Job 15 and Book of Job

Once the friends have finished their first round of speeches, they really have very little more to add. Their subsequent speeches mostly cover old ground. It would be a tired exercise, for example, just to show how Eliphaz in 15:15 reiterates his point about the uncleanness even of heavenly creatures from 4:18 or how Eliphaz in 15:10 appeals to tradition as Bildad did in 8:8. Probably the most significant reason that the dialogue continues is that Job has so much more to say. We get the impression that he is maturing or developing right before our eyes, while the friends remain static in their self-satisfied theology. Shakespeare was not the first to discover that character development in the course of drama is one of the most alluring features of that literary form.

But even if Eliphaz and the others remain relatively static, there is one feature of Job 15 that should be noted. Eliphaz spends 19 verses (vv. 17-35), more than half of the chapter, detailing the gruesome ultimate fate of the wicked. When we consider that he is the most favorable of the friends to Job, both in 4-5 and his final speech of chapter 22, what can this mean?

Though some commentators take this as a sign of change of heart in Eliphaz, as if Job's tirade made him angry and forced him to change his tack with Job, I think that Eliphaz remains consistently "pro Job" in his speeches. Why then the long attack on the wicked, since Eliphaz doesn't think that Job is one of them?

We seek an answer in the psychology of dealing with huge distress. In short, when a person, such as Eliphaz, is confronted with great tragedy and does not mention it expressly to the one affected, references to it will come out in inappropriate ways during the course of the subsequent conversation. Though unmentioned, Job's sorry fate is always in the forefront of Eliphaz's mind. It takes over his imagery and his vocabulary in 15:17-35 even while he is trying to hide its effect on him. It may be that he is just afraid (cf. 6:21); it may be that the images are too strong to be suppressed. It is like living in New York City on September 15, 2001 and trying to ignore the tragedy of four days before.

The Fate of the Wicked

So, even though Eliphaz remains generally friendly to Job, in at least six instances in 15:17-35 he mentions the fate of the wicked in language similar to Job's current fate. Note the tremendously insensitive beginning of his speech, even before v. 17. Eliphaz asks whether the wise should "answer with windy knowledge and fill themselves with the east wind (15:2)." Of course he knows that it was the east wind, the desert wind, that caused the collapse of the house killing Job's children (1:19). He goes on. "The wicked writhe in pain all their days (15:20)." Isn't Job so writhing? "Terrifying sounds are in their ears...(15:21)." Didn't Job talk about how God terrified him with dreams and visions (7:14)? "...in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them (15:21)." How else can one understand what happened to Job in 1-2? "They despair of returning from darkness (15:22)" and "darkness is ready at hand (15:23)." Isn't the language of darkness very much part of Job's vocabulary now (3:3ff; 10:20ff.)? "....they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle (15:24)." Job will develop the metaphor of being attacked by God in battle throughout his speeches. "They will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure (15:29)." What does Eliphaz think happened to Job? Finally, there is a reference to "fire" in 15:34, which no doubt would make Job conjure up memories of the fire that consumed his servants and goods.

Eliphaz's speech in Job 15 gives us insight into the emotional costs of not speaking directly about a great tragedy. Even if Eliphaz remains well-inclined toward Job, Job could be forgiven for hearing a direct attack on him in Eliphaz's description of the fate of the wicked. It further hardens Job's resolve and convinces him that his friends, indeed, are "miserable comforters (16:2)."

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