Literal Commentary on Job (Expositio super Iob ad litteram)

Elihu also proceeded, and said, and so forth. Elihu had earlier set forth two points in Job's words against which he intended to dispute: namely, that Job said he was righteous, and that he had imputed iniquity of judgment to God, according to how Elihu had interpreted Job's words; and against these two points Elihu had already disputed above. Now he intends once more, by another route, to dispute against the same points; hence it is said, Elihu also proceeded, that is, adding further arguments to those already given, and said, namely what follows. Among these words, he first rouses him to attention, saying, bear with me a little, because he intends briefly, under a single response, to dispute against the two points aforesaid; hence he adds, and I will show you, namely the truth of the matter under discussion. And lest he seem superfluous, since he already seemed to have shown above what he wished, he adds, for I have yet something to speak on God's behalf, as if to say: I still have other arguments at hand by which I may defend the equity of the divine judgment. And because he intends to bring forward arguments once more against both of the aforesaid points, he adds, I will fetch my knowledge from the beginning, as if to say: against the whole of what was said from the beginning I will again bring forward arguments according to my own judgment; and that God, his maker, is the one owed this proof, he adds, and I will prove my maker, that is, God who made me, to be just, thereby excluding iniquity from his judgment, which you, Job, seem to impute to him in order to assert yourself just. And lest anyone say that what he was about to say proceeded not from true knowledge but from false opinion, he adds, for truly my words are without a lie, as if to say: I am not going to say anything but what is true and agrees with right knowledge; hence he adds, and perfect knowledge shall be proved to you, that is, the proofs that follow will convince you, drawn from things that appear to belong to perfect knowledge.

Having thus set these things forth as a kind of preface, he begins to dispute concerning the aforesaid words that he was imputing to Job, and first against Job's having said that he was righteous, which he sets out to refute in this way. Job, in the time of his prosperity, was a man of great power; now it sometimes happens that certain men persecute the powerful, either out of envy or out of fear, by which they fear lest they be oppressed by them through their power — and this indeed properly belongs to the powerless, who both envy the powerful and fear their oppressions. But this cannot be said of God, who is preeminent in power; hence he adds, God does not cast away the mighty, since he himself is mighty — from which it is given to understand that God hates nothing in man in which man is made like to him, because since God is the very essence of goodness, it cannot be that anything be made like him except in what is good. From this it is clear that God does not persecute anyone because they are powerful, but because iniquity is sometimes found in them, and it is for this that they are punished by God; hence he adds, but he does not save the wicked, that is, he condemns them; and he shows the cause of this condemnation, adding, and he grants judgment to the poor, that is, he passes judgment upon the wicked powerful on behalf of the poor who have been oppressed by them. Nor does he, on account of power, cease to come to the aid of the just; hence he adds, he does not withdraw his eyes from the just — namely a man even though powerful — that is, the regard of his kindness and mercy, according to the word of the Psalm: The eyes of the Lord are upon the just (Psalm 33:16). And that he does not withdraw his mercy from the powerful if they are just, he shows through the benefits he confers upon the powerful: first indeed by establishing their power; hence he adds, and he sets kings on the throne forever, namely if they have been just. Second, because he advances them to greater things; hence he adds, and they, namely those set upon the throne, are lifted up, that is, exalted to greater things, in that God increases both their power and their riches. Third, in that even if they have been punished for their sins, he has mercy on them if they are willing to repent; hence he adds, and if they, namely kings, shall be in chains, that is, placed in prison, and shall be bound with the cords of poverty, that is, if, placed in prison, they suffer poverty, which is a kind of bond by which men are bound so that they cannot carry out their works, and are moreover constrained by many miseries — and yet to them, thus placed in misery, God first confers this benefit, that he makes them recognize the former sins for which they are punished; hence he adds, he will show them their works, that is, he will make them know that what they did was unjust; hence he adds, and their crimes, as if to say: he will make them know that the works they did were criminal. And as to the matter of what they sinned in, he shows this, adding, because they were violent: for this is the proper sin of the powerful, that they inflict violence upon their subjects, using their power as though it were a law of justice. Nor does he only make them recognize their past sins, but also shows them that they are being punished for their sins; hence he adds, he will also uncover their ear, that is, he will make them understand that God is speaking to them by punishing them, namely that they are punished for their sins; hence he adds, that he may correct them, as if to say: this he will do to make them recognize that God has punished them unto correction. And further he will persuade them to repent; hence he adds, and he speaks, namely inwardly or through an outward admonisher, that they may turn back from iniquity, namely by repenting of their former sins. And he shows the fruit of this repentance, adding, if they shall hear, namely resolving in their heart, and shall observe, namely fulfilling it in deed, they shall be restored to their former state, and thus they will complete their days in good, namely of virtue or of earthly prosperity, and their years in glory, namely earthly glory; but if they shall not hear, that is, if they do not obey the inward inspiration so as to repent, they shall pass by the sword, that is, they shall be led forth from prison to death by the sword, and shall be consumed, that is, destroyed, in folly, that is, on account of their own folly.

