Job / Chapter 32

Job 32

22 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A new voice enters the drama. Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, a younger man who has been listening in furious silence, can no longer contain himself. The narrator explains in prose (vv. 1-5) that the three friends have stopped answering Job because he is righteous in his own eyes, and that Elihu's anger burns against Job for justifying himself rather than God, and against the three friends for condemning Job without finding an answer. When Elihu finally speaks (vv. 6-22), his opening poem is entirely about the right to speak. He defers to age, then claims that age alone does not guarantee wisdom — it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding. He watched the three friends fail, and now he is bursting like a wineskin full of new wine. He will speak without favoritism, without flattery, because his Maker would take him away if he did.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Elihu is the most controversial character in the book of Job. He appears without introduction in the prologue, speaks for six chapters without interruption, and is never mentioned in God's response or the epilogue. Some scholars consider his speeches a later addition; others see him as the author's deliberate bridge between the failed arguments of the friends and the divine speeches of chapters 38-41. What is undeniable is the literary brilliance of his entrance: he is young, angry, and overflowing with words. His self-description as a wineskin about to burst (v. 19) is one of the most vivid images of compulsive speech in all of literature. He is not wrong that the friends have failed — they have. He is not wrong that age does not guarantee wisdom — it does not. But his extraordinary preamble about his own right to speak (sixteen verses of it) reveals a man who is more confident in his authority than in his argument. The poem is about Elihu, not about God or Job.

Translation Friction

The prose introduction (vv. 1-5) is dense with the word charah ('burned with anger') — it appears four times in five verses. Elihu is angry at Job for self-justification and angry at the friends for failing to answer. This double anger is the key to his character: he rejects both positions. He will not side with Job against God or with the friends against Job. He claims a third way. The question the reader must carry through the next four chapters is whether Elihu actually delivers on this promise or merely restates the friends' theology in younger, more eloquent packaging. The Hebrew root ruach ('spirit, wind, breath') dominates the poem — Elihu claims the ruach of God in him (v. 8), says his belly is like wine without a vent (v. 19), and must open his lips to find ruach ('relief,' literally 'wind,' v. 20). The spirit that inspires him is also the pressure that threatens to explode him.

Connections

Elihu's claim that the spirit of God gives understanding (v. 8) echoes Proverbs 2:6 ('the LORD gives wisdom') and anticipates God's own speeches, where wisdom belongs to the Creator alone. His wineskin image (v. 19) prefigures Jesus' saying about new wine in old wineskins (Mark 2:22). The genealogy 'Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram' (v. 2) is unusually detailed — Buz is Nahor's son (Genesis 22:21), making Elihu a relative of Abraham. The name Barachel means 'God has blessed,' and Elihu means 'He is my God,' both theologically loaded names for a character about to lecture on divine justice.

Job 32:1

וַיִּשְׁבְּת֞וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה מֵעֲנ֖וֹת אֶת־אִיּ֑וֹב כִּ֥י ה֖וּא צַדִּ֥יק בְּעֵינָֽיו׃

These three men gave up responding to Job, for he considered himself righteous.

KJV So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse is prose narration, not poetry. The three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) have completed their cycles of argument. The phrase tsaddiq be'einav ('righteous in his own eyes') is ambiguous — it could be the narrator's subtle criticism of Job's self-righteousness, or simply an observation that Job maintained his innocence. Given the prologue's endorsement of Job's righteousness, the latter reading is more likely.
Job 32:2

וַיִּ֤חַר אַ֨ף ׀ אֱלִיה֣וּא בֶן־בַּרַכְאֵ֣ל הַבּוּזִ֗י מִמִּשְׁפַּ֫חַ֥ת רָ֥ם בְּאִיּ֥וֹב חָרָ֣ה אַפּ֑וֹ עַֽל־צַדְּק֥וֹ נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹ מֵאֱלֹהִֽים׃

Then the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, burned hot. His anger burned against Job because he justified himself rather than God.

KJV Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חָרָה אַף charah af
"anger burned" — to burn, to be kindled, to blaze with anger; af = nostril, face, anger

charah af ('his nostril burned') is the Hebrew Bible's most visceral idiom for anger. The af ('nostril') swells and heats; rage is experienced as a physical burning in the face. This phrase appears four times in five verses (vv. 2, 3, 5), making anger the defining characteristic of Elihu's entrance. He does not arrive with wisdom or comfort — he arrives on fire.

