Elihu 2

Biblegems #27

Question: “Does God not mention Elihu in the last chapter for the same reason that the author did not mention him (because he was too young to be worth mentioning)?” (see Biblegems #24)

The reference to this question is Job 42:7: After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

Where Scripture is silent, we can only surmise so much. That being said, there are some things we can know for certain that will help answers the reader’s question.

First, there is the nature of God Himself. God is not petty, nor is He confined to the changing tides of cultural norms. The fact that Jewish men in biblical times carried no real status as adults with authority until they reached their thirtieth birthday doe not mean that God was restricted by such expectations. He is omnipotent, and no human restrictions pertain to Him. Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him (Ps. 115:3).

Second, the nature of the book of Job also tells us that it was not intended to give us a biography of the characters involved, but to relate to mankind the lesson Job learned in his experience. In much the same way as the book of Acts does not give us the closing story on the lives of the apostles—because that is not important to the purpose of the book—so too the book of Job relates only what is important, from God’s point of view, for advancing the message of the book.

A third consideration is the very fact of Elihu’s odd appearance and disappearance from the account. It would seem that he did not stick it out to the end with Job and the other three. Whatever else might be said about the counsel Job received from his other three friends, they apparently cared enough about Job to visit with him throughout his ordeal. Elihu seems to have been more concerned with expressing his opinions than showing genuine compassion for Job himself. It appears that Elihu was not around long enough to benefit with the others from what God wanted to accomplish. It is important to keep in view that God used the relationship between Job and his three friends to bring reconciliation—not only with God but with each other:

So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to

my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for

yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I

will accept his prayer and not deal with you according

to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right,

as my servant Job has. (Job 42:8)

That reconciliation would not have been available to Elihu if he had left the scene after expressing his opinion.

Who Is Elihu?

Biblegms #24

But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know (Job 32:2-6).

In the book of Job there is in chapter thirty-two a sudden and jarring introduction to the reader of a man named Elihu, who has apparently been on the scene the whole time with Job and his three other friends. The question is, who is this man Elihu, and why was he never introduced with the others?

In modern day literature it is considered a major gaff to have a character in a story seemingly appear out of nowhere, especially when that character is presented as having been on the scene for some time. A couple of things need to be kept in mind here, however. One, if Job were a modern work of fiction, then this criticism would certainly be legitimate. But Job is neither modern nor fictional¹. And even if it were fictional, modern rules of story construction did not apply in ancient Israel.

Second, the book of Job does adhere to ancient Near Eastern forms of literature, and contains several literary types, including poetry, Wisdom literature style, prose, history and others. Chapter 32:1-5, where Elihu is first encountered, is actually an intentional break from dialogue with a Hebrew poetic style. This was used to alert the reader that a change in content was about to take place.² It might be loosely compared to the literary device often used in modern fiction where a space of several lines between paragraphs indicates a change in scene is about to take place. That poetic style is lost, for the most part, in translation.

As to why Elihu was never introduced with the other “counselors” at the beginning, the answer lies in the text itself. Verse six quotes Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite as saying “…I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know.” In Job’s day the community elders, as distinguished by age—not title—were treated with great respect and deference.

Not only so, but until a Hebrew male reached the age of thirty he was not considered mature enough to speak with authority, particularly in the presence of elders. In fact, his presence among elders would not even be recognized unless something drew attention to him—as was the case here—where he offered his un-asked for opinion. Elihu, by admitting his youth, draws attention to the fact that under normal circumstances his presence would not even be acknowledged.

¹ Intorduction to The Old Testament, R. K. Harrison. Eerdmans pub, 1969. pg. 1032

² Ibid, pg. 1030