Job 4:1 Commentary and Bible Study

We now come to the part of the book which deals with the greatest trial that Job faced, and therefore the largest portion of the book is devoted to it. What preceded was pure suffering which though it exceeded in intensity what most of God’s people have to bear, was not as painful as the undermining of his relationship with God, which resulted from the false words of his three friends. Job’s earthly loss and his sickness were just a background to the attack that Satan now launched on him, an attack that was cowardly and underhand as it came deceitfully through those from whom Job might have expected the strongest support. Satan’s thesis was that Job was a hypocrite and he now puts the same accusation in the mouths of Job’s three friends (Durham), so that they take up his cause.Job’s comforters address him in turn (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar in that order), Job responding to each one before the next speaks. There are three repetitions or cycles of this procedure, except that Zophar does not contribute in the third cycle.First to speak, then, is Eliphaz, the mildest of Job’s comforters; courteous in tone (at first) but not evangelical in doctrine. The first important thing to note is that Eliphaz takes experience (supplemented by a vision or two) to be the final authority in matters of doctrine and faith (Job 4.8). He may be the oldest comforter – Job 15.10 claims great age for the three of them (but they could be adding their years together).Eliphaz holds that Job’s suffering is retribution for sin and indicative of his hypocrisy (Job 4.7-8). It would seem that Eliphaz has always found Job dogmatic in his evangelical views and (Job 4.2-5) he anticipates great difficulty in persuading Job that his tragedy disproves his spiritual profession.