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Commentary on Job 4 verses 12–21
Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes immediately from God all men will pay a particular deference to, and Job, no doubt, as much as any. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth wherewith to reason with him; and it would have been well if he had kept to the purport of this vision, which would serve for a ground on which to reprove Job for his murmuring, but not to condemn him as a hypocrite. Others think he had it formerly; for God did, in this way, often communicate his mind to the children of men in those first ages of the world, Job 33:15. Probably God had sent Eliphaz this messenger and message some time or other, when he was himself in an unquiet discontented frame, to calm and pacify him. Note, As we should comfort others with that wherewith we have been comforted (Co2 1:4), so we should endeavour to convince others with that which has been powerful to convince us. The people of God had not then any written word to quote, and therefore God sometimes notified to them even common truths by the extraordinary ways of revelation. We that have Bibles have there (thanks be to God) a more sure word to depend upon than even visions and voices, Pe2 1:19. Observe,
I. The manner in which this message was sent to Eliphaz, and the circumstances of the conveyance of it to him. 1. It was brought to him secretly, or by stealth. Some of the sweetest communion gracious souls have with God is in secret, where no eye sees but that of him who is all eye. God has ways of bringing conviction, counsel, and comfort, to his people, unobserved by the world, by private whispers, as powerfully and effectually as by the public ministry. His secret is with them, Psa 25:14. As the evil spirit often steals good words out of the heart (Mat 13:19), so the good Spirit sometimes steals good words into the heart, or ever we are aware. 2. He received a little thereof, Job 4:12. And it is but a little of divine knowledge that the best receive in this world. We know little in comparison with what is to be known, and with what we shall know when we come to heaven. How little a portion is heard of God! Job 26:14. We know but in part, Co1 13:12. See his humility and modesty. He pretends not to have understood it fully, but something of it he perceived. 3. It was brought to him in the visions of the night (Job 4:13), when he had retired from the world and the hurry of it, and all about him was composed and quiet. Note, The more we are withdrawn from the world and the things of it the fitter we are for communion with God. When we are communing with our own hearts, and are still (Psa 4:4), then is a proper time for the Holy Spirit to commune with us. When others were asleep Eliphaz was ready to receive this visit from Heaven, and probably, like David, was meditating upon God in the night-watches; in the midst of those good thoughts this thing was brought to him. We should hear more from God if we thought more of him; yet some are surprised with convictions in the night, Job 33:14, Job 33:15. 4. It was prefaced with terrors: Fear came upon him, and trembling, Job 4:14. It should seem, before he either heard or saw any thing, he was seized with this trembling, which shook his bones, and perhaps the bed under him. A holy awe and reverence of God and his majesty being struck upon his spirit, he was thereby prepared for a divine visit. Whom God intends to honour he first humbles and lays low, and will have us all to serve him with holy fear, and to rejoice with trembling.
II. The messenger by whom it was sent - a spirit, one of the good angels, who are employed not only as the ministers of God's providence, but sometimes as the ministers of his word. Concerning this apparition which Eliphaz saw we are here told (Job 4:15, Job 4:16), 1. That it was real, and not a dream, not a fancy. An image was before his eyes; he plainly saw it; at first it passed and repassed before his face, moved up and down, but at length it stood still to speak to him. If some have been so knavish as to impose false visions on others, and some so foolish as to be themselves imposed upon, it does not therefore follow but that there may have been apparitions of spirits, both good and bad. 2. That it was indistinct, and somewhat confused. He could not discern the form thereof, so as to frame any exact idea of it in his own mind, much less to give a description of it. His conscience was to be awakened and informed, not his curiosity gratified. We know little of spirits; we are not capable of knowing much of them, nor is it fit that we should: all in good time; we must shortly remove to the world of spirits, and shall then be better acquainted with them. 3. That it puts him into a great consternation, so that his hair stood on end. Ever since man sinned it has been terrible to him to receive an express from heaven, as conscious to himself that he can expect no good tidings thence; apparitions therefore, even of good spirits, have always made deep impressions of fear, even upon good men. How well it is for us that God sends us his messages, not by spirits, but by men like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid! See Dan 7:28; Dan 10:8, Dan 10:9.
