Thomas Aquinas

"But Bildad the Shuhite answering," etc. In what has gone before, blessed Job had answered Eliphaz's statement, effectively and profoundly emptying it out; but Bildad the Shuhite, agreeing with Eliphaz in the same view, had not grasped the profundity of blessed Job, and therefore he speaks against Job's response just as men are accustomed to speak against statements they have not understood. Now men who do not grasp the minds of speakers commonly fail in two respects: one, that they do not know when the one who is speaking has arrived at his intended goal; the other, that they cannot grasp the ordering of the speaker's discourse. And this appears manifestly in Bildad's words, for it is said, "But Bildad the Shuhite answering said: How long will you speak such things?" For it seemed to him that Job had drawn out his speech too far, since he neither considered nor understood to what end Job wished to bring his discourse; and likewise he did not grasp the ordering of the things Job had said, namely how they were joined to one another, and therefore he adds, "and the manifold spirit of the words of your mouth?" For he reckoned that, because Job had brought forth many things whose order he himself did not grasp, they were disjointed words, as it were of a man speaking various things without order of reason, out of an impulse of spirit, without rational sequence. And because, as has been said, Bildad had not grasped Job's intention, taking his words in another sense, he strives to reduce them to an absurdity. For Job, wishing above to exclude the position of Eliphaz, who held that adversities occur in this world on account of men's sins, and that sinners scourged by God, if they be converted, will be brought back to a state of prosperity, had spoken against both: for against the first, as was explained above, he had said, "Would that my sins and the calamity that I suffer were weighed in a balance." Against the second he had said, "I have despaired, I shall live no more," and many things of this kind, as is clear from what preceded. Now Job was saying these things intending that the punishment of sins and the reward of justice are not to be expected from God in this life; but Bildad, who knew nothing of another life, took these words as though Job intended to say that God does not punish sins nor reward good deeds, which seems to be contrary to divine justice, and therefore Bildad puts forward the objection, saying, "Does God pervert judgment, or does the Almighty subvert what is just?" As if he were saying: this follows from your words, if he punishes men in this world without sin, or beyond the measure of their sin, or if he does not render good things to those who have turned back to him. And it is to be noted that justice is corrupted in two ways, namely through the cunning of some wise man and through the violence of some powerful man; but in God there are both, perfect wisdom and omnipotence, and yet neither through the wisdom that is understood by the name of God does he, as it were cunningly acting, pervert judgment, nor through omnipotence does he, as it were violently, subvert what is just.

Now there were two things that seemed to prevent former prosperity from being restored to Job even if he should turn back to God, as Eliphaz had said. One of these was that the children he had lost were dead, and it could not be hoped that they would be raised to life again through his conversion; and therefore Bildad says, "even if your sons sinned against him, and he delivered them into the hand of their own iniquity" — as if he were saying: when you shall have turned back to God, you will recover those things which you lost on account of your sins; but your sons were crushed by death not on account of your sins but on account of their own, whence it is not contrary to Eliphaz's statement — in which he had said that through conversion you will return to prosperity — if your sons are not raised again once you have been converted. And it is to be noted that, because he believed the punishments of this present life happen on account of sins, and the last of the present punishments is death, then a man seems to be perfectly punished for sin when he is brought all the way to death for his sin; and therefore he says pointedly, "and he delivered them into the hand of their own iniquity," as it were into the power of their own sins, so that without any restraint they were led all the way to the final punishment for their sins.

The other thing that seemed to prevent a return to former prosperity was that the greater part of Job's lifetime had already passed and little remained, as Job had said above, whence it did not seem that in that little time his former prosperity could be sufficiently restored to him even if he were converted to God; and therefore Bildad promises him that a recompense will be made after his conversion, proportioned to the time, namely that he will obtain goods much greater than he had before, on account of the fact that he would have them for only a short time. And so Bildad first describes to him the manner of the conversion that is required, for which three things are needed. The first of these is that the sinner rise from sin without delay, and this is what he says: "yet if you, at daybreak" — that is, in timely fashion — "shall have arisen to God," having abandoned your sins, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 5:8, "delay not to be converted to the Lord." The second is that man make satisfaction for his sins, and as to this he says, "and shall have made supplication to the Almighty" — for among the works of satisfaction, prayer seems to be, as it were, the chief. The third is that man persevere, taking care against a relapse into sin, and therefore he says, "if you shall have walked pure and upright," namely, taking care against the uncleannesses of the flesh and against the injustices by which one's neighbor is harmed. This perfect conversion having thus been described, he then adds the promise of prosperity, saying, "forthwith he will awake for you" — for God seems, as it were, to sleep when he permits the just to be afflicted, but to awake when he defends them, according to that word, "Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord?" And he adds the effect of this awakening, saying, "and he will make the dwelling of your righteousness peaceful" — as if he were saying: your house and your household were disturbed in the time of your sin, but in the time of your righteousness it will have peace. And lest he might be able to complain of the shortness of the time, he promises an excess of prosperity, saying, "so that your former things shall have been small" — namely, in comparison with what follows — and this is what he adds: "and your latter things shall be multiplied exceedingly," so that the magnitude of your prosperity may compensate you for the time you were in adversity.

