In destruction and famine then shalt laugh: and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

“In destruction and famine thou shalt laugh. Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beast of the earth. For the lost shall then suffer 'destruction and famine,' when, being condemned in the last Judgment, they are parted asunder from the sight of 'the Bread' eternal. For it is written, Let the wicked be taken away, that he see not the glory of God. And the Lord declares by His own lips, I am the living Bread, Which came down from heaven. Thus at one and the same time both 'destruction and famine' combine to torture those, who not only feel torments without, but farther suffer death within by the plague of starvation. Hell 'destroys,' in that it burns, famine kills, in that the Redeemer hides His face from them. For well and justly they have their recompense both within and without, in that the wretched people both by thought and by deed did commit offence. Whence it is well said by the Psalmist, Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of Thine anger: the Lord shall confound them in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. For that, which is 'devoured' by fire, is kindled from the outside. But an oven is set on fire within. And so in the time of God's anger all the unrighteous are both 'made as a fiery oven,' and also 'devoured by the fire,' in that at the appearing of the Judge, when all the multitude of them is banished from the sight of Him, both within the conscience is set on fire from the misery of want, and without hell torments the flesh. 'The scourge of the tongue' too may be understood to mean the sentence of the final doom, whereby the Just Judge saith to the lost, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. The righteous man then is 'hidden from the scourge of the tongue,' and from the coming woe, because in that exceeding strictness of doom, he is then comforted with the mild voice of the Judge, when it is said, For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Before which it is premised; Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Therefore 'in destruction and famine' the righteous man 'shall laugh;' for, when the final vengeance smites all the wicked, he himself joys in the glory of a meet reward. Nor does he at that time any longer compassionate the damned by virtue of his human nature. For, incorporated into the Divine Justice by resemblance, he is, by the unshaken force of interior strictness, made thoroughly firm. For the souls of the Elect, being reared up in the clear light of the Righteousness above, are touched by no sense of compassion, in that the height of their bliss makes them strangers to misery. Hence also it is well said by the Psalmist; The righteous also shall see this, and shall fear, and shall laugh at him, and shall say, Lo, this is the man that made not God his helper. For now the righteous see the wicked and fear, then they shall see and laugh. For because they may now fall in imitation of them, here they are holden of fear, but because they cannot then advantage the damned, there they entertain no sympathy. Therefore, that they should not commiserate those that are doomed to eternal woe, they read in that very justice of the Judge wherein they exist in bliss. For, a thing which it is not right to imagine of them, they lower the character of the happiness vouchsafed them, if, when placed in the kingdom, they wish for something which they never can accomplish. But whosoever orders himself after the precepts of life, already tastes here below the first-fruits of that secure estate which shall last for ever, so that he has no fear of our old enemy; nor at the coming on of the crisis of death in any degree dreads his violent assault. For to the righteous the beginning of their recompense is most commonly nothing else than the very security of their minds in dying. For our crafty foe is called 'a beast of the earth,' in that he ravins with the violence of his savage nature, to seize upon the souls of sinners at the hour of their death. For those whom he deludes by flattery during their lifetime, he seizes with cruelty when they are dying. Contrary whereunto the Lord gives a promise concerning the Church of the Elect through the Prophet, The evil beast shall not go up thereon. They then in dying fear the 'beast of the earth,' who when living fear not the power of their Maker. For good men, because they submit themselves from the core of their heart to the dread of God, put away every weight of fear arising from the adversary's coming. For it is hence that the Psalmist beseeches the Lord, in these words, Lest he tear my soul as a lion. Hence again he says, Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer, preserve my soul from fear of the enemy. For while they live they perfectly fear the Judge, that when they die they may not dread the accuser. Well then is it said, Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beast of the earth. As if it were in plain words, 'Forasmuch as thou art not now overcome by the enemy in his alluring address, thou shalt not hereafter fear him in his rage. But when we live well, it is very needful to be on our guard, that the mind, looking down upon others, be not lifted up by the pride of standing alone.”

