Job 32:6
in Job 32So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; Wherefore I held back, and durst not show you mine opinion.
KJV
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.
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This verse in Job 32
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd Eliu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, answered and said, I am younger in age, but ye are more ancient. I therefore held down my head, and feared to shew you my opinion. For I was hoping that greater age would speak, and that a multitude of years would teach wisdom. All these words, which are uttered by him through swelling pride, must be rather glanced at by the way than expounded more attentively. For whatsoever is deficient in solid gravity, needs not any elaborate exposition.
This site's exposition
I am young in years, while you are old
on Job 32:6-9
“I am young in years, while you are old” opens Elihu's apology. He states the rule he held, that “age should speak”, and overturns it. Henry reads the conclusion of verse 9 as true in itself and dangerous in Elihu's mouth, since it licenses the speech that follows.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Why is it not said, But then, why did you not fight from the start together with us in order to defend God? He answers, I withdrew into my age, while I expected, he says, to hear you pronounce a beautiful and wonderful speech. Notice how he did not look for honors, how he conceded them the first rank, how he showed that even now he would not have spoken if they had not compelled him to do so.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The text therefore continues, "and Eliud, the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, answered," to the discourses and arguments of Job. In his anger he first excuses his former silence, both because of his age, "And he said, 'I am younger in years,'" and because of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " I am young, and therefore I was afraid, and durst not show you my opinion, for fear I should either prove mistaken or do that which was unbecoming me." He was so observant of all that passed, and applied his mind so closely to what he heard, that he had formed in himself a judgment of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I am young - How young he was, or how old they were, we cannot tell; but there was no doubt a great disparity in their ages; and among the Asiatics the youth never spoke in the presence of the elders, especially on any subject of controversy.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Elihu - “said, I am young” Margin, few of days. The Hebrew is, “I am small (צעיר tsâ‛ı̂yr) of days;” that is, I am inexperienced. We have no means of ascertaining his exact age, though it is evident that there was a considerable disparity between them and him. And ye are very old - ישׁישׁים yâshı̂yshiym. The word used here is probably derived from the obsolete root שוש, “to be white, hoary”; and hence, to be hoary-headed, or aged; compare 2Ch 36:17. The whole of the discourses of the friends of Job seem to imply that they were aged men. They laid claim to great experience, and professed to have had opportunities of long observation, and it is probable that they were regarded as sages, who, by the long observation of events, had acquired the reputation of great wisdom. Wherefore I was afraid - He was timid, bashful, diffident. And durst not show you mine opinion - Margin, feared. He had that diffidence to which modesty prompts in the presence of the aged. He had formed his opinion as the argument proceeded, but he did not deem it proper that one so young should interfere, even when he thought he perceived that others were wrong.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤עַן׀ | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אֱלִיה֖וּא | ʾelihu' | Elihu | H453 → | 11 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בַּֽרַכְאֵ֥ל | barakhel | Barakel | H1292 → | |
| הַבּוּזִ֗י | habuzi | the Buzite | H940 → | |
| וַיֹּ֫אמַ֥ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| צָ֘עִ֤יר | tzair | [am] young | H6810 → | |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| לְ֭יָמִים | leyamim | to days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְאַתֶּ֣ם | veatem | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יְשִׁישִׁ֑ים | yeshishim | [are] aged | H3453 → | 4 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| זָחַ֥לְתִּי | zachalti | I was anxious | H2119 → | |
| וָֽאִירָ֓א׀ | vaira' | and I was afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵחַוֹּ֖ת | mechavot | from telling | H2331 → | 6 times |
| דֵּעִ֣י | dei | knowledge my | H1843 → | 5 times |
| אֶתְכֶֽם׃ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
וַיַּ֤עַן׀and he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
אֱלִיה֖וּאElihu
ʾelihu'H453 →11 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
בַּֽרַכְאֵ֥לBarakel
barakhelH1292 →
הַבּוּזִ֗יthe Buzite
habuziH940 →
וַיֹּ֫אמַ֥רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
צָ֘עִ֤יר[am] young
tzairH6810 →
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
לְ֭יָמִיםto days
leyamimH3117 →2304 times
וְאַתֶּ֣םand you
veatemH859 →1094 times
יְשִׁישִׁ֑ים[are] aged
yeshishimH3453 →4 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֖ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
זָחַ֥לְתִּיI was anxious
zachaltiH2119 →
וָֽאִירָ֓א׀and I was afraid
vaira'H3372 →315 times
מֵחַוֹּ֖תfrom telling
mechavotH2331 →6 times
דֵּעִ֣יknowledge my
deiH1843 →5 times
אֶתְכֶֽם׃<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 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
1 Peter 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
it leads to
- James 4:6
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Proverbs 3:34
He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.
- Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
- Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
- Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- James 4:6
Through
1 Timothy 5:1Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:32
You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- 1 Peter 5:5–6
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Titus 2:2
Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.
- Leviticus 19:32
About Job
This page draws on 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; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 32:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.