1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.
6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.
7 I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.
8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.
11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.
12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.
14 Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches.
15 They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking.
16 When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;)
17 I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion.
18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
19 Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
22 For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
1 So these three H7969 men H582 ceased H7673 to answer H6030 Job, H347 because he was righteous H6662 in his own eyes. H5869
2 Then was kindled H2734 the wrath H639 of Elihu H453 the son H1121 of Barachel H1292 the Buzite, H940 of the kindred H4940 of Ram: H7410 against Job H347 was his wrath H639 kindled, H2734 because he justified H6663 himself H5315 rather than God. H430
3 Also against his three H7969 friends H7453 was his wrath H639 kindled, H2734 because they had found H4672 no answer, H4617 and yet had condemned H7561 Job. H347
4 Now Elihu H453 had waited H2442 till Job H347 had spoken, H1697 because they were elder H2205 H3117 than he.
5 When Elihu H453 saw H7200 that there was no answer H4617 in the mouth H6310 of these three H7969 men, H582 then his wrath H639 was kindled. H2734
6 And Elihu H453 the son H1121 of Barachel H1292 the Buzite H940 answered H6030 and said, H559 I am young, H6810 H3117 and ye are very old; H3453 wherefore I was afraid, H2119 and durst H3372 not shew H2331 you mine opinion. H1843
7 I said, H559 Days H3117 should speak, H1696 and multitude H7230 of years H8141 should teach H3045 wisdom. H2451
8 But H403 there is a spirit H7307 in man: H582 and the inspiration H5397 of the Almighty H7706 giveth them understanding. H995
9 Great men H7227 are not always wise: H2449 neither do the aged H2205 understand H995 judgment. H4941
10 Therefore I said, H559 Hearken H8085 to me; I also will shew H2331 mine opinion. H1843
11 Behold, I waited H3176 for your words; H1697 I gave ear H238 to your reasons, H8394 whilst ye searched out H2713 what to say. H4405
12 Yea, I attended H995 unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced H3198 Job, H347 or that answered H6030 his words: H561
13 Lest ye should say, H559 We have found out H4672 wisdom: H2451 God H410 thrusteth him down, H5086 not man. H376
14 Now he hath not directed H6186 his words H4405 against me: neither will I answer H7725 him with your speeches. H561
15 They were amazed, H2865 they answered H6030 no more: they left off H6275 speaking. H4405
16 When I had waited, H3176 (for they spake H1696 not, but stood still, H5975 and answered H6030 no more;)
17 I said, I will answer H6030 also my part, H2506 I also will shew H2331 mine opinion. H1843
18 For I am full H4390 of matter, H4405 the spirit H7307 within H990 me constraineth H6693 me.
19 Behold, my belly H990 is as wine H3196 which hath no vent; H6605 it is ready to burst H1234 like new H2319 bottles. H178
20 I will speak, H1696 that I may be refreshed: H7304 I will open H6605 my lips H8193 and answer. H6030
21 Let me not, I pray you, accept H5375 any man's H376 person, H6440 neither let me give flattering titles H3655 unto man. H120
22 For I know H3045 not to give flattering titles; H3655 in so doing my maker H6213 would soon H4592 take me away. H5375
1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak unto Job, because they were elder than he.
5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; Wherefore I held back, and durst not show you mine opinion.
7 I said, Days should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.
8 But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
9 It is not the great that are wise, Nor the aged that understand justice.
10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will show mine opinion.
11 Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your reasonings, Whilst ye searched out what to say.
12 Yea, I attended unto you, And, behold, there was none that convinced Job, Or that answered his words, among you.
13 Beware lest ye say, We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not man:
14 For he hath not directed his words against me; Neither will I answer him with your speeches.
15 They are amazed, they answer no more: They have not a word to say.
16 And shall I wait, because they speak not, Because they stand still, and answer no more?
17 I also will answer my part, I also will show mine opinion.
18 For I am full of words; The spirit within me constraineth me.
19 Behold, my breast is as wine which hath no vent; Like new wine-skins it is ready to burst.
20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray you, respect any man's person; Neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.