III. The message itself. Before it was delivered there was silence, profound silence, Job 4:16. When we are to speak either from God or to him it becomes us to address ourselves to it with a solemn pause, and so to set bounds about the mount on which God is to come down, and not be hasty to utter any thing. It was in a still small voice that the message was delivered, and this was it (Job 4:17): "Shall mortal man be more just than God, the immortal God? Shall a man be thought to be, or pretend to be, more pure than his Maker? Away with such a thought!" 1. Some think that Eliphaz aims hereby to prove that Job's great afflictions were a certain evidence of his being a wicked man. A mortal man would be thought unjust and very impure if he should thus correct and punish a servant or subject, unless he had been guilty of some very great crime: "If therefore there were not some great crimes for which God thus punishes thee, man would be more just than God, which is not to be imagined." 2. I rather think it is only a reproof of Job's murmuring and discontent: "Shall a man pretend to be more just and pure than God? more truly to understand, and more strictly to observe, the rules and laws of equity than God? Shall Enosh, mortal and miserable man, be so insolent; nay, shall Geber, the strongest and most eminent man, man at his best estate, pretend to compare with God, or stand in competition with him?" Note, It is most impious and absurd to think either others or ourselves more just and pure than God. Those that quarrel and find fault with the directions of the divine law, the dispensations of the divine grace, or the disposals of the divine providence, make themselves more just and pure than God; and those who thus reprove God, let them answer it. What! sinful man! (for he would not have been mortal if he had not been sinful) short-sighted man! Shall he pretend to be more just, more pure, than God, who, being his Maker, is his Lord and owner? Shall the clay contend with the potter? What justice and purity there is in man, God is the author of it, and therefore is himself more just and pure. See Psa 94:9, Psa 94:10.
IV. The comment which Eliphaz makes upon this, for so it seems to be; yet some take all the following verses to be spoken in vision. It comes all to one.
1.He shows how little the angels themselves are in comparison with God, Job 4:18. Angels are God's servants, waiting servants, working servants; they are his ministers (Psa 104:4); bright and blessed beings they are, but God neither needs them nor is benefited by them and is himself infinitely above them, and therefore, (1.) He puts no trust in them, did not repose a confidence in them, as we do in those we cannot live without. There is no service in which he employs them but, if he pleased, he could have it done as well without them. he never made them his confidants, or of his cabinet-council, Mat 24:36. He does not leave his business wholly to them, but his own eyes run to and fro through the earth, Ch2 16:9. See this phrase, Job 39:11. Some give this sense of it: "So mutable is even the angelical nature that God would not trust angels with their own integrity; if he had, they would all have done as some did, left their first estate; but he saw it necessary to give them supernatural grace to confirm them." (2.) He charges them with folly, vanity, weakness, infirmity, and imperfection, in comparison with himself. If the world were left to the government of the angels, and they were trusted with the sole management of affairs, they would take false steps, and everything would not be done for the best, as now it is. Angels are intelligences, but finite ones. Though not chargeable with iniquity, yet with imprudence. This last clause is variously rendered by the critics. I think it would bear this reading, repeating the negation, which is very common: He will put no trust in his saints; nor will he glory in his angels (in angelis suis non ponet gloriationem) or make his boast of them, as if their praises, or services, added any thing to him: it is his glory that he is infinitely happy without them.
2.Thence he infers how much less man is, how much less to be trusted in or gloried in. If there is such a distance between God and angels, what is there between God and man! See how man is represented here in his meanness.
