Elihu (32:1–37:24)

Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry with Job (32:2). The “angry young man” Elihu enters the scene for the first time and is like a young theological student “who knows all the answers.”290 Elihu (“He is my God”) was a common name in the Bible, esp. in the time of David. The name of his father and even his clan (Heb. mišpaḥâ—“family” in NIV) are mentioned. Buz was a nephew of Abraham (Gen. 22:20–21) and Ram may be related to the Arameans. Jeremiah 9:25 and 49:32 mentions Buz in connection with Sheba and Dedan, located in Arabia.

New wineskins (32:19). Wine was kept in bottles of clay (Jer. 19:1), some even with stoppers (as is known from Egypt),291 or in wineskins (Jer. 13:12), which were made of animal skins and of which physical examples from ancient times have survived.292 Elihu himself is so full of words (v. 18) that if he does not get the chance to speak, he will burst (cf. Jer. 20:9). The image is that of bottled-up wine, with new wine forming gases as it ferments, which may make the skins burst if they cannot escape. In the New Testament parable of new wine in old wineskins (Matt. 9:17), old skins become dried up and are unusable because the expanding gases of the fermenting new wine will tear them.

Relief of a man carrying wineskin from the Apadana staircase at Persepolis

Glenn Gulley, courtesy of the Metroploitan Museum of Art, NY

Taken from clay (33:6). See comment on 10:9.

My feet in shackles (33:11). See comments on 12:18; 13:27; 36:8.

In a dream (33:15). On dreams and visions, see comment on 4:13.

Pit (33:18). On the pit (also vv. 22, 30), see comment on 17:14. The Mesopotamian underworld was reached by way of a down staircase, or the pit may refer to the hole dug in the ground to make a grave. The second part of verse 18 (cf. 36:12) is traditionally translated “[preserve] his life from perishing by the sword” (NIV), but it can also be translated as “from crossing the River” (see NIV note), which may refer to the river of death—that is, preserve him from death.

Messengers of death (33:22). “Pit” is parallel with “death” in this verse (cf. sidebar on “Death” at 18:13), but the NIV’s “messengers” does not occur in the Hebrew text. In Mesopotamian mythology, however, Namtar was the “messenger” of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal.

Angel … as a mediator (33:23). The text refers to “one [angel] out of a thousand”; note Daniel 7:10, which has “thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand.” In the past this angel has been interpreted as referring to a guardian angel (cf. Ps. 91:11) or an interceding saint, while others took it as the Mesopotamian idea of the personal god who acted on behalf of the mortal in the divine assembly.293 The angel here (cf. 1:6; 4:18 and the sidebar on “Angels and Messengers” at 4:18) is merely an advocate or defense attorney who acts on his behalf and pleads his case as a mediator.

Renewed … restored as in the days of youth (33:25). Restored youth and physical regeneration have always been the wish of humankind. In the Gilgamesh Epic the hero receives a magical plant called “Old Man Grown Young,” the plant of regeneration, but he loses it to a snake.294

Songs in the night (35:10). Because the night295 was a time of danger and feared by ancient people (cf. 4:13; 33:15; Ps. 77:6; 91:5), such songs296 served the purpose of calming the distressed. In 38:7 the morning stars sing. Some commentators read “gives strength in the night.”297

Bound in chains (36:8). See comment on 12:18.

Perish by the sword (36:12). See the NIV note here, “will cross the River” (see comment on 33:18).

Male prostitutes (36:14). The Hebrew qedēšîm need not be translated as in NIV by “male prostitutes” or be understood as homosexuals or perverts. The existence of the institution of “sacred prostitution” with its class of “sacred prostitutes”—where sacred personnel took part in rites that included sexual acts to strengthen the fertility of the land—have been rejected by recent scholarship. The Job text is in general too difficult to understand and is best left untranslated.298

Fills his hands with lightning (36:32). As in Habakkuk 3:4–6, God appears as the bringer of lightning and thunder (cf. Job 36:29; 37:3–5, 11, 15). Thunder gods are shown in the ancient Near East brandishing thunderbolts and lightning in a menacing way as a gesture of absolute power.299 The god Baal carries lightning when he goes to the realm of the underworld god Mot. Elsewhere he is described as enthroned, holding lightning.300

He thunders (37:4). The Lord is described as a thunder god in 36:29–38:1 (cf. 37:5; 40:9). In 38:1 (cf. 40:6) God answers Job out of the storm or perhaps the “whirlwind” (as in the vision of Ezek. 1). Ancient Near Eastern texts often refer to thunder as the manifestation of the power of deities in time of war (see 1 Sam. 7:10; cf. Ps. 18:14, 29, where the voice of God is compared to thunder and lightning.).301 In Ugarit the voice of Baal is synonymous to thunder, and he makes the earth shake.302

The skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze (37:18). It was thought that the sky was a solid dome or a flat roof. The idea of the sky as a metal dome appears in Persian cosmogonic texts.303 In the ancient Near East mirrors were not made of glass but were mostly beaten and polished bronze. Many such mirrors with a bronze reflecting surface are known, especially from Egypt.304

Bronze mirror

Kim Walton, courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum