Literal Commentary on Job (Expositio super Iob ad litteram)

But Eliphaz the Themanite answering said: Can man be compared to God, and so forth. When the words of blessed Job had ended, Eliphaz did not take his words in the sense in which they were spoken: for whereas Job had said, in order to show the loftiness of the matter, "Is my dispute against a man?", Eliphaz took this saying as though Job intended to dispute contentiously with God, and on this account he charges him with presumption from a threefold consideration. First, because someone is provoked to dispute or contend with another when he sees that the other is comparable to himself in knowledge of the truth, so that something hidden may be searched out by mutual conferring; but it is exceedingly presumptuous for a man to dare to compare his own knowledge to God's — hence he says, "Can man be compared to God," even though his knowledge were perfect? As if to say: no, because the knowledge of God is infinite. Second, someone is provoked to dispute or reason with another on account of certain things he has received from him, so that a comparison may be made between what was given and what was received; but it is presumptuous for a man to think that the good he does is useful to God — hence the Psalmist says, "I have said to the Lord: thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods" (Psalm 15:2), whence he adds, "What doth it profit God if thou be just," namely by doing right works? "Or what shalt thou give him if thy life be spotless," namely by abstaining from sins? Third, someone is provoked to contend with another in judgment on account of fear of a higher power summoning him to judgment — which it is impious to think concerning God — hence he adds, "Shall he that feareth," namely some judge, "accuse thee," namely by bringing charges, "and come with thee into judgment," as though summoned as an equal?

Then, because Job had said that their judgments were unjust when they said that his house had perished like the tabernacles of the wicked, Eliphaz intends to show that his own judgment is correct, when he adds, "And not because of thy manifold wickedness, and thy infinite iniquities?" As if to say: God accuses you by inflicting punishments not out of fear but out of love of justice, that he may punish your sins; hence "wickedness" can be referred to the sins by which he harmed others, while "iniquity" refers to the sins by which he omitted the works of justice; hence he calls the wickedness "manifold" but the iniquities "infinite," because man sins more by omitting than by committing.

Hence he subjoins, first, concerning the injuries inflicted on his neighbors, which are sometimes inflicted by way of calumny under the pretext of justice — hence he adds, "For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause," namely without necessary cause, since you could have trusted your brethren without a pledge; but sometimes injuries are inflicted with no coloring of justice at all, and as to this he adds, "And thou hast stripped the naked of their clothing," which can be understood in two ways: in one way, that by despoiling them you left them naked, reserving nothing for them; in another way, that although they were already naked, that is, not sufficiently clothed, you took away from them even the little that they had. He then adds concerning the omission of good works, saying, "Thou hast not given water to the weary," that is, to one who needed it on account of thirst arising from the labor of the road — as if to say: you brought no help or comfort to those laboring and afflicted; "and thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry," as if to say: you did not come to the aid of the needy. And these things indeed are said with respect to the sins he committed as a private person.

He then adds concerning the sins pertaining to his rulership, among which he first sets down that he obtained rulership not through justice but through violence, hence he says, "In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land," that is, through your power you acquired dominion over the land. Second, he sets down that he governed his subjects not through justice but through power, according to that saying of Wisdom 2:11, "Let our strength be the law of injustice," hence he adds, "and being very mighty thou didst hold it," as if to say: through the excellence of your power you used your subjects at your whim. Third, he sets down unjust judgments, namely that he did not render justice to weak persons, hence he adds, "Thou hast sent widows away empty," namely because you did not do them justice against their adversaries, according to Isaiah 1:23, "The cause of the widow cometh not in to them"; and again, what is worse, he oppressed the lowliest persons, hence he adds, "and thou hast broken the arms of the fatherless," as if to say: whatever strength was in them you brought to nothing, contrary to what is said in the Psalm, "to judge for the fatherless and the humble" (Psalm 9:35 [10:18]).

And for these faults he adds that punishments came upon him, hence he adds, "Therefore thou art surrounded with snares," that is, with adversities pressing you on every side so that no place of escape lies open once you have fallen into them; nor could you have foreseen them beforehand, because they came upon you suddenly, hence he adds, "and sudden fear troubleth thee," because evils came upon him suddenly, from which he could also fear other evils. He shows the reason why they came upon him suddenly when he adds, "and thou didst think thou shouldst not see darkness," that is, that you would not come to these perplexities in which you do not know what to do — which refers to the snares; then, as to the fear that troubles, he adds, "and thou wast not to be oppressed with the violence of overflowing waters," as if to say: you thought you would never come to be oppressed by the violence and multitude of adversities coming upon you from above, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "When they shall say, peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them."