“"Anger kills the foolish man." Because in the revelation which he had recounted as having been made to him, Eliphaz included among other things this, that men who have an earthly foundation are consumed as though by a moth; he wishes to show this through the diverse conditions of men: for there is no condition of men to which a proneness to some sin is not present. Now there are two conditions of men: for some are of great and elevated spirit, who are easily provoked to anger, and this is so because anger is an appetite for vengeance arising from a preceding offense; and the more elevated in spirit someone is, the more he thinks himself offended from a lighter cause, and therefore the more easily he is provoked to anger, and this is what is meant by "anger kills the foolish man." Now he calls the man who is of proud and elevated spirit "foolish," because it is especially through pride that man exceeds the bounds of reason, and humility prepares the way of wisdom, according to that saying of Proverbs 11:2, "where there is humility, there is wisdom"; and with this also the folly of anger fits, for the angry man, as the Philosopher teaches, does indeed use reason while he seeks vengeance for an offense, but perversely, since in taking vengeance he does not observe the measure of reason; and perversity of reason is folly. But some are pusillanimous, and these are prone to envy; hence he adds "and envy slays the little one," and this is said reasonably: for envy is nothing other than sadness at another's prosperity, insofar as that prosperity is reckoned as an impediment to one's own prosperity; and this pertains to smallness of soul, that someone does not judge himself able to prosper among others who are prospering. Thus, therefore, it seems evident that man, of whatever condition he may be, is prone to some sin; for it would be easy to bring forward similar things concerning other sins. Thus, then, through all that has been said above, Eliphaz intends to prove that adversities in this world befall no one except for sin. Against this there seem to be two objections, one of which is that many just men seem to be subjected to adversities; but he seems to have dissolved this objection by showing that men are prone to sin. The second objection is that some wicked men prosper in this world, and to satisfy this he intends consequently to show that their prosperity redounds to their own harm. Hence he says, "I have seen a fool," that is, a man puffed up with pride in his riches, "with a firm root," that is, established, as it seemed, in the prosperity of this world; but I did not approve his prosperity — nay rather, "I cursed his beauty immediately." Here it should be noted that he speaks of man under the metaphor of a tree, whose root, when it is firm, gives beauty in branches and fruits; he therefore compares the prosperity of a man established in riches to the beauty of a tree, which he curses, that is, pronounces to be evil and harmful, according to that saying of Ecclesiastes 5:12, "there is also another very grievous infirmity which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of their owner." He added "immediately" in order to show that he has no doubt at all about this judgment. He shows, first as regards the sons, what evils proceed from the prosperity of the fool. For it frequently happens that when someone rich and powerful raises his sons without discipline, which is proper to a fool, his sons fall into many dangers; and sometimes, indeed, they are destroyed without judgment because of the hatreds which they stir up against themselves, or else, while not taking heed for themselves and indulging inordinately in pleasures, they lose their lives; and as to this he says, "his sons shall be far from safety." At other times, while they inflict calumnies and injuries on others, they are brought before judges and there condemned; and as to this he says, "and they shall be crushed in the gate," that is, by the sentence of the judges, for judges of old were accustomed to sit in the gates. And because foolish men in their prosperity do not hesitate to offend anyone, in adversity they find no helper, and so he adds, "and there shall be none to deliver them." But because someone might say, "I do not care whatever happens to my sons, so long as I enjoy prosperity in this world," he therefore, in the second place, sets forth the evils that come upon the fool himself both in his goods and in his person, saying, "whose harvest the hungry man shall eat"; for frequently men who are foolish and abound in riches oppress the poor, who, for the most part unable to bear the burdens, are forced by a kind of necessity to seize the goods of the rich; and because such men, living delicately, are wont through the delights of life to lose vigor of spirit and to become unwarlike, they are easily destroyed by warlike poor men; hence there follows, "and the armed man shall snatch it away," as it were without any resistance. And so that what he had said of harvests may be understood generally, he adds, "and the thirsty shall drink his riches," that is, covetous men. The aforesaid objections having been removed, he finally brings forward the argument to prove his principal intention, namely that adversities in this world do not happen to anyone except for sin, and the argument is this: whatever things happen on earth proceed from their own determinate causes; if, therefore, adversities happen to someone in this world, this has a determinate cause, which appears to be none other than sin; this, then, is what he says, "nothing on earth happens without a cause": for we see all effects proceed from determinate causes. From which, as though concluding, he adds, "and sorrow shall not spring out of the ground," and this is a metaphorical expression: for certain herbs are produced without seed, of which