Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old; Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion.
I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
But there is a spirit in man, and the Spirit of the Almighty gives them understanding.
It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 8 That is, the three mentioned before.
That is, the three mentioned before.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–9 Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had…
Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they [were] elder than he.
Ver. 4. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken] Yea, though his speech was very long, yet he heard him out, though himself were with child to speak. Broughton rendereth it, waited to speak with Job; he would not thrust in till they had all done their discourses. This was his modesty, though a man of singular abilities. Raram facit virtus cum scientia mixturam. To blame then surely was Gregory, for thinking so ill and writing so harshly of this good young man, as if he had been proud and arrogant; descanting to that purpose upon his name, country, and kindred.
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Because they were elder than he] And therefore ought of right to have the precedence of speech; though it appeareth, by all that followeth, that in this controversy he saw further into it, judged righter, and rebuked Job with more gravity and wisdom, than any of them; so that Job was fully convinced, and made no reply at all; no more than Jonah did when God set him down, Job 4:11 : so forcible are right words.
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 On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9 Elihu had waited with patience, as the word notes.
Elihu had waited with patience, as the word notes.
Till Job; add, and his three friends, as appears from the following words. It is a synecdoche, whereof instances have been given before.
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They were elder than he; and therefore he expected more satisfaction from them, and gave them the precedency in the discourse; wherein he showed his prudence and modesty.
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 On v6 Elihu here appears to have been,
Elihu here appears to have been,
I. A man of great modesty and humility. Though a young man, and a man of abilities, yet not pert, and confident, and assuming: his face shone, and, like Moses, he did not know it, which made it shine so much the brighter. Let it be observed by all, especially by young people, as worthy their imitation, 1. What a diffidence he had of himself and of his own judgment (Job 32:6): "I am young, and therefore I was afraid, and durst not show you my opinion, for fear I should either prove mistaken or do that which was unbecoming me." He was so observant of all that passed, and applied his mind so closely to what he heard, that he had formed in himself a judgment of it. He neither neglected it as foreign, nor declined it as intricate; but, how clear soever the matter was to himself, he was afraid to deliver his mind upon it, because he differed in his sentiments from those that were older than he. Note, It becomes us to be suspicious of our own judgment in matters of doubtful disputation, to be swift to hear the sentiments of others and slow to speak our own, especially when we go contrary to the judgment of those for whom, upon the score of their learning and piety, we justly have a veneration. 2. What a deference he paid to his seniors, and what great expectations he had from them, (Job 32:7): I said, Days should speak. Note, Age and experience give a man great advantage in judging of things, both as they furnish a man with so much the more matter for his thoughts to work upon and as they ripen and improve the facilities he is to work with, which is a good reason why old people should take pains both to learn themselves and to teach others (else the advantages of their age are a reproach to them), and why young people should attend on their instructions. It is a good lodging with an old disciple, Act 21:16; Tit 2:4. Elihu's modesty appeared in the patient attention he gave to what his seniors said, Job 32:11, Job 32:12. He waited for their words as one that expected much from them, agreeably to the opinion he had of these grave men. He gave ear to their reasons, that he might take their meaning, and fully understand what was the drift of their discourse and what the force of their arguments. He attended to them with diligence and care, and this, (1.) Though they were slow, and took up a great deal of time in searching out what to say. Though they had often to seek for matter and words, paused and hesitated, and were unready at their work, yet he overlooked that, and gave ear to their reasons, which, if really convincing, he would not think the less so for the disadvantages of the delivery of them. (2.) Though they trifled and made nothing of it, though none of them answered Job's words nor said what was proper to convince him, yet he attended to them, in hopes they would bring it to some head at last. We must often be willing to hear what we do not like, else we cannot prove all things. His patient attendance on their discourses he pleads, [1.] As that which entitled him to a liberty of speech in his turn and empowered him to require their attention. Hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim - This liberty we mutually allow and ask. Those that have heard may speak, and those that have learned may teach. [2.] As that which enabled him to pass a judgment upon what they had said. He had observed what they aimed at, and therefore knew what to say to it. Let us be thoroughly apprized of the sentiments of our brethren before we censure them; for he that answers a matter before he hears it, or when he has heard it only by halves, it is folly and shame to him, and bespeaks him both impertinent and imperious.
