Job 4:1-21

4:1-27:23 | Three rounds of dialogue occur between Job and his three friends. Chapters 4-14 contain the first round of dialogue.

4:1-5:27 | This is Eliphaz’s first speech. His main emphasis is that no one who was innocent has ever suffered as much as Job (who ever perished being innocent?); thus, God has brought this punishment to chasten a sinful Job and restore him to righteousness.

4:1-6 | In Hebrew, Eliphaz means “My God is Gold.” His name and native land (Teman) were associated with Esau and Edom (Gen. 36:11; 1 Chron. 1:36; Jer. 49:7). Eliphaz began his speech with sarcasm, essentially accusing Job of not practicing what he preached.

4:7-11 | Eliphaz illustrated his belief in the principle of divine retribution (plow and reap) with an example from the animal kingdom: if a lion does not catch its prey, then it and its cubs will suffer.

4:12-20 | This frightful dream (disquieting thoughts from visions of the night), which Eliphaz claimed was from God, supposedly affirmed his view of how divine justice works. His words offered Job no comfort; instead, they conveyed God as a judge unfamiliar with mercy.