it is said that the ground brings them forth of its own accord; whatever, therefore, happened without its own proper cause, as it were without seed, could by a certain likeness be metaphorically said to spring out of the ground; but sorrow, that is, adversity, shall not spring out of the ground, that is, it is not without a cause. That which he had said, "nothing on earth happens without a cause," is made especially clear from this, that all things have a natural disposition fitting to their proper operation, from which it appears that the natural dispositions of things are not without a cause but for a determinate end; and therefore he says, "man is born to labor, and the bird to fly." For it is evident that, because the proper motion which the nature of the bird required was flight, it was fitting that the bird should have from its nature instruments suited to flying, namely wings and feathers; man, however, because he had reason, by which through his own labor he could procure for himself all the necessary aids, was naturally produced without all the aids which nature gave to other animals, namely without covering, without weapons, and other such things which he could prepare for himself by his own labor through the industry of reason. "Wherefore I will beseech the Lord," and so forth. Because Eliphaz had proposed that all things which happen on earth have a determinate cause, and had proved this from the fact that natural things appeared to be disposed for an end, and because this — namely that natural things exist for an end — is the strongest argument to show that the world is governed by divine providence and that not all things happen by chance, Eliphaz therefore at once concludes from what has gone before concerning the governance of divine providence. Now it must be known that if divine providence is taken away, the fruit of prayer is taken away, and likewise the knowledge of God concerning human affairs, which nevertheless must necessarily be posited by one who grants the governance of providence; and therefore Eliphaz, concluding, says: since all things which happen on earth are for an end, one must grant the governance of providence, wherefore "I will beseech the Lord," as though prayer were fruitful inasmuch as God disposes human affairs, "and to God I will set forth my speech," inasmuch as God knows human deeds and words and thoughts. In confirmation of this he adds those things which most show forth divine providence. Now it must be known that those who deny providence say that all things which appear in the things of the world proceed from the necessity of natural causes, namely from the necessity of heat and cold, of heaviness and lightness, and other such things. From those things, therefore, is divine providence most shown, of which no reason can be given from such natural principles; among which one is the determinate magnitude of the bodies of this world: for no reason can be assigned from any natural principle why the sun or the moon or the earth should be of such a size and not greater or smaller; hence it must be said that this apportioning of magnitudes is from the ordination of some intellect, and this he designates when he says, "who does great things," that is, who disposes things in a determinate magnitude. Again, if all things proceeded from the necessity of natural principles, since natural principles are known to us, we would have a way of inquiring into all things that are in this world; but there are some things in this world to the knowledge of which we can attain by no inquiry, such as spiritual substances, the distances of the stars, and other such things; hence it is evident that not all things proceed from the necessity of natural principles, but that things have been instituted by some higher intellect, and for this reason he adds, "and things unsearchable." Likewise, there are certain things which we see of which we can in no way assign the reason, for instance that the stars are disposed according to such a figure in this part of the heaven and according to another in another part; hence it is evident that this does not come from natural principles but from some higher intellect, and for this reason he adds, "and wondrous things": for the unsearchable and the wondrous differ in this, that the unsearchable is that which itself lies hidden and cannot be sought out, while the wondrous is that which indeed itself appears, but its cause cannot be sought out. It must also be known that some have held that the disposition of things proceeds from God according to a certain order of number, namely that from the first, simple one there proceeds only one first effect, in which there is already something of composition and plurality, and thus from it there proceed two or three things which are still less simple, and so, step by step according to them, the whole multitude of things proceeds; according to which position, indeed, the whole disposition of the universe is not from the ordination of the divine intellect but from a certain necessity of nature; hence, to remove this position, he adds, "without number": either because things have been produced into being without the necessity of a numerical order, or because innumerable things have been produced for us immediately by God, which especially appears in the first heaven, in which there are very many stars. Thus, then, Eliphaz shows that the production of things is from God and not from the necessity of nature. Consequently he shows that the course of things once made is governed by divine providence. And first in natural things, from the fact that natural things appear to be tempered to the use of men and of other animals, although the natural order of the elements would seem to require otherwise: for if one considers weight and lightness in the elements, it is evident that by nature earth