22 For I know not to give flattering titles; `Else' would my Maker soon take me away.
1 And these three men cease from answering Job, for he `is' righteous in his own eyes,
2 and burn doth the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram; against Job hath his anger burned, because of his justifying himself more than God;
3 and against his three friends hath his anger burned, because that they have not found an answer, and condemn Job.
4 And Elihu hath waited earnestly beside Job with words, for they are older than he in days.
5 And Elihu seeth that there is no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger burneth.
6 And Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answereth and saith: -- Young I `am' in days, and ye `are' age Therefore I have feared, And am afraid of shewing you my opinion.
7 I said: Days do speak, And multitude of years teach wisdom.
8 Surely a spirit is in man, And the breath of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.
9 The multitude are not wise, Nor do the aged understand judgment.
10 Therefore I have said: Hearken to me, I do shew my opinion -- even I.
11 Lo, I have waited for your words, I give ear unto your reasons, Till ye search out sayings.
12 And unto you I attend, And lo, there is no reasoner for Job, `Or' answerer of his sayings among you.
13 Lest ye say, We have found wisdom, God doth thrust him away, not man.
14 And he hath not set in array words for me, And with your sayings I do not answer him.
15 (They have broken down, They have not answered again, They removed from themselves words.
16 And I have waited, but they do not speak, For they have stood still, They have not answered any more.)
17 I answer, even I -- my share, I shew my opinion -- even I.
18 For I have been full of words, Distressed me hath the spirit of my breast,
19 Lo, my breast `is' as wine not opened, Like new bottles it is broken up.
20 I speak, and there is refreshment to me, I open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray you, accept the face of any, Nor unto man give flattering titles,
22 For I have not known to give flattering titles, In a little doth my Maker take me away.
1 And these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 Then was kindled the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his anger kindled, because he justified himself rather than God;
3 and against his three friends was his anger kindled, because they found no answer, and [yet] condemned Job.
4 But Elihu had waited till Job had finished speaking, because they were older than he.
5 And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger was kindled.
6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are aged; wherefore I was timid, and feared to shew you what I know.
7 I said, Let days speak, and multitude of years teach wisdom.
8 But there is a spirit which is in man; and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
9 It is not the great that are wise; neither do the aged understand judgment.
10 Therefore I say, Hearken to me; I also will shew what I know.
11 Lo, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasonings, until ye searched out what to say.
12 Yea, I gave you mine attention, and behold, there was none of you that confuted Job, that answered his words;
13 That ye may not say, We have found out wisdom; ùGod will make him yield, not man.
14 Now he hath not directed [his] words against me; and I will not answer him with your speeches. ...
15 They were amazed, they answered no more; words failed them.
16 And I waited, for they spoke not, but stood still, and answered no more; --
17 I will answer, I also in my turn, I also will shew what I know:
18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
19 Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; like new flasks, it is ready to burst.
20 I will speak, that I may find relief; I will open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person; neither will I give flattery to man.
22 For I know not how to flatter; my Maker would soon take me away.
1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.
3 Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he.
5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
6 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.
7 I said, 'Days should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.'
8 But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
9 It is not the great who are wise, Nor the aged who understand justice.
10 Therefore I said, 'Listen to me; I also will show my opinion.'
11 "Behold, I waited for your words, And I listened for your reasoning, While you searched out what to say.
12 Yes, I gave you my full attention, But there was no one who convinced Job, Or who answered his words, among you.
13 Beware lest you say, 'We have found wisdom, God may refute him, not man:'
14 For he has not directed his words against me; Neither will I answer him with your speeches.
15 "They are amazed. They answer no more. They don't have a word to say.
16 Shall I wait, because they don't speak, Because they stand still, and answer no more?
17 I also will answer my part, And I also will show my opinion.
18 For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
19 Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; Like new wineskins it is ready to burst.
20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed. I will open my lips and answer.
