Elihu (Job)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the Jewish epic of Job, found in the Hebrew, and later, Christian Scriptures, Elihu is one of the antagonists to the main character, Job.
[edit] Geographical Background
According to the scripture, Elihu is one of Job's friends, descended from Nahor (Job 32:2, 34:1). He is said to be of Buz; which, as the name of a place, occurs one other time in Scripture (Jeremiah 25:23), where it stands in connection with Tema and Dedan, towns bordering on Idumes. The Chaldee paraphrase expressly described him as a relation of Abraham.
[edit] Synopsis of Elihu's Monologues
He is mentioned in the Book of Job 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 due to the fact that his monologues discuss divine providence, which he insists, however they appear to mortals, 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" and he draws instances of benignity from for example the constant wonders of creation and of the seasons.
It deserves notice, that Elihu does not appear to have offended God by his sentiments for he is not commanded to repent and atone in the epilogue, unlike the other antagonists.
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.