lies beneath water, and water beneath air, and air beneath fire. Yet some part of the earth is found uncovered by the waters, lying immediately beneath the air; for otherwise animals that breathe could not live on the earth; and again, lest the earth uncovered from the waters should become unfruitful and uninhabitable through its dryness, it is moistened by God in two ways: first, indeed, by rain, by which the surface of the earth is watered, and as to this he says, "who gives rain upon the face of the earth"; in another way, as regards springs, streams, and rivers, by which the earth is irrigated, whose source is under the earth just as the rain's is on high, and as to this he says, "and waters all things." Then he shows the working of providence also in human affairs. And indeed, if human affairs ran according to what their disposition seems to require, little or no trace of divine providence would appear in them; but since human affairs run in another way, fools, who do not consider the higher causes, attribute this to chance and fortune, in whose persons Solomon speaks, Ecclesiastes 9:11, saying, "I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favor to the skillful, but time and chance in all things." Eliphaz, however, refers this to a higher cause, namely to the providence of God. And first as regards the oppressed, who are also raised from the lowest to the height, and as to this he says, "who sets the humble," that is, the cast down, "on high," and are transferred from sorrow to joy, and as to this he says, "and raises up the mourning to health." Second, as regards the oppressors, of whom there are two kinds. For some openly oppress others by power, and as to these it is said, "who scatters the thoughts of the malignant, that their hands may not accomplish what they had begun," because, namely, they are hindered by God in the very carrying out of the deed, lest they be able to bring an iniquitous thought to effect; but some deceive by cunning, and as to these it is said, "who catches the wise in their own craftiness," inasmuch, namely, as the things which they craftily devise turn out contrary to their purpose, "and dissipates the counsel of the wicked," while, namely, the things which seem to have been wisely counseled by them, through certain impediments brought in upon them, they are not able to bring to effect; and sometimes not only are craftily-counseled things hindered in the deed, but their mind itself is darkened so that they cannot discern the better course in counseling, hence he adds, "in the daytime they shall run into darkness," because, namely, in a matter altogether manifest they do not know at all what to do, "and grope at noonday as in the night," that is, in things which are in no way doubtful they shall be as doubtful as in obscure matters. And so that these things may be seen to come from divine providence, he adds the benefit that comes from what has been said. For while the cunning of the malignant is hindered, the poor are freed from their deceptions, and this is what he adds, "moreover he shall save the needy from the sword of their mouth," for those who are cunning in evil are wont to seduce others by flattering and feigned words, which words, in doing harm, are compared to a sword, according to that saying of the Psalm, "their tongue is a sharp sword." When, moreover, the works of the powerful wicked are hindered by God, it is likewise evident that the poor are saved, hence there follows, "and the poor from the hand of the violent." And from this two things follow, one of which is that men, who are of themselves powerless, trust in the divine power, as though God cared for human affairs, hence he adds, "and there shall be hope to the needy"; the other is that powerful and wicked men hold themselves back from being entirely wicked, hence there follows, "but iniquity shall shut her mouth," lest, namely, it pour itself out entirely into the destruction of others. "Blessed is the man who is corrected by the Lord," and so forth. As has been said above, Eliphaz had in what preceded charged blessed Job both with impatience and with presumption in that he had asserted himself innocent; now, however, he endeavors to take away from him the despair from which he believed those words had proceeded by which Job had detested his own life. It must be known, then, that from the things said above, by which he had asserted divine providence both concerning natural things and concerning human affairs, he takes this as known, that all adversities are brought upon men by divine judgment, but upon some indeed unto final condemnation — those who are incorrigible — while upon others unto correction — those who are amended by adversities — whom he asserts to be blessed, saying, "blessed is the man who is corrected by the Lord": for if correction by man is wholesome, though man cannot perfectly know the measure and manner according to which correction can be wholesome, nor is he omnipotent to remove evils and bestow goods, much more ought the correction of God, who is omnipotent and knows all things, to be reckoned wholesome and happy. From this conclusion he draws to his purpose, saying, "therefore do not reject the rebuke of the Lord," as if to say: although you suffer this adversity from God on account of your sins, nevertheless you ought to reckon that this is, as it were, a certain rebuke of the Lord for correcting you, hence you ought not to reject this adversity to such an extent that on account of it you hold your life hateful. And he adds the reason for what has been said, saying, "for he wounds," with a graver adversity, "and heals," by taking away evils and restoring goods; "he strikes," with a lighter adversity, "and his hands," that is, his operations, "shall heal," that is, shall set free. Eliphaz, then, did not assert that the one who is corrected