In this lengthy final speech Elihu seeks further to disabuse Job of his mistaken notions. Contrary to Job’s assertions, the deity does provide appropriate justice to the righteous and the wicked, without showing favor to the privileged. In fact, contrary to Job’s mock wisdom (chapter 12), God does not simply bring down monarchs; he tries to teach them by disciplining them, in a way reminiscent of Eliphaz’s lecture to Job in 5:17–18. Elihu warns Job of losing his erstwhile values. In adducing the deity’s control over the rain, Elihu sets the scene for his sweeping description of divine wisdom, beyond human grasp, high in the heavens (chapter 37) and deep in the earth (chapter 28).
[36:1] Elihu spoke again and he said:
[2–4] Stay with me a while and I’ll tell you;1
For Eloah has more words to say:
“I’ll take up my discourse from afar;2
And provide my creature with justice.”
My words, in truth, are no lie;3
You have here a man of honest intent.
[5–6] El, you see, is eminent in strength,
And does not reject the pure of heart.4
He does not keep the wicked in life;5
But fairness he gives to the meek.6
He does not pry justice7 from the righteous.
[7–10] He places8 kings on the throne,9
Seating them forever up high.
But if he binds them10 in shackles;
(If) they’re caught in cords of affliction;
He reveals to them their misdeeds,
Their growing number of crimes.
He opens their ears to (his) discipline,11
Saying, turn back from iniquity.
[11–14] If they pay heed and do (as he says),12
They will end their days in bounty,13
And their years in prosperity.
But if they do not pay heed,
They will cross the channel,14
Expiring for lack of wisdom.
For the impudent of heart will be brazen:15
Though bound,16 they will not pray.
They will die at (the peak of their) youth;
Lose life among the reckless young.17
[15–16] He pulls the poor out of affliction,
And opens their ears18 through distress.19
He draws you away20 from adversity—
An expanse with below nothing firm;21
And now your table is lavishly set.22
[17] The case against the wicked you do not make;23
But claims against the orphan you support.24
[18–19] Beware25 lest affluence draw you in;
Lest rich reward lead you astray.
Can your prestige be compared to gold?26
Can any of your mighty efforts?27
[20] Do not yearn through the night,
For the folk to rise up from their places.28
[21] Beware, do not turn to iniquity!
For this you’ve been tested29 by affliction!
[22–26] El, you see, excels in power;
There is no master30 like him.
Who commands him how to govern?
And who can say, “you’ve done wrong?”
Which people have admired!31
All humanity looks upon it;
Mortals gaze from afar.
El, you see, is more exalted than we know;
His years are a limitless number.
[27–28] For he sheds32 drops of water,
As the skies precipitate,
Showering all humanity.
[29–30] Who knows35 how he spreads the clouds,36
Or the booming from behind them?37
He lays his lightning38 over them,
And covers the floor39 of the sea.
[31] With it he sustains40 the nations,
Providing food in abundance.
[32–33] Above the clouds41 he stores the lightning,
Ordaining it42 to one who is praying.43
His thunder44 alerts him45 (of it),
And the tempest46 his cattle.
[37:1] It really makes my heart flutter,47
Makes it leap out of its place!
[2–5] Hear oh hear the shudder of his thunder,
The sound coming out of his mouth!48
He flashes49 from beneath the whole sky,
His lightning o’er the span50 of the land.
Then he roars his thunder;
Booming in his surging voice.
He does not hold back bolts,51
So his voice can be heard.
El’s voice thunders wondrously;52
He performs great things beyond our ken.
[6] He orders the snow, “Fall53 to earth!”
And the rain, the staves of his strength.54
[7–8] He seals all humanity in,
Letting them know of his works.
Wild animals enter55 their dens,
Settling down in their lairs.
[9–10] The storm winds come out of their chamber,
The chill (comes) out of the storerooms.56
By the breath of El ice is made;57
Expanses of water turn solid.
[11–13] He weighs down with moisture the clouds;
The nimbus58 scatters his lightning;
And it59 whirls around on all sides—
They behave in accord with his plan,
However he directs them to cover the earth60—
Whether to punish the land,61
Or to favor it he bestows them.
Stand and contemplate
The wonders of El!
[15–17] Do you know how he enjoins them—
And lightning gleams out of his clouds?
Do you know how he spreads the clouds,
A wonder of the Wholly Knowing?62
(Do you know) why your garments are hot,
When the south wind is calm in the land?63
[18] Can you beat out64 the sky-dome as he can—
Solid as a mirror of metal?65
[19–20] Tell us, how can we answer him?66
We’re in the dark and have no (words) to offer.67
Will he be informed if I try to speak—
Has a man what to say when confused?68
[21–22] When people cannot see the sun,69
It’s obscured70 in the heavens,
A wind blows across and they’re clear.71
A glow72 emerges from the north,73
An aura about the awesome Eloah.