(1.)Look upon man in his life, and he is very mean, Job 4:19. Take man in his best estate, and he is a very despicable creature in comparison with the holy angels, though honourable if compared with the brutes. It is true, angels are spirits, and the souls of men are spirits; but, [1.] Angels are pure spirits; the souls of men dwell in houses of clay: such the bodies of men are. Angels are free; human souls are housed, and the body is a cloud, a clog, to it; it is its cage; it is its prison. It is a house of clay, mean and mouldering; an earthen vessel, soon broken, as it was first formed, according to the good pleasure of the potter. It is a cottage, not a house of cedar or a house of ivory, but of clay, which would soon be in ruins if not kept in constant repair. [2.] Angels are fixed, but the very foundation of that house of clay in which man dwells is in the dust. A house of clay, if built upon a rock, might stand long; but, if founded in the dust, the uncertainty of the foundation will hasten its fall, and it will sink with its own weight. As man was made out of the earth, so he is maintained and supported by that which cometh out of the earth. Take away that, and his body returns to its earth. We stand but upon the dust; some have a higher heap of dust to stand upon than others, but still it is the earth that stays us up and will shortly swallow us up. [3.] Angels are immortal, but man is soon crushed; the earthly house of his tabernacle is dissolved; he dies and wastes away, is crushed like a moth between one's fingers, as easily, as quickly; one may almost as soon kill a man as kill a moth. A little thing will destroy his life. He is crushed before the face of the moth, so the word is. If some lingering distemper, which consumes like a moth, be commissioned to destroy him, he can no more resist it than he can resist an acute distemper, which comes roaring upon him like a lion. See Hos 5:12-14. Is such a creature as this to be trusted in, or can any service be expected from him by that God who puts no trust in angels themselves?
(2.)Look upon him in his death, and he appears yet more despicable, and unfit to be trusted. Men are mortal and dying, Job 4:20, Job 4:21. [1.] In death they are destroyed, and perish for ever, as to this world; it is the final period of their lives, and all the employments and enjoyments here; their place will know them no more. [2.] They are dying daily, and continually wasting: Destroyed from morning to evening. Death is still working in us, like a mole digging our grave at each remove, and we so continually lie exposed that we are killed all the day long. [3.] Their life is short, and in a little time they are cut off. It lasts perhaps but from morning to evening. It is but a day (so some understand it); their birth and death are but the sun-rise and sun-set of the same day. [4.] In death all their excellency passes away; beauty, strength, learning, not only cannot secure them from death, but must die with them, nor shall their pomp, their wealth, or power, descend after them. [5.] Their wisdom cannot save them from death: They die without wisdom, die for want of wisdom, by their own foolish management of themselves, digging their graves with their own teeth. [6.] It is so common a thing that nobody heeds it, nor takes any notice of it: They perish without any regarding it, or laying it to heart. The deaths of others are much the subject of common talk, but little the subject of serious thought. Some think the eternal damnation of sinners is here spoken of, as well as their temporal death: They are destroyed, or broken to pieces, by death, from morning to evening; and, if they repent not, they perish for ever (so some read it), Job 4:20. They perish for ever because they regard not God and their duty; they consider not their latter end, Lam 1:9. They have no excellency but that which death takes away, and they die, they die the second death, for want of wisdom to lay hold on eternal life. Shall such a mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying creature as this pretend to be more just than God and more pure than his Maker? No, instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him wonder that he is out of hell.
That they may show that they have been made acquainted with incomprehensible mysteries, they relate, not that ‘a spirit’ stood still, but that it ‘passed by before their face.’ And they pretend that they beheld a countenance they knew not, that they may prove themselves to be known to Him, Whom the human mind is not equal to know. And here it is further added;
An image was before mine eyes, and I heard the voice as it were of a light breath of air.
