Commentaire sur Job 22:31

With the completion of two rounds, six [orations] in each round, (Leviticus 24:6) the first concerning the suffering of the righteous and the second the prosperity of the wicked; and after the wrangler Job had triumphed over all of them with his answers, his bows and his arrows (Genesis 48:22); Eliphaz now tries, for one last time, to fit his arrow to the bowstring (Psalms 11:2) in order to counter-attack at the gate (Isaiah 28:6) in a single speech that addresses both issues. In doing so, he devises a new approach, one with fine insight and knowledge (Psalms 119:66), according to which it is out of wisdom on God's part, and with particular intent, that the rewards of the righteous and the punishments of the wicked are not immediately disbursed in this world. This is done so as to ensure that the worship of God may be selfless, motivated neither by love of reward nor by fear of punishment.

For the most important aspect of a person's worship of God is that he should do good for its own sake and for the sake of the Profound Statute issued by the Supreme Lawgiver; and principally for the sake of His great Name (2Chronicles 6:32). However, this would not be the case if a person's actions were guided by considerations of reward or fear of punishment. For he would then be serving not God but himself and this is not the sort of worship God desires. If the reaction to evil acts was immediate (Ecclesiastes 8:11) and God meted out punishment to the wicked at once, nobody would dare (Jeremiah 30:21) to do evil for fear of the immediate retribution that would follow. Similarly, everyone would try to do good because they knew they would be rewarded instantly. The deed would not be performed for the sake of God, nor would there be any meaning to reward and punishment, seeing that all would be bound to act as they did out of fear of punishment or hope of reward. Nor would there be any meaning to free-will and trial, though they were the substance of God's purpose in creating man: that the heart's inclination should tempt a person to do evil and he should feel free to do so, but that nevertheless he should refrain and turn away from evil (Psalms 34:15), out of respect for God and His divine ordinances. Therefore, He endowed man's mind with everything, except the knowledge of how God acts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) with regard to the reward of the righteous or the punishment of the wicked. And so there are evil-doers who prosper and wicked persons who are praised in public for what they have done and God's Providence is concealed and hidden from the sight of most people. Contrariness beguiles understanding, causing it to deny Providence and to declare that the world runs itself (TB Avodah Zarah 54b); that everything depends on heredity, nature and the stars; that the Lord is on high, His glory is above the heavens (Psalms 113:4), and He does not govern those down below; not to mention the other charges made by heretics. As proof, they all cite the disorder and capriciousness of Providence, namely, that the righteous languish and the wicked prosper.

But this is a test and a trial, intended to distinguish between those who worship God sincerely and those who are insincere. For he who serves God without thought of reward (TB Avodah Zarah 19a), the righteous person who lives in faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4), he will not be moved. He will receive his reward in the world of recompense—an eternal spiritual reward in shimmering Paradise—for he has been tried and found perfect. For in the world of souls, scourges are also readied for the scorners (Proverbs 19:29); for God brings every secret thing to judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14); a faithful just God, who does no wrong (Deuteronomy 32:4); all of whose work endures (Psalms 33:4).
Thus, Eliphaz rebuilds and re-establishes (Ezra 2:68) his original theses:

• his assertions that the reason for the suffering of the righteous is to punish them in this world for any minor sins they may have committed so as to indemnify them in the world to come,

• and that though the wicked may prosper, their prosperity is imperfect for their hearts are filled with fear of the punishment that awaits them. Even though in most cases this will only befall them in the world of souls, their own hearts are already auguring evil for them.

In this way he also justifies his reproof of Job at the beginning of his first speech, when he had said: 'Was not your own security the reason for your piety?' (Job 4:6). For the essence of correct worship is that it should be performed without any expectation of repayment or fear of retribution, and in this Job had sinned, Therefore his steps faltered (Psalms 37:31), and God poured His wrath upon him (Lamentations 4:11).

This reply encompasses all Job's rebuttals to Eliphaz's previous arguments. Namely, that it [the concealment of Providence] is an imperative of the Governance of beings who have free-will, ones that understand and know, (Isaiah 32:4) in order to show whether their worship is truly perfect, for the sake of God and His love alone.

Eliphaz’s reply
Does a man benefit God Will a man avail and benefit for the need and the benefit of the Creator when he teaches the people knowledge and wisdom? The first יִסְכָּן is an expression of benefit [or pleasure], like (I Kings 1:2), “and she shall be to him a warmer (סֹכֶנֶת).” The second is an expression of teaching [or accustoming], like (Num. 22:30), “Have I ever been in the habit (ההסכן הסכנתי)?” The former may also be interpreted as an expression of teaching, thus: Does a man learn for the good of the Creator and for His need when he learns wisdom?