[23–24] Shaddai—we cannot reach him,74
Exalted in power and dominion!
Abounding in justice, he does not afflict.75
That is why people revere him;
The wisest of heart cannot see (him).
In the preceding passage (37:14–24), Elihu describes the uncanny marvels of the created world in the upper realm, in the sky. In the present passage (chapter 28), Elihu continues to describe a world that is beyond human comprehension, now focusing on the lower realm, the earth and, more particularly, the subterranean, which includes both the netherworld—the domain of the dead—and the sea that was believed to lie beneath the land. The passage is structured by two questions that ask, Where can (divine) wisdom be found? The question turns out to be a riddle, for the answer is not about where, but when (see verses 25–27).
Modern commentators tend to regard chapter 28, which does not comport with Job’s perspectives, as an independent poem that cannot be attributed to any of the known speakers. The assumption that the poem is autonomous is highly problematic. Biblical poems do not begin with the conjunction ki, “for, because,” as this passage does. There is no antecedent to the pronoun “he” in verse 3. But more important, the motif of esoteric wisdom lying beyond human reach typically includes both the above and the below (see for example Job 11:7–8; Deuteronomy 30:11–13; Jeremiah 31:36; as well the Babylonian hymn to the sun god Shamash). The conclusion of this passage (28:28) echoes the conclusion of the survey of the heavenly wonders in 37:24, and it is following that passage that this one belongs.76
Most modern commentators and translators, in contrast to the medieval Jewish exegetes, interpret the first part of this passage to deal with human mining activity. This interpretation, though widespread, is unfounded. There is not a single term associated with excavating in the Hebrew text. And all the enumerated activities are elsewhere attributed to the deity. It is God who exposes the subterranean, not people (see the notes). Reference to precious ore that is extracted from the ground serves as a contrast to wisdom, which cannot be drawn out of any site.
The passage begins in response to the prompt in 37:23: “we cannot reach him,” an allusion to 11:7–8 (Zophar), where God is said to be out of reach in both “the heights of heaven” and “deeper than Sheol.”
[28:1–2] There is a site whence silver comes,
And a place for refining gold.
Iron is removed from the ground,
And copper is poured out of stone.
[3–4] He77 puts an end to darkness,
And he probes to every extreme—
Stone, dark, and deathly-shade.78
He breaks open streams79 where no one dwells,
Forgotten by travelers,
Neglected by wayfarers.80
[5–6] Land from which comes crystal,81
And below which jasper82 (glows) like fire.
A place whose stones are sapphire,
And whose soil is gold.
[7–8] A path no vulture has known,
Never caught by the eye of a hawk.
Never trod by wild beasts,
Never walked by a lion.
[9–10] He reaches his hand down to flint-stone,
From the root overturns mountains.83
He breaks open channels84 in rock,85
And his eye beholds everything precious.
[11] He exposes86 the well-springs87 of rivers,
And their88 secrets he brings to light.
[12] But where can wisdom be found,
And what is the site of understanding?
[13–14] No human knows the way there,89
As it cannot be found in the land of the living.
The Deep90 says, “It is not in me,”
And Sea91 says, “It is not with me.”
[15–19] It cannot be purchased with bullion;92
Its price can’t be weighed out in silver.
Nor placed on the balance with gold of Ophir,93
Nor with precious carnelian or sapphire.
It can’t be compared to gold or quartz,
Nor exchanged for the finest of jewelry.94
It cannot be mentioned with coral or crystal;
For wisdom is worth95 more than rubies.
It can’t be compared with the topaz of Cush;96
Nor poised on the balance with pure gold.
[20] But whence does wisdom come,
And what is the site of understanding?
[21] It is hidden from the eyes of the living,
Concealed from the birds of the sky.
[22] Abaddon97 and Death98 say,
“Our ears have heard something about it.”
[23–26] Elohim knows the way there,
He’s aware of its location.
For he can look to the ends of the earth,
See all that is under the sky.
When he weighed the weight of the wind,
And measured the measure of water;99
And set the amount of the rainfall,
And the path of the thundercloud;
[27] That’s when he looked and appraised it,
Measured and examined it.100
[28] Then he said to Adam:101
“Revering the Lord is wisdom,
And turning from evil, understanding.”102
1. This line is entirely in Aramaic (so Rashi).
2. Although most understand Elihu to be speaking, the deity, not Elihu, can speak to Job “from afar.” Moreover, others must interpret “my creature” (po‘ali “the work [of my hands]”; see for example Psalm 90:16) as “my Maker”; but this well-attested term is nowhere else used this way.