Translator Notes

  1. Buz is listed as a son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, in Genesis 22:21, making Elihu a distant relative of the Abrahamic family. The clan of Ram may connect to the Judahite genealogy of Ruth 4:19, though this is uncertain. The phrase tsaddeqo nafsho me-Elohim ('he justified himself more than God') could also be translated 'he justified himself before God' — but the comparative sense is stronger: Job made himself righteous at God's expense.
Job 32:3

וּבִשְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת רֵעָ֗יו חָרָ֣ה אַפּ֑וֹ עַ֤ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־מָצְא֥וּ מַ֝עֲנֶ֗ה וַיַּרְשִׁ֥יעוּ אֶת־אִיּֽוֹב׃

His anger also burned against his three friends, because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job.

KJV Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tension between 'found no answer' and 'condemned Job' is the crux of Elihu's critique of the friends. They operated from a closed system: suffering proves guilt, therefore Job is guilty. But they never demonstrated what Job's guilt was. Elihu will attempt what they could not — to explain suffering without accusing the sufferer.
Job 32:4

וֶאֱלִיה֗וּ חִכָּ֣ה אֶת־אִ֭יּוֹב בִּדְבָרִ֑ים כִּ֤י זְקֵנִ֖ים הֵ֣מָּה מִמֶּ֣נּוּ לְיָמִֽים׃

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he in years.

KJV Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb chikkah ('he waited') indicates deliberate restraint, not passive silence. Elihu held back because of age-based deference: zeqenim hemmah mimmennu le-yamim ('they were elder than he in days'). Ancient Near Eastern culture demanded that younger men yield the floor to elders. Elihu has been observing protocol, but his patience has reached its limit.
Job 32:5

וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלִיה֗וּא כִּ֘י אֵ֤ין מַעֲנֶ֗ה בְּפִ֛י שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַיִּ֥חַר אַפּֽוֹ׃

When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, his anger burned.

KJV When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The fourth appearance of charah af in this introduction. The phrase ein ma'aneh be-fi ('there was no answer in the mouth of') conveys total rhetorical failure — the friends' mouths are empty. Their arguments have been exhausted. This observation triggers Elihu's final ignition: he has waited long enough, and no one else is going to answer. The prose introduction ends here; poetry begins in verse 6.
Job 32:6

וַיַּ֤עַן אֱלִיה֣וּא בֶן־בַּרַכְאֵ֣ל הַבּוּזִ֗י וַיֹּ֫אמַ֥ר צָ֘עִ֤יר אֲנִ֣י לְ֭יָמִים וְאַתֶּ֣ם יְשִׁישִׁ֑ים עַל־כֵּ֥ן זָ֝חַ֗לְתִּי וָאִ֥רָא מֵחַוֹּ֥ת דֵּ֝עִ֗י אֶתְכֶֽם׃

Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I held back, I was afraid to declare what I know to you.

KJV And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word yeshishim ('very old, aged') occurs only here and in 15:10 in Job. It implies not just old age but venerable antiquity. Elihu's deference is culturally appropriate but will soon be qualified: age deserves first hearing, not final authority.
Job 32:7

אָ֭מַרְתִּי יָמִ֣ים יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ וְרֹ֥ב שָׁ֝נִ֗ים יֹדִ֥יעוּ חׇכְמָֽה׃

I thought, 'Let days speak, and the abundance of years teach wisdom.'

KJV I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Elihu articulates the conventional principle he has been following: yamim yedabberu ('days should speak') — age has the right to speak first. The parallel ve-rov shanim yodi'u chokhmah ('and abundance of years should make wisdom known') states the assumption: more years equals more wisdom. Elihu presents this as his former belief, which he is about to overturn.
Job 32:8

אָ֭כֵן רֽוּחַ־הִ֣יא בֶאֱנ֑וֹשׁ וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת שַׁדַּ֣י תְּבִינֵֽם׃

But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding.

KJV But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

רוּחַ ruach
"spirit" — wind, breath, spirit, mind, disposition, the animating force of life

ruach is the key word of Elihu's opening speech. It means 'spirit' (v. 8), 'wind' (v. 18, the pressure in his belly), and 'relief' (v. 20, the release he needs). Elihu's argument is built on a wordplay: the ruach that gives wisdom is the same ruach that compels him to speak. He cannot hold it in — the spirit of God is both his authority and his urgency.

