Now there was a word spoken to me in private, and my ears by stealth as it were received the veins of its whisper.

“In the present case Eliphaz wants to suggest, in my opinion, that Job has often spoken such words either, perhaps, to drive others to jealousy or with a different intention. You that ask such questions, see whom you resemble. Indeed, if Eliphaz has spoken so in these circumstances without obtaining forgiveness, it will be the same for us. Our situation will be even worse, because we have views similar to those of Eliphaz. And we have the advantage of the proofs the facts provide. We have been allowed to see the real reasons for the misfortunes that happened to Job. Yet we are just like those who believe they found a reason to blame him and to attack him without waiting for the evidence of the facts.”

“Now a hidden word was spoken to me. For the invisible Son is called 'the hidden Word,' concerning Whom John saith, In the beginning was the Word. Which he the same person teaches to be 'hidden' in that he adds, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. But this 'hidden Word' is delivered to the minds of the Elect, when the power of the Only-Begotten Son is made manifest to believers. By 'the hidden word' we may also understand the communication of inward Inspiration, concerning which it is said by John, His anointing teacheth you of all things. Which same inspiration on being communicated to the mind of man lifts it up, and putting down all temporal interests inflames it with eternal desires, that nothing may any longer yield it satisfaction but the things that are above, and that it may look down upon all, that, from human corruption, is in a state of uproar below. And so to hear 'the hidden word' is to receive in the heart the utterance of the Holy Spirit. Which same indeed can never be known save by him, by whom it may be possessed. And hence it is said by the voice of Truth concerning this hidden utterance, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive. For as that 'Comforter,' after the Ascension of the Mediator, being another Consoler of mankind, is in Himself invisible, so He inflames each one that He has filled to long after the invisible things. And because worldly hearts are set upon the things that are seen alone, the world receiveth Him not, because it doth not rise up to the love of the things that are unseen. For worldly minds, in proportion as they spread themselves out in interests without, contract the bosom of the heart against the admission of Him. And because out of mankind there are few indeed, who, being purified from the pollution of earthly desires, are opened by that purification to the receiving of the Holy Spirit, this word is called 'a hidden word,' since, surely, there are particular persons that receive that in the heart, which the generality of men know nothing of. Or truly this same inspiration of the Holy Spirit is 'a hidden word,' in that it may be felt, but cannot be expressed by the noise of speech. When, then, the inspiration of God lifts up the soul without noise, 'a hidden word' is heard, in that the utterance of the Spirit sounds silently in the ear of the heart. And hence it is added; And mine ear as it were stealthily received the veins of the whispering thereof. The ear of the heart 'receives stealthily the veins of heavenly whispering,' in that both in a moment and in secret the inspired soul is made to know the subtle quality of the inward utterance. For except it bury itself from external objects of desire, it fails to enter into the internal things. It is both hidden that it may hear, and it hears that it may be hidden; in that at one and the same time being withdrawn from the visible world its eyes are upon the invisible, and being replenished with the unseen, it entertains a perfect contempt for what is visible. But it is to be observed that he does not say, Mine ear received as it were by stealth the whispering thereof; but the veins of the whispering thereof; for 'the whispering of the hidden word' is the very utterance of inward Inspiration itself; but 'the veins of the whispering' is the name for the sources of the occasions whereby that inspiration itself is conveyed to the mind. For it is as if It opened 'the veins of its whispering,' when God secretly communicates to us in what ways He enters into the ear of our understandings. Thus at one time He pierces us with love, at another time with terror. Sometimes He shews us how little the present scene of things is, and lifts up our hearts to desire the eternal world, sometimes He first points to the things of eternity, that these of time may after that grow worthless in our eyes. Sometimes He discloses to us our own evil deeds, and thence draws us on even to the point of feeling sorrow for the evil deeds of others also. Sometimes He presents to our eyes the evil deeds of others, and reforms us from our own wickedness, pierced with a wonderful feeling of compunction. And so to 'hear the veins of Divine whispering by stealth,' is to be made to know the secret methods of divine Inspiration, at once gently and secretly. Though we may interpret whether 'the whispering' or 'the veins of whispering' in another way yet. For he that 'whispers' is speaking in secret, and he does not give out, but imitates a voice. We, therefore, so long as we are beset by the corruptions of the flesh, in no wise behold the brightness of the Divine Power, as it abides unchangeable in itself, in that the eye of our weakness cannot endure that which shines above us with intolerable lustre from the ray of His Eternal Being. And so when the Almighty shews Himself to us by the chinks of contemplation, He does not speak to us, but whispers, in that though He does not fully develope Himself, yet something of Himself He does reveal to the mind of man. But then He no longer whispers at all, but speaks, when His appearance is manifested to us in certainty. It is hence that Truth saith in the Gospel, I shall shew you plainly of the Father. Hence John saith, For we shall see Him as He is. Hence Paul saith, Then shall I know even as also I am known. Now in this present time, the Divine whispering has as many veins for our ears as the works of creation, which the Divine Being Himself is Lord of; for while we view all things that are created, we are lifted up in admiration of the Creator. For as water that flows in a slender stream is sought by being bored for through veins, with a view to increase it, and as it pours forth the more copiously, in proportion as it finds the veins more open, so we, whilst we heedfully gather the knowledge of the Divine Being from the contemplation of His creation, as it were open to ourselves the 'veins of His whispering,' in that by the things that we see have been made, we are led to marvel at the excellency of the Maker, and by the objects that are in public view, that issues forth to us, which is hidden in concealment. For He bursts out to us in a kind of sound as it were, whilst He displays His works to be considered by us, wherein He betokens Himself in a measure, in that He shews how Incomprehensible He is. Therefore, because we cannot take thought of Him as He deserves, we hear not His voice, yea, scarcely His whispering. For because we are not equal to form a full and perfect estimate of the very things that are created, it is rightly said, Mine ear as it were by stealth received the veins of whispering; in that being cast forth from the delights of paradise, and visited with the punishment of blindness, we scarcely take in 'the veins of whispering;' since His very marvellous works themselves we consider but hastily and slightly. ON HOW HERETICS MISUSE THIS VERSE. Now a secret word was spoken to me. 'A secret word,' heretics pretend to hear, that they may bring a certain reverence for their preaching over their hearers' minds. And hence they preach with a secret meaning, that their preaching may seem to be holy, in proportion as it is at the same time hidden. Now they are loath to have a common sort of knowledge, lest they should be placed on a par with the rest of their fellow-creatures, and they are ever making out new things, which whilst others know nothing of, they plume their own selves on the preeminence of their knowledge before inexperienced minds. And this knowledge, as we have said, they teach is occult; for, that they may be able to shew it to be wonderful, they affirm that they obtained it by secret means. Hence with Solomon the woman, bearing the semblance of heretics, says, Stolen waters are sweeter, and bread eaten in secret is more pleasant. Whence in this place too it is added; And mine ear as it were by stealth received the veins of the whispering thereof. They 'receive the veins of whispers by stealth,' in that abandoning the grace of knowledge in fellowship, they do not enter thereinto by the door, as the Lord witnesses, Who saith, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber; But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. Therefore he 'receives the veins of divine whispers by stealth,' who, whilst the door of public preaching for receiving the knowledge of His excellency is forsaken, searches out the gaps and chinks of a froward understanding. But because the thief and robber, who enters by another way, both loves the darkness, and abhors the clearness of the light, it is properly added; In the horror of a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men.”