49. Heretics often picture God to themselves by a sensible form [imaginaliter], seeing that they are unable to behold Him spiritually. And they tell that they hear His ‘voice as of a light breath of air,’ in that for the obtaining the knowledge of His secret things, they delight to have as if a particular freedom of intercourse with Him. For they never teach the things, which God reveals openly, but such as are breathed into their ears in a secret manner. All this, then, we have said, to indicate what we are to look for in the words of Eliphaz, as he bears the semblance of heretics. But forasmuch as the friends of blessed Job would never have been the friends of one so great, unless they had evidently learned something of truth, which same, while they go wrong in uttering sentences of rebuke, yet do not altogether totter in the knowledge of the truth, let us return upon these same words a little way back, that we may make out more exactly how the things which are said concerning the perception of truth, may be delivered in a true sense by persons viewing things aright. Now sometimes heretics utter things both true and lofty, not that they themselves receive them from above, but because they have learnt them in the controversy of Holy Church, nor do they apply them to the furtherance of conscientious living, but to the display of scientific skill. Whence it very commonly happens, that by knowing they tell high truths, yet in living they know nothing what they tell. Therefore, whether as they represent heretics, who hold, not the life, but the words of knowledge, or whether in the person of the friends of blessed Job, who, doubtless, with regard to their knowledge of the truth, might in seeing realize what they aimed in teaching to give utterance to, let us more minutely examine these sayings which we have gone through, that, while the words of Eliphaz are carefully gone into, it may be shown what knowledge he possessed, though in that knowledge he failed to retain humility, who appropriated to himself peculiarly a benefit common to all.
58. ‘A spirit passes before our face,’ when we are brought to the knowledge of invisible things, and yet see these same not stedfastly, but with a hasty glance. For not even in the sweetness of inward contemplation does the mind remain fixed for long, in that being made to recoil by the very immensity of the light it is called back to itself. And when it tastes that inward sweetness, it is on fire with love, it longs to mount above itself, yet it falls back in broken state to the darkness of its frailty. And advancing in high perfection, it sees that it cannot yet see that which it ardently loves, which yet it would not love ardently did it not in some sort see the same. Thus the spirit is not stationary, but ‘passes by;’ because our contemplation both discloses to us, that pant thereafter, the heavenly light, and forthwith conceals the same from us failing from weakness. And because in this life, whatever degree of virtue a man may have advanced to, he still feels the sting of corruption, For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things [Wisd. 9, 15]; therefore it is rightly added,
The hair of my flesh stood up.
59. For ‘the hairs of the flesh’ are all the superfluities of human corruption. ‘The hairs of the flesh’ are the imaginations of the former life, which we so cut away from the mind, that we let no grief for the loss of them disturb our peace. And it is well said by Moses, Let the Levites shave [Vulg. thus] all the hairs of their flesh. [Numb. 8, 7] For a ‘Levite’ is rendered ‘taken.’ And thus it behoves the ‘Levites’ to shave all ‘the hairs of the flesh,’ in that he who is ‘taken’ into the divine ministrations, ought to show himself clear of all imaginations of the flesh before the eyes of God, that the mind never put forth unlawful thoughts, and so deform the fair appearance of the soul as it were by sprouting hairs. But whatever perfection of holy living may have raised the condition of any man, yet there still springs up to him from his old state of life somewhat to bear. And hence the same hairs of the Levites are commanded to be shaven, not to be plucked out, for the roots still remain in the flesh to the shaven hairs, and grow again to be again cut off, in that while we are to use great diligence in cutting off all rank thoughts, yet they never can be wholly and entirely cut off. For the flesh is ever engendering a rank produce, which the spirit should ever be cutting away with the knife of heedfulness. Yet it is then that we see these things with more exactness, when we penetrate into the heights of contemplation; and hence it is rightly said, Whilst a Spirit passed before my face, the hair of my flesh stood up.