21 Please don't let me respect any man's person, Neither will I give flattering titles to any man.
22 For I don't know how to give flattering titles; Or else my Maker would soon take me away.
1 So these three men gave no more answers to Job, because he seemed to himself to be right.
2 And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry, burning with wrath against Job, because he seemed to himself more right than God;
3 And he was angry with his three friends, because they had been unable to give him an answer, and had not made Job's sin clear.
4 Now Elihu had kept quiet while Job was talking, because they were older than he;
5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry.
6 And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, made answer and said, I am young, and you are very old, so I was in fear, and kept myself from putting my knowledge before you.
7 I said to myself, It is right for the old to say what is in their minds, and for those who are far on in years to give out wisdom.
8 But truly it is the spirit in man, even the breath of the Ruler of all, which gives them knowledge.
9 It is not the old who are wise, and those who are full of years have not the knowledge of what is right.
10 So I say, Give ear to me, and I will put forward my knowledge.
11 I was waiting for your words, I was giving ear to your wise sayings; while you were searching out what to say,
12 I was taking note; and truly not one of you was able to make clear Job's error, or to give an answer to his words.
13 Take care that you do not say, Wisdom is here; God may overcome him, but not man.
14 I will not put forward words like these, or make use of your sayings in answer to him.
15 Fear has overcome them, they have no more answers to give; they have come to an end of words.
16 And am I to go on waiting while they have nothing to say? while they keep quiet and give no more answers?
17 I will give my answer; I will put forward my knowledge:
18 For I am full of words, I am unable to keep in my breath any longer:
19 My stomach is like wine which is unable to get out; like skins full of new wine, it is almost burst.
20 Let me say what is in my mind, so that I may get comfort; let me give answer with open mouth.
21 Let me not give respect to any man, or give names of honour to any living.
22 For I am not able to give names of honour to any man; and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Job 32
Commentary on Job 32 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Fourth Part - The Unravelment - Job 32-42
The Speeches of Elihu which Prepare the Way for the Unravelment - Job 32-37
Historical Introduction to the Section - Job 32:1-6
A short introduction in historical prose, which introduces the speaker and justifies his appearance, opens the section. It is not, like the prologue and epilogue, accented as prose; but, like the introductions to the speeches and the clause, Job 31:40 extra, is taken up in the network of the poetical mode of accentuation, because a change of the mode of accentuation in the middle of the book, and especially in a piece of such small compass, appeared awkward. The opposition of the three has exhausted itself, so that in that respect Job seems to have come forth out the controversy as conqueror.
1-3 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. And the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself at the expense of God. And against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they found no answer, and condemned Job.
The name of the speaker is אליהוּא (with Mahpach ), son of בּרכאל (with Munach ) the buwziy (with Zarka ). The name Elihu signifies “my God is He,” and occurs also as an Israelitish name, although it is not specifically Israelitish, like Elijah (my God is Jehovah). Bârach'el (for which the mode of writing בּרכאל with Dag. implic. is also found) signifies “may God bless!” (Olsh. §277, S. 618); for proper names, as the Arabian grammarians observe, can be formed both into the form of assertory clauses ( ichbâr ), and also into the form of modal ( inshâ ); the name ברכאל is in this respect distinguished from the specifically Israelitish name בּרכיה (Jehovah blesseth). The accompanying national name defines the scene; for on the one side בּוּז and עוּץ , according to Genesis 22:21, are the sons of Nahor, Abraham's brother, who removed with him (though not at the same time) from Ur Casdim to Haran, therefore by family Aramaeans; on the other side, בּוּז , Jeremiah 25:23, appears as an Arab race, belonging to the קצוּצי פאה (comp. Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 49:32), i.e., to the Arabs proper, who cut the hair of their heads short all round ( περιτρόχαλα , Herodotus iii. 8), because wearing it long was accounted as disgraceful (vid., Tebrâzi in the Hamâsa , p. 459, l. 10ff.). Within the Buzite race, Elihu sprang from the family of רם . Since רם is the name of the family, not the race, it cannot be equivalent to ארם (like רמּים , 2 Chronicles 22:5, = ארמים ), and it is therefore useless to derive the Aramaic colouring of Elihu's speeches from design on the part of the poet. But by making him a Buzite, he certainly appears to make him an Aramaean Arab, as Aristeas in Euseb. praep . ix. 25 calls him Ἐλιοῦν τὸν Βαραξηιὴλ τὸν Ζωβίτην (from ארם צובה ). It is remarkable that Elihu's origin is given so exactly, while the three are described only according to their country, without any statement of father or family. It would indeed be possible, as Lightfoot and Rosenm. suppose, for the poet to conceal his own name in that of Elihu, or to make allusion to it; but an instance of this later custom of Oriental poets is found nowhere else in Old Testament literature.