Translator Notes

  1. The pairing of ruach ('spirit, wind, breath') and neshamah ('breath, life-breath') echoes Genesis 2:7 where God breathes the neshamah of life into Adam. Elihu's argument is that the same divine breath that gives life also gives understanding. The name Shaddai ('the Almighty') is Job's preferred name for God throughout the dialogue — Elihu adopts Job's own theological vocabulary.
Job 32:9

לֹא־רַבִּ֥ים יֶחְכָּ֑מוּ וּ֝זְקֵנִ֗ים יָבִ֥ינוּ מִשְׁפָּֽט׃

It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.

KJV Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The lo rabbim yechkamu ('not the many/great are wise') directly challenges the assumption of verse 7. The parallel u-zeqenim yavinu mishpat ('and elders understand judgment') with the implied negative extends the challenge: neither numbers nor years guarantee wisdom or just discernment. The word mishpat ('judgment, justice, right ruling') is a legal term — Elihu is saying the elders have failed to render a correct verdict in Job's case.
Job 32:10

לָכֵ֣ן אָ֭מַרְתִּי שִׁמְעָ֣ה לִּ֑י אֲחַוֶּ֖ה דֵּ֝עִ֗י אַף־אָֽנִי׃

Therefore I say: Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.

KJV Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Having established that age does not guarantee wisdom and that the spirit of God gives understanding to anyone, Elihu now claims his right to speak: shim'ah li ('listen to me'). The achavveh de'i af ani ('I too will declare my knowledge') uses the same verb chavvah from verse 6, but now without the fear. The af ani ('I also, even I') is emphatic — Elihu inserts himself into the conversation as a legitimate participant.
Job 32:11

הֵ֤ן הוֹחַ֗לְתִּי לְדִבְרֵיכֶ֥ם אָ֭זִין עַד־תְּב֣וּנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם עַד־תַּחְקְר֥וּן מִלִּֽין׃

Look — I waited for your words. I listened for your insights while you searched for what to say.

KJV Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb hochalti ('I waited, I hoped') implies patient, expectant waiting — Elihu genuinely hoped the elders would produce a compelling answer. The azin ('I gave ear') conveys attentive listening. The phrase ad tachqerun millin ('until you searched out words') uses chaqar ('to search, to probe, to investigate') — a word used for mining precious metals. Elihu watched them dig for arguments. They came up empty.
Job 32:12

וְעָדֵיכֶ֣ם אֶתְבּוֹנָ֑ן וְהִנֵּ֤ה אֵ֖ין לְאִיּ֣וֹב מוֹכִ֑יחַ עוֹנֶ֖ה אֲמָרָ֣יו מִכֶּֽם׃

I paid close attention to you, but not one of you refuted Job. None of you answered his arguments.

KJV Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb etbonan ('I paid close attention, I discerned carefully') from bin intensifies the listening — Elihu was not passively hearing but actively evaluating. The verdict: ein le-Iyov mokhiach ('there is no one proving Job wrong'). The word mokhiach (Hiphil participle of yakach, 'to reprove, to argue, to decide') is a legal term for a successful prosecution. No one successfully prosecuted the case against Job. The parallel oneh amarav ('answering his words') confirms the failure: Job's arguments stand unanswered.
Job 32:13

פֶּן־תֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מָצָ֖אנוּ חׇכְמָ֑ה אֵ֖ל יִדְּפֶ֥נּוּ לֹא־אִֽישׁ׃

Do not say, 'We have found wisdom — only God can refute him, not a man.'

KJV Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yiddefennu ('will thrust him, will drive him away') from nadaf suggests forceful pushing. The friends' position — that only God's direct intervention can answer Job — is exactly what will happen in chapters 38-41. But Elihu does not know that yet. He believes the human case can be made.
Job 32:14

וְלֹא־עָרַ֣ךְ אֵלַ֣י מִלִּ֑ין וּ֝בְאִמְרֵיכֶ֗ם לֹ֣א אֲשִׁיבֶֽנּוּ׃

He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.

KJV Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Elihu makes two claims: first, Job has not addressed him personally, so Elihu approaches without personal offense. Second, and more importantly, u-ve-imreikhem lo ashivennu ('and with your words I will not answer him') — Elihu will not recycle the friends' failed arguments. He promises a fresh approach, not a repackaging of retribution theology. Whether he keeps this promise is one of the central interpretive questions of the Elihu speeches.
Job 32:15

חַ֭תּוּ לֹא־עָ֣נוּ ע֑וֹד הֶעְתִּ֖יקוּ מֵהֶ֣ם מִלִּֽים׃

They are dismayed; they answer no more. Words have departed from them.