Now the fact that one does not think he will suffer punishments for his sins pertains to his not believing that God has providence over human affairs; to which point he perhaps wished to turn back what Job had said, "Shall any man teach God knowledge?" — which he wrongly interpreted as a defect of divine knowledge, and therefore he seems consequently to impute to Job a denial of God's providence. Now it must be considered that some deny that God has knowledge and providence of human affairs on account of the loftiness of his substance, to which they say his knowledge is so proportioned that he knows nothing but himself, thinking that his knowledge would be debased if it extended to lower things — hence he adds, "Dost thou think that God is higher than heaven," that is, than the whole universe of creatures, "and is exalted above the height of the stars," that is, above the highest of creatures? And he adds the conclusion of this line of thought: "And thou sayest: What doth God know," namely concerning these lower things? Yet men of this kind do not withdraw the knowledge of things from God altogether, but say that he knows them only in a universal way, as by knowing the nature of being or universal causes, hence he adds, "and he judgeth, as it were, through a mist" — for to know something only in a universal way is to know it imperfectly, and therefore he calls this kind of knowledge misty, just as happens with something seen from afar as if in a mist, because one perceives that it is a man but not which man he is. And he employs a comparison drawn from what happens among men, among whom one who hides in some place is not seen by those who are outside that place, and likewise does not see them: "clouds are his covert, and he doth not consider our things," as if to say: just as he himself is hidden from us as if concealed by clouds, inasmuch as we cannot fully know the things that are above the clouds, so conversely he does not see the things that pertain to us, existing as it were beneath the clouds — just as it is said in Ezekiel 9:9, in the person of certain men, "The Lord hath forsaken the earth, the Lord seeth not." For they held that, because the things that are on earth are subject to many defects and disorders, they are not ruled by divine providence, but only the heavenly things, whose order remains unfailing, hence it follows, "and he walketh about the poles of heaven"; now a "pole" [cardo] is that on which a door turns, whence by this he designates that heaven is moved by God's providence, and that from its motion, as from a certain door, divine providence descends even to these lower things: for just as they say that God knows human affairs, but in a universal way, so they say that he governs human affairs, but through universal causes which he governs directly per se; and perhaps he wished to refer this to what Job had said above, "who judgeth the exalted."

"Dost thou mark the path of ages," and so forth. Because Eliphaz seems in the words already given to have imputed to Job that he did not believe God has providence over human affairs, he now consequently seems to impute to him the effect of this unbelief: for those who do not believe that God cares for human affairs are wont, having cast off the fear of God, to follow their own will in all things — hence he says, "Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages?" That is, the course of those who believe nothing except these temporal things which they see, and from this proceed to works of injustice, hence he adds, "which wicked men have trodden" — for those are said to tread some path who frequently, and without any doubt, and deliberately, wear a way by walking it: thus those who do not believe in divine providence frequently, and securely, and deliberately do works of injustice — which does not happen to those who believe in divine providence, although they sometimes, out of weakness, incline toward injustice. And lest they seem to have done this with impunity, he adds, "who were taken away before their time," that is, who died before the natural span of life was completed, and he assigns the cause, adding, "and a flood overthrew their foundation" — now the foundation of each man is that on which his hope principally rests: such men, however, place their hope not in God but in temporal things alone, which are corrupted by the very course of the mutability of things, which he calls a "flood." Now he explains what this aforesaid path is, adding, "who said to God: Depart from us," namely scorning him and his spiritual goods as to their affection; but as to their understanding, he describes their unbelief, adding, "and as if the Almighty could do nothing, they esteemed him" — because, namely, if the care of human affairs does not pertain to him, he can do nothing well or ill to man, which is contrary to the very notion of omnipotence; and to aggravate their fault he adds concerning their ingratitude, saying, "whereas he had filled their houses with good things," namely temporal goods which are given to men by God; and to disprove their assertion he adds, "may their counsel be far from me."