“Now a word was conveyed secretly to me He returns to his rebuke with which he has been chastising him till now: Why are you crying? “Remember now who was innocent that perished...As I have seen, etc.” And concerning you a word of prophecy was secretly conveyed to me, [lit. was stolen to me], from the expression like a stolen thing, because the Holy Spirit does not reveal itself to the prophets of the heathens in public. This is analogous to a king who had a wife and a mistress. When he would go to his wife, he would go in public, but to his mistress, he would go clandestinely and stealthily. So it is with the Holy One, blessed be He. Regarding the prophets of the heathens [Scripture states:] (Gen. 20:3), “And God came to Abimelech in the dream of the night,” and similarly (ibid. 31: 24), “And God came to Laban the Aramean in the dream of the night”; to Balaam (Num. 24:4), “who falls, but his eyes are open” [in Gen. Rabbah 52:5 (Num. 22:20), “And God came to Balaam at night”]; to Eliphaz, “in the visions of the night.” But concerning the prophets of Israel it is written (ibid. 12:8): “With him I speak mouth to mouth manifestly and not with riddles.” In Midrash Tanchuma, I found it emended [See Tanchuma Balak 8, Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 24.] Now [in] the expression, “And my ear grasped a bit of it,” שֶׁמֶץ, means a bit of the spirit of understanding.”

“Then Eliphaz the Temanite answering, and so forth. The friends of Job, who had come to console him, since they had earlier kept silent on account of the greatness of his grief, after Job's speech took the boldness to speak. And first Eliphaz the Temanite speaks, who did not take the words set forth by Job in the spirit in which they were said: for he attributed the hatred of the present life which Job had said he suffered to despair, the greatness of his bitterness to impatience, and his confession of innocence to presumption. First, therefore, he charges him with impatience, and begins to speak to him as to a man subject to the vice of impatience who is indignant at words addressed to him; hence he says, "if we begin to speak to you, perhaps you will take it ill," where he expresses well enough the custom of an impatient and angry man, who does not bear to hear words to the end but is provoked at once at the very outset of the speech. He adds, however, "perhaps," lest he be condemned for a rash judgment, although even in cases of presumptions or suspicions, words or deeds ought to be interpreted in the better sense. But while he himself charges Job with impatience, he shows himself guilty of impatience and of folly when he says, "but who can withhold the word he has conceived?" according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 19:12, "an arrow fixed in the thigh of a dog, so is a word in the heart of a fool"; although even the just, out of divine zeal, are sometimes unable to keep silent about those things which they have conceived and which ought to be spoken for the honor of God, according to that saying of Jeremiah 20:9, "I said: I will not remember him," namely the word of the Lord, "nor will I speak any more in his name; and there arose in my heart as it were a burning fire, shut up in my bones, and I failed, not being able to bear it." He proceeds further, however, to show his impatience openly. He aggravates his impatience from two things, namely from his prior teaching and from his prior life: from his prior teaching indeed, because it is shameful for a man when he does not keep to that to which he induces others, according to that saying of Matthew 20, "for they say and do not"; but Job had before drawn many back from impatience, and in different ways as suited different persons. For there are some who fail through impatience out of ignorance, since they do not know how to use adversities unto virtue, and as regards these he says, "behold, you have taught many"; but some indeed act virtuously at first in adversities, but with the adversity continuing, they grow weary as if of a correct action and fail, and as regards these he says, "and you have strengthened weary hands," namely by good exhortations; there are also some who, in adversities, fall into doubt whether these come from divine judgment, and as regards these he says, "your words have confirmed those who wavered"; there are also some who could bear a small adversity but fail under a great adversity as under a great weight, and as regards these he says, "and you have strengthened trembling knees," namely by your words: for the knees of a man carrying a great weight tremble. To the fulfilling of the aforesaid the Lord exhorts in Isaiah 35:3, saying, "strengthen the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees." He wishes, however, to show consequently that Job did not fulfill what he had taught, hence it is added, "but now the scourge has come upon you, and you have fainted," namely from the firmness of mind which you seemed to have and which you were suggesting to others, and this must be referred to the adversity which he had suffered in outward things; "it has touched you, and you are troubled," that is, you have lost the quiet of mind which you seemed to have had, which must be referred to the affliction of body which he was enduring: hence also above Satan had said, "put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh." Thus, therefore, Job is charged with not having confirmed his prior teaching by subsequent patience, contrary to what is written in Proverbs 19:11, "the teaching of a man is known by patience." But he also aggravates the subsequent impatience from the past life which appeared in Job; for it seemed that there was no true virtue which failed so quickly in tribulation, because, as it is written in Ecclesiasticus 2:5, "gold and silver are tried in the fire, but men acceptable to God in the furnace of humiliation." Now by manifold virtue is someone preserved in tribulations lest he fail: first indeed through reverence for God, when men consider that the evils they suffer come from divine providence, just as Job had also said above, "as it has pleased the Lord, so it has been done"; and to exclude this he brings in, "where is your fear?" namely, by which you seemed to revere God. Secondly, some are preserved by firmness of soul, which indeed has two degrees: for in some there is such firmness of soul that their spirit is not too greatly troubled by adversities, and this seems to pertain to fortitude, hence he says, "where is your strength?" Nor is "strength" here taken as that which preserves a man from succumbing to fear, but as that by which he is not cast down through sadness; but some indeed suffer a grave passion of sadness from adversity, but are not led away from it because reason is well disposed, and this seems to pertain to patience, so that there is such a difference between patience and fortitude as the philosophers assign between continence and chastity, and therefore he adds, "your patience?" Thirdly, some are preserved from the love of honorable action and from the fact that they abhor acting basely, who, even if they are inwardly troubled in adversities, nevertheless break out neither in word nor in deed into anything unbecoming, and on account of this he adds, "and the perfection of your ways?" For by "ways" are understood the actions by which, as by certain roads, one arrives at an end; or by "ways" can be understood the devised plans by which someone trusts he will escape, whence he