by the Lord is blessed on account of a future life, which he did not believe in, but on account of the present life, in which, after correction, a man obtained from God immunity from evils and abundance of goods. Hence, consequently, concerning immunity from evils he adds, saying, "in six troubles he shall deliver you, and in the seventh evil shall not touch you"; for since all time is measured by the sevenfold number of days, the universality of things is customarily designated by the number seven, so that the sense is that no adversity will harm the one who is corrected by the Lord after his amendment. And because, according to his opinion, the more anyone has been purified from fault, the less adversity he suffers in this world, therefore he says, "in the seventh evil shall not touch you," as though before amendment a man is not freed from adversity, but when he begins to be freed from it he is touched but not overwhelmed, God freeing him, while after perfect liberation he is not touched at all. This is indeed true as regards the mind, which, while it fixes its end in worldly things, is oppressed by worldly adversities; when, withdrawing its love from them, it begins to love God, it is saddened indeed in adversities but is not overwhelmed, because it does not have its hope in the world; but when it has utterly despised the world, then worldly adversities scarcely touch it. This opinion, however, is not true as regards the body, as Eliphaz understood it, since the most perfect men sometimes suffer the gravest adversities, according to that saying of the Psalm, "for your sake we are put to death all the day long," which is adduced concerning the apostles. And because he had touched on seven tribulations, he subsequently enumerates them. Now it must be known that adversity sometimes arises from some particular danger to some person, which is sometimes against his bodily life, which is sometimes taken away through the withdrawal of necessities, and as to this he says, "in famine he shall deliver you from death," as if to say: you will indeed suffer hunger, being rebuked by the Lord, but from this you will not come to death, God delivering you; and this is the first tribulation. Sometimes, moreover, it is taken away through the violence of someone inflicting harm, and as to this he says, "and in war, from the hand," that is, the power, "of the sword," as if to say: war will come upon you, but you will not be brought into the power of the sword; and this is the second tribulation. Bodily life is also taken away by natural death, but this is not counted among tribulations, since the nature of man requires it. Sometimes, moreover, the personal danger is against a man's reputation, which pertains to civil life, and as to this he says, "you shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue": now the scourge of the tongue is called grievous defamation, from which a man is then hidden when the deeds of his, by which he might be defamed, lie hidden from the detractor; and this is the third tribulation. Sometimes, moreover, adversity comes from some general danger, which threatens either persons or goods: persons indeed, as when an enemy army comes upon some country, through which either death or captivity is commonly feared, and as to this he says, "and you shall not fear calamity when it comes," as if to say: with calamity from the enemies of your country impending, you will not be afraid; and this is the fourth tribulation. Common danger threatens goods, moreover, either through the barrenness of the land, which occurs in a time of famine, or through some devastation of the crops by enemies, and as to these two he says, "in famine and devastation you shall laugh," that is, you will have abundance which will be to you a matter of joy; and thus the fifth and sixth tribulations are touched upon. Sometimes, moreover, adversity comes from the assault of brute animals, whether in general or in particular, and as to this he says, "and you shall not fear the beast of the earth"; and this appears to be the seventh tribulation, in which evil does not touch him. After immunity from evils he sets forth abundance in goods, and first as regards the fertility of the lands, saying, "but you shall have a covenant with the stones of the regions," that is, even stony and barren lands will bring forth fruit for you, according to that saying of Deuteronomy 32:13, "that you might suck honey out of the rock," etc.; second, as regards the brute animals, and as to this he says, "and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with you," that is, they will not harm you — though these two might be otherwise, that could be explained, so that by stones are understood hard and rude men, and by beasts, cruel men; third, as regards the members of his household, when he says, "and you shall know that your tent has peace," that is, your household will have peace among themselves; fourth, specifically as regards his wife, and as to this he says, "and visiting your beauty you shall not sin," as if to say: you will have a wife who is honorable and peaceable, with whom you will be able to live without sin; fifth, as regards sons, hence he says, "your offspring shall be like the grass of the earth," that is, you will have many sons and grandsons; sixth, as regards a peaceful and quiet death, and as to this he says, "you shall go into the grave in abundance," as though not despoiled of your goods, in good prosperity, "as a heap of wheat is brought in its own time," as though not overtaken by an untimely and sudden death. Finally, he confirms the things he had said above, saying, "behold, this, as we have searched it out, so it is." And because he judges Job to be so absorbed in sorrow that he would not much consider such things, he makes him attentive, saying, "hear it, and turn it over in your mind."”