The three friends are silenced, because all their attempts to move Job to a penitent confession that his affliction is the punishment of his sins, have rebounded against this fact, that he was righteous in his own eyes, i.e., that he imagined himself righteous; and because they now ( שׁבת of persons, in distinction from חדל , has the secondary notion of involuntariness) know of nothing more to say. Then Elihu's indignation breaks forth in two directions. First, concerning Job, that he justified himself מאלהים , i.e., not a Deo (so that He would be obliged to account him righteous, as Job 4:17), but prae Deo . Elihu rightly does not find it censurable in Job, that as a more commonly self-righteous man he in general does not consider himself a sinner, which the three insinuate of him (Job 15:14; Job 25:4), but that, declaring himself to be righteous, he brings upon God the appearance of injustice, or, as Jehovah also says further on, Job 40:8, that he condemns God in order that he may be able to maintain his own righteousness. Secondly, concerning the three, that they have found no answer by which they might have been able to disarm Job in his maintenance of his own righteousness at the expense of the divine justice, and that in consequence of this they have condemned Job. Hahn translates: so that they should have represented Job as guilty; but that they have not succeeded in stamping the servant of God as a רשׁע , would wrongly excite Elihu's displeasure. And Ewald translates: and that they had nevertheless condemned him (§345, a ); but even this was not the real main defect of their opposition. The fut. consec. describes the condemnation as the result of their inability to hit upon the right answer; it was a miserable expedient to which they had recourse. According to the Jewish view, ויּרשׁיעוּ את־איּוב is one of the eighteen תקוני סופרים ( correctiones scribarum ), since it should be וירשׁיעו את־האלהים . But it is not the friends who have been guilty of this sin of הרשׁיע against God, but Job, Job 40:8, to whom Elihu opposes the sentence אל לא־ירשׁיע , Job 34:12. Our judgment of another such tiqqûn , Job 7:20, was more favourable. That Elihu, notwithstanding the inward conviction to the contrary by which he is followed during the course of the controversial dialogue, now speaks for the first time, is explained by what follows.
4-6 And Elihu had waited for Job with words, for they were older than he in days. And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, then his wrath was kindled. And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite began, and said.
He had waited ( perf. in the sense of the plusquamperf., Ew. §135, a ) for Job with words ( בּדברים as elsewhere בּמלּים , בּמלּין ), i.e., until Job should have spoken his last word in the controversial dialogue. Thus he considered it becoming on his part, for they ( המּה , illi , whereas אלּה according to the usage of the language is hi ) were older ( seniores ) than he in days ( לימים as Job 32:6, less harsh here, instead of the acc . of closer definition, Job 15:10, comp. Job 11:9). As it now became manifest that the friends made no reply to Job's last speeches for want of the right solution of problem, and therefore also Job had nothing further to say, he believes that he may venture, without any seeming want of courtesy, to give utterance to his long-restrained indignation; and Elihu (with Mahpach ) the son of Barach'el ( Mercha ) the Buzite (with Rebia parvum ) began and spoke ( ויּאמר not with Silluk , but Mercha mahpach., and in fact with Mercha on the accented penult., as Job 3:2, and further).
6 b I am young in days, and ye are hoary,
Therefore I stood back and was afraid
To show you my knowledge.
7 I thought: Let age speak,
And the multitude of years teach wisdom.