bears adversities more easily. "Remember, I beg you," and so forth. After Eliphaz had charged Job with impatience, taking the occasion from what he had said, "before I eat I sigh," he now intends to charge him with presumption because he had said he was innocent. But to show that he is not innocent, he takes his argument from Job's adversity, saying, "remember, I beg you, who ever perished being innocent, or when were the upright destroyed?" Here it must be considered that this was the opinion of Eliphaz, and of the other two, as was said above, that the adversities of this world do not come upon anyone except as punishment for sin, and conversely that prosperity comes as a reward of righteousness; hence according to his opinion it seemed unfitting that anyone innocent should perish temporally, or that anyone upright, that is, righteous according to virtue, should be destroyed by the loss of temporal glory, which he believed to be the reward of righteousness. And this opinion indeed he believed to be so true that even Job could not disagree with it; yet he judged that, his mind being disturbed, he had, as it were, forgotten the truth which he had once known, hence he says, "remember." Having therefore posited that adversity does not befall the innocent and the upright, he consequently adds to whom adversity does befall, saying, "but rather I have seen those who work iniquity and sow sorrows and reap them, perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the breath of his wrath." Now in saying "I have seen" he gives to understand that he has proved these things by experience; and by "those who work iniquity" he understands those who manifestly commit injustice, and especially to the harm of others; and by "those who sow sorrows and reap them" he understands those who harm others by guile: for these sow sorrows when they prepare calumnies by which they make others sorrowful, which sorrows indeed they reap when they bring their malice to effect, and this they hold as great fruit. This metaphor he pursues further as regards the punishment: for crops are wont to be dried up and consumed by a burning wind, hence it is said in Malachi 3:11, "I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer," namely the wind, "and it shall not destroy the fruit of your land," and this is what he means when he says that they perish "by the blast of God," as if the divine judgment itself, proceeding to the vengeance of iniquity, were a certain blast of wind; and the vengeance of God itself is called the "spirit," that is, the wind, "of his wrath." He says not only that they perish, but that they are consumed, because they are punished not only in their own persons but also their children and their whole household perish, so that nothing of them seems to remain, in which he seemed to touch Job, who both had been scourged in his body and had lost his children, household, and wealth. But because this seemed to be against the opinion of Eliphaz, that for the sin of a parent the children and household should be punished, since he himself intends to defend the opinion that the adversities of this world are punishments for sin, in answer to this objection he adds, "the roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions are broken." Here it must first be considered that man excels other animals by reason; when therefore, reason being set aside, he follows brutish passions, he is made like the beasts, and the name of that beast whose passion he imitates befits him, so that one who lies subject to the passions of concupiscence is compared to a horse or a mule, according to that saying of the Psalm, "do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding"; but on account of ferocity or anger a man is called a lion or a bear, according to that saying of Proverbs 28:15, "a roaring lion and a hungry bear is a wicked prince over a poor people," and Ezekiel 19:3, "he became a lion and learned to catch prey and to devour men"; so then he now compares a ferocious man to a lion, saying "the roaring of the lion," for a roar is an indication of leonine ferocity. Now it often happens that ferocity is added to a man by the suggestion of his wife, and so those things which the man does ferociously are imputed as a fault to the wife, as is clear of the wife of Herod who impelled him to behead John, on account of which it is said, "and the voice of the lioness." And with those things which some tyrant ferociously acquires, his children sometimes make use luxuriously, and so they delight in the plunder of their father: hence they too are not free from fault, on account of which it is subjoined, "and the teeth of the whelps of lions are broken," according to that saying of Nahum 2:12, "and the lion caught enough for his whelps." And so he seems to have answered the aforesaid objection, because when for the sin of the husband the wife and children are punished, it is not unjust, since they too were participants in the fault; and all this he said because he wished to make Job and his household notorious for plunder. It seemed, however, that what he had said did not pertain to Job, since his wife did not seem to have been punished, and therefore to remove this he adds, "the tiger perished because it had no prey": for those who have been accustomed to plunder reckon themselves punished by this very fact, that it is not lawful for them to plunder. It must be considered, however, that he compares the woman to the lioness on account of the ferocity of her anger, and to the tiger on account of the readiness or swiftness to anger, for it is said in Ecclesiasticus 25:23, "there is no anger above the anger of a woman," and again, "all malice is brief in comparison with the malice of a woman." And because the children of Job had wholly perished, he adds, "and the whelps of the lions are scattered." "Now a word was said to me in secret," and so forth. Because Eliphaz had asserted that the adversities of this world do not come upon anyone except on account of his sin, wishing thereby to charge Job and his household with having been subject to sins, the contrary of which seemed evident from those things which had manifestly appeared in Job and his household, he wishes to show that neither Job nor his household was free from sin. And because, on account of the authority of Job and his fame, his own word seemed of little weight, he has recourse to a greater authority, showing that what he is about to propose he learned from revelation; and to show the loftiness of the revelation he sets forth its obscurity: for the loftier certain things are, the less perceptible they are to human regard, hence the Apostle also says in 2 Corinthians 12:4, that he was caught up into the Paradise of God and heard secret words which it is not lawful for a man to utter; in like manner Eliphaz here speaks, whether truly or feignedly, saying, "now a word was said to me in secret." It must be considered, however, that some truth, although on account of its loftiness it is hidden from man, is nevertheless revealed to some clearly, and to others obscurely; therefore, to avoid the appearance of boasting, he says that this truth was revealed to him obscurely, hence he adds, "and my ear received, as it were by stealth, the veins of its whisper," where a threefold manner of concealment is suggested, which is wont to occur in revelations. The first of these is when an intelligible truth is revealed to someone through an imaginary vision, according to what is