The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 550

CHAPTER XXXV. Ver. 8.-l'or thou said.at, What aclva.n- tage will it be 11ILto thee 1 ,.e. What advan- VerB- 1-16.-In this short chapter, once tage will thy righteousness be unto thee? more Elihu addresses himself to Job, first Job had certainly argued that. his righteous- (vers. 1-8) answering his complaint that ness brought him no temporal advantage; but he bad always e. conviction that he e. lifti of righteousness bas brought him no would ultimately be the better for it. correspondent blessings ; a.nd then (vers. Elihu, however, does not acknowledge this; 9-14) explaining to lriw that his prayers and, aBBuming that Job expects to receive e.nd appeals to God have probably not been no advantage at all from his integrity, answered because they were not preferred argues that God is not bound to afford him any. And, What prollt shall I have, if I be in a right spirit, i.e. with faith and humility. cleansed from my sin 1 rather, And what Finally (vers. 15, 16), he condemns Job for profit shall I have, more than if 1 had hanghtineBB and arrogance, and reiterates sinned 1 (see the Revised Version, and com- the charge that he "multiplies words with- pare the co111mente of Rosenmiiller and out knowledge" (comp. eh. xwv. 35-37). Oanon Cook). Ver. 4.-I will answer thee, and. thy com- Vera. I, 2.-Elihu spake moreover, a.nd panions with thee; i.e. . " thy comforters, ae.id, Tbillkest thou thiB to be right, that Eliphaz, Hildad, and Zophar." Elihu h111 thou aaidllt, Ky righteoumet111 is more than pledged himself to confute their reae'onings, God.'11 Once more it is to be observed that no less than tl.Jose of Job (eh. u:ll.i.i, 5-20), Job he.d se.id no snch thing. At the worst, and now proposea to carry out this intentio11. be had me.de statemeuts from which it Dut it is uot very clear that he accomplishes might be e.rgued that he regarded l,imself his purpose. In point of fact, he does little a.s having a more delicate seuse of justice more than repeat and expand the argu- thau God (e.g. eh. iL 22-24; x. 3; xii. 6, ment of Eliphaz (eh. xxii. 2, 3). • etc.). But Elihu insists on pUllhing Job's Ver. 5.-Look unto the heavens, a.ncl see; intemperate phrases to their extremest a.nd behold the clouds which a.re higher than logical issues, and taxing Job with having thou; i.e. " look t.o the material sky and •aid all that his words might seem to a heaYens, 110 far above thee and so unap• strict logician to involve (oompe.re the com• proachable, and judge from them how far went 011 eh. ~ 1 ' . 6, 9). l t.be God wbo Pll!,de them is above thy puny, Ott, XXX\r, 1-16.j TIIE BOOK OF JOB. 565