Commentary for Job 32:1
וַֽיִּשְׁבְּת֡וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁ֣ים הָ֭אֵלֶּה מֵעֲנ֣וֹת אֶת־אִיּ֑וֹב כִּ֤י ה֖וּא צַדִּ֣יק בְּעֵינָֽיו׃ (פ)
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Malbim on Job
The Eighteenth Oration - Elihu’s Speech
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Malbim on Job
Overwhelmed by the power of his arguments, Job’s three companions were left wordless at the end of his oration.1It had not occurred to any of them that Job was undergoing a trial. Each had tried to justify God at the expense of Job's innocence or integrity. Eliphaz had accused him of sinning openly; Zophar, of having sinned secretly; Bildad, of not being all he seemed. But Job had remained steadfast under all their attacks. They had now exhausted all their arguments. However, at this point a brave warrior (1Samuel 16:18) joins the campaign (1Samuel 17:20); who speaks with understanding...God being with him. Addressing the debaters present, Elihu turns back the tide of war (Isaiah 28:6), and displaying his strength (1Samuel 14:48) he reveals the truth concerning these questions. He formulates and scrutinizes them (Job 28:27), with the spirit of God that is upon him (Judges 3:10 et alia); and with the secret of the holy ones (Psalms 89:8) and of the perfect Forms (Job 37:16) in his mind. Until at the conclusion of his speech he discloses God’s secret (Jeremiah 23:18); what had happened when the Sons of God assembled before the Lord and Satan too had joined them (Job 1:6), as was related at the beginning of the book. Thus, the conclusion of the debate is to be found in the book’s Prologue. And all of this was known to Elihu from the secret God reveals to those that fear Him.2Psalms 25:14. Malbim offers no explanation why, if he was present throughout the debate, Elihu is mentioned neither in the Prologue nor in the Epilogue. This is one of the reasons that modern exegetes have regarded Elihu's speech as a later interpolation and not part of the original text of the Book.
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Malbim on Job
The book’s author starts by informing us that Elihu had been angered by both sides during the debate:
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