“At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh,.... Not deride and despise them, and make a jest of them; for good men have a reverence and awe of the righteous judgments of God upon them, when they are in the world, Psa 119:120; but the sense is, that such shall reckon themselves safe and secure amidst such calamities, provision being made for their protection and sustenance; and be cheerful and comfortable, putting their trust and confidence in the Lord, as Habakkuk was, in a time of great distress, when all the necessaries of life were cut off from the stall, the herds, the flocks, and the fields; Hab 3:17; just as a man that is in a good harbour, or has a good house over his head, laughs at blustering storms and winds (h), or thinks himself secure, and so is cheerful and pleasant amidst all the noise that is about him, see Hab 1:10, neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth; either, literally taken, beasts of prey, that wander about in the earth, noisome and pernicious ones; which are one of God's sore judgments which he threatens the disobedient with, and promises the obedient he will rid them of; and therefore they have no reason to be afraid of them, see Eze 14:21; some think serpents are particularly designed, which creep upon the earth, and whose, food is the dust of the earth, with all other poisonous animals, between which and men there is an antipathy; and yet good men need not be afraid of these; see Mar 16:18; or figuratively, cruel and barbarous men, thieves and robbers, as Jarchi; or rather fierce and furious persecutors, and particularly the beasts of Rome, Pagan and Papal; though the literal sense is to be preferred; the Targum interprets this of the camp of Og, comparable to the beasts of the earth. (h) "Ridebis ventos hoc munere teetus et imbres", Martial.”

“famine thou shalt laugh--Not, in spite of destruction and famine, which is true (Hab 3:17-18), though not the truth meant by Eliphaz, but because those calamities shall not come upon thee. A different Hebrew word from that in Job 5:20; there, famine in general; here, the languid state of those wanting proper nutriment [BARNES].”

“22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, And from the beasts of the earth thou hast nothing to fear. 23 For thou art in league with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field are at peace with thee. 24 And thou knowest that peace is thy pavilion; And thou searchest thy household, and findest nothing wanting. 25 Thou knowest also that thy seed shall be numerous, And thy offspring as the herb of the ground. 26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a ripe age, As shocks of corn are brought in in their season. 27 Lo! this we have searched out, so it is: Hear it, and give thou heed to it. The verb שׂחק is construed (Job 5:22) with ל of that which is despised, as Job 39:7, Job 39:18; Job 41:21 [Hebr.]. על־תּירא is the form of subjective negation [vid. Ges. 152, 1: Tr.]: only fear thou not = thou hast no occasion. In Job 5:23, בּריתך is the shortest substantive form for לך בּרית. The whole of nature will be at peace with thee: the stones of the field, that they do not injure the fertility of thy fields; the wild beasts of the field, that they do not hurt thee and thy herds. The same promise that Hosea (Hos 2:20) utters in reference to the last days is here used individually. From this we see how deeply the Chokma had searched into the history of Paradise and the Fall. Since man, the appointed lord of the earth, has been tempted by a reptile, and has fallen by a tree, his relation to nature, and its relation to him, has been reversed: it is an incongruity, which is again as a whole put right (שׁלום), as the false relation of man to God is put right. In Job 5:24, שׁלום (which might also be adj.) is predicate: thou wilt learn (וידעתּ, praet. consec. with accented ultima, as e.g., Deu 4:39, here with Tiphcha initiale s. anterius, which does not indicate the grammatical tone-syllable) that thy tent is peace, i.e., in a condition of contentment and peace on all sides. Job 5:24 is to be arranged: And when thou examinest thy household, then thou lackest nothing, goest not astray, i.e., thou findest everything, without missing anything, in the place where thou seekest it. Job 5:25 reminds one of the Salomonic Psa 72:16. צאצאים in the Old Testament is found only in Isaiah and the book of Job. The meaning of the noun כּלח, which occurs only here and Job 30:2, is clear. Referring to the verb כּלח, Arabic qahila (qalhama), to be shrivelled up, very aged, it signifies the maturity of old age, - an idea which may be gained more easily if we connect כּלח with כּלה (to be completed), like קשׁח with קשׁה (to be hard). (Note: We may also compare the Arabic khl (from which comes cuhulije, mature manhood, opp. tufulije, tender childhood).) In the parallel there is the time of the sheaves, when they are brought up to the high threshing-floor, the latest period of harvest. עלה, of the raising of the sheaves to the threshing-floor, as elsewhere of the raising, i.e., the bringing up of the animals to the altar. גּדישׁ is here a heap of sheaves, Arab. kuds, as Job 21:32 a sepulchral heap, Arab. jadat, distinct from אלמּה, a bundle, a single sheaf. The speech of Eliphaz, which we have broken up into nine strophes, is now ended. Eliphaz concludes it by an epimythionic distich, Job 5:27, with an