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II. A man of great sense and courage, and one that knew as well when and how to speak as when and how to keep silence. Though he had so much respect to his friends as not to interrupt them with his speaking, yet he had so much regard to truth and justice (his better friends) as not to betray them by his silence. He boldly pleads,
1. That man is a rational creature, and therefore that every man has for himself a judgment of discretion and ought to be allowed a liberty of speech in his turn. He means the same that Job did (Job 12:3, But I have understanding as well as you) when he says (Job 32:8), But there is a spirit in man; only he expresses it a little more modestly, that one man has understanding as well as another, and no man can pretend to have the monopoly of reason or to engross all the trade of it. Had he meant I have revelation as well as you (as some understand it), he must have proved it; but, if he meant only I have reason as well as you, they cannot deny it, for it is every man's honour, and it is no presumption to claim it, nor could they gainsay his inference from it (Job 32:10): Therefore hearken to me. Learn here, (1.) That the soul is a spirit, neither material itself nor dependent upon matter, but capable of conversing with things spiritual, which are not the objects of sense. (2.) It is an understanding spirit. It is able to discover and receive truth, to discourse and reason upon it, and to direct and rule accordingly. (3.) This understanding spirit is in every man; it is the light that lighteth every man, Joh 1:9. (4.) It is the inspiration of the Almighty that gives us this understanding spirit; for he is the Father of spirits and fountain of understanding. See Gen 2:7; Ecc 12:7; Zac 12:1.
2. That those who are advanced above others in grandeur and gravity do not always proportionably go beyond them in knowledge and wisdom (Job 32:9): Great men are not always wise; it is a pity but they were, for then they would never do hurt with their greatness and would do so much the more good with their wisdom. Men should be preferred for their wisdom, and those that are in honour and power have most need of wisdom and have the greatest opportunity of improving in it; and yet it does not follow that great men are always wise, and therefore it is folly to subscribe to the dictates of any with an implicit faith. The aged do not always understand judgment; even they may be mistaken, and therefore must not expect to bring every thought into obedience to them: nay, therefore they must not take it as an affront to be contradicted, but rather take it as a kindness to be instructed, by their juniors: Therefore I said, hearken to me, Job 32:10. We must be willing to hear reason from those that are every way inferior to us, and to yield to it. He that has a good eye can see further upon level ground than he that is purblind can from the top of the highest mountain. Better is a poor and wise child then an old and foolish king, Ecc 4:13.
3. That it was requisite for something to be said, for the setting of this controversy in a true light, which, by all that had hitherto been said, was but rendered more intricate and perplexed (Job 32:13): "I must speak, lest you should say, We have found out wisdom, lest you should think your argument against Job conclusive and irrefragable, and that Job cannot be convinced and humbled by any other argument than this of yours, That God casteth him down and not man, that it appears by his extraordinary afflictions that God is his enemy, and therefore he is certainly a wicked man. I must show you that this is a false hypothesis and that Job may be convinced without maintaining it." Or, "Lest you should think you have found out the wisest way, to reason no more with him, but leave it to God to thrust him down." It is time to speak when we hear errors advanced and disputed for, especially under pretence of supporting the cause of God with them. It is time to speak when God's judgments are vouched for the patronizing of men's pride and passion and their unjust uncharitable censures of their brethren; then we must speak on God's behalf.
4. That he had something new to offer, and would endeavour to manage the dispute in a better manner than it had hitherto been managed, v. 14. He thinks he may expect a favourable hearing; for, (1.) He will not reply to Job's protestations of his integrity, but allows the truth of them, and therefore does not interpose as his enemy: "He hath not directed his words against me. I have nothing to say against the main scope of his discourse, nor do I differ from his principles. I have only a gentle reproof to give him for his passionate expressions." (2.) He will not repeat their arguments, nor go upon their principles: "Neither will I answer him with your speeches - not with the same matter, for should I only say what has been said I might justly be silenced as impertinent, - nor in the same manner; I will not be guilty of that peevishness towards him myself which I dislike in you." The controversy that has already been fully handled a wise man will let alone, unless he can amend and improve what has been done; why should he actum agere - do that which has been done already?
