Three of jobs friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. Zophar answered words of three friends eyes on humanity job s monologue job. Indeed i waited for your words, i listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say. My servant job will pray for you, and i will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. Although quickwitted, and quick to respond, eliphaz loses his composure in chapter 22, accusing job of oppressing widows and orphans, a far cry from how he had originally described job. What did job s three friends have wrong, and what did they have right.
Zophar 20 and job job 21 third cycle eliphaz 22 and job job 2324 bildad 25 and job job 2627 3. In the last study we saw job pleading for some compassion and kindness from his friends. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge. In chapters 67 job responds and bildad addresses him in job 8.
Lets see how this main point plays out in the debates between job and his three friends. After the narrative in the first two chapters, job speaks in chapter 3 to curse the day of his birth. Like the others, bildad and zophar, eliphaz assumes that all suffering is punishment for wrong doing. Eliphaz thought that job must have sinned and that was why he was suffering.
When reading the book of job, im often struck by the similarities between job s friends and joel osteen. They will engage in dialogue with him for many chapters. Question 19 what is contained in the various books of the bible. Verses 14 bildad wastes no time getting to the heart of his argument. The text of job does not establish for certain whether eliphaz, bildad, and zophar were privy to gods dramatic selfrevelation that is recorded in the books closing chapters 3841, whereby job is brought to silent contrition for his unfettered complaints against the almighty and ultimately to a humble acceptance of gods good. Therefore i say, listen to me, i also will declare my opinion. Book of job chapters 1 to 21 apr 3 flashcards quizlet. Jobs closing response in the first cycle appears in chapters 1214. This article is not a discourse on the whole book of job in the bible, but only concerns the second half of chapter 4, where one of job s friends explains a dream he once had. With his three friends job discussed the problem why a righteous god allows that a righteous man has to suffer innocently. In job 3237 elihu offers a response to job that lifts up the lord, condemns jobs three friends, and rightly confronts job. The word temanite probably indicates that he was an edomite, or member of a palestinian people descended from esau. Zophars speech job 11 and a summary of cycle 1 so far, eliphaz and bildad have answered job and now it is zophar s turn. Eliphaz, bildad, and zopharfalse accusers book of job.
Eliphaz, bildad, and zophar article about eliphaz, bildad. Job, on the other hand, recognizes that the system is more randomized and thus more scary, hence 6. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar were not able to understand these ways of god. A fair enough request given his current situation you would think. Bildad the shuhite one the first three, then four friends of job, who discuss with him the finer points of existence. These guys have plenty to say, and job isnt their biggest fan. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have. Late third or early second millennium bc age of the patriarchsabraham, isaac, and jacob some of the people.
Satan met god, destroyed job s property, killed his children. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. He gave three speeches and spoke longer than the other two men. Job was a wealthy but righteous and godfearing man. In job 32 elihu focuses his response on rebuking jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. Bildad also refers to eliphazs revelation in chapter 25, although he presents the concept as his own. Job had 3 friends that showed up for him in his time of need. 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.
It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. In his first reply to job s complaints, he argues that those who are truly good are never entirely forsaken by providence, but that punishment may justly be inflicted for secret sins. Book of job old testament king james version youtube. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. So we will look at zophar s speech in job chapter 11 and how he seeks to reel in job. Job is suffering, therefore job is being punished for wrong doing.
And so, job tells eliphaz and his friends to look right at him and job is. The final speech by a friend in the first cycle is that of zophar who speaks in chapter 11. Like the other two comforters, bildad and eliphaz, zophar emphasizes an old hebrew conceptsuffering is the inevitable lot of the evil m. Eliphaz the temanite was one of job s three friends who showed up to comfort job but ended up adding to his misery by asserting that job s suffering was a punishment for secret sin. Eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite are often. Likely the oldest and most influential of the comforters, eliphaz was the first to speak. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they. So far we have only heard from the first friend, eliphaz. The lord shows he is our redeemer, despite what we may suffer in this life. However, they are shocked when they see job whom they did not recognize because of the boils, and sit dumbfounded for seven days and nights without a word in reaction to the magnitude of his grief 2. A poem to wisdom chapter 28, previously read as part of the.