"For ask the former generation," etc. Bildad the Shuhite, in what precedes, defending the same position as Eliphaz the Temanite, had proposed that men divinely punished for sin in the present life would, after conversion, return to a state of prosperity, and this he now intends to prove. He proves it in two ways: first from experience, second from a comparison. For experience in particular matters is most effective for proving something, and the more so the longer it has been observed and found infallible. Now things that require a long span of time are proved above all through the memories of the ancients, and therefore, to prove his point, he has recourse to the memories of the ancients — as to the ancients, when he says, "For ask the former generation," and as to those immediately preceding, when he says, "and search diligently into the memory of the fathers," that is, the things your fathers hold in memory. Now to inquire of the former generation is to consider the writings of ancient deeds and the things that are reported of the ancients by common report; and because concerning ancient matters many things are both written and told in a fabulous manner, lest anyone should think himself deceived by this, he refers him to the fathers, who can relate the things they themselves saw. He shows the necessity of this inquiry, adding, "for we are but of yesterday" — as it were born yesterday — "and we are ignorant of ancient things on this account"; and this indeed he says to show the brevity of our life, whence he adds, "because our days upon earth are as a shadow" — for a shadow passes quickly, that is, as soon as the obstacle to the light is removed, and while the body moves, in relation to which the shadow occurs, the earlier shadow passes and another succeeds it: so too the days of man are in continuous passing, as one succeeds another. What benefit follows from the aforesaid inquiry he shows, adding, "they" — namely, the ancients and the fathers who have been asked — "will teach you the truth concerning the aforesaid matters," whether the fathers by word, or the ancients by writings and report; "and will bring forth sayings from their heart," which he adds to show the truthfulness of this teaching, as if he were saying: they will teach nothing other than what they perceived in their heart, because there is in them no reason to deceive.

He then introduces a comparison to prove his point, drawn from bodily things. And he sets forth the example of two things that grow from the earth, of which one requires moisture in the ground for its preservation, namely the "scirpus," that is, the rush, whence he says, "can the rush live without moisture?" The other requires watery places, namely the "carex," and these are broad plants, sharp at the top, which grow only in watery places, whence he adds, "or can the sedge grow without water?" For "carectum" is the term for a place in which plants of this kind grow; and that the rush requires moisture and the sedge water he shows because, by the mere withdrawal of moisture or water, they easily dry up, with no other cause of drying present. Now in other plants that grow from the earth there is a twofold cause of drying: one is natural, on account of age, the other is violent, when they are plucked up; but with both these causes absent, the rush and the sedge dry up from the sole withdrawal of moisture and water, and this is what he says: "while it is yet in flower" — that is, while it is yet in its youth and its vigor, by which the antiquity of time is excluded — "and it is not plucked by the hand," by which violence is excluded, "it withers before all other herbs" — that is, more easily than all other plants.

This he now applies to the matter at hand. Here it is to be considered that he understood man's cleaving to God to be, in this respect, the cause of worldly prosperity in the way that moisture is the cause of a plant's greenness, and this because he reckoned man's good to be earthly prosperity; but it is evident that man's good consists in this, that man cleaves to God, and therefore he believed that, since he does not cleave to God, his earthly prosperity fails him. This indeed is true of spiritual happiness, which is man's true good, but not of earthly prosperity, which is reckoned among the least of goods, as serving instrumentally toward man's true happiness; and therefore he adds, "such are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite shall perish." Here it is to be considered that, corresponding to the two things set down above, he here adds two corresponding things: for the sedge requires manifest water for its greenness, and by its withdrawal it dries up, while the rush requires water hidden in the ground and moistening it, and by its lack it dries up; similarly, according to his view, there are some who perish because there is withdrawn from them, in manifest fashion, a cleaving to God — namely, because they manifestly do works contrary to God — and these he signifies by those "who forget God"; for those who do not fear to act wickedly openly seem altogether to set aside reverence for God and not to have him in memory. There are others who, according to his view, perish through the withdrawal of a hidden cleaving to God, and these are the hypocrites, who outwardly pretend as if they cleave to God, but their heart is set on earthly things; and therefore, speaking of the hypocrite, he named "hope," while of those who forget God he named "ways" — that is, operations — because their works are turned away from God, whereas the hypocrite's is hope. How the hypocrite's hope perishes he shows when he adds, "his folly of heart shall not please him" — where it is to be considered that the hypocrite has a heart that is indeed vain and negligent as to spiritual things, but solicitous as to temporal things, and this indeed pleases him as long as things go well for him in temporal matters according to what he hopes; but if temporal things be withdrawn from him, then it is necessary that it displease him that he did not have a true and firm heart toward God. He says therefore, "his folly of heart shall not please him" — that is, when adversity comes it will displease him that he did not have a right heart toward God; and the solicitude he had concerning temporal things will altogether fail him, and this is what he adds: "and his confidence shall be like a spider's web" — that is, the things in which he trusted will easily be broken like a spider's webs: for he trusted not in divine help but in the strength of his house, that is, in abundance of riches, multitude of kinsmen, and other such things, but these will easily fail him, whence it follows, "he shall lean upon his house," that is, he will have confidence in the stability of the prosperity of his house, "and yet it shall not stand," because when divine help is lacking to him it will collapse. Now it happens that someone, foreseeing adversities to come, prepares certain supports for himself and his house against adversities, but this too will avail him nothing, for it follows, "he shall prop it up" — with certain remedies, that is, against adversities, just as certain supports are applied to a house that threatens ruin — "and yet neither he nor his house shall rise up" to a state of prosperity.