It becomes manifest even here that the Elihu section has in part a peculiar usage of the language. זחל in the signification of Arab. zḥl , cogn. with Arab. dḥl , דּחל , to frighten back;
(Note: The lexicographers explain the Arab. zḥl by zâla ( זול ), to stand away from, back, to retreat, or tanahha , to step aside; Piel, Hiph., to push any one aside, place anything back; Hithpa., to keep one's self on one side; adj. זחל , זחיל , זחוּל , etc., standing back. Thus the town of Zahla in the plain of the Lebanon takes its name from the fact that it does not stand out in the plain, but is built close at the foot of the mountain in a corner, and consequently retreats. And zuhale (according to the Kamus ) is an animal that creeps backwards into its hole, e.g., the scorpion; and hence, improperly, a man who, as we say with a similar figure, never comes out of his hole, always keeps in his hole, i.e., never leaves his dwelling, as zuhal in general signifies a man who retires or keeps far from active life; in connection with which also the planet Saturn is called Zuhal , the retreating one, on account of its great distance from the rest. Slippery (of ground) is זחלוּל , because it draws the foot backwards ( muzhil ) by its smoothness, and thus causes the walker to fall. A further formation is זחלק , to be slippery, and to slip in a slippery place; beside which, זלק , a word of similar meaning, is no longer used in Syria. According to this Arabic primary notion of zḥl , it appears זחלי ארץ , Micah 7:17, is intended to describe the serpents not as creeping upon the earth, but as creeping into the earth (comp. the name of the serpent, achbi' at el - ard , those that hide themselves in the earth); but in Talmud. and Aram. זחל used of animals has the general signification to creep, and of water, to glide (flow gently down). The primary notion, to glide (to slip, creep, flow gently, labi ), is combined both in the derivatives of the root זח and in those of the root זל with the notion of a departing and retreating motion. - Wetzst. and Fl.)
and דּע for דּעת (here and Job 32:10, Job 32:17; Job 36:3; Job 37:16) occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament; על־כּן (comp. לכן , Job 42:3) is used only by Elihu within the book of Job. ימים , days = fulness of days, is equivalent to advanced age, old age with its rich experience. רב with its plural genitive is followed (as כל sa( d usually is) by the predicate in the plur.; it is the attraction already described by מספר , Job 15:10; Job 21:21, Ges. §148, 1.
8 Still the spirit, it is in mortal man,
And the breath of the Almighty, that giveth them understanding.
9 Not the great in years are wise,
And the aged do not understand what is right.
10 Therefore I say: O hearken to me,
I will declare my knowledge, even I.
The originally affirmative and then (like אוּלם ) adversative אכן also does not occur elsewhere in the book of Job. In contradiction to biblical psychology, Rosenm. and others take Job 32:8 as antithetical: Certainly there is spirit in man, but ... . The two halves of the verse are, on the contrary, a synonymous (“the spirit, it is in man, viz., that is and acts”) or progressive parallelism) thus according to the accents: ”the spirit, even that which is in man, and ... ”). It is the Spirit of God to which man owes his life as a living being, according to Job 33:4; the spirit of man is the principle of life creatively wrought, and indeed breathed into him, by the Spirit of God; so that with regard to the author it can be just as much God's רוּח or נשׁמה , Job 34:14, as in respect of the possessor: man's רוח or נשׁמה . All man's life, his thinking as well as his bodily life, is effected by this inwrought principle of life which he bears within him, and all true understanding, without being confined to any special age of life, comes solely from this divinely originated and divinely living spirit, so far as he acts according to his divine origin and basis of life. רבּים are here (as the opposite of צעירים , Genesis 25:23) grandes = grandaevi (lxx πολυχρόνιοι ). לא governs both members of the verse, as Job 3:10; Job 28:17; Job 30:24. Understanding or ability to form a judgment is not limited to old age, but only by our allowing the πνεῦμα to rule in us in its connection with the divine. Elihu begs a favourable hearing for that of which he is conscious. דּע , and the Hebr.-Aramaic הוּה , which likewise belong to his favourite words, recur here.
