THE FRIENDS of Job are to be commended for giving up so much of their time to commiserate with him in his suffering. However, their understanding of the cause of his suffering was incomplete.
At least they were more encouraging than Job’s wife, who advised him to “curse God and die.” We discuss the divine council reference in Job 2, the nature of Satan (or “the satan”), the location of the home of Eliphaz the Temanite, another clue that Job lived somewhere in what later became Edom (possibly near Petra), Job’s wish that he’d never been born, a veiled reference to the spirits of the Rephaim in Job 3:14-15, and Eliphaz’s description of what sounds like sleep paralysis or night terrors when he was visited by Pachad, a demonic spirit called “Terror.”
The book Sharon mentioned during the program, A Commentary on the Book of Job by Rev. Jonathan Kelsey Burr, published in 1879, is available for free from Google Books. Click here to download the PDF or add it to Google Play Books.
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Okay, I’ve got a question. Since when do we NOT consider the person who is speaking (Pardon the capitalization. I have only done that to add emphasis.)? I mean, the guy who tells Job that God does not trust his angels — well, who is he that we should believe him? And how does he know this stuff? Unless I’ve missed something, shouldn’t we take this into consideration?
I’m not feeling too well and think I may have misunderstood what you were saying about what Eliphaz had to say. I remember Dr. Heiser saying something about the idea that God doesn’t trust his “counsel” either — so, I was picking up bits abut this. Sorry if I misunderstood. I’m trying to follow. Best to you both! 🙂
I’m not feeling too well and think I may have misunderstood what you were saying about what Eliphaz had to say. I remember Dr. Heiser saying something about the idea that God doesn’t trust his “counsel” either — so, I was picking up bits abut this. Sorry if I misunderstood. I’m trying to follow. Best to you both! 🙂
Job 2:9 commentary by Perry Stone: the word “curse” is “barak” and means to kneel, or by implication, “to bless God with your words or your worship” and then die, or bid farewell to God and die. So maybe his wife was urging Job to speak a word to God and die, rather than telling Job to curse God?
Fascinating study. My second time through and learning more each time.
Thank you.
The name Bildad means “person of contention”.
Maybe the thing that Job feared was that the power of his words about his children came to fruition.
Temanites were known for wisdom. However, the spirit Elophaz saw may have been an accusation of Satan, but also could have been an evil spirit sent from God (reference Job 6:4).
Once again, love, love, LOVE your study and your seeking to find the hidden truths of the Bible. Incidentally, you forgot to sound the “ding-ding-ding” when referring to Dr. Heiser…HOW COULD YOU?!?!?😆
Gods word is so intricate! His word is life and the living word of God is more then awesome! Thank you for dissecting His word.
Hi I get so confused on which Lord the English Bible is talking about. Is there a decent translation to get? Love the studies
We like the ESV, but the KJV is also good, although a little harder to understand because of the archaic language. The NET Bible is also very good because of the extensive translators’ notes, which helps to understand the reasons they chose the words they did.
We love your studies, and get more out of them each time. I had a little confusion in this one; you mentioned about 19 minutes into the recording that “Job didn’t shave his head” as the Egyptians did, but back in Job 1:20 it states that he tore his robe and shaved his head. Can you clarify if these were two different times, that he didn’t shave his head “again”? It may be insignificant but I was just wondering about it. Thank you again for all the work you guys put into these studies. This is our only church right now! We would even like it if you might consider taking communion every Sunday instead of only the 1st of the month. Thanks & God’s blessings!
Dee & Mike
Since Job is such an early book, the Flood and Babel would be very preeminent in their minds. I can’t help thinking that Job’s friends theology would be strongly influenced by the judgment of God in the Flood and at Babel.
Lynne Jacobsen
Great observation!