And lest it should seem that the just would be overthrown together with the wicked, he excludes this, adding, "The just shall see and shall rejoice," by which it is given to understand that they themselves will not be overthrown but will be in joy; and lest it should seem that they would thereby fall short of justice by rejoicing at the overthrow of others, he adds, "and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn," as if to say: with their innocence preserved, they will be able to mock them for being overthrown contrary to their own opinion — for in this the just rejoice together in divine justice; and this seems properly to answer what Job had said, "after me, if it be seen, laugh ye at my words," as though complaining that he was mocked by them. And lest anyone should doubt that the foundation of the wicked was overthrown by the flood, he proposes this as though manifest, under a question, saying, "Is not their exaltation cut down?" For they seemed, through earthly prosperity or even through their own arrogance, to be raised on high after the manner of a tree; but just as the exaltation of a tree is suddenly stopped by its being cut down, so also their elevation suddenly ceases through their being cut off. Now it sometimes happens that a tree that has been cut down cannot indeed grow any higher, but its length nevertheless still remains; yet if fire be applied to it, no trace of its former height remains — so also, if, when the sinful man has died or been cast down, his children too perish through the fire of adversity and his riches are plundered, nothing at all will seem to remain of his former height — hence it follows, "and fire hath devoured their remains," that is, the burning heat of tribulation, according to James 1:11, "The sun rose with a burning heat and dried up the grass"; now the "remains" of a man are said to be his sons or whatever other things of his remain after him.

Since, therefore, he had said that such an overthrow happens to the wicked because they strove against God, so that Job might be able to avoid the like, he adds, "Agree, then, with him, and have peace," as if to say: you have been troubled on this account, because you have wished to contend against him; "and by this," namely, by the peace by which you shall be reconciled to him, "thou shalt have the best fruits," as if to say: whatever can be best, you shall obtain, as it were, as the fruit of this peace. He shows how he ought to agree with him, adding, "Receive the law from his mouth," as if to say: do not think that human affairs are not ruled by divine providence — rather, order your life according to the law of his governance. And because some profess the law of the divine governance but do not follow it in deed, he therefore adds, "and lay up his words in thy heart," namely that you may meditate on his commands and dispose yourself to keep them. He shows how he shall thereby have the best fruits, adding, "If thou return to the Almighty," namely that you believe in his omnipotence and subject yourself to him, "thou shalt be built up," as if to say: the prosperity of your house, which has been destroyed, shall be restored. He shows how one ought to return perfectly to God, adding, "and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle" — and it must be understood as an "if," so that the letter is read thus: if you put iniquity far from your tabernacle, "he," namely God, "will give thee flint instead of earth, and torrents of gold instead of flint," so that what he says, "thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle," is an explanation of what he had said, "if thou return to the Almighty." And he does not say, "if thou put iniquity far from thyself," but "from thy tabernacle," wishing to suggest that adversity had come upon him not only for the sin of his own person but also for the sin of his household. Now what he says, "he will give flint instead of earth," refers back to what he had said, "thou shalt be built up," so that it may be understood that a restoration is to come, but to something greater, namely that for what was lost he will render greater things: for flint is more precious than a clod of earth, and gold than flint.

He then enumerates what these goods are that he promises will be restored to him, setting down first security through God's protection, when he adds, "And the Almighty will be against thy enemies," namely lest they be able again to steal away what shall be restored to you by God; second, he sets down abundance of riches, when he says, "and silver shall be heaped up to thee" — for under the name of silver all riches are signified, because money is customarily made from silver. And lest it should seem that he promises only bodily goods, he adds concerning spiritual goods, among which he first sets down that man should love God and delight in him, hence it follows, "Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Almighty," that is, when you have peace with him you will delight in him; and because each one gladly looks upon that in which he delights, he adds, "and shalt lift up thy face to God," that is, your mind, that you may frequently contemplate him; and from this you will receive confidence to have recourse to him, hence he adds, "thou shalt pray to him"; and this not without fruit, for it follows, "and he will hear thee"; now those who are heard by God are wont to fulfill the vows which they promised in asking, hence he adds, "and thou shalt pay thy vows," as it were in a sign of being heard. Then he promises a prosperous outcome of his purpose, when he adds, "Thou shalt decree a thing," that is, you shall order by your providence how something is to come to be, "and it shall come to thee," that is, your disposition will not be frustrated; and lest you doubt what is to be decreed, this too will be made manifest to you, hence he adds, "and light shall shine in thy ways," that is, it will clearly appear to you by which paths you ought to proceed. He shows the reason for these promises, adding, "For he that hath been humbled," namely by subjecting himself to God in his affection, "shall be in glory," which namely he shall obtain from God; "and he that shall bow down his eyes," namely lest through his understanding he think something proud and foolish against God, "he shall be saved," namely delivered from evils and established in goods. Now not only interior humility of affection and understanding is required for salvation, but also exterior purity of works, hence he adds, "the innocent shall be saved"; and he shows by what merit he shall be saved, adding, "and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands," that is, by the innocence of his works.

And it must be considered that here Eliphaz not only promises Job, if he should be converted, temporal goods which can be common to the good and the wicked alike, as he had done above, but also spiritual goods which are proper to the good — yet only in this present life.