emphatic nota bene. He speaks at the same time in the name of his companions. These are principles well proved by experience with which he confronts Job. Job needs to lay them to heart: tu scito tibi. All that Eliphaz says, considered in itself, is blameless. He censures Job's vehemence, which was certainly not to be approved. He says that the destroying judgment of God never touches the innocent, but certainly the wicked; and at the same time expresses the same truth as that placed as a motto to the Psalter in Psa 1:1-6, and which is even brilliantly confirmed in the issue of the history of Job. When we find Isa 57:1, comp. Psa 12:2, in apparent opposition to this, אבד הצּדּיק, it is not meant that the judgment of destruction comes upon the righteous, but that his generation experiences the judgment of his loss (aetati suae perit). And these are eternal truths, that between the Creator and creature, even an angel, there remains an infinite distance, and that no creature possesses a righteousness which it can maintain before God. Not less true is it, that with God murmuring is death, and that it is appointed to sinful man to pass through sorrow. Moreover, the counsel of Eliphaz is the right counsel: I would turn to God, etc. His beautiful concluding exhortation, so rich in promises, crowns his speech. It has been observed (e.g., by Lwenthal), that if it is allowed that Eliphaz (Job 5:17.) expresses a salutary spiritual design of affliction, all coherence in the book is from the first destroyed. But in reality it is an effect producing not only outward happiness, but also an inward holiness, which Eliphaz ascribes to sorrow. It is therefore to be asked, how it consists with the plan of the book. There is no doctrinal error to be discovered in the speech of Eliphaz, and yet he cannot be considered as a representative of the complete truth of Scripture. Job ought to humble himself under this; but since he does not, we must side with Eliphaz. He does not represent the complete truth of Scripture: for there are, according to Scripture, three kinds of sufferings, which must be carefully distinguished. (Note: Our old dogmatists (vid., e.g., Baier, Compendium Theologiae positivae, ii. 1, 15) and pastoral theologians (e.g., Danhauer) consider them as separate. Among the oldest expositors of the book of Job with which I am acquainted, Olympiodorus is comparatively the best.) The godless one, who has fallen away from God, is visited with suffering from God; for sin and the punishment of sin (comprehended even in the language in עון and חטּאת) are necessarily connected as cause and effect. This suffering of the godless is the effect of the divine justice in punishment; it is chastisement (מוּסר) under the disposition of wrath (Psa 6:2; Psa 38:2; Jer 10:24.), though not yet final wrath; it is punitive suffering (נקם, נגע, τιμωρία, poena). On the other hand, the sufferings of the righteous flow from the divine love, to which even all that has the appearance of wrath in this suffering must be subservient, as the means only by which it operates: for although the righteous man is not excepted from the weakness and sinfulness of the human race, he can never become an object of the divine wrath, so long as his inner life is directed towards God, and his outward life is governed by the most earnest striving after sanctification. According to the Old and New Testaments, he stands towards God in the relation of a child to his father (only the New Testament idea includes the mystery of the new birth not revealed in the Old Testament); and consequently all sufferings are fatherly chastisements, Deu 8:5; Pro 3:12; Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19, comp. Tob. 12:13 (Vulg.). But this general distinction between the sufferings of the righteous and of the ungodly is not sufficient for the book of Job. The sufferings of the righteous even are themselves manifold. God sends affliction to them more and more to purge away the sin which still has power over them, and rouse them up from the danger of carnal security; to maintain in them the consciousness of sin as well as of grace, and with it the lowliness of penitence; to render the world and its pleasures bitter as gall to them; to draw them from the creature, and bind them to himself by prayer and devotion. This suffering, which has the sin of the godly as its cause, has, however, not God's wrath, but God's love directed towards the preservation and advancement of the godly, as its motive: it is the proper disciplinary suffering (מוּסר or תּוכחת, Pro 3:11; παιδεία, Heb 12). It is this of which Paul speaks, Co1 11:32. This disciplinary suffering may attain such a high degree as entirely to overwhelm the consciousness of the relation to God by grace; and the sufferer, as frequently in the Psalms, considers himself as one rejected of God, over whom the wrath of God is passing. The deeper the sufferer's consciousness of sin, the more dejected is his mood of sorrow; and still God's thoughts concerning him are thoughts of peace, and not of evil (Jer 29:11). He chastens, not however in wrath, but בּמשׁפּט, with moderation (Jer 10:24). Nearly allied to this suffering, but yet, as to its cause and purpose, distinct, is another kind of the suffering of the godly. God ordains suffering for them, in order to prove their fidelity to himself, and their earnestness after sanctification, especially their trust