3. Contra Job’s characterization of the companions in 13:4.
4. The received Hebrew is very awkward. Elihu is clearly responding to Job’s claims in 9:19, 22, and elsewhere. On the basis of Job 9:4 (Job) and 8:20 (Bildad), respectively, I read (similarly to Clines, Job 21–37): hen ’el kabbir koaḥ/welo’ yim’as bar lebab.
5. Elihu is rebutting Job in 21:7.
6. Ordinarily “the poor”; however, the term ‘aniyyim often stands for ‘anawim “the meek,” as in Psalm 9:13 (Tur-Sinai).
7. On the basis of the Greek version, read here (with several moderns) dino for ‘ena(y)w “his eyes.” If “his eyes” is original, however, compare Psalm 34:16. This line belongs to verse 7 in the traditional text.
8. Reading we-shat for we-’et (direct object indicator, which is odd since there is no verb); see Psalm 137:11. (For another mistaken writing of aleph for shin, see Proverbs 28:18: ’aḥat “one” written for shaḥat “pit.”)
9. Contrast Job in 12:17–18.
10. Reading ’asaram for ’asurim “they are bound”; the deity is the subject; compare the recapitulating form in verse 13.
11. See at 33:18.
12. The verb is used in its Aramaic sense; compare 34:25.
13. Echoing Job in 21:3.
14. See at 33:18.
15. Literally, “they do not put the nose,” a unique idiom. Compare the phrase “to raise the horn,” a figure from the realm of animals which has the sense of showing pride.
16. Literally, “although he (the deity) has bound them.”
17. Literally, “their life-force (will die) among male prostitutes.”
18. Informs them; see verse 10.
19. “Distress” puns on “pulls out” in the preceding line.
20. For this usage of the verb, see 2 Chronicles 18:31.
21. Compare 37:10.
22. Literally, “the top of your table is full of rich food.” “Top” is apparently cognate with Ugaritic nḫt “seat.”
23. The Hebrew makes little sense as a whole, so moderns tend to emend it heavily; meanings the Hebrew cannot bear are often proposed. I read this line (with Tur-Sinai): we-din resha‘im lo’ tadin, literally, “the judgment of the wicked you do not judge.”
24. Reading (compare Leveque): u-mishpat yatom titmok. The line would be too short without assuming a word, such as yatom—which shares letters with the following verb—was accidentally omitted. Compare Eliphaz in 22:5–9.
25. Reading ḥemeh (Aramaic); for the Hebrew equivalent, see verse 21. The preceding word ki is dittography from the preceding line.
26. Reading le-betser for lo’ be-tsar “not in distress” or the like.
27. For the phrase “mighty efforts” in the sense of wealth, see Proverbs 24:5. It could also mean: “Can any of your enterprises (be compared to gold)?”
28. To begin the workday? Compare Job in the first part of chapter 7. The connection of the verse to the surrounding context is unclear. Many different readings and interpretations have been offered.
29. Vocalizing boḥarta, the passive form of the Aramaic verb “test.” The syntax is still curious.
30. A Hebraized form of Aramaic mare’ (Daniel 2:47; 5:23).
31. A form of shur, literally, “to see, look” (so Masnuth and others).
32. The verb gara‘ connotes raining in rabbinic Hebrew.
33. Pseudo-Aramaic form of Hebrew yatsoq; compare Rashbam on Job 28:2.
34. Reading le’adam for le’eido “for its mist.” Elihu is correcting the deity’s assertion in 38:26, according to which God provides rain specifically where people do not dwell. The shared stems for “rain” and “humanity” tighten the link.
35. Reading mi yabin for ’im yabin “if he understands.” Compare 37:15–16.
36. Literally, “the spreads of cloud.”
37. Literally, the booming of the “screen,” or thicket of cloud providing a screen for the deity; compare Psalm 18:12.
38. Literally, “light”; compare 37:3, 11, 15.
39. Literally, “roots, bottom.”
40. Reading yazin (Aramaic) for yadin “judge”; compare Jeremiah 5:8 and the noun mazon “food.”
41. Literally, “hands, palms.” A metaphor for “clouds” (Rashbam); compare 1 Kings 18:44: “Behold: a small cloud like a person’s palm/hand arising from the sea.”
42. For “light/lightning” as a feminine noun, see Jeremiah 13:16.
43. For this usage, see Isaiah 59:16 (so for example Rashbam, Masnuth, Meyuhhas). The same verb is used in this sense in the Qal conjugation in Job 21:15.
44. Compare for example Micah 4:9.
45. The person praying for rain.
46. Reading ‘al‘ola “storm” in Aramaic.
47. Literally, “At it (the lightning) my heart trembles.”
48. In the ancient Near East and the Bible thunder is figured, and perhaps understood, as the voice of the storm god.
49. Reading yishrah; the verb sharah is found in this context in ancient Canaanite (Ugaritic).
50. Literally, “the wings, edges.”
51. To complete the short line I read (with Budde, Dhorme) ye‘aqqeb beraqim “he restrains lightning-bolts,” assuming the omission of three repeated letters.