Here it must be considered that Elihu, in this, seems to agree with Job's friends in holding that present adversities are the punishments of sins, and that through repentance a man returns to his former prosperity: but though this sometimes happens, it is not always so, according to Job's own view. But because it sometimes happens that some suffer adversities whose sins do not appear, lest by this Elihu's aforesaid position be undercut, he interprets them as being hypocrites, insofar as they pretend to a justice they do not have, and crafty, insofar as they use certain cunning devices so as to commit injustice under the color of justice, and by this very fact they sin the more gravely; hence he adds, hypocrites and crafty men provoke the wrath of God, because God detests this the more; such men also do not easily repent even amid scourges, because they esteem themselves just, just as they are praised by others; hence he adds, neither will they cry out, namely to God asking for mercy, when they have been bound, namely with chains and the cords of poverty. In this he gives one to understand that he had judged Job to have been a hypocrite and a crafty man, and that therefore, amid his punishments, he should recognize his own sin. And because such men do not repent amid their punishments, they are therefore not freed from adversity; hence he adds, their soul shall die in the storm, which is to say it shall suffer various anguishes even unto death, and their life, namely it shall fail, among the effeminate, namely those who have no strength to free themselves from the hand of their oppressors. And rightly does he compare hypocrites to the effeminate, because it is from smallness of soul that men become hypocrites: for it is proper to the great-souled man to be open and manifest, as is said in Ethics IV.

And because he had said that God comes to the aid of the powerful when set in tribulation, lest he seem to be calling God a respecter of persons, he shows that God confers the same benefit also upon the poor; hence he adds, he will deliver the poor man out of his distress, namely by freeing him from adversity; and he shows the order of this deliverance, adding, and he will open his ear in tribulation, that is, he will make him understand that he is being punished for his sins, and he leads him to repentance, just as he had said above concerning the powerful.

Now he applies to the person of Job what he had said above in common; and first, since he had said that God brings salvation in tribulation both to the poor and to the powerful, he concludes that Job too can hope for such salvation from God, when he adds, therefore he will save you from a narrow mouth into a very wide space, that is, from the tribulation which is like a certain narrow opening through which a man enters into a certain breadth of various miseries: for one evil becomes for a man the cause of diverse evils, and the multiplication of such evils can proceed even to infinity, so that one can never arrive at a state of rest — and this is what he adds, and having no foundation beneath it, namely on which a man might rest, that is, when he shall have descended into the depth of evils, which seems especially to pertain to the punishments that come after death, which endure forever without rest. Nor does he only promise him deliverance from evils if he is willing to recognize his sin and repent, but also an abundance of goods; hence he adds, and the rest of your table shall be full of fatness, as if to say: with security and quiet you will be able to eat abundantly of the goods that will be restored to you by God. And because he had shown that God does not cast away the powerful, but the wicked, whereas Job seemed to have been cast away by God through many adversities, he adds, your cause has been judged as that of the wicked, as if to say: you have not been punished because you were powerful but as though wicked; and against this he promises him recompense if he shall repent, when he adds, you shall receive your cause and judgment, that is, your cause and judgment will be restored to you, so that you may be able to examine the causes of others and judge concerning them. And as though this had already come to pass, he warns him how he ought to conduct himself in that state: now it sometimes happens that judges depart from justice on account of anger, and as to this he says, therefore let not anger overcome you, so that you might oppress someone unjustly, namely when you shall receive cause and judgment. Sometimes, however, judges depart from justice on account of desire for gifts, and as to this he adds, nor let a multitude of gifts incline you, namely in that state of future authority. It also sometimes happens that someone, out of sheer pride, disdains to do justice for others, and as to this he adds, lay aside your greatness, that is, the pride of your soul, without tribulation, that is, before tribulation is sent upon you by God for your humbling. Sometimes, however, it happens that judges depart from justice, showing deference to certain powerful men out of fear, and as to this he adds, and put down all who are strong in might, namely your might; or however strong they may be in their own might, do not hesitate to put them down through justice. Sometimes, moreover, it happens that judges fail in justice, sparing offenders for the sake of their own repose; hence he adds, do not prolong the night, that is, do not wish to sleep too much so as not to attend to the dispatch of justice; or, do not prolong the night, that is, do not allow the justice of the cause to lie hidden for long, but hasten so that the truth may be made manifest; and he shows the reason, adding, so that peoples may rise up in their place, namely in the place of the strong, as if to say: do not so prolong judgment that the whole people be stirred up by the violence of the strong and come to disturb you on account of their injuries; or otherwise, do not prolong the night, so that peoples may rise up in their place, as if to say: do not delay to exercise judgment against the strong, lest perhaps through their power they find many supporters who rise up in their defense, and thus your judgment be impeded. Now all these things tend to this, that in the state of future prosperity he might avoid injustice; hence he adds, take care that you do not turn aside to iniquity, namely through any of the aforesaid ways or any others. Now Job might say that this admonition was superfluous, because he himself was accustomed to pursue justice diligently, as he had said above in chapter 29:14; and therefore Elihu adds, for you began to follow this, namely iniquity, after misery, namely in this, that you reckon yourself more righteous than God, and therefore you must take care not to turn aside to injustice, should it happen to you to return to a state of prosperity.