in God, and their patience. He also permits Satan, who impeaches them, to tempt them, to sift them as wheat, in order that he may be confounded, and the divine choice justified, - in order that it may be manifest that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, are able to separate them from the love of God, and to tear away their faith (אמונה) from God, which has remained stedfast on Him, notwithstanding every apparent manifestation of wrath. The godly will recognise his affliction as such suffering when it comes upon him in the very midst of his fellowship with God, his prayer and watching, and his struggling after sanctification. For this kind of suffering - trial - Scripture employs the expressions נסּה (Deu 8:2, Deu 8:16) and בּחן (Pro 17:3), πειρασμός (Jam 1:12; Pe1 1:6., Job 4:19; comp. Sir. 2:1ff.). Such suffering, according to a common figure, is for the godly what the smelting-furnace or the fining-pot is to precious metals. A rich reward awaits him who is found proof against the trial, temptation, and conflict, and comes forth from it as pure, refined gold. Suffering for trial is nearly allied to that for chastisement, in so far as the chastisement is at the same time trial; but distinct from it, in so far as every trial is not also chastisement (i.e., having as its purpose the purging away of still existing sin). A third kind of the suffering of the righteous is testimony borne by suffering, - reproach, persecution, and perhaps even martyrdom, which are endured for the sake of fidelity to God and His word. While he is blessed who is found proof against trial, he is blessed in himself who endures this suffering (Mat 5:11., and other passages); for every other suffering comes upon man for his own sake, this for God's. In this case there is not even the remotest connection between the suffering and the sinfulness of the sufferer. Ps 44 is a prayer of Israel in the midst of this form of suffering. Σταυρός is the name expressly used for it in the New Testament - suffering for the kingdom of heaven's sake. Without a knowledge of these different kinds of human suffering, the book of Job cannot be understood. "Whoever sees with spiritual eyes," says Brentius, "does not judge the moral character of a man by his suffering, but his suffering by his moral character." Just the want of this spiritual discernment and inability to distinguish the different kinds of suffering is the mistake of the friends, and likewise, from the very first, the mistake of Eliphaz. Convinced of the sincere piety of his friend, he came to Job believing that his suffering was a salutary chastisement of God, which would at last turn out for his good. Proceeding upon this assumption, he blames Job for his murmuring, and bids him receive his affliction with a recognition of human sinfulness and the divine purpose for good. Thus the controversy begins. The causal connection with sin, in which Eliphaz places Job's suffering, is after all the mildest. He does not go further than to remind Job that he is a sinner, because he is a man. But even this causal connection, in which Eliphaz connects Job's sufferings, though in the most moderate way, with previous sin deserving of punishment, is his πρώτον ψεῦδος. In the next place, Job's suffering is indeed not chastisement, but trial. Jehovah has decreed it for His servant, not to chasten him, but to prove him. This it is that Eliphaz mistakes; and we also should not know it but for the prologue and the corresponding epilogue. Accordingly, the prologue and epilogue are organic parts of the form of the book. If these are removed, its spirit is destroyed. But the speech of Eliphaz, moreover, beautiful and true as it is, when considered in itself, is nevertheless heartless, haughty, stiff, and cold. For (1.) it does not contain a word of sympathy, and yet the suffering which he beholds is so terribly great: his first word to his friend after the seven days of painful silence is not one of comfort, but of moralizing. (2.) He must know that Job's disease is not the first and only suffering which has come upon him, and that he has endured his previous afflictions with heroic submission; but he ignores this, and acts as though sorrow were now first come upon Job. (3.) Instead of recognising therein the reason of Job's despondency, that he thinks that he has fallen from the love of God, and become an object of wrath, he treats him as self-righteous; (Note: Oetinger: "Eliphaz mentioned the oracle to affect seriously the hidden hypocrisy of Job's heart.") and to excite his feelings, presents an oracle to him, which contains nothing but what Job might sincerely admit as true. (4.) Instead of considering that Job's despair and murmuring against God is really of a different kind from that of the godless, he classes them together, and instead of gently correcting him, present to Job the accursed end of the fool, who also murmurs against God, as he has himself seen it. Thus, in consequence of the false application which Eliphaz makes of it, the truth contained in his speech is totally reversed. Thus delicately and profoundly commences the dramatical entanglement. The skill of the poet is proved by the difficulty which the expositor has in detecting that which is false in the speech of Eliphaz. The idea of the book does not float on the surface. It is clothed with flesh and blood. It is submerged in the very action and history.”