Job · chapter 32 of 42
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In Job 32 the three friends stop answering Job because he is righteous in his own eyes, and a new figure appears: Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, a young man who had waited in silence out of respect for his elders. He burns with anger at Job, because he justified himself rather than God, and at the three friends, who found no answer and yet condemned him.
The dialogue between Job and his three friends has ended: Job spoke his last words in chapter 31 and the friends are silent. Chapter 32 begins a new section, the speeches of Elihu, which fill chapters 32 to 37 and prepare for God's answer. Elihu does not appear in the prologue or the epilogue, which is why his role is debated.
The narrator says the three men ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the anger of Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burns. He is angry with Job because he justified himself rather than God, and with the three friends because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. He had waited to speak because they were older, but when he saw they had nothing more to say, his anger burned (vv. 1-5).
Elihu takes the floor and introduces himself: he is young, and the others are aged, which is why he was afraid to declare his opinion. He had thought that days should speak and many years teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding; it is not only the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right (vv. 6-10).
Elihu says he waited for their words and listened to their reasons, but none of them refuted Job. Let them not say they have found wisdom, for God will vanquish Job, not a man. He will not answer with the same arguments. Now he is full of words, and the spirit within him presses him, like wine with no vent, like new wineskins ready to burst. He will speak to find relief, showing no partiality and flattering no one, for his Maker would soon take him away if he flattered (vv. 11-22).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Elihu's anger burns against Job because he justified himself rather than God. Elihu sums up what he sees as Job's problem: in defending his innocence, he seems to put God on trial, a charge God will address in his answer.
Elihu affirms that it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding, and that it is not only the old who are wise. He is right that wisdom comes from God, though that does not make whoever claims it automatically wise.
Elihu says he waited for the friends' words and noticed that none of them refuted Job. It is a criticism the book confirms: the three friends spoke much but neither solved the problem nor comforted Job.
Elihu says he is full of words, like wine without a vent and new wineskins ready to burst. The picture shows his fervor but also his impatience: more than listening, he needs to speak.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because Job was righteous in his own eyes. — Job 32:1
Answer: The son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. — Job 32:2
Answer: Because Job justified himself rather than God. — Job 32:2
Answer: Because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. — Job 32:3
Answer: Because the others were older than he. — Job 32:4
Answer: The spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty. — Job 32:8
Job 32 reminds us that wisdom does not depend on age alone, and that someone who listens in silence may have something to say. In a class or small group this chapter encourages us to make room for young people without despising them, and for the young to speak with respect.
It is also a warning. Elihu is right about some things and wrong about others, and his fervor can be mistaken for wisdom. Before speaking forcefully, it helps to test whether we are truly listening to the one who suffers or only looking to unload our words.
Job 32 introduces a new speaker whose address will fill six chapters. In chapter 33 Elihu will address Job by name and ask him to listen closely, arguing that God speaks to man in many ways.
Elihu is a young man who listens to the debate and speaks at the end. He is not mentioned before or after in the book. Some see him as a spokesman for wisdom who prepares for God's answer; others as a speaker more arrogant than wise. The Bible neither condemns nor approves him explicitly.
It is Elihu's charge: that Job defended his innocence so strongly that he seemed to accuse God of injustice. Job does not say God is unjust, but he does complain about how God treats him. God will answer this in his speeches.
The text mentions him only as Elihu's father. Buz appears in Genesis 22:21 as a son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, and Buzite suggests a link to that name; the text adds that he was of the family of Ram. We know nothing more.