11 Behold, I waited upon your words,
Hearkened to your perceptions,
While ye searched out replies.
12 And I attended closely to you,
Yet behold: there was no one who refuted Job,
Who answered his sentences, from you.
13 Lest ye should say: “We found wisdom,
God is able to smite him, not man!”
14 Now he hath not arranged his words against me,
And with your sentences I will not reply to him.
He has waited for their words, viz., that they might give utterance to such words as should tend to refute and silence Job. In what follows, עד still more emphatically than ל refers this aim to that to which Elihu had paid great attention: I hearkened to your understandings, i.e., explanations of the matter, that, or whether, they came forth, (I hearkened) to see if you searched or found out words, i.e., appropriate words. Such abbreviated forms as אזין = אאזין (comp. מזין = מיזין for מעזין , Proverbs 17:4, Ges. §68, rem. 1, if it does not signify nutriens , from זוּן ) we shall frequently meet with in this Elihu section. In Job 32:12, Job 32:12 evidently is related as an antecedent to what follows: and I paid attention to you ( עדיכם contrary to the analogy of the cognate praep . instead of עדיכם , moreover for עליכם , with the accompanying notion: intently, or, according to Aben-Duran: thoroughly, without allowing a word to escape me), and behold, intently as I paid attention: no one came forward to refute Job; there was no one from or among you who answered (met successfully) his assertions. Every unbiassed reader will have an impression of the remarkable expressions and constructions here, similar to that which one has in passing from the book of the Kings to the characteristic sections of the Chronicles. The three, Elihu goes on to say, shall not indeed think that in Job a wisdom has opposed them - a false wisdom, indeed - which only God and not any man can drive out of the field ( נדף , Arab. ndf , discutere , dispellere , as the wind drives away chaff or dry leaves); while he has not, however ( ולא followed directly by a v. fin. forming a subordinate clause, as Job 42:3; Psalms 44:18, and freq., Ew. §341, a ), arrayed ( ערך in a military sense, Job 33:5; or forensic, Job 23:4; or even as Job 37:19, in the general sense of proponere ) words against him (Elihu), i.e., utterances before which he would be compelled to confess himself affected and overcome. He will not then also answer him with such opinions as those so frequently repeated by them, i.e., he will take a totally different course from theirs in order to refute him.
15 They are amazed, they answer no more,
Words have fled from them.
16 And I waited, for they spake not,
For they stand still, they answer no more.
17 Therefore I also will answer for my part,
I will declare my knowledge, even I.
In order to give a more rapid movement and an emotional force to the speech, the figure asyndeton is introduced in Job 32:15, as perhaps in Jeremiah 15:7, Ew. §349, a . Most expositors render העתּיקוּ passively, according to the sense: they have removed from them, i.e., are removed from them; but why may העתיק not signify, like Genesis 12:8; Genesis 26:22, to move away, viz., the tent = to wander on (Schlottm.)? The figure: words are moved away (as it were according to an encampment broken up) from them, i.e., as we say: they have left them, is quite in accordance with the figurative style of this section. It is unnecessary to take והוחלתּי , Job 32:16 , with Ew. (§342, c ) 2 and Hirz. as perf. consec . and interrogative: and should I wait, because they speak no more? Certainly the interrog. part. sometimes disappears after the Waw of consequence, e.g., Ezekiel 18:13, Ezekiel 18:24 (and will he live?); but by what would והוחלתי be distinguished as perf. consec. here? Hahn's interpretation: I have waited, until they do not speak, for they stand ... , also does not commend itself; the poet would have expressed this by עד לא ידברו , while the two כי , especially with the poet's predilection for repetition, appear to be co-ordinate. Elihu means to say that he has waited a long time, surprised that the three did not speak further, and that they stand still without speaking again. Therefore he thinks the time is come for him also to answer Job. אענה cannot be fut. Kal, since where the 1 fut. Kal and Hiph. cannot be distinguished by the vowel within the word (as in the Ayin Awa and double Ayin verbs), the former has an inalienable Segol; it is therefore 1 fut. Hiph., but not as in Ecclesiastes 5:19 in the signification to employ labour upon anything (lxx περισπᾶν ), but in an intensive Kal signification (as הזעיק for זעק , Job 35:9, comp. on Job 31:18): to answer, to give any one an answer when called upon. Ewald's supposedly proverbial: I also plough my field! (§192, c , Anm. 2) does unnecessary violence to the usage of the language, which is unacquainted with this הענה , to plough. It is perfectly consistent with Elihu's diction, that חלקי beside אני as permutative signifies, “I, my part,” although it might also be an acc . of closer definition (as pro parte mea , for my part), or even - which is, however, less probable - acc . of the obj. (my part). Elihu speaks more in the scholastic tone of controversy than the three.
