The Book of Job

Word Study

"spirit," Hebrew ruach (רוּחַ), breath, spirit. Elihu, apologizing for his youth, states a profound truth: real understanding is not simply a product of long years. "There is a spirit in man," something in every person that is more than flesh and years, and it is on this that Elihu rests his right to speak.

"inspiration," nishmath (נִשְׁמַת) from neshamah, breath (the same word used in Genesis 2:7 for the breath of life God breathed into man). The word is the breath of God, echoing the moment when "the LORD God... breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). Elihu is saying that just as God's breath gave man life, so it is God's breath, His Spirit, that gives man true understanding. Elihu's insight prepares us for the deeper truth the New Testament makes plain: that spiritual understanding, above all, comes only by the Spirit of God, breathed into us.

"understanding," tevinem (תְּבִינֵם) from bin, to discern, understand. This is what the Almighty's breath imparts, and it is a gift, not an achievement. Wisdom is not automatically conferred by age or accumulated by experience. This is a crucial correction to the assumption, shared by the friends, that the aged are automatically wise. It also humbles every claim to wisdom, for if understanding is a gift of God, then no one can boast in it. "The LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6).

Explanation

Elihu, apologizing for his youth, states a profound truth: real understanding is not merely the product of long years but a gift of God's Spirit. "There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." The word for "inspiration" is the breath of God, echoing Genesis 2:7. Just as God's breath gave man life, so His breath gives man understanding. Wisdom is imparted by the Almighty, not automatically conferred by age (Proverbs 2:6). This humbles every claim to wisdom, for a gift cannot be boasted in, and it prepares us for the deeper truth: spiritual understanding comes only by the Spirit of God.

Gospel Focus

"The inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding", this truth reaches its fullness in the Gospel, where the Holy Spirit is given to open the eyes of our understanding to the things of God. Spiritual truth cannot be grasped by human intellect alone: "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). It is the Spirit who reveals: "God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:10); "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). The Lord Jesus "opened... their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45), and prays that "the eyes of your understanding" would be "enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18). Just as God breathed life into Adam, so the risen Christ "breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). The understanding of God that no amount of study or age can produce is freely given to those who have the Spirit of God. So we do not trust in our own cleverness or lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), but ask the God who "giveth to all men liberally" (James 1:5), and depend on the indwelling Spirit to teach us. The deepest wisdom, the knowledge of God in Christ, is not achieved but received, breathed into us by the Almighty, so that even a child in the faith may understand what the wise of this world cannot.

Word Study

"great men," Hebrew rabbim (רַבִּים), the many, the great, the mighty. Elihu draws the conclusion from verse 8: "Great men are not always wise." Since wisdom comes from God's Spirit and not automatically from status, it follows that the eminent do not possess it as a matter of course.

"wise," yechkamu (יֶחְכָּמוּ) from chakam. The verb form matters: it is something one becomes, not something one owns by rank. Society tends to assume that the powerful are inherently wise, but Elihu's point is that eminence can accompany wisdom without guaranteeing it.

"the aged," zeqenim (זְקֵנִים), the old. The same holds for years. There is real value in age and experience, "with the ancient is wisdom" (Job 12:12), and Scripture affirms honoring the gray head. But the three friends were older than Job, yet they had failed utterly to speak rightly.

"judgment," mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט), justice, right discernment. What the aged do not automatically understand is precisely the thing this whole book is about: how to judge a case rightly. True wisdom is a matter of the heart's relationship to God, not of the calendar or the résumé. This guards us both from despising the young who walk with God, and from blindly trusting the great and the old merely because of their standing. Wisdom is measured by nearness to God, not by years or rank.

Explanation

Elihu draws the conclusion: "Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment." Since wisdom comes from God's Spirit, not automatically from status or years, neither the mighty nor the old possess it as a matter of course. There is real value in age and experience (Job 12:12), but it is not infallible, the three friends were older than Job yet failed to speak rightly. True wisdom is a matter of the heart's relationship to God, not the calendar or the résumé. This guards us from despising the godly young and from blindly trusting the great merely for their standing.

Gospel Focus

"Great men are not always wise", the Gospel gloriously confirms that God's wisdom is not the property of the great and the learned, but is often hidden from them and revealed to the lowly. Jesus prayed, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matthew 11:25). God "hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise... that no flesh should glory in his presence" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). The greatest minds of the age crucified the Lord of glory, "which none of the princes of this world knew" (1 Corinthians 2:8), while fishermen and tax collectors received the wisdom of God. This is deeply encouraging: you need not be great, learned, or old to know God truly; you need the Spirit of God, who is given to all who come to Christ in humble faith. The young Timothy was told, "let no man despise thy youth" (1 Timothy 4:12), for the Spirit of God is no respecter of age. And it is deeply humbling to the great and wise of this world: their eminence cannot purchase the one thing that matters, the wisdom that is Christ. So let none boast in greatness or age, and let none despair for lack of them. The wisdom of God is offered freely to the humble of every station, for "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5), and God delights to give it to babes.

Word Study

"accept any man's person," Hebrew essa peni-ish (אֶשָּׂא פְנֵי־אִישׁ), lift up the face of a man, show partiality. Elihu commits himself to honest, impartial speech. The Hebrew idiom is literally to "lift up the face" of someone, to raise his standing in the hearing of a case. Elihu will not show favoritism, will not honor a man merely because of his status. So much of human speech is bent by this partiality: we tell the powerful what they want to hear, we soften truth to keep favor. But the servant of God must speak truth without respect of persons.

"flattering titles," akhanneh (אֲכַנֶּה), to give honorific names, to flatter. The verb means to bestow grand names on someone. Elihu will not soften the truth this way, and he adds a striking reason: "For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away" (v22). He fears God too much to flatter men, understanding that flattery is a form of falsehood and that the fear of God demands truthfulness even when truth is unwelcome. "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet" (Proverbs 29:5); "he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue" (Proverbs 28:23).

"man," adam (אָדָם). The word is the common term for humankind, the creature of dust, and setting it opposite Elihu's "maker" in the next verse is the whole point. Whatever else may be said of Elihu's speeches, he begins with the right resolve: to fear God more than men, and to speak the truth without flattery. This is the courage every faithful witness needs.

Explanation

Elihu commits to honest, impartial speech: "Let me not... accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man." He will not show favoritism or soften truth to flatter, and his reason is the fear of God, "in so doing my maker would soon take me away" (v22). He understands that flattery is a form of falsehood, and the fear of God demands truthfulness even when unwelcome (Proverbs 28:23; 29:5). Much human speech is bent by partiality; the servant of God must speak truth without respect of persons, fearing God more than men.

Gospel Focus

"Neither let me give flattering titles unto man", Elihu's resolve to speak truth without partiality is perfectly embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom even His enemies admitted, "Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men" (Matthew 22:16). Jesus flattered no one; He spoke truth to Pharisee and publican, to ruler and beggar alike, "for there is no respect of persons with God" (Romans 2:11). And He calls His servants to the same courage. Paul could say, "neither at any time used we flattering words... nor of men sought we glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:5-6). The Gospel itself is often an unflattering word, for it tells every person, great and small, that they are sinners in need of a Saviour, a message no flattery can soften. Yet it is spoken in love, "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), for the truest kindness is to tell people the truth that saves, not the flattery that damns. To fear God rather than men frees us to be honest witnesses: not harsh, but true; not currying favor, but seeking the good of souls. Like Elihu, and far more like Christ, let us fear our Maker too much to flatter men, and love them too much to withhold the truth. The faithful witness speaks God's word without partiality, trusting the God who honors those who honor Him.