said in Numbers 12:6, "if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will speak to him in a dream or in a vision; but not so my servant Moses: I will speak to him mouth to mouth, and he sees God openly and not through riddles"; Moses, therefore, heard this hidden word by way of a clear voice, but others by way of a whisper. The second manner of concealment is that in the imaginary vision itself certain words are sometimes uttered expressly containing the truth, as that saying of Isaiah 7:14, "behold, a virgin shall conceive," but sometimes under certain figurative expressions, as that saying of Isaiah 11:1, "there shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower," etc.; in this, therefore, that Isaiah heard, "behold, a virgin shall conceive," he perceived the whisper itself, but in this, that he heard, "there shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse," he perceived the veins of the whisper: for figurative expressions are, as it were, certain veins derived from the truth itself by way of likeness. The third manner is that sometimes someone has a frequent and long-lasting divine revelation, as is said of Moses in Exodus 33:11, that "the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend"; but sometimes someone has a sudden and transitory revelation: this sudden manner of revelation, therefore, he signifies in that he says "as it were by stealth," for we hear as it were by stealth those things which come to us hastily and, as it were, in passing. Thus, therefore, the loftiness of the vision having been shown, he pursues the circumstances of the revelation, and first the time, saying, "in the horror of a nocturnal vision, when sleep is wont to seize men." For the nighttime, on account of its quiet, is more suited to the perceiving of revelations: for in the day the mind suffers a certain din from the tumults of men and the occupations of the senses, so that it cannot perceive the whisper of the hidden word. Secondly, from the disposition of the one perceiving, hence he adds, "fear seized me": for men are wont to fear at unaccustomed things, hence when unaccustomed revelations occur to someone, at the beginning they suffer fear. And to show the greatness of this fear he adds, "and trembling," for trembling of the body is an indication of the greatness of fear. And to magnify this trembling he adds, "and all my bones were terrified," as if to say: the trembling was not superficial but vehement, so as even to shake the bones; similar is what is found in Daniel 10:8, "I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me, but my appearance also was changed in me, and I fainted away, and I had no strength left in me." He then shows the cause of this fear, saying, "and when a spirit passed before me, the hairs of my flesh stood up": for it is reasonable that at the presence of a greater power a lesser one should be stupefied; and it is manifest that the power of a spirit is greater than that of flesh, hence it is no wonder if at the presence of a spirit the hairs of the flesh stand up, which proceeds from sudden fear, and especially since the presence of the spirit is perceived by some unaccustomed bodily sign: for things that are unaccustomed are wont to induce wonder and fear. And that the disposition of the time might suit this terror which he recalls having suffered, he said above, "in the horror of a nocturnal vision": for since in the time of night things cannot be discerned by sight, whatever slight commotion occurs is wont to induce disturbance in those who reckon it to be something greater, and this is what is said in Wisdom 17:17, "whether it were a whistling wind, or among the thick branches of birds a sweet sound," they failed for fear. Thirdly, the person revealing is set forth, when it is said, "there stood one whose face I did not recognize, an image before my eyes," where he sets down three things pertaining to the certainty of the vision. For it must be known that sometimes, on account of an excessive commotion of vapors and humors, dreams either do not appear at all, the phantasms being wholly suffocated, or dreams appear disturbed and unstable, as is wont to happen in those with fever, and dreams of this kind, since they have little or no spirituality, exist altogether without significance; but when the humors and vapors have subsided, quiet and orderly dreams appear, which, since they are more spiritual, the intellective part breaking forth into a certain vigor, dreams of this kind are wont to be truer, and therefore he says, "there stood one," by which he shows the stability of the vision. Likewise it must be considered that dreams, even when they are quiet, are for the most part the remnants of preceding thoughts, hence a man more frequently sees in sleep those with whom he was accustomed to converse; and because such dreams have their cause from ourselves and not from any higher nature, they are of no great significance: to remove this, therefore, he says, "whose face I did not recognize," by which he shows that this vision did not draw its origin from things previously seen but from some more hidden cause. Thirdly, it must be considered that visions of this kind, which arise from some higher cause, sometimes appear to those sleeping, sometimes to those waking, and they are wont to be truer and more certain when they appear to those waking than to those sleeping, because in waking reason is freer, and because in sleep spiritual revelations can less be discerned from frivolous and habitual dreams; and therefore, to show that this revelation was made not to one sleeping but to one waking, he adds, "an image before my eyes," by which he signifies that he saw this with eyes opened through wakefulness, which he also signified above when he said, "when sleep is wont to seize men," where he suggests that he was not seized by sleep. Then he narrates the manner of the announcement made to him, saying, "and I heard a voice as of a gentle breeze." Here it must be considered that apparitions of this kind sometimes come from a good spirit, sometimes from an evil spirit: in either manner, however, a man at first suffers fear on account of the unaccustomed vision; but when the apparition proceeds from a good spirit, the fear ends in consolation, as is clear of the angel comforting Daniel, Daniel 10:18, and of Gabriel comforting Zachariah and Mary, Luke 1; but an evil spirit leaves a man troubled. By this, therefore, that he says, "I heard a voice as of a gentle breeze," he shows a certain consolation calming the previous fear, so that by this the vision is shown to be from a good spirit and not from an evil spirit, by which false visions are frequently shown, according to that saying of the last book of Kings, "I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets"; in this manner also it is read in 3 Kings concerning the apparition made to Elijah, that "after the commotion, a whistling of a gentle breeze, and there the Lord." It must be known, however, that even in visions which proceed from a good spirit, sometimes great commotions and horrible voices are heard, as is clear in Ezekiel 1:4, where it is said, "and I saw, and behold, a whirlwind came from the north," and after many things it is added, "and I heard the sound of wings as the sound of many waters," and in Revelation 1:10 it is said, "I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet," but this is to designate threats or certain grave dangers which are contained in revelations