Jobchapter 32
22 verses · BSBJob book hub →
Speaks with:Job 32×4Job 33×3Job 29×3Job 10×2Proverbs 18×2Job 12×2
Summary
Chapter summary
A fourth voice, unannounced until now: 'the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite' is kindled: against Job for justifying himself rather than God, and against the three friends for finding no answer and yet condemning him. He waited because they were older, but age has failed: 'I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding' (32:7-8). Not one of you convinced Job. 'Behold, my breast is as wine which hath no vent; like new wine-skins it is ready to burst'. And he will give flattering titles to no man.
Context
Poetry · Unknown — Job overview
- A. 1–5 Elihu the Younger Man, and His Kindled Wrath
- B. 6–22 Elihu: Great Men Are Not Always Wise — I Am Full of Words
The outline
A.Elihu the Younger Man, and His Kindled Wrathvv. 1 to 5
Read vv. 1 to 5 →B.Elihu: Great Men Are Not Always Wise — I Am Full of Wordsvv. 6 to 22
Read vv. 6 to 22 →
The world behind this chapter
Job 32The history
A fourth man has been present all along and the book has not mentioned him. Elihu is introduced with an unusually full pedigree — son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. Buz was a son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, and Assyrian records name a north Arabian region called Bazu, which puts Elihu on the same tribal map as the other three.
The reason he waited is stated plainly and it is a matter of manners, not modesty: they were older than he, and in that world age carried authority absolutely. Younger men in a village council listened. He says he was afraid and did not dare show his opinion, expecting that days should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom.
His argument for speaking is the one that lets him past his own rule. There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding — great men are not always wise, and the aged do not always understand judgment. That claim, that insight comes from God's breath rather than accumulated years, is what gives a young man a hearing.
His description of his own pressure to speak is a wineskin image every hearer knew: his belly is like wine that has no vent, ready to burst like new bottles. Wine was stored and carried in sewn animal skins, and fermenting wine in a skin with no way to release the gas really did split the seams.
He is angry at all four men — at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends because they had found no answer and yet condemned Job. He also promises what none of them managed: no flattering titles, and no taking sides by respect of persons.
What it meant to them
Elihu is the book's most argued-over figure. God neither commends him nor rebukes him at the end, and readers have long divided over whether he is a windy young man or the last honest voice before God speaks.
What the first hearers could not miss is the timing. The old wisdom has run out, and the answer that finally comes will not come from the elders' tradition at all — it will come out of a storm.
Sources cited
- John E. Hartley, The Book of Job
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews & Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Job 32. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.