KJV They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Elihu now addresses the audience (or perhaps speaks to himself) about the friends in the third person. The verb chattu ('they were dismayed, they were shattered') from chatat conveys defeat. The phrase he'etiqu mehem millin ('words have moved away from them') is a vivid image — words themselves have abandoned the three friends. Language has left the building. Elihu steps into the verbal vacuum.
Job 32:16

וְ֭הוֹחַלְתִּי כִּי־לֹ֣א יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ כִּ֥י עָ֝מְד֗וּ לֹא־עָ֥נוּ עֽוֹד׃

I waited, but they do not speak. They stand there; they answer no more.

KJV When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;)

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb hochalti returns from verse 11, forming a frame: Elihu waited, listened, evaluated, and waited again. The friends' silence is now physical: amdu ('they stood still') — they are frozen, speechless, immobilized by their failure. The repetition of lo anu od ('they answered no more') from verse 15 hammers the point: the floor is empty.
Job 32:17

אַעֲנֶ֣ה אַף־אָ֣נִי חֶלְקִ֑י אֲחַוֶּ֖ה דֵּ֝עִ֗י אַף־אָֽנִי׃

I too will answer my part. I too will declare what I know.

KJV I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The emphatic af ani ('I also, even I') appears twice, framing the verse. The word chelqi ('my part, my portion') suggests Elihu sees the conversation as having allotted shares — each speaker has a portion, and his has not yet been delivered. The verb achavveh ('I will declare') from chavvah appears for the third time (vv. 6, 10, 17), the keynote verb of this poem: Elihu's purpose is to declare, to make known, to set forth.
Job 32:18

כִּ֭י מָלֵ֣תִי מִלִּ֑ים הֱ֝צִיקַ֗תְנִי ר֣וּחַ בִּטְנִֽי׃

For I am full of words; the spirit in my belly presses hard against me.

KJV For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word beten ('belly, womb, inner body') grounds the experience in the gut, not the head. Elihu's wisdom is not intellectual but visceral — it is felt in the body as pressure. This connects to the ancient Near Eastern concept that the internal organs were the seat of thought and emotion.
Job 32:19

הִנֵּ֣ה בִ֭טְנִי כְּיַ֣יִן לֹא־יִפָּתֵ֑חַ כְּאֹב֖וֹת חֲדָשִׁ֣ים יִבָּקֵֽעַ׃

My belly is like wine that has no vent — like new wineskins, ready to burst.

KJV Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This image will be echoed in Jesus' saying about new wine in old wineskins (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37-38). The fermentation metaphor implies that Elihu's words are alive, growing, developing pressure of their own — they are not prepared speeches but living insights that demand expression.
Job 32:20

אֲדַבְּרָ֥ה וְיִרְוַח־לִ֑י אֶפְתַּ֖ח שְׂפָתַ֣י וְאֶעֱנֶֽה׃

Let me speak, so I can breathe. Let me open my lips and answer.

KJV I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The shift from 'I am full' (v. 18) to 'let me speak so I can breathe' (v. 20) completes the fermentation metaphor: sealed container, building pressure, release. Elihu's speech is presented not as a choice but as a physical necessity.
Job 32:21

אַל־נָ֣א אֶשָּׂ֣א פְנֵי־אִ֑ישׁ וְאֶל־אָ֝דָ֗ם לֹ֣א אֲכַנֶּֽה׃

I will not show favoritism to anyone, and I will not flatter any person.

KJV Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This pledge of impartiality echoes the prophetic tradition: Samuel (1 Samuel 12:3), Isaiah, and Amos all claim to speak without favoritism. Elihu positions himself as a truth-teller uncorrupted by social hierarchy. Whether his subsequent speeches live up to this standard is debatable.
Job 32:22

כִּ֤י לֹ֣א יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֲכַנֶּ֑ה כִּ֝מְעַ֗ט יִשָּׂאֵ֥נִי עֹשֵֽׂנִי׃

For I do not know how to flatter; if I did, my Maker would soon carry me off.

KJV For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yissa'eni ('would carry me away') from nasa can mean 'to lift up' (in blessing) or 'to carry off' (in judgment). Here it clearly means removal — God would take Elihu out of the conversation, out of the world. This verse establishes the theological stakes of Elihu's speech: he speaks under divine compulsion, and dishonesty would be fatal.
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