Study questions on the book of job concordia college. Naked i came from my mothers womb, and naked i will depart. All three friends believed that the unrighteous suffer. Job answers each of their speeches directly before the next friend starts. Bildad, also absolutely certain that job had sinned and should repent, was ruthless in the charges he raised against gods servant see job chapters 18 and 25 for bildads other speeches. Eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite are friends of job that came to comfort him. Three friends eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite come from afar and express their sympathy by remaining silent and by clothing themselves in sackcloth and sitting in ashes. Be careful of the folly of eliphaz, bildad, zophar jobs. Zophar responds job 11, and job answers him job 12 14. Eliphaz bildad zophar neviim tovim, blogs by gillian gould. Cycle 1 job chapters 3 eliphaz 45 job 67 bildad 8 job 910 zophar 11.
It is unwise to pull an isolated verse from the book of job and use it to. But they didnt actually comfort him at all, when we see the way they spoke to him later on. Eliphaz the temanite was one of jobs three friends who showed up to comfort job but ended up adding to his misery by asserting that jobs suffering was a punishment for secret sin. This long central portion of job is made up of three cycles of speeches, in which eliphaz, bildad and zophar speak, each receiving a response from job. Elihu refuted the claims of compensation theology by eliphaz, bildad, and zophar that presumed that a relationship between god and man was a fixed business contract defining predictable and precise responses from god in reply to a persons conformity or nonconformity to the stipulations of that contract p. The dialogues of chapters 331 are, in general, a cycle of speeches between job, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar that are structured as follows. Job s buddies eliphaz, zophar, and bildad come to visit and chill with him while he rolls around in ash and sackcloth. Job is full of hot air like a strong wind, verse 2. Gods response to eliphaz, bildad, and zophar the lord reprimands them for not speaking rightly on his behalf final outcome the lord restores the fortunes of job to the extent that job s latter days are better than his former days job s faithfulness is vindicated and gods is illustrated. Eliphaz the temanite, in the old testament book of job chapters 4, 5, 15, 22, one of three friends who sought to console job, who is a biblical archetype of unmerited suffering. But the writer of the book of job is not satisfied to live that way.
After elihus speech ends with the last verse of chapter 37, god appears and in the second verse of chapter 38, god says, speaking of job. At one point job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, you are miserable comforters, all of you. Giving the strongest of the three initial speeches, zophar declares that job deserved even worse than what he got. Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused. With chapter 15 begins a second cycle of speeches by eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, running through chapter 31. In fact, job paints a picture of the blessings enjoyed by the wicked that very much resembles the picture of the good man eliphaz had described in job 5. Implied that job s sons had sinned and deserved the calamity that struck them and suggested that job himself was godless.
Friend number four is a young man named barachel, who waits to speak until the other three are done, and that takes thirtyone chapters it seems plausible that the book of job is more than a. The play unfolds as each man gives a long speech, and job responds to each with a speech of. When three of job s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Like the other two comforters, bildad and eliphaz, zophar emphasizes an old hebrew conceptsuffering is the inevitable lot of the evil man. On the seventh day, job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares his thoughts on job s afflictions in long, poetic statements. His three speeches were shorter and more hurtful than those of eliphaz. The book of job wednesday evening at calvary chapel spring valley, las vegas, nevada with pastor derek neider. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar by zac poonen when job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar heard of his adversity, they came to visit him, saying they wanted to comfort him job 2. Speeches of eliphaz, bildad, and zophar jobs friends do not waver from their belief that job must have sinned to incite gods punishment. Elihus insights diverge from those of zophar, eliphaz, and bildad, the three main comforters of job. In order for eliphaz s statements in chapters 4 and 5 to be true, then job needs to be a deceitful liar. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Why was god angry about what eliphaz, bildad, and zophar said to job.
