Job 32:2
in Job 32This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
KJV
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
⋯
This verse in Job 32
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThen was kindled the wrath - This means no more than that Elihu was greatly excited, and felt a strong and zealous desire to vindicate the justice and providence of God, against the aspersions of Job and his friends. Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite - Buz was the second son of Nahor, the brother of Abram, Gen 22:21. Of the kindred of Ram - Kemuel was the third son of Nahor; and is called in Genesis (see above) the father of Aram, which is the same as Ram.
This site's exposition
these three men stopped answering Job
on Job 32:1-3
When “these three men stopped answering Job”, Elihu “burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God” and at the friends. Henry reads this double anger as the narrator's judgment closing the debate. Readings of Elihu, who enters unannounced, divide here, Davidson notes.
This site's exposition
Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite
Wesley reads the pedigree, son of Barachel of the family of Ram, as a mark of honor and a proof that the history is true. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give the name Elihu as God is Jehovah. Clarke traces Buz to a son of Nahor.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Elihu is inflamed not because [Job] declared himself to be righteous but because he did that before the Lord, as he invoked him as his witness; or because he thought that [Job] brought an action against God. In fact, to justify oneself has no great importance in itself, but to do that with the intention of bringing an action against God is absolutely inopportune.… Now, if this is true, what an extreme act of impiety on the part of Job if he believed himself to be more righteous than God [and to be authorized to bring action against him]. What really happened? This was not Job's thought at all. It is Elihu who believed so. Job did not speak with the idea that he was more righteous than God but with the idea that God was responsible for his afflictions. Therefore he did not reproach God for any injustice: it is Elihu who understood it so.
The Medieval Church2 voices
For both of these reasons, the silence of his friends and the fact that Job seemed to them to be righteous, Eliud, who stood by was agitated to anger. So the text continues, "But angry," in heart, "and indignant," in showing exterior signs of anger, …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII · Written before 604.
proposed
And Eliu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, was wroth and indignant. The names either of himself, or of his parent, of his home, or kindred, furnish a mark of his own conduct. For Eliu being interpreted means, 'That my God,' or, 'God the Lord.' By whom, as we said to you, is designated the sound faith of proud men placed within the Church. Whence this very name of his is suited to them also.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
His pedigree is thus particularly described, partly for his honour, as being both a wise and good man, and principally to evidence the truth of this history. He justified - Himself not without reflection upon God, as dealing severely with him, he took more care to maintain his own innocency, than God's glory. The word Elihu signifies, my God is he.
Note, A gracious heart is jealous for the honour of God, and cannot but be angry when that is neglected or postponed, or when any injury is done it. Nor is it any breach of the law of meekness to be angry at our friends when they are offensive to God. Get thee behind me, Satan, says Christ to Simon.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Elihu--meaning "God is Jehovah." In his name and character as messenger between God and Job, he foreshadows Jesus Christ (Job 33:23-26). Barachel--meaning "God blesses." Both names indicate the piety of the family and their separation from idolaters. Buzite--Buz was son of Nahor, brother of Abraham.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then was kindled the wrath - Wrath or anger is commonly represented as kindled, or as burning. Of Elihu - The name Elihu (אליהוא 'ĕlı̂yhû') means, “God is he;” or, since the word He (הוא hû') is often used by way of eminence to denote the true God or Yahweh, the name is equivalent to saying, “God is my God,” or “my God is Yahweh.” On what account this name was given to him, is now unknown. The names which were anciently given, however, were commonly significant, and it was not unusual to incorporate the name of God in those given to human beings. See the notes at Isa 1:1. This name was probably given as an expression of piety on the part of his parents. The son of Barachel - The name Barachel ברכאל bârak'êl means “God blesses,” and was also probably given as expressive of the piety of his parents, and as furnishing in the name itself a valuable motto which the child would remember. Nothing more is known of him than the name; and the only propriety of remarking on the philology of the names arises from the fact that they seem to indicate the existence of piety, or of the knowledge of God, on the part of the ancestors of Elihu. The Buzite - Buz was the second son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, Gen 22:20-21. A city of the name Buz is mentioned in Jer 25:23, in connection with Dedan and Tema, cities of Arabia, and it is probable that Barachel, the father of Elihu, was of that city. If this name was given to the place after the son of Nahor, it will follow that Elihu, and consequently Job, must have lived after the time of Abraham. Of the kindred of Ram - Of Ram nothing is certainly known. The Chaldee renders this גניסת מן אברחם, of the race of Abraham. Some have supposed that the Ram mentioned here is the same as the ancestor of David mentioned in Rth 4:19, and in the genealogical table in Mat 1:3-4, under the name of Aram. […]
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֤חַר | vaiyichar | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| אַ֨ף׀ | ʾaf | [the] anger of | H639 → | 276 times |
| אֱלִיה֣וּא | ʾelihu' | Elihu | H453 → | 11 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בַּרַכְאֵ֣ל | barakhel | Barakel | H1292 → | |
| הַבּוּזִי֮ | habuzi | the Buzite | H940 → | |
| מִמִּשְׁפַּ֪חַ֫ת | mimishpachat | from [the] clan of | H4940 → | |
| רָ֥ם | ram | Ram | H7410 → | |
| בְּ֭אִיּוֹב | beiyov | on Job | H347 → | 58 times |
| חָרָ֣ה | charah | it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| אַפּ֑וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | because | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צַדְּק֥וֹ | tzadeko | justified he | H6663 → | 41 times |
| נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹ | nafsho | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| מֵאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | meelohim | more than God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּ֤חַרand it burned
vaiyicharH2734 →91 times
אַ֨ף׀[the] anger of
ʾafH639 →276 times
אֱלִיה֣וּאElihu
ʾelihu'H453 →11 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
בַּרַכְאֵ֣לBarakel
barakhelH1292 →
הַבּוּזִי֮the Buzite
habuziH940 →
מִמִּשְׁפַּ֪חַ֫תfrom [the] clan of
mimishpachatH4940 →
רָ֥םRam
ramH7410 →
בְּ֭אִיּוֹבon Job
beiyovH347 →58 times
חָרָ֣הit burned
charahH2734 →91 times
אַפּ֑וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
עַֽל־because
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צַדְּק֥וֹjustified he
tzadekoH6663 →41 times
נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹself his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
מֵאֱלֹהִֽים׃more than God
meelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 4:26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
it leads to
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Psalms 4:4
Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah
- Psalms 37:8
Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.
- Ephesians 4:31–32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- James 1:19
Through
Job 27:5I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die.
it leads to
Through
Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
it leads to
- Romans 3:4
Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
- Romans 3:4
About Job
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on A. B. Davidson, The Book of Job, Cambridge Bible; Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 32:2-3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.