Elihu is a character in the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
's
Book of JobThe Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God...
. According to the Book of Job, Elihu is one of Job's friends, descended from
NahorNahor is the name of two persons in Torah who were both descended from Arpachshad:#The son of Serug and father of Terah, who was the father of Abraham. According to Jubilees, his mother was Milcah daughter of Kaber, and he married 'Iyoska, daughter of Nesteg of the kin of Ur Kasdim...
(Job 32:2, 34:1). He is said to have descended from Buz who may be from the line of Abraham (Genesis 22:20-21 mentions Buz as a nephew of Abraham).
He is mentioned late in the text, Chapter 32, and opens his discourse with more modesty than displayed by the other antagonists.
Elihu is a character in the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
's
Book of JobThe Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God...
. According to the Book of Job, Elihu is one of Job's friends, descended from
NahorNahor is the name of two persons in Torah who were both descended from Arpachshad:#The son of Serug and father of Terah, who was the father of Abraham. According to Jubilees, his mother was Milcah daughter of Kaber, and he married 'Iyoska, daughter of Nesteg of the kin of Ur Kasdim...
(Job 32:2, 34:1). He is said to have descended from Buz who may be from the line of Abraham (Genesis 22:20-21 mentions Buz as a nephew of Abraham).
Synopsis of Elihu's Monologues
He is mentioned late in the text, Chapter 32, and opens his discourse with more modesty than displayed by the other antagonists. Elihu differs from the other antagonists in that his monologues discuss
divine providenceIn theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God over events in people's lives and throughout history.-Etymology:...
, which he insists are full of wisdom and mercy, that the righteous have their share of prosperity in this life, no less than the wicked, that God is supreme and that it becomes us to acknowledge and submit to that supremacy since "the Creator wisely rules the world he made". He draws instances of benignity from, for example, the constant wonders of creation and of the seasons. Chapters 32 through 37 of the Book of Job consist entirely of Elihu's speech to Job. He is never mentioned again after the end of this speech.
Possible pseudonymity of the character
The speeches of Elihu (who is not mentioned in the prologue) contradict the fundamental opinions expressed by the 'friendly accusers' in the central body of the text, that it is impossible that the righteous should suffer, all pain being a punishment for some sin. Elihu states that suffering may be decreed for the righteous as a protection against greater sin, for moral betterment and warning, and to elicit greater trust and dependence on a merciful, compassionate God in the midst of adversity.
Some question the status of Elihu's interruption and didactic sermon because of his sudden appearance and disappearance from the text. He is not mentioned in Job 2:11, in which Job's friends are introduced, nor is he mentioned at all in the epilogue, 42:7-10, in which God expresses anger at Job's friends. But Elihu's preface in chapter 32 indicates that he has been listening intently to the conversation between Job and the other three men. He also admits his status as one who is not an elder (32:6-7.) As Elihu's monologue reveals, his anger against the three older men was so strong he could not contain himself (32:2-4.)
See also
- Book of Job
The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God...
- Job (Bible)
- Eliphaz
Eliphaz was one of Job's friends, probably a descendant of Eliphaz, son of Esau . He appears in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible....
- Bildad
Bildad the Shuhite was one of Job's three friends. A descendant of Shuah, son of Abraham and Keturah, whose family lived in the deserts of Arabia....
- Zophar
In the Book of Job, Zophar or Tzofar is one of the friends of Job who visits to comfort him during his illness...
- Elihu
Elihu is a character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Job. According to the Book of Job, Elihu is one of Job's friends, descended from Nahor...