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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Job 22

Job 22: Eliphaz names specific wrongs and calls Job to return

General context

Eliphaz the Temanite answers Job. He opens by asking whether a man can be profitable to God and whether it is any pleasure to the Almighty that Job is righteous. He then asks, "Is not thy wickedness great?" and lists charges: Job has taken a pledge from his brother for nothing, stripped the naked of their clothing, withheld water from the weary and bread from the hungry, sent widows away empty, and broken the arms of the fatherless. Therefore, Eliphaz says, snares surround Job and darkness covers him. He points to God in the height of heaven and reports Job as saying that God cannot judge through the dark cloud. He recalls the old way of wicked men who were cut down before their time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood, and who told God to depart; the righteous see their end and are glad. Eliphaz closes with an appeal: acquaint thyself with God, receive the law from his mouth, return to the Almighty and put away iniquity. Then, he says, Job will lay up gold as dust, the Almighty will be his defence, his prayer will be heard, and God will deliver the innocent, delivered by the pureness of Job's hands.

Cited passages: Job 22:1, Job 22:2, Job 22:3, Job 22:5, Job 22:6, Job 22:7, Job 22:9, Job 22:10, Job 22:11, Job 22:12, Job 22:13, Job 22:15, Job 22:16, Job 22:17, Job 22:19, Job 22:21, Job 22:22, Job 22:23, Job 22:24, Job 22:25, Job 22:27, Job 22:30

Job 22 (KJV)

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

4Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

5Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

7Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

8But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

9Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

10Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

11Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.

12Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

13And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?

14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

15Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

17Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

18Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

20Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

30He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

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Historical context

The speaker throughout is Eliphaz the Temanite; the narrator supplies only the opening line. The charges in verses 6 to 9 are Eliphaz's claims, stated as fact but given no narrated support anywhere in the chapter. Likewise the words "How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?" are put in Job's mouth by Eliphaz with "thou sayest"; Job does not say them in this chapter. The wicked men "cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood" are not named or dated. "The gold of Ophir" is used as a measure of wealth, and the chapter gives no location for Ophir. The promises of verses 23 to 30 are conditional, hanging on "If thou return to the Almighty." Eliphaz is identified only by "the Temanite"; the chapter says nothing about where the conversation takes place or when.

Cited passages: Job 22:1, Job 22:6, Job 22:9, Job 22:13, Job 22:16, Job 22:24, Job 22:23

Literary context

The speech moves in five steps. Rhetorical questions about whether God gains anything from human righteousness open it. A catalogue of specific charges follows, framed by "thou hast." A "Therefore" links the charges to Job's present snares and darkness. Eliphaz then sets the height of heaven against a saying he attributes to Job, and recalls the wicked of "the old way" whom the innocent laugh to scorn. The close shifts from accusation to invitation, with a run of "thou shalt" promises: built up, gold as dust, defence, plenty of silver, prayer heard, light on thy ways. The chapter's two ends contrast sharply. It begins with "Is not thy wickedness great?" and ends with deliverance "by the pureness of thine hands." The charge that Job "stripped the naked of their clothing" and the promise that he will "lift up thy face unto God" belong to the same speaker, so the speech offers restoration on the condition that the accusation is accepted.

Cited passages: Job 22:2, Job 22:6, Job 22:10, Job 22:12, Job 22:15, Job 22:19, Job 22:23, Job 22:26, Job 22:28, Job 22:5, Job 22:30

Key moments

  1. Can a man profit God? (Job 22:2). Eliphaz opens by asking whether human righteousness is any gain to the Almighty.
  2. Wickedness declared great (Job 22:5). Eliphaz asks whether Job's iniquities are infinite, turning from questions to accusation.
  3. Charges of cruelty (Job 22:6). Eliphaz says Job took pledges for nothing and stripped the naked of clothing.
  4. Words put in Job's mouth (Job 22:13). Eliphaz reports Job as saying God cannot judge through the dark cloud.
  5. The old way of the wicked (Job 22:16). Eliphaz recalls wicked men cut down before their time by a flood.
  6. Call to return (Job 22:23). Eliphaz promises that Job will be built up if he returns to the Almighty.
  7. Pureness of hands (Job 22:30). Eliphaz ends by saying the innocent are delivered through the pureness of Job's hands.

For reflection

Eliphaz lists wrongs he says Job has done, and the chapter offers no narrated evidence for any of them. What would it take to tell a charge that follows from a theory apart from one that follows from something seen?

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