The core of what eliphaz, bildad, and zophar tell job is that he needs to humble. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. Cycle 2 job chapters 1214 eliphaz 15 job 1617 bildad 18 job 19 zophar 20. Their names were eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. God, job, bildad, elihu, satan, eliphaz, and zophar. Famed as the antiheroes of the book of job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite deliver some of the longest uninterrupted monologues of the whole bible, speaking expansively on issues pertaining to the character of god, the nature of morality and justice, the essence and attainment of wisdom, the dynamics of the divinehuman relationship, and the experience of. He is called the shuhite, probably as belonging to shuah, a district in arabia, in which shuah, the sixth son of abraham by keturah, settled genesis 25. Friend number four is a young man named barachel, who waits to speak until the other three are done, and that takes thirtyone chapters. As the speeches progress, jobs friends increasingly berate him for refusing to confess his sins, although they themselves are at a loss as to which sin he has committed. Implied that jobs sons had sinned and deserved the calamity that struck them and suggested that job himself was godless. And what seems to be hurting job most about eliphaz s criticisms of job is that eliphaz is indicating that job is lying. The book of job is a great encouragement to us because he faced what we face today. Rather than stressing the idea that suffering is a punishment for sinful actions, elihu concentrates on job s sinful reaction to his undeserved suffering. Jobs three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar by zac poonen when jobs three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar heard of his adversity, they came to visit him, saying they wanted to comfort him job 2.
A daily quick look at a book of the bible name of the book. A poem to wisdom chapter 28, previously read as part of the speech of job, now regarded by most scholars as a. Ridiculed job s integrity and claimed that god had no faith in his servants job 4, 5 called job presumptuous and wicked and claimed that job had no fear of god. Eliphaz was the oldest and considered the wisest of the three. This passage introduces jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and.
Cycle 3 job chapters 21 eliphaz 22 job 2324 bildad 25. At the end of job 2, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar enter stage left. Shuah and his brethren were located in arabia petraea. When three of jobs friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him.
Elihu was also angry at eliphaz, bildad, and zophar because they had failed to solve the controversy they had found no answer, while at the same time they were in elihus opinion too harsh against job and yet had condemned job. Job pokes fun at bildad asking him what spirit revealed it to him because he recognizes the argument as eliphaz s spiritual revelation. Three of jobs friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting. Three of job s friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. Another man, elihu, offered feedback, job had no appreciation for his words. The book of job the books of reference used for this study of the book of psalms were the bible, king james version, called the companion bible, publisher kregel. Job bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. His three friends, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite, console him. Job had three friends visit him, eliphaz, bildad and zophar. So a young man appears on the scene in chapter 32 named elihu. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42.
In the land of uz there lived a man whose name was job. The force of job s protest is all the greater because it is set against the conventional pieties of his comforters, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, who respond to each of his laments with blind insistence that, if god punishes job, job must deserve it somehow. Eliphazs dream 14 august 2019 17 may 2019 by ray hermann, d. God allowed satan to take away from job his wealth, his family, and his health. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has. Despite minor differences, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar have one view of the problem of job s afflictions. A poem to wisdom chapter 28, previously read as part of. Strongs exhaustive concordance of the bible, numbered to the hebrew, chaldee, and greek, and. After eliphaz and bildad, zophar spoke third in offering advice to job.
Since job s response to each friend is always longer than the corresponding speech, the short speech by bildad chap. At this point, three of job s friends eliphaz, bildad, and zophar come to mourn and try to comfort him. Friends join job, and join him in silent mourning for seven days. On the seventh day, job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares his thoughts on jobs afflictions in long, poetic statements. Job s three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42. In the first two rounds, eliphaz, bildad and zophar speak in turn. Eliphaz and job would agree that god gives and god takes away, but eliphaz believes that this system corresponds to who does evil and who does good. Job does not disagree with this and god does not rebuke elihu as he does bildad, zophar, and eliphaz. He appears in the book of job in the hebrew bible eliphaz appears mild and modest.
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