Job 32

Job 32 is the chapter in which Elihu, who has not appeared until now, enters the narrative after Job finishes his final self-defense in Job 31. Elihu's speeches begin in this chapter and continue through chapter 37.

Outline

• Verses 1–5: Because Job is righteous in his own eyes, the three men cease answering him. Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, becomes angry. He is angry with Job because Job justified himself rather than God, and with the three friends because they condemned Job even though they could find no answer. He had held back because they were older than he.
• Verses 6–10: Elihu begins to speak. He had expected the aged to teach wisdom, but he says that it is the inspiration of the Almighty that gives understanding to human beings.
• Verses 11–16: He points out that he listened to the three men's arguments to the end, yet none of them truly answered Job. Since they have been left without words, he says he will wait no longer.
• Verses 17–22: He declares that he will speak, saying he is like a wineskin so full that it is ready to burst. He resolves neither to show partiality nor to flatter anyone.

Key Verses

• Job 32:2 "Because he justified himself rather than God": This shows how Elihu understood Job's words.
• Job 32:8 "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding": This expresses Elihu's claim that wisdom comes not from age but from God.
• Job 32:21 "Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person": This shows Elihu's intention to speak without taking sides.

Characters and Places

• Elihu: The son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram. He does not appear in the opening chapters of Job (chapters 1–2) or in its conclusion (chapter 42).
• Job: The man who has maintained his innocence in the midst of suffering.
• Job's three friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. In this chapter they are portrayed as standing silent.
• Buz: A name indicating Elihu's origin. Genesis 22:21 mentions Buz, a son of Nahor, and some interpreters connect the two.

Points for Reflection

• Assessments of Elihu: Interpreters differ on how to view Elihu.
• Some see Elihu as a figure who prepares the way for God's speech, which begins in Job 38.
• Others see him as a self-confident young man with little new to say.
• In Job 42:7 God rebukes only the three friends and does not mention Elihu, a point that also bears on interpretation.
• Theory of later insertion: Some scholars hold that Elihu's speeches were added later. Traditional interpretation, by contrast, reads them as an original part of the book.
• Job 32:8 and Genesis: Some interpreters suggest that "the inspiration of the Almighty" in 32:8 recalls the breath of life in Genesis 2:7.
• The wineskin image: The image of new wineskins in 32:19 resembles the Gospels' saying about new wine and new wineskins, though the contexts of the two passages differ.