60. For when the human mind is lifted up on the tower of contemplation, it the more cruelly torments itself for its superfluities, in proportion as it perceives that which it loves to be infinitely refined; and when it beholds that beautiful Being, which it longs for, above its own height, it severely judges every thing infirm in itself, which it bore with tranquillity before. Therefore when ‘the Spirit passeth by,’ ‘the hairs quake,’ in that before the power of compunction, all rank thoughts flee away, that nought that is loose, nought that is dissipated, any longer gives pleasure, for severity of inward visitings kindles the inspired soul even against its own self; and when that which riseth up in the heart of an unlawful kind, is cut away with unintermitted strictness, it very often happens that the invigorated soul enters into its ray of contemplation with a somewhat larger range, and almost arrests the spirit which was ‘passing by.’ Yet does not this same lingering of contemplation fully discover the force of the Divine nature, for its vastness transcends all human powers thus enlarged and elevated.
Whoever is inclined to do worldly things is, as it were, awake, but he who seeks inward rest eschews the riot of this world and is, as it were, asleep. Yet first we must know that when sleep is described figuratively in holy Scripture, it is understood in three senses. Sometimes we have used “sleep” to express the death of the body; sometimes “sleep” represents the grogginess of neglect; and sometimes “sleep” signifies tranquility of life. Earthly desires have been tramped underfoot.… What is denoted by the word bones but strong deeds? The prophet refers to the same thing when he writes, “He keeps all their bones.” In addition, it often happens that the things that people do are often reckoned to be of some account, largely because they do not realize how keen is God’s inward discernment. However, when transported on the wings of contemplation, they behold things above. Somehow, they melt away from the security they felt in their presumption and quake all the more in the sight of God, a response proportionate to their awareness that whatever is excellent in them will not stand up to the searching eye of him whom they behold.… To “stand,” then, is the attribute of the Creator alone, through whom all things pass away, though he himself never passes away, and in whom some things are held fast so that they might not pass away. Hence, our Redeemer, because the fixed state of his divine nature cannot be comprehended by the human mind, showed this to us as it were in passing, by coming to us, by being created, born, dead, buried, by rising again and returning to the heavenly realms. Christ foreshadowed this well in the gospel by enlightening the blind man, to whom Jesus promised hearing as he passed by, but he stood still as he healed his eyes. For in the economy of his human nature he passed by, but in the power of his divine nature he stood still, demonstrating that he is present everywhere.
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SUMMARY
Job 4:15 captures a profoundly unsettling moment in Eliphaz the Temanite's initial address to Job, where he recounts a terrifying and visceral spiritual encounter. This verse vividly describes a mysterious spirit passing directly before him, eliciting an intense, involuntary physiological response of extreme fear—his hair standing on end. Eliphaz presents this deeply personal and supernatural experience as the authoritative foundation for his subsequent theological argument, aiming to persuade Job that no human can genuinely be pure or righteous in God's sight, thereby subtly implying that Job's profound suffering must originate from inherent human impurity or unconfessed sin.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 4:15 is rich in Imagery, painting a vivid and unsettling picture of Eliphaz's terrifying experience. The description of a "spirit passed before my face" creates a profound sense of an unseen, yet palpably close, presence, while "the hair of my flesh stood up" is a powerful, universally understood image of extreme fear and visceral dread. This potent use of Sensory Detail allows the audience to viscerally connect with Eliphaz's profound terror and discomfort. The verse also masterfully employs Atmosphere, immediately establishing a chilling, eerie, and unsettling tone that permeates and lends a pseudo-authority to Eliphaz's subsequent theological argument. Furthermore, it functions as a form of Foreshadowing, as this terrifying and seemingly authoritative encounter serves as the dramatic and personal basis for Eliphaz's ultimately flawed theological conclusions about human impurity and divine justice, which he will elaborate upon in the verses that follow.