Commentaire sur Job 9:1
וַיַּ֥עַן אִיּ֗וֹב וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
Job reprit la parole et dit:
Malbim on Job
The Fifth Oration - Job's Reply To Bildad's First Speech
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Malbim on Job
Like a rod of tempered steel, (Jeremiah 1:19) this poor wretch braces himself to uphold his assertion that the personal governance which pours scorn on the princes (Psalms 197:40) and makes a mockery at the ordeal of the innocents, (Job 9:23) God's eyes are not upon it (Deuteronomy 11:12); His Throne is innocent (2 Samuel 14:9) of such calumnies. Such injustice cannot emanate from Him. The agents of the Cosmos, into whose hands the earth has been given, it is they alone that are at the heart this injustice (Ezra 9:2). Job's reply to Bildad is divided into three parts:
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Malbim on Job
Part One: Job starts by responding to the proof Bildad had presented at the beginning of his speech, that which had purported to demonstrate God's Providence from considerations of universal law. Bildad had argued that it would be an injustice or a deficiency in the makeup of He who is Omnipotent and Righteous were He to delegate government to evil stewards. However, no injustice may be present in God and, likewise, He must possess absolute capability. And so Bildad had asked, Would God pervert judgment?1Both Job and Bildad agree that God must be perfect. However, each draws different conclusions from this. Basing himself on ethical judgments, Job argues that to attribute the observed disorder in the governance of individuals to God is to imply that He is imperfect; this cannot be and so He must have been delegated this governance to another. On the other hand, basing himself on constitutional considerations, Bildad argues that for God to have delegated this governance to another is tantamount to denying His Perfection and Omnipotence. Job now sets out to show that delegating Providence to the Cosmos—Nature—does not involve any breach of the Divine Constitution.
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