18 For I am full of words,
The spirit of my inner nature constraineth me.
19 Behold, my interior is like wine which is not opened,
Like new bottles it is ready to burst.
20 I will speak, that I may gain air,
I will open my lips and reply.
21 No, indeed, I will accept no man's person,
And I will flatter no man.
22 For I understand not how to flatter;
My Maker would easily snatch me away.
The young speaker continues still further his declaration, promising so much. He has a rich store of מלּים , words, i.e., for replying. מלתי defective for מלאתי , like יצתי for יצאתי , Job 1:21; whereas מלוּ , Ezekiel 28:6, is not only written defectively, but is also conjugated after the manner of a Lamed He verb, Ges. §§23, 3, 74, rem. 4, 75, 21, c. The spirit of his inner nature constrains him, since, on account of its intensity and the fulness of this interior, it struggles to break through as through a space that is too narrow for it. בּטן , as Job 15:2, Job 15:35, not from the curved appearance of the belly, but from the interior of the body with its organs, which serve the spirit life as the strings of a harp; comp. Arab. batn , the middle or interior; bâtin , inwardly (opposite of zâhir , outwardly). His interior is like wine לא יפּתח , which, or (as an adverbial dependent clause) when it is not opened, i.e., is kept closed, so that the accumulated gas has no vent, lxx δεδεμένος (bound up), Jer. absque spiraculo ; it will burst like new bottles. יבּקע is not a relative clause referring distributively to each single one of these bottles (Hirz. and others), and not an adverbial subordinate clause (Hahn: when it will explode), but predicate to בטני : his interior is near bursting like new bottles ( אבות masc . like נאדות , Joshua 9:13), i.e., not such as are themselves new ( ἀσκοὶ καινοὶ , Matthew 9:17, for these do not burst so easily), but like bottles of new wine, which has to undergo the action of fermentation, lxx ὥσπερ φυσητὴρ ( Cod. Sinait. 1 φυσητής ) χαλκέως , i.e., חרשׁים whence it is evident that a bottle and also a pair of bellows were called אוב ). Since he will now yield to his irresistible impulse, in order that he may obtain air or free space, i.e., disburdening and ease ( וירוח לּי ), he intends to accept no man's person, i.e., to show partiality to no one (vid., on Job 13:8), and he will flatter no one. כּנּה signifies in all three dialects to call any one by an honourable name, to give a surname, here with אל , to speak fine words to any one, to flatter him. This Elihu is determined he will not do; for לא ידעתּי אכנּה , I know not how to flatter (French, je ne sais point flatter ), for כנּות or לכנּות ; comp. the similar constructions, Job 23:3 (as Esther 8:6), Job 10:16, 1 Samuel 2:3; Isaiah 42:21; Isaiah 51:1, Ges. 142, 3, c; also in Arabic similar verbs, as “to be able” and “to prepare one's self,” are thus connected with the fut . without a particle between (e.g., anshaa jef‛alu , he began to act). Without partiality he will speak, flattery is not his force. If by flattery he should deny the truth, his Maker would quickly carry him off. כּמעט followed by subjunct. fut.: for a little (with disjunctive accent, because equivalent to haud multum abest quin ), i.e., very soon indeed, or easily would or might ... ; ישּׂני (as Job 27:21) seems designedly to harmonize with עשׂני .