared for.
4. Much of the sufferings of God’s servants the probable result of Satan’s malice.
5. Patience and submission to God’s will consistent with the deepest grief.
Job in his deep distress a type of the “Man of Sorrows.” His soul “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” In an agony, prayed the more earnestly that the cup might, if possible, pass from Him, yet meekly submitted. His bloody sweat, the result of a frame like our own convulsed by inward distress (Mat_26:37; Mat_26:39; Luk_22:44).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 1. First Series of Controversies
III. THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN JOB AND HIS FRIENDS
1. First Series of Controversies
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CHAPTER 2:11-13 The Friends’ Arrival
Job 2:11-13. We now enter upon the main section of the book. The dark shadow of the accuser of the brethren has disappeared and in his place Job’s three friends appear upon the scene. The news of the awful misfortunes had reached them; they made an appointment together to mourn with him and to comfort him. As they are now taking a prominent part in this drama we must examine their names and get some knowledge as to their personality. The first friend is Eliphaz the Temanite. Teman is in Idumea. He may have been the son of Esau (Gen 36:10-11). His name means “my God is fine gold.” Teman was noted for its wisdom. “is wisdom no more in Teman?” (Jer 49:7). The second is Bildad the Shuhite. His name means “son of contention,” which expresses the character he reveals in his speeches. His name can also be identified with the patriarchal age. Shuah was the sixth son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:1-34). He is also mentioned in connection with Esau, Edom and Teman. Shuah means “depression or prostration.” The third friend is Zophar the Naamathite. Of his origin we know nothing. His name means “to twitter” like a bird chirps and twitters. And his addresses, consisting in violent utterances, reveal the senseless and harmless twittering of a bird.
There can be no question that all three were, like Job, God-fearing men. They formed with Job in the patriarchal age a kind of intellectual and religious aristocracy, in the midst of the surrounding idolators. How long their journey took after the news of Job’s condition had reached them we do not know. It must have been months later after Job was first stricken, that they came to visit him. During that time the disease of Job developed fully; his misery did not become less. At last the friends arrived. And as they saw the ash-heap and the miserable figure upon it, they knew him not. He was so disfigured and distorted by the suffering and the disease that they failed to recognize him. They had known him in the days of his great prosperity, when young men were held by his personality in awe, when old men arose to do him honor, when princes refrained from talking and nobles held their peace (29:7-10). What a sad spectacle to see him in this deplorable condition. Their sympathy is expressed by weeping, the rending of their garments and the sprinkling of dust upon their heads toward heaven. What pain it must have given them when they saw that his grief and suffering were so great! Then follows an impressive silence of seven days and seven nights. They are stricken dumb and find no words to utter. But while their lips did not speak their minds were deeply engaged with the problem which ere long they would take up in controversy with the afflicted one. And the question uppermost must have been, “How can God, a righteous God, permit this good man to be in this condition?”--”Why is he stripped of all and in this horrible condition?”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the…
Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are men's names. Teman was a city in Edom. Shuhites are the decedents of Abraham and Keturah. Naamah was a city in Canaan. (See: How to Translate Names)
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set a time
"agreed on a time"
to mourn with him and to comfort him
Here the words "mourn with" and "comfort" share similar meanings. The friends try to comfort Job by mourning with him. AT: "to grieve with Job in order to help ease his suffering" (See: Doublet)
translationWords
evil
comfort
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:11 It might have taken several months for Job’s…
2:11 It might have taken several months for Job’s friends (see study note on 6:14-27) to hear of his afflictions (see 7:3). • The text implies that Job’s friends were Edomites, a people who were famous for their wisdom (Jer 49:7; Obad 1:8). • Eliphaz the Temanite was probably a descendant of Esau’s grandson Teman (Gen 36:10-11, 15); his land was located in Edom (Ezek 25:13; Amos 1:11-12). • The Bil- element in Bildad would remind Hebrew readers of names like Bilhan, a descendant of Esau (Gen 36:27; 1 Chr 1:42). The -dad element would remind them of names like Bedad, father of the Edomite king Hadad (Gen 36:35; 1 Chr 1:46). • Shuhite: No place named Shuah is known, but Abraham’s son Shuah was sent to “a land in the east” (Gen 25:1, 6; 1 Chr 1:32). • The Greek Old Testament lists Zophar instead of Zepho as one of Esau’s grandsons (Gen 36:11, 15; 1 Chr 1:36). A Naamathite might reside in a town named Naamah, but no such location is known. Two Old Testament women are named Naamah, but neither is a likely ancestor of Zophar (Gen 4:22; 1 Kgs 14:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.