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 On vv4–9 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken,.... Made…
Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken,.... Made an end of speaking, until he had thus expressed himself, "the words of Job are ended", Job 31:40, and waited likewise until his three friends had said all they had to say, and which is here supposed and implied, as appears by what follows:
because they were elder than he; it may be added, from the original text, "in", or "as two days" (l); they had lived longer in the world than he, and therefore did not take upon him to speak till they had done; he, as became a young man, was swift to hear, and slow to speak; that they were old men, appears from what Eliphaz says, Job 15:10.
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(l) "diebus", Beza, Montanus, Mercerus; "quod ad dies", Schultens.
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 On vv4, 6, 8, 9 'Till Job - And his three friends.
'Till Job - And his three friends.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Verse 6. I am young] How young he was,…
Verse 6. I am young] How young he was, or how old they were, we cannot tell; but there was no doubt a great disparity in their ages; and among the Asiatics the youth never spoke in the presence of the elders, especially on any subject of controversy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 9 Job 32:5-8. When Elihu saw, &c., then his wrath…
Job 32:5-8. When Elihu saw, &c., then his wrath was kindled — When he saw that none of these three offered to reply, but sat as men that knew not what to say, he was not able to hold his peace any longer. With the next words the metre begins again, the preceding part of this chapter being in prose. I am young, and ye are very old — I have considered all this time my own youth and your aged experience; wherefore I was afraid — Of being thought forward and presumptuous, and so have hitherto forbore to interpose my opinion. I said, Days — That is, the multitude of days, or men of many days or years, old men; should speak — Namely, wisely and pertinently; and the multitude of years should teach wisdom — Should instruct us that are younger in the paths of wisdom, and concerning the wise counsels and ways of God, about which the present controversy is. But — Hebrew, אכן, achen, surely; it must be confessed; there is a spirit in man — A rational soul, and therefore every man, as man, whether old or young, is able in some measure to discern between truth and falsehood, good and evil; and to judge of men’s opinions and discourses: and therefore I also may venture to deliver my opinion. And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding — Instructeth this rational soul in the knowledge of divine things, when that inspiration is sincerely and earnestly asked of God, and received in humility and faith: in other words, I see that heavenly wisdom is not always the property of old age, but that God often imparts it to those that are younger. It is a divine gift, that depends not upon length of years, but is communicated through the influence of the Divine Spirit. It is this that enlightens the dark mind of man, and makes him wise unto salvation: and without this he is still involved in ignorance and error, sin and misery.
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 On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9 Now Elihu had waited - Margin, as in Hebrew,…
Now Elihu had waited - Margin, as in Hebrew, expected Job in words. The meaning is plain, that he had waited until all who were older than himself had spoken.
Because they were elder than he - Margin, as in Hebrew, older for days. It appears that they were all older than he was. We have no means of determining their respective ages, though it would seem probable that Eliphaz was the oldest of the three friends, as he uniformly spoke first.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9 Hanging. Hebrew, "I fest a reverential awe, (Septuagint, I…
Hanging. Hebrew, "I fest a reverential awe, (Septuagint, I was silent) and durst not shew," &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9 had spoken--Hebrew, "in words," referring rather to his own…
had spoken--Hebrew, "in words," referring rather to his own "words" of reply, which he had long ago ready, but kept back in deference to the seniority of the friends who spoke.
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 On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9 4. Waited till Job had spoken — Elihu had…
4. Waited till Job had spoken — Elihu had modestly stood in the background and “awaited Job with words.” Kitto (Pictorial Bible) tells us, that “at the present time, in Arabia, every one that pleases attends whenever a discussion is in progress. It is not courteous for any one to interpose until the original parties in the dispute have exhausted themselves: then any have a right to declare their views of the subject.” This custom may account for the fact that no other notice is taken of Elihu either before or after his speeches.
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 On vv4, 6, 8, 9 4. waited till Job had spoken] Rather, waited to…
4. waited till Job had spoken] Rather, waited to speak unto Job, lit. waited for Job with words. Elihu had waited (till the friends spoke) prepared to address Job, as he now does.