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Eliphaz's chilling encounter in Job 4:15 powerfully underscores the biblical reality of an active spiritual realm and the profound, often unsettling, impact that encounters with the unseen can have on human beings. While Eliphaz ultimately misinterprets the implications of his vision for Job's specific situation, the verse nonetheless highlights the awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying nature of divine or spiritual presence, a pervasive theme echoed throughout the entirety of Scripture. It poignantly illustrates the human tendency to seek supernatural validation for one's deeply held beliefs, even when those beliefs are ultimately flawed, incomplete, or misapplied. The encounter evokes a profound sense of human smallness, vulnerability, and creatureliness before the vastness and mystery of the spiritual world, prompting crucial reflection on how humanity discerns, interprets, and responds to what it perceives as divine revelation.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Eliphaz's experience in Job 4:15 serves as a potent and enduring reminder that the spiritual realm is not merely an abstract concept but a tangible reality capable of profoundly impacting human perception, understanding, and emotional states. While his interpretation of this vision regrettably led him to an erroneous and judgmental conclusion about Job's suffering, the raw, universal human reaction of fear and awe in the face of the unseen is a deeply relatable experience. This verse challenges contemporary believers to acknowledge the reality of spiritual forces, both benevolent and potentially malevolent, and to cultivate a healthy, reverent awe for the transcendent. It also serves as a crucial caution against constructing our theology solely on subjective spiritual experiences, no matter how profound or seemingly authoritative, without rigorously anchoring them in the broader, consistent, and divinely revealed truth of God's written Word. Our authentic encounters with the divine should invariably lead us to profound humility, genuine worship, and a deeper understanding of God's character, rather than to self-righteous judgment or condemnation of others.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What was the nature of the "spirit" Eliphaz encountered? Was it from God or another source?
Answer: The text of Job 4:15 intentionally leaves the precise nature and origin of the "spirit" (ruach) ambiguous, which significantly contributes to the chilling mystery and unsettling atmosphere of the encounter. Scholars offer various interpretations: some suggest it was a divine messenger or an angelic being (possibly even a fallen one), given its profound impact on Eliphaz and the theological conclusions he subsequently draws, which he believes are divinely inspired. Others propose it could have been a demonic entity, or even a psychological manifestation stemming from Eliphaz's own deeply held beliefs and anxieties. The ambiguity underscores a critical theological point: not all spiritual experiences, even those that feel profoundly real and authoritative, necessarily convey perfect or complete divine truth, especially when interpreted through a pre-existing, potentially flawed theological framework, as Eliphaz's was. The broader narrative of the book of Job ultimately corrects the friends' theology, implying that their "revelations" and interpretations were not entirely aligned with God's true character and purposes, a fact explicitly stated in Job 42:7.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Eliphaz's terrifying encounter and his subsequent, profoundly flawed theological conclusion in Job 4:15 vividly highlight humanity's desperate and inherent need for a clear, perfect, and unambiguous revelation of God and His justice—a need ultimately and perfectly fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Eliphaz's vision, while undeniably real to him, leads him to unjustly condemn Job based on a distorted and incomplete view of human impurity and divine retribution. In stark contrast, Jesus Christ perfectly embodies both divine purity and flawless human righteousness, providing the ultimate and complete answer to the profound problems of human sin and suffering. While Eliphaz's hair stood on end in overwhelming fear of an ambiguous and unsettling spirit, believers in Christ find profound peace, comfort, and security in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who comforts, guides, and empowers, rather than terrifies. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, perfectly bore the impurity and sin of humanity on the cross, offering a righteousness that no human could ever achieve through their own efforts, and certainly not through a terrifying spiritual encounter. His suffering was not a consequence of His own sin, but a voluntary and sacrificial act of boundless love to redeem a fallen world, thereby completely overturning the simplistic retribution theology espoused by Eliphaz and his friends. Through Christ, we encounter God not as a terrifying, ambiguous spirit, but as a loving, compassionate Father who draws near to us through His Son, whose perfect life and atoning death provide the true and righteous basis for our standing before God, inviting us into a relationship of grace and truth rather than fear and condemnation.