of this kind; but because here something consoling was to be said, therefore the voice of the one speaking is brought in as like a gentle breeze. Last of all are set down the words which he asserts were revealed to him, when he says, "shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker?" These words he brings in to confirm his opinion which he had touched on above, namely, that the adversities of this world do not come upon anyone except for sin. So that no one might excuse himself from suffering adversities by asserting himself free from sin, he brings in three arguments, of which the first is taken from a comparison to God, and leads to an impossibility: for if a man is punished by God without fault, it follows that man is more just than God. For since it is the work of justice to render to each what is his own, if God should inflict punishment on an innocent man to whom punishment is not owed, while man, who suffers from God, has inflicted punishment on no man without fault—which must be granted if he is supposed innocent—it follows that the man punished by God is more just than God, which is for man to be justified in comparison with God, namely, that he be justified in comparison of righteousness with God. And because perhaps this would not seem incongruous to someone, he leads to another, more evidently incongruous point, saying, "or shall a man be purer than his maker?" For anything has purity insofar as it is preserved in its nature, which it has from its proper causes; the purity, therefore, of any effect depends on its cause, hence it cannot surpass its cause in purity: hence neither can a man be purer than his maker, namely God. He sets down the second argument from a comparison to the angels, and it is from the greater, when he says, "behold, those who serve him are not steadfast, and he found perversity in his angels," which statement, according to the teaching of the Catholic faith, is plain: for the Catholic faith holds that all the angels were created good, of whom some fell from the state of rectitude through their own fault, while others attained to greater glory. Now that the angels fell from the state of rectitude seems wonderful for two reasons, one of which pertains to their contemplative power, the other to their active power. From the contemplative power it seemed that there ought to be stability in the angels. For it is manifest that the cause of mutability is potency, and the cause of immutability is act: for it belongs to the nature of potency that it stand in relation to being and not-being, but according as it is more perfected by act it stands more firmly in one state, while that which is act in itself is altogether immovable. It must be known, however, that just as matter is compared to form as potency to act, so is the will compared to the good; that, therefore, which is the good itself, namely God, is altogether immutable, but the wills of other natures, which are not the good itself, are compared to it as potency to act, hence the more they cling to it the more they are made stable in the good; and therefore, since the angels among other creatures seem to cling to God more, and more closely, as those who contemplate him more subtly, they seem more stable among other creatures, and yet they were not stable; hence much less can inferior creatures, namely men, however much they may seem to cling to God by worshipping him, which is to serve him, be judged stable. From the active power, however, it seemed that there could be little or nothing of perversity in the angels: for the closer a rule is to the first rectitude the less it has of crookedness; but God, in whom is the first rectitude, directing all things by his providence, disposes lower creatures through higher ones; hence in the higher creatures, which are called angels, sent, as it were, by God to direct other things, it seemed there was very little or nothing of perversity; hence, since perversity was found in them, it must be believed that in any man whatsoever, however great he may appear, perversity can be found. It must be guarded against, however, lest anyone fall from these words into the error of Origen, who asserted that all created spirits, even now, are unstable and can be led to perversity; for this some have attained by grace, that they cling to God immovably, seeing him through his essence; and according to this, even to some men, although they are of a lower nature than the angels, it is granted by grace, even in this life, that they be free from the perversity of mortal sin. He sets down the third argument, taken from the human condition, to which is joined the conclusion of the preceding argument, hence one argument could even be formed from the two, and this when he says, "how much more those who dwell in houses of clay." Now the human condition is such that his body is compacted from earthly matter, which he designates when he says, "how much more those who dwell in houses of clay": for the human body is called "of clay" because it consists more abundantly of earth and water, the heavier elements, which its movement makes clear, hence in Genesis 1 it is said that "God formed man from the slime of the earth"; this clay body, therefore, is called the house of the soul because the human soul, in a certain respect, is in the body as a man is in a house, or as a sailor in a ship, inasmuch as it is the mover of the body. There were, however, some who on this account said that the soul is united to the body only accidentally, as a man to his garment or a sailor to his ship, but to exclude this opinion he adds, "who have an earthly foundation," by which it is given to understand that the human soul is united to the body also as form to matter: for matter is called the foundation of form because it is the first part in generation, as a foundation in the constitution of a house. Now he uses such a manner of speaking as to attribute to man what belongs to the soul, not because the soul is the man, as some have supposed, saying that man is nothing other than a soul clothed with a body, but because the soul is the more principal part of man: for each thing is wont to be named from that which is more principal in it. Now these two things which he says about the weakness of man seem to be set in opposition to what he had said above about the excellence of the angels: for what he says, "who dwell in houses of clay," seems to be set against what he had said, "who serve him," which is to cling to him and dwell in him spiritually; and what he says, "who have an earthly foundation," is set against what he had said, "in his angels": for angels are incorporeal by nature, according to that saying of the Psalm, "who makes his angels spirits." From the aforesaid condition of man he concludes his miserable outcome, saying, "they shall be consumed as by a moth," and indeed this can be understood, according to the surface of the letter, of bodily death, which man necessarily suffers from the fact that he has an earthly foundation; and according to this a twofold death can be designated, namely natural death in this, that he says, "they shall be consumed as by a moth": for a moth corrodes a garment in such a way that it is born from the garment itself, so also natural death arises from the interior causes of the body; and violent death in this, that it is added, "from morning even to evening they shall be cut down": for the cutting down of a tree proceeds from an external cause. And quite significantly