To this statement, which he had made concerning the fragility of such confidence, he now applies the comparison of the rush that he had set forth beforehand. For confidence in the rush seems to be had on two grounds: first from its own greenness, which nevertheless, when the sun comes and dries up the moisture of the ground, quickly fails, and as to this he says, "it seems moist" — namely the rush — "before the sun comes," which takes away its greenness; "and at its rising" — namely, that of the rush — "its shoot goes forth": for it seems to grow quickly and to produce its own fruit; and similarly the hypocrite, because from the beginning fortune smiles upon him, seems to prosper, but when the sun comes — that is, tribulation — his prosperity quickly fails. Second, confidence in the rush can be had from other things, namely either from the multitude of other rushes clinging together with it, or from the solidity of the place in which it grows, when it is born in a stony place; and therefore he says next, "over a heap of stones its roots" — namely, those of the rush — "shall be thickened," insofar as the roots of many rushes are joined together at once — which he says as to the first point; as to the second he says, "and it shall abide among the stones." So too can some hypocrite have confidence in his own stability, not only on account of his own prosperity but also on account of the multitude of his kinsmen and household, or even on account of the strength of the kingdom or city in which he dwells. But this confidence of his fails him just as happens with the rush, for it follows: "if someone swallows it up" — namely, the rush — "from its place, that place will deny it and say, 'I do not know you'" — as if he were saying: the rush is so torn up from its place that neither does any trace of it appear in the place, nor does its place do anything toward that same rush being planted there again. And he adds the reason, saying, "for this is the joy of its way" — or of its life — "that from the earth others may spring up again" — as if he were saying: the process and life of rushes dwelling together in some place does not tend by natural appetite toward this, nor is it preserved by this, that the very same rush in number which has been torn up should be replanted, but toward this, that others of the same species should be born again; so too it is when someone, through death or in some other way, is separated from some company of the strong: he is at once, as it were, given over to oblivion, according to that word of the Psalm, "I am forgotten as one dead from the heart"; but such a company rejoices in those who succeed to it, according to that word of Ecclesiastes 4:14, "another is born poor in the kingdom. I have seen all the living who walk under the sun, with the second youth who shall rise up in his place." Now these things have been introduced in order to show that, even though some prosperity sometimes befalls the wicked, it is nevertheless not something firm in which they can trust, but it quickly passes, whence it is to be reckoned as nothing.

From all that has been said above, he consequently shows what he intends, saying, "God will not cast away the simple" — that is, he will not put him far from himself so as not to sustain him, the one who cleaves to him with a simple heart — "nor will he reach out his hand to the malignant" — that is, he will not give them help so that their prosperity may be confirmed. And because Job could say: whatever you say, and whatever you may wish to confirm by comparisons, yet I have experienced the contrary in myself, who, though I was simple, suffer adversity, and my malignant adversaries have prevailed against me — therefore, to exclude this, he adds, "until your mouth be filled with laughter, and your lips with rejoicing" — as if he were saying: what I have said is true to this extent, that you will experience this in yourself, provided, however, that you be simple, so that from the prosperity that will follow your joy will burst forth into laughter and rejoicing, which are wont to arise from the greatness of gladness; and on the contrary, "those who hate you shall be clothed with confusion" — that is, they shall be manifestly and in many ways confounded, so that confusion shall be to them as a garment. And lest this should seem impossible to anyone on account of the present prosperity in which they seem to flourish, he adds, "and the tabernacle of the wicked shall not stand" — for by "tabernacle," in which very many of the Orientals were accustomed to dwell and to keep their riches and furnishings, can be understood everything that pertains to the prosperity of the present life. It is to be considered, moreover, that Bildad made mention of the hypocrite and the simple because he reckoned that Job had not truly been a saint but a hypocrite, and that his prosperity had therefore not been firm; but if he should begin to be simple, he promises him that prosperity will come to him.