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 On vv4, 6, 8, 9 (4) Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken.—Literally,…
(4) Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken.—Literally, Had waited in words for or regarding Job; that is, as some understand it, had waited to speak unto Job, or, more probably, had waited till the argument was closed to declare his opinion with reference to Job. The line taken by Elihu is an intermediate one, and is neither that of Job nor his friends. He admits the integrity of Job—or, at least, he does not deny it—although he uses very strong expressions as to the course which Job has adopted (Job_34:7-9; Job_34:35-37); but he considers that the Divine afflictions have a disciplinary object, and that they may be sent because God has discerned the seeds of unfaithfulness and defection in the sufferer; and this may serve to explain their purpose in the case of Job. He has very lofty ideas of the righteousness of God (Job_34:10, &c.), and of His power and majesty (Job_37:22). He holds that with regard to the Almighty we cannot find Him out, but that we may safely trust His mercy and His justice. This is the position to which he leads Job when the Lord answers him out of the whirlwind.
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 On vv4–9 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken; rather,…
Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken; rather, to speak to Job (see the Revised Version) He had waited impatiently until the three special "friends" had said their say, and be might come forward without manifest presumption. Because they were elder than he. (On the respect paid to age at this time in the land wherein Job lived, see the comment on Job_29:8)
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 On vv7–8 Days should speak.
Job_32:7
Days should speak.
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The voice of days
Days should speak. They do. Each has a message.
I. Yesterday speaks. It says, Learn of me. To learn from the experience of the past is one of our prime duties. What is learned by experience is best understood: is best remembered; and is most practical in its influence.
II. Today speaks. It says, Use me. Turn me and my gifts to good account. Make prompt use of opportunity.
III. Tomorrow speaks. It says, Let me alone. Leave me. Trust me with God. Do not anticipate me. Wise and kindly message! Four considerations show this. Today has quite enough cares. Anxiety will not help us to bear tomorrows cares. Christ is Lord of tomorrow. And tomorrow may be quite different from what we expect. (W. R. Stevenson, B. A.)
Time yields maturity
The distance between the infancy of a great man and the climax of his greatness is immense, so that could we have heard Fox or Pitt deliver one of their greatest orations, it would seem impossible that the day ever was when those lips could not speak even the name of her whose arms were their whole world, their horizon, their parliament, their only earth and only heaven. Man is thus an accumulation. He grows as the tree grows. The little oak shrub stands only a foot high in the first summer, but around it the winds and rains and sunshine play, and cast their offerings upon their favourite, and joyfully it receives them, and heaps them up, and when a hundred years have passed, there stands the great monument of the forest, laden with all the vital forces that came near it in the whole hundred years. Its great trunk represents the sunshine and the rain that fell a hundred years before. It is probable that our earth in its early days presented only a surface of volcanic rock, as desolate as Gibraltar; and then came the influence of rain, and atmosphere, and sun, dissolving the surface and making that soil in which the trees and grass live, and which the plough can move so easily. Be this as it may, the philosophy of this world is action, and the conservation of this action in some new form. Into such a theatre of forces God saw fit to place man, and if the favourite creature of God is true to his world, each year comes and adds to his mind and heart far more willingly than the summer days add to the unconscious oak. The chief mission of earth must be to help the mind onward toward a higher condition of every faculty. In harmony with the whole theory of earth, Elihu opens his speech to Job, and drops one of the finest of truths: Days should teach, and years should teach wisdom.
Homily for the New Year
Time should be educatory. Every day has its lessons divinely arranged which we are expected to learn. The days by their educational processes should throw brighter light on the great problems of life, and make the pathway to the hidden world less ghostly and shadowed. There may be age without wisdom, and there may be wisdom without a multitude of years. There is a wisdom which is only born of experience; and experience can only come with the silent growth of years. What is wisdom? The right application of means to ends. Wisdom is knowledge reduced to practice. But there may be worldly wisdom and advanced age without understanding. Men may be intellectually cultured and wise, yet morally fools in their attempts at interpretation of questions and problems in the higher realm of the spiritual and divine. The mental can never of itself interpret the spiritual, the metaphysical, the Divine. Moral revelations come to none but such as are in heart prepared and waiting to receive them. This is the secret of the errors which our clever scientists are making today in their interpretations of the hieroglyphs of the spiritual universe,--they read them, spell them out, in the light of the intellectual, and guess at their meaning through the medium of secular knowledge, mere cultured reason. There must be the child spirit of humility, receptivity, submissiveness, and love, or God will remain a hidden, impalpable, unrealised mystery, and the spiritual universe a sealed volume, a dumb oracle, a dread uncertainty. The mysteries of life are plain only in the light which is born of Divine inspiration. Elihu, spirit taught, saw beneath the apparent, the real design of Jobs sufferings. They were moral discipline, not judicial visitation. Both parties looked at the same object, but the three philosophers saw it through the medium of their philosophy, and Elihu through the medium of sonship--filially; hence the difference! The heart sees farther than the head, and its Christian love interprets with accuracy what the dictionary confounds and philosophy contradicts. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (J. O. Keen, D. D.)