he says, "from morning even to evening," because natural death can indeed be foreknown by certain natural signs, but violent death is altogether uncertain, as being subject to various chances, hence it cannot be known whether a man will come from morning even to evening. It must be known, however, that this is not the intention of the letter: for above he set forth the defect of sin when he said, "he found perversity in his angels"; hence, that the conclusion may correspond to the premises, this too must be referred to sin, by which the life of righteousness is consumed in man in two ways: in one way from interior corruption, which he signifies when he says, "they shall be consumed as by a moth": for just as a garment is consumed by a moth which is born from it, so the righteousness of man is consumed by those things which are in man, such as the corruption of the tinder of sin, evil thoughts, and other such things; in another way from exterior temptation, which is noted in this, that he says, "from morning even to evening they shall be cut down." But it must be considered that interior temptation does not suddenly overthrow a man but gradually, while through negligence someone does not take care to repress in himself the beginnings of sin, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus, "he who neglects small things falls away little by little," just as also a garment which is not shaken out is consumed by a moth; but exterior temptation for the most part suddenly overthrows a man, as David broke out into adultery at the sight of a woman, and also many have denied the faith under torments. But in whatever way a man falls through sin, if he recognizes his sin and repents he will obtain mercy; but since there is no one who can know all his sins, according to that saying, "who understands sins?", it follows that very many men, not recognizing their sins, do not apply the remedies by which they might be freed, and this is what he adds, "and because no one understands," namely the fall of sinners, "they shall perish forever," namely very many, as it were never freed from sin. But because there are some who apply remedies against sins, although they do not fully understand them, as David who said, "cleanse me, Lord, from my hidden sins," he adds, "but those who shall be left," namely from the number of those who perish forever, "shall be taken away from them," that is, they shall be separated from their company; they shall indeed die, because although a man repents of sin, he is not freed from the necessity of death, but wisdom does not die in them, and this is what he says, "and not in wisdom." Or this saying, "they shall die, and not in wisdom," does not correspond to what was said immediately before but to what he had said above, "they shall perish forever," so that the sense is that they shall die without wisdom. Or this that he says, "those who shall be left," can be understood of the children who are left by their perishing parents, who, because they imitate the sins of their parents, are themselves also taken away, dying without wisdom. Eliphaz, therefore, wishes to gather from all these things that, since the condition of man is so fragile, he easily falls into sin, so that while a man does not recognize it he goes to perdition, both he and his children; and thus, although Job did not recognize himself as a sinner, it was to be believed that on account of some sins he and his children had perished. Thus, therefore, after he had expounded the revelation made to him, because Job might not believe this revelation, he therefore adds, "call, then, if there is anyone who will answer you," as if to say: if you do not believe that this was revealed to me, do you yourself call upon God, if perhaps he should wish to answer you concerning this doubt; and if you do not think you can obtain this from God by your own merits, "turn to one of the saints," so that through his mediation you may be able to know the truth of this matter from God. And it must be noted that he says, "to one of the saints," because it is not lawful to seek by unclean spirits, by whatever manner or hidden art, but only through God or through the saints of God, according to that saying of Isaiah 8:19, "when they shall say to you: seek of pythons and of diviners who mutter in their incantations, should not a people seek of their God a vision for the living or for the dead?"”

“Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes immediately from God all men will pay a particular deference to, and Job, no doubt, as much as any. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth wherewith to reason with him; and it would have been well if he had kept to the purport of this vision, which would serve for a ground on which to reprove Job for his murmuring, but not to condemn him as a hypocrite. Others think he had it formerly; for God did, in this way, often communicate his mind to the children of men in those first ages of the world, Job 33:15. Probably God had sent Eliphaz this messenger and message some time or other, when he was himself in an unquiet discontented frame, to calm and pacify him. Note, As we should comfort others with that wherewith we have been comforted (Co2 1:4), so we should endeavour to convince others with that which has been powerful to convince us. The people of God had not then any written word to quote, and therefore God sometimes notified to them even common truths by the extraordinary ways of revelation. We that have Bibles have there (thanks be to God) a more sure word to depend upon than even visions and voices, Pe2 1:19. Observe, I. The manner in which this message was sent to Eliphaz, and the circumstances of the conveyance of it to him. 1. It was brought to him secretly, or by stealth. Some of the sweetest communion gracious souls have with God is in secret, where no eye sees but that of him who is all eye. God has ways of bringing conviction, counsel, and comfort, to his people, unobserved by the world, by private whispers, as powerfully and effectually as by the public ministry. His secret is with them, Psa 25:14. As the evil spirit often steals good words out of the heart (Mat 13:19), so the good Spirit sometimes steals good words into the heart, or ever we are aware. 2. He received a little thereof, Job 4:12. And it is but a little of divine knowledge that the best receive in this world. We know little in comparison with what is to be known, and with what we shall know when we come to heaven. How little a portion is heard of God! Job 26:14. We know but in part, Co1 13:12. See his humility and modesty. He pretends not to have understood it fully, but something of it he perceived. 3. It was brought to him in the visions of the night (Job 4:13), when he had retired from the world and the hurry of it, and all about him was composed and quiet. Note, The more we are withdrawn from the world and the things of it the fitter we are for communion with God. When we are communing with our own hearts, and are still (Psa 4:4), then is a proper time for the Holy Spirit to commune with us. When others were asleep Eliphaz was ready to receive this visit from Heaven, and probably, like David, was meditating upon God in the night-watches; in the midst of those good thoughts this thing was brought to him. We should hear more from God if we thought more of him; yet some are surprised with convictions in the night, Job 33:14, Job 33:15. 