Behold, God is exalted in his strength, and so forth. After Elihu had disproved Job's words as to his having said he was righteous, here he strives to disprove his words as to Job's having believed that he had spoken against the justice of the divine judgment. Hence he first sets forth the sublimity of divine power, when he says, behold, God is exalted in his strength, that is, he has a power more sublime than all others: now it is not consonant with reason that a greater power be condemned of injustice by a lesser one. Second, he sets forth his authority, when he adds, and none is like him among the lawgivers, because indeed the makers of laws decree just things through his wisdom, as is said in Proverbs 8:15; hence he himself cannot be condemned of injustice by anyone's laws, but rather his own wisdom is the rule and measure of all laws. Third, he sets forth the incomprehensibility of his works, when he adds, who shall be able to search out his ways, that is, sufficiently to discover the reasons of his works? And from this he concludes, as it were, that God cannot be condemned of injustice; hence he adds, or who dares to say to him: you have wrought iniquity? For in order that anyone be condemned of iniquity, it is required that he be subject to a higher power, and that he be bound by another's laws, and that his works be known — none of which has place in God, as has been said.

Consequently he begins to show that man cannot search out the ways of God, that is, his works, saying, remember that you are ignorant of his work, of which men have sung, that is, wise men, whom he calls men on account of strength of soul; and he says have sung on account of the ancient custom of the wise, who used to describe things divine and philosophical in meter. However wise certain men may be, they cannot attain to knowing and setting forth his essence, but the whole of man's knowledge and speech about God is through his works, which yet neither Job nor any other man can perfectly know; and therefore he adds, all men behold him, namely through his works: for no one is so deficient in wisdom that he does not perceive something of the divine works. And again, no one is so wise that his knowledge is not far surpassed by the excellence of the divine brightness; hence he adds, each one beholds from afar, that is, man's knowledge is far distant from the perfect comprehension of the divine essence, both because man cannot know except through works, which are infinitely distant from the excellence of his essence, and because man does not even perfectly know his works. And from this he concludes that God, by his excellence, exceeds man's knowledge; hence he adds, behold, God is great, surpassing our knowledge: for the fact that God cannot be perfectly known by us does not happen on account of a defect in himself, as happens in the case of motion and time, but on account of his excellence.

Now someone might say that although we cannot know of God what he is, we can nevertheless know of God that he is, which pertains to his duration; but that this too exceeds man's knowledge he shows, adding, the number of his years is inestimable, because indeed the eternity of his duration cannot be comprehended by the human intellect. He then goes on to show the greatness of the works of God which exceed human reason, enumerating the various transformations of the air, which is sometimes disposed to dryness, and as to this he says, who takes away the drops of rain, namely by hindering it from raining; and sometimes rains abound in the air, whose greatness he describes, saying, and pours forth showers like floods, which flow upon the earth. And such an abundance of rain appears wondrous if one considers the origin of the rains, namely that so much water should burst forth from clouds which have no solidity; and as to this he adds, which, namely the floods, flow from the clouds — not, however, in such a way that so much rain actually exists in the clouds, but because the vapors of the clouds are successively condensed into rains. There is also this other marvel in the rains, that they pour themselves over a long stretch of lands; hence he adds, which spread over all things from above, namely the places in the region where it rains, so that no part of that land remains unrained upon.

Next he speaks of the clouds themselves, saying, if he wills to stretch out the clouds like his tent, because indeed the sky, which is the seat of God, is hidden by the clouds, just as the seat of some man is hidden by a tent. Now from the clouds proceed lightnings on account of the collision of wind; hence he adds, and to make lightning with his light from above; and the clouds sometimes cover the sky as far as the horizon of some region, beneath which the ends of the sea seem to be enclosed: he also covers the hinges of the sea, namely with the tent of the clouds. He says if he wills in order to show that the divine will is the principle of natural works; and it is proper to will that it work for an end, and therefore he shows the end of these works, adding, by these he judges peoples, namely as to those who are punished by these means, and he gives food to many mortals, namely inasmuch as rains are useful for the fruitfulness of the earth, through which food is produced for men.