The lessons of time
I. Time unfolds the plan of our life. Our curiosity often prompts us to desire a present knowledge of future events. Would we understand them if revealed? You put an arithmetic book in the hand of a child, and say, In this book you will find Practice, Proportion, Fractions, Interest, etc. The child turns the leaves over from beginning to end, but as yet he has not learnt numeration. The book is of no use, although it contains the arithmeticians wisdom. So, did we see the end from the beginning, we should be no wiser. God has kept the other pages of the Book till we have learnt the first; the others are not soiled.
1. Human life is ordered of God. He orders our steps. He girded Cyrus for his work, although he knew it not. It is impossible to realise and value life if this view is not taken of it. Its sacred origin and its Divine organisation constitute the basis of belief.
2. Human life is gradually unfolded. Because it is Divine it is mysterious. All Gods works have passed through time. Matter and events must ever turn in cycles. God alone is immovable. I, the Lord, change not.
II. Time unfolds our capacities for life. Growth is a characteristic of life; change, that of inanimate nature.
1. Man becomes an intelligent being by the exercise of time. There are activities which tend both to reveal that which we ought to know, and enlarge our capacity for knowing it. It is a two-fold process. Unexercised brains are dwarfs. Minds which are exercised about that which pleases them, and are made their hobby, grow like the willow--very long, but very weak.
2. Man becomes a moral being by considering time. Life moves on gradually, like a panorama, that we may observe its motions, and know the purposes of God in them. We learn the nature of actions by the exercise of the intuitive faculty, as actions reveal themselves. Morality and accountability are unfolded by degrees.
3. Man becomes a social being by the enjoyment of time. We have a capacity for enjoyment, and life has blessings to exercise that capacity. Every period of life has its charms.
III. Time unfolds the great purposes of life.
1. The development of true manhood. Man is Gods ideal creature. All others am steps up to man. Evolution is the gradual unfolding in creation of the final embodiment of matter and life.
2. The unity of the various parts. There is a period when we shall not look upon life as atoms separated from their kindred, or contradictions, but a whole, with all its parts fitly put together, and all things working for our good. (T. Davies, M. A.)
The past
I. The past should speak of us.
1. It speaks of sins committed. Spectres seem to come up from the dark arches of the past, and confront us at every turn. They tell of sins of omission and sins of commission; they speak of failures here and errors there. The past is dark, and few can look it in the face without a blush.
2. It speaks of privileges abused. The means of grace neglected--prayer restrained--the Gospel declined.
3. It speaks of opportunities neglected.
(1) Opportunities of doing good.
(2) Opportunities of getting good.
II. The past should speak to us.
1. It should speak to us of the frailty of human life.
2. It should speak to us of the shortness of time.
3. It should speak to us of the future recompense of the saints, and punishment of the ungodly. The voice of the past says: He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, etc.
III. The past should speak in us and impress our moral consciousness in regard to our personal obligations.
1. It should teach us to develop a spirit of gratitude. O praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever, is the language as well of the thoughtful intelligent Christian as the emphatic utterance of revelation.
2. It should preach to us the part of our personal responsibility to ourselves; to our families; to the Church; to the world.
3. It should teach us greater fidelity to God.
4. It should inspire us with a Divine earnestness. Conclusion--Meditate on the past. Mourn over its sins and its failures. Seek to improve upon it. Ask Divine aid in order that you may succeed. (The Study.)
Ancestral experience a Divine schoolmaster
I. A distinguishing faculty in human nature. Of all the creatures on this earth man alone has the power of deriving instruction from the experience of others. We have no reason to believe that the birds of heaven or the beasts of the field derive one particle of information from any of their ancestors through the ages that are gone.
1. The faculty connects all generations together in a mental unity.
2. This faculty explains the gradual advancement of the world in intelligence. Every age builds up a fresh layer Of general intelligence, on which the next steps up and works, and thus the generations are ever climbing the hill of knowledge.