4. It was prefaced with terrors: Fear came upon him, and trembling, Job 4:14. It should seem, before he either heard or saw any thing, he was seized with this trembling, which shook his bones, and perhaps the bed under him. A holy awe and reverence of God and his majesty being struck upon his spirit, he was thereby prepared for a divine visit. Whom God intends to honour he first humbles and lays low, and will have us all to serve him with holy fear, and to rejoice with trembling. II. The messenger by whom it was sent - a spirit, one of the good angels, who are employed not only as the ministers of God's providence, but sometimes as the ministers of his word. Concerning this apparition which Eliphaz saw we are here told (Job 4:15, Job 4:16), 1. That it was real, and not a dream, not a fancy. An image was before his eyes; he plainly saw it; at first it passed and repassed before his face, moved up and down, but at length it stood still to speak to him. If some have been so knavish as to impose false visions on others, and some so foolish as to be themselves imposed upon, it does not therefore follow but that there may have been apparitions of spirits, both good and bad. 2. That it was indistinct, and somewhat confused. He could not discern the form thereof, so as to frame any exact idea of it in his own mind, much less to give a description of it. His conscience was to be awakened and informed, not his curiosity gratified. We know little of spirits; we are not capable of knowing much of them, nor is it fit that we should: all in good time; we must shortly remove to the world of spirits, and shall then be better acquainted with them. 3. That it puts him into a great consternation, so that his hair stood on end. Ever since man sinned it has been terrible to him to receive an express from heaven, as conscious to himself that he can expect no good tidings thence; apparitions therefore, even of good spirits, have always made deep impressions of fear, even upon good men. How well it is for us that God sends us his messages, not by spirits, but by men like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid! See Dan 7:28; Dan 10:8, Dan 10:9. III. The message itself. Before it was delivered there was silence, profound silence, Job 4:16. When we are to speak either from God or to him it becomes us to address ourselves to it with a solemn pause, and so to set bounds about the mount on which God is to come down, and not be hasty to utter any thing. It was in a still small voice that the message was delivered, and this was it (Job 4:17): "Shall mortal man be more just than God, the immortal God? Shall a man be thought to be, or pretend to be, more pure than his Maker? Away with such a thought!" 1. Some think that Eliphaz aims hereby to prove that Job's great afflictions were a certain evidence of his being a wicked man. A mortal man would be thought unjust and very impure if he should thus correct and punish a servant or subject, unless he had been guilty of some very great crime: "If therefore there were not some great crimes for which God thus punishes thee, man would be more just than God, which is not to be imagined." 2. I rather think it is only a reproof of Job's murmuring and discontent: "Shall a man pretend to be more just and pure than God? more truly to understand, and more strictly to observe, the rules and laws of equity than God? Shall Enosh, mortal and miserable man, be so insolent; nay, shall Geber, the strongest and most eminent man, man at his best estate, pretend to compare with God, or stand in competition with him?" Note, It is most impious and absurd to think either others or ourselves more just and pure than God. Those that quarrel and find fault with the directions of the divine law, the dispensations of the divine grace, or the disposals of the divine providence, make themselves more just and pure than God; and those who thus reprove God, let them answer it. What! sinful man! (for he would not have been mortal if he had not been sinful) short-sighted man! Shall he pretend to be more just, more pure, than God, who, being his Maker, is his Lord and owner? Shall the clay contend with the potter? What justice and purity there is in man, God is the author of it, and therefore is himself more just and pure. See Psa 94:9, Psa 94:10. IV. The comment which Eliphaz makes upon this, for so it seems to be; yet some take all the following verses to be spoken in vision. It comes all to one. 1. He shows how little the angels themselves are in comparison with God, Job 4:18. Angels are God's servants, waiting servants, working servants; they are his ministers (Psa 104:4); bright and blessed beings they are, but God neither needs them nor is benefited by them and is himself infinitely above them, and therefore, (1.) He puts no trust in them, did not repose a confidence in them, as we do in those we cannot live without. There is no service in which he employs them but, if he pleased, he could have it done as well without them. he never made them his confidants, or of his cabinet-council, Mat 24:36. He does not leave his business wholly to them, but his own eyes run to and fro through the earth, Ch2 16:9. See this phrase, Job 39:11. Some give this sense of it: "So mutable is even the angelical nature that God would not trust angels with their own integrity; if he had, they would all have done as some did, left their first estate; but he saw it necessary to give them supernatural grace to confirm them." (2.) He charges them with folly, vanity, weakness, infirmity, and imperfection, in comparison with himself. If the world were left to the government of the angels, and they were trusted with the sole management of affairs, they would take false steps, and everything would not be done for the best, as now it is. Angels are intelligences, but finite ones. Though not chargeable with iniquity, yet with imprudence. This last clause is variously rendered by the critics. I think it would bear this reading, repeating the negation, which is very common: He will put no trust in his saints; nor will he glory in his angels (in angelis suis non ponet gloriationem) or make his boast of them, as if their praises, or services, added any thing to him: it is his glory that he is infinitely happy without them. 2. Thence he infers how much less man is, how much less to be trusted in or gloried in. If there is such a distance between God and angels, what is there between God and man! See how man is represented here in his meanness. (1.) Look upon man in his life, and he is very mean, Job 4:19. Take man in his best estate, and he is a very despicable creature in comparison with the holy angels, though honourable if compared with the brutes. It is true, angels are spirits, and the souls of men are spirits; but, [1.] Angels are pure spirits; the souls of men dwell in houses of clay: such the bodies of men are. Angels are free; human souls are housed, and the body is a cloud, a clog, to it; it is its cage; it is its prison. It is a house of clay, mean and mouldering; an earthen vessel, soon broken, as it was first formed, according to the good pleasure of the potter. It is a cottage, not a house of cedar or a house of ivory, but of clay, which would soon be in ruins if not kept in constant repair. [2.] Angels are fixed, but the very foundation of that house of clay in which man dwells is in the dust. A house of clay, if built upon a rock, might stand long; but, if founded in the dust, the uncertainty of the foundation will hasten its fall, and it will sink with its own weight. As