Study
8 From the Book of Job is: Job 15-17. Eliphaz' second speech and
Job's reply
- Read chapter 15 and compare its tone and approach with Eliphaz' first speech in chapters 4 and 5. Note the emphasis on human depravity. How should Eliphaz have dealt with a younger man who would not agree with him? Why was he so sure he was right? To whose shortcomings was he blind?
- 16 and 17. Even in the depths, Job finds some particles of hope. What form do these take?
Notes
- 15:4. Eliphaz accuses Job of being an enemy of true religion and godliness because he denies the traditional orthodoxy.
- 17:11b. A reference to the earlier speeches of Job's friends.
- 15:18-19. Eliphaz claims that his doctrine is ancient and pure, untainted by foreign heresies.
- 16:2. Ronald Knox renders this: 'Old tales and cold comfort; you are all alike.'
- 16:19, 21. A further reference to the mediator.
- 17:16b. Taken as a statement, not a question, this indicates a sudden further advance in Job's hopes.