3. This faculty increases the moral responsibility of the world. On us the ends of ages are come.
II. A sad perversity in human nature. In secular matters we are constantly learning from the experience of our ancestors, We avail ourselves of their discoveries. But in moral and spiritual matters we are slow to learn. Ancestral experience teaches us lessons on spiritual subjects not only in the general historical works of the world, but especially in the Bible. The Bible for the most part is a record of mans experience in relation to the higher and more solemn relations of being. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v6 Elihu Gives the Reason for his Speaking
Elihu Gives the Reason for his Speaking
v. 6. And Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite, answered and said, opening his discourse with statements calculated to win the good will of all former speakers, I am young, and ye are very old, hoary with age; wherefore I was afraid, held back by diffidence and awe, and durst not show you mine opinion, make known the knowledge which he possessed concerning this matter.
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v. 7. I said, Days should speak, figuratively for, those full of days, the aged, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. It was the normal thing, the natural state of affairs, that older people should find the solution of difficulties, by virtue of their accumulated knowledge.
v. 8. But there is a spirit in man, or, "for all that the spirit is in mortal man"; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding, the divine creative breath has given all men reason, and all, whether young or old, should use it in the proper manner.
v. 9. Great men are not always wise, that is, the great in years, the aged, have no monopoly of wisdom; neither do the aged understand judgment, being the only ones who know what is right and good.
v. 10. Therefore I said, Hearken to me, each one of his hearers being summoned to hear; I also will show mine opinion.
v. 11. Behold, I waited for your words, for real words, sound arguments on their part; I gave ear to your reasons, always waiting for some striking point that would refute Job, whilst ye searched out what to say, counter-arguments to the claims of Job.
v. 12. Yea, I attended unto you, he gave heed most eagerly, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, who refuted his claims and convicted him of error, or that answered his words;
v. 13. lest ye should say, in trying to excuse their failure, We have found out wisdom; God thrusteth him down, not man, they had found such superior wisdom in Job that they were convinced of their own inability to cope with him; only God would be able to drive him off the field.
v. 14. Now, he hath not directed his words against me, Job had not arrayed arguments against Elihu, he had brought no facts which convinced Elihu of his innocence; neither will I answer him with your speeches, he would not use their line of argument at all, believing it to be the wrong form of attack.
v. 15. They were amazed, they answered no more; they left off speaking, words had fled away from them, had deserted them. This sentence has the force of an exclamation, caused by the surprise which Elihu felt because Job’s friends had been so easily confounded.
v. 16. When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still and answered no more; the sentence has the force of a question, Should I still wait, because they are unable to find the right arguments to refute Job?)
v. 17. I said, I will answer also my part, for his own person, I also will show mine opinion, throwing the weight of his opinion in the scales against Job.
v. 18. For I am full of matter, full of statements and arguments which he believes he can use, the spirit within me constraineth me, urging and impelling him to speak.
v. 19. Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent, the extracted juice of grapes in the process of fermentation, which threatens to burst its vessel; it is ready to burst like new bottles, skins but recently filled, where the wine is not yet settled.
v. 20. I will speak that I may be refreshed, that he might catch his breath once more, that he might have air again, that he might relieve the pressure of his speech by saying a few things which he had on his mind; I will open my lips and answer.
v. 21. Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, he intended to show no partiality, neither let me give flattering titles unto man, he was unacquainted with the arts of complimentary speech.
v. 22. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my Maker would soon take me away, for having become guilty of insincerity and hypocrisy. If men are sincere in seeking the glory of God, they may readily express their views. without fear or flattery.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 8 you are very old
you are very old
Here "you" is plural and refers to Job and his three friends. (See: Forms of You)
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Length of days should speak; a multitude of years should teach wisdom
These two lines mean the same thing. Elihu emphasizes that since older people are wiser than younger people, they should be the first to speak of what they know. AT: "He who has lived many years should speak; He would is older should teach wisdom" (See: Metonymy and Parallelism)
translationWords
day
year
wise
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 On vv4, 8 32:4-7 Elihu’s deference to elders followed a well-known principle…
32:4-7 Elihu’s deference to elders followed a well-known principle (see also 12:12; 15:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Tim 5:1; 1 Pet 5:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.