man was made out of the earth, so he is maintained and supported by that which cometh out of the earth. Take away that, and his body returns to its earth. We stand but upon the dust; some have a higher heap of dust to stand upon than others, but still it is the earth that stays us up and will shortly swallow us up. [3.] Angels are immortal, but man is soon crushed; the earthly house of his tabernacle is dissolved; he dies and wastes away, is crushed like a moth between one's fingers, as easily, as quickly; one may almost as soon kill a man as kill a moth. A little thing will destroy his life. He is crushed before the face of the moth, so the word is. If some lingering distemper, which consumes like a moth, be commissioned to destroy him, he can no more resist it than he can resist an acute distemper, which comes roaring upon him like a lion. See Hos 5:12-14. Is such a creature as this to be trusted in, or can any service be expected from him by that God who puts no trust in angels themselves? (2.) Look upon him in his death, and he appears yet more despicable, and unfit to be trusted. Men are mortal and dying, Job 4:20, Job 4:21. [1.] In death they are destroyed, and perish for ever, as to this world; it is the final period of their lives, and all the employments and enjoyments here; their place will know them no more. [2.] They are dying daily, and continually wasting: Destroyed from morning to evening. Death is still working in us, like a mole digging our grave at each remove, and we so continually lie exposed that we are killed all the day long. [3.] Their life is short, and in a little time they are cut off. It lasts perhaps but from morning to evening. It is but a day (so some understand it); their birth and death are but the sun-rise and sun-set of the same day. [4.] In death all their excellency passes away; beauty, strength, learning, not only cannot secure them from death, but must die with them, nor shall their pomp, their wealth, or power, descend after them. [5.] Their wisdom cannot save them from death: They die without wisdom, die for want of wisdom, by their own foolish management of themselves, digging their graves with their own teeth. [6.] It is so common a thing that nobody heeds it, nor takes any notice of it: They perish without any regarding it, or laying it to heart. The deaths of others are much the subject of common talk, but little the subject of serious thought. Some think the eternal damnation of sinners is here spoken of, as well as their temporal death: They are destroyed, or broken to pieces, by death, from morning to evening; and, if they repent not, they perish for ever (so some read it), Job 4:20. They perish for ever because they regard not God and their duty; they consider not their latter end, Lam 1:9. They have no excellency but that which death takes away, and they die, they die the second death, for want of wisdom to lay hold on eternal life. Shall such a mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying creature as this pretend to be more just than God and more pure than his Maker? No, instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him wonder that he is out of hell.”

“In thoughts from the visions of the night,.... While Eliphaz was thinking of and meditating upon divine things, or while he was revolving in his mind some night visions he had, before this was made unto him, see Dan 2:29; in meditation the Lord is often pleased to make known more of his mind and will to his people; and this is one way in which he was wont to do it in former times, in a vision either in the day, as sometimes, or in the night, as at others, and as here, see Num 12:6, when deep sleep falleth on men; on sorrowful men, as Mr. Broughton renders it; such who have been laborious all the day, and getting their bread with sorrow and trouble, and are weary; who as soon as they lie down fall asleep, and sleep falls on them, and to such it is sweet, as the wise man says, Ecc 5:12; now it was at such a time when men ordinarily and commonly are asleep that this vision was had.”

“Private. Heretics pretend such obscure visions, rather to get credit than to edify others. (St. Gregory, v. 18.) (Worthington) — Many suppose that Eliphaz was guilty of feigning: but the greatest part think that he had truly seen a vision, but did not draw the proper conclusions from it. (Calmet) — Protestants, “Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.” (Haydock)”

“12 And a word reached me stealthily, And my ear heard a whisper thereof. 13 In the play of thought, in visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling; And it caused the multitude of my bones to quake with fear. 15 And a breathing passed over my face; 16 It stood there, and I discerned not its appearance: An image was before my eyes; A gentle murmur, and I heard a voice. The fut. יגגּב, like Jdg 2:1; Psa 80:9, is ruled by the following fut. consec.: ad me furtim delatum est (not deferebatur). Eliphaz does not say אלי ויגנּב (although he means a single occurrence), because he desires, with pathos, to put himself prominent. That the word came to him so secretly, and that he heard only as it were a whisper (שׁמץ, according to Arnheim, in distinction from שׁמע, denotes a faint, indistinct impression on the ear), is designed to show the value of such a solemn communication, and to arouse curiosity. Instead of the prosaic ממּנוּ, we find here the poetic pausal-form מנהוּ expanded from מנּוּ, after the form מנּי, Job 21:16; Psa 18:23. מן is partitive: I heard only a whisper, murmur; the word was too sacred and holy to come loudly and directly to his ear. It happened, as he lay in the deep sleep of night, in the midst of the confusion of thought resulting from nightly dreams. שׂעפּים (from שׂעיף, branched) are thoughts proceeding like branches from the heart as their root, and intertwining themselves; the מן which follows refers to the cause: there were all manner of dreams which occasioned the thoughts, and to which they referred (comp. Job 33:15); תּרדּמה, in distinction from שׁנה, sleep, and תּנוּמה, slumber, is the deep sleep related to death and ecstasy, in which man sinks back from outward life into the remotest ground of his inner life. In Job 4:14, קראני, from קרא = קרה, to meet (Ges. 75, 22), is equivalent to קרני (not קרני, as Hirz., first edition, wrongly points it; comp. Gen 44:29). The subject of הפחיד is the undiscerned ghostlike something. Eliphaz was stretched upon his bed when רוּח, a breath of wind, passed (חלף( dessap, similar to Isa 21:1) over his face. The wind is the element by means of which the spirit-existence is made manifest; comp. Kg1 19:12, where Jehovah appears in a gentle whispering of the wind, and Act 2:2, where the descent of the Holy Spirit is made known by a mighty rushing. רוּח, πνεῦμα, Sanscrit âtma, signifies both the immaterial spirit and the air, which is proportionately the most immaterial of material things. (Note: On wind and spirit, vid., Windischmann, Die Philosophie im Fortgang der Weltgesch. S. 1331ff.) His hair bristled up, even every hair of his body; סמּר, not causative, but intensive of Kal. יעמד has also the ghostlike appearance as subject. Eliphaz could not discern its outline, only a תמוּנה, imago quaedam (the most ethereal word for form, Num 12:8; Psa 17:15, of μορφή or δόξα of God), was before his eyes, and he heard, as it were proceeding from it, רקל דּממה, i.e., per hendiadyn: a voice, which spoke to him in a gentle, whispering tone, as follows:”