52. Literally, “El thunders with his voice wondrously.”
53. An Arabism and not the Hebrew or Aramaic verb “to be.”
54. Reading mattot ‘uzzo; see Ezekiel 19:11. The scribe began writing mattot but wrote matar “rain” by mistake; he then continued copying correctly. Unfortunately, a later scribe added a resh to mattot, producing an awkward text.
55. Reading we-tabo’ for wa-tabo’ “entered.”
56. Reading mezawim (Psalm 144:13) for the unique term mezarim. For the image, see Job 38:22.
57. Literally, “he/it gives (ice).” The subject is unclear—possibly the celestial “chamber” (verse 9); many read a passive form of the verb (“the ice is given/made”).
58. Reading the noun as an unbound form (not “cloud of …”).
59. The lightning.
60. The final phrase is, more literally, “over the face of the land earthward.”
61. The second instance of ’im “whether” preceding “the land” is a scribal error.
62. Here an epithet of the deity. The same phrase as “(man) of honest intent” in 36:4.
63. Literally, “when the land is calm without the south wind.”
64. The dome of the sky is typically figured as a beaten sheet of metal; the sky is called “the beaten plate” (raqia‘) in Genesis 1:6 and elsewhere.
65. Mirrors were typically made of bronze (compare Exodus 38:8). Literally, “strong as a solid mirror.”
66. Elihu imagines that God is asking the questions—as he does in the subsequent divine discourses.
67. Compare the full phrase at 32:14.
68. For this sense of bala‘, see Isaiah 28:7.
69. Literally, “the Light.”
70. Compare baheret “skin discoloration” in Leviticus 13:2, 4, etc. from a stem with the general sense of “clear, bright.” The poet enjoys ironic puns.
71. Literally, “it makes them (the heavens) pure/clear.”
72. Reading zohar for zahab “gold.”
73. Perhaps the northern lights.
74. Compare 11:7–8.
75. Does not afflict without just cause.
76. So also Clines, “The Fear of the Lord”; Job 21–37.
77. The deity, Eloah/Shaddai, referred to in 37:22–23. The deity’s prowess contrasts with the limited abilities of humanity.
78. For the deity as the one who probes the earth’s depths and reveals light beneath the darkness, see for example 11:7; 12:22; 26:10; 38:19–20; Isaiah 42:16; other passages may also be compared.
79. The plural suffix—m was omitted by haplography (preceding another m).
80. More literally, “(the streams are) low in people passing by.”
81. Reading ’aḥlam for leḥem “bread,” which is inapt here; see the feminine form in Exodus 28:19; 39:12.
82. Reading nopek for nehpak “turned over”; see Ezekiel 28:13–14.
83. For this as divine activity, see 9:5 above.
84. The Hebrew (ye’orim) puns on “light” (’or in verse 11).
85. For this as divine activity, see for example Habakkuk 3:9; Psalms 74:15; 78:15; 114:8.
86. Reading ḥasap for ḥibbesh “binds up”; compare 12:22.
87. Vocalizing mabbekei, cognate to nebek in 38:16 and known in that form in Ugaritic.
88. Altering the feminine possessive suffix to suit the masculine plural reference.
89. Reading darkah for ‘erkah “its value” with the Greek; a contamination from verses 17 and 19.
90. The subterranean sea, often rendered “the abyss” in Genesis 1:2 and elsewhere. The Deep is the home of the Canaanite father-god and purveyor of wisdom, El.
91. Yamm in 7:12.
92. Sagur “solid gold” in 1 Kings 6:20–21; 7:40, 50; known also from Akkadian. The present digression on wisdom’s being more valuable than jewels elaborates similar passages in Proverbs 3:14–15 and 8:10–11.
93. See at Job 22:24.
94. More literally, “jewelry of fine gold.”
95. Reading mekes (Leviticus 27:23) for meshek “leather pouch.” In Job the letter sin often serves instead of samekh.
96. Somewhere between the Sinai and Ethiopia.
97. See at 26:6.
98. The personified realm of the dead; see for example 38:17 and Psalm 6:6.
99. Compare Isaiah 40:12–13; Jeremiah 31:36.
100. The deity inspected wisdom like a jeweler a jewel (Habel). Wisdom was created at the beginning of creation; compare Proverbs 8:22–31, some of whose language is used in this passage.
101. The first human or humans; or “to humanity”; the latter interpretation is favored by the Qumran Targum.
102. These are two of Job’s qualities; see 1:2. Ironically, Job, not his companions, is here implied to be “wise.”