God desires that man's worship of Him be for its own sake, altruistic. However, for this to be possible, He must remain elusive. Were He to reward and punish human actions directly or instantly in this world, virtue would be reduced to just a conditioned response. Eliphaz argues that instant reciprocity would make the achievement of true virtue impossible.

Does the Almighty care Like (above 21:21), “For what does He care (חפצו) about his house after him?” What pleasure or concern does He have if you are righteous in your deeds, that you reason with Him that He come with you to contest your words?

or...any gain i.e., monetary gain for Him if you perfect your ways?

Will He reason with you because He fears you? Or, out of fear, that He fears you, will He come and reason with you?

Is not [Is it not so] that He knows that your evil is great?

As Eliphaz sees it, being given enough rope to hang oneself is the essence of free-will. Hence, in His Wisdom, God may sometimes choose to ignore even the most heinous of crimes and leave them unpunished for the time being. However, this should not be interpreted as indicating that He has delegated governance. Rather, it is simply that Providence is not mechanical.

Does a strong man own the earth This is a question. Because you were strong, should you inherit the earth?

Nevertheless, sometimes retribution is immediate —

remain therein Is he fit to remain in existence?

— such as when God hears the cries of the widows or orphans that the wicked person has oppressed or abused.¹'Do not ill-treat any widow or orphan. Should you oppress him, and should they cry out to me, I will most surely hearken to their cry. My anger will be roused ...' (Exodus 22:22)

or darkness so that you do not see That is to say, You shall not put your eyes and your trust in strength, and say...

Before continuing, Eliphaz reviews the three arguments, as he sees them, put forward by those people who, like Job, deny Providence. The first, that God is so remote that He cannot see with what is going on down below nor is He concerned by it.

Is not God in the height of heaven and will not lower Himself to see.

and behold the topmost of the stars, which are lofty Heb. וראה, like (above 10:15), “and seeing (וראה) my affliction” at the end of the fifth reply. That is to say, ‘And You gaze upon the topmost stars because they are lofty.’ Therefore, you said...

‘What does God know?’ of what occurs in the dark?

Does He judge through the dark cloud? Does He see and judge facing this darkness? Behold...

Thick clouds are a concealment before Him, and He cannot see.

and He walks on the circle of the heavens and does not know what is on the earth.

Secondly, that in any case man is so insignificant that his acts cannot possibly affect Nature. On this view, the Flood that devastated Noah's generation was just a natural event: a consequence of blind Nature, unrelated to the wickedness of that generation. And thirdly, if Providence exists, how come it bestows such prosperity on sinners

circle Heb. חוג, the circle of the compass of the heavens, like (Isa. 44:13), “and with a compass (ובמחוגה) he rounds it,” compas in French

the old way The way of the ancients who were in days of yore.

Will you keep Have you kept in your heart to remember what happened to them?

Who were cut off when it was not their time They were cut off before their time.

a river And the river of the Flood or the brimstone and fire of Sodom was poured into their foundation.

Job may be impressed by these arguments but the truly righteous are not. They worship God for His own sake, and interpret any apparent deficiencies in this world as evidence of the existence of another perfect world: the Hereafter; the eternal world of the souls where all wrongs will be righted. So they rejoice in their worship, scornful of those who see no more to existence than just their immediate physical surroundings, which, like everything else in this world, will soon pass away

Whether their substance was cut off Will you watch and see whether their substance was cut off.

their substance Heb קימנו, like קומתו, his substance; i.e., of that generation, like (Hosea 12:5), “in Bethel he shall fed Him, and there He shall speak with him (עמנו),” like עִמוֹ.

consumed by the fire They were judged with boiling water. Rabbi Tanchuma expounded that they were tall and did not die in the depths. Then boiling water fell upon them from above and this is the meaning of יִתְרָם, their unusually tall height. So I heard.

Accustom yourself Accustom yourself to be (wholehearted) with him.

and you will be complete And you will be complete, lacking nothing.

with them With these things.

Eliphaz calls on Job to repent. Not to rely just on his own intellect but to accept God's instruction instead. Not to listen only to what his body tells him but to fill his mind with God's instruction instead. Elevating his spirit over his flesh, and not the other way round. Making his mind master over his body, instructing it to act in accordance with God's wishes.³Eliphaz's call to Job that he repent and return to God is one of the moments of greatest irony in the whole drama. For it presupposes that Job has sinned or was wicked but we the readers know that God had declared that 'there is no-one like him on earth; such a sincere and upright man; God-fearing, and one who shuns wrongdoing' (Ch. 1:8).
Furthermore, if we turn to the end of the book (Ch. 42:7-8) we find that it is in fact Eliphaz and his two friends who had spoken ill of God:
And it was after the Lord had finished speaking to Job that the Lord spoke to Eliphaz the Temanite: 'I am angry with you and your two friends, for you did not speak correctly of Me as did my servant Job. So now, take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and render a burnt-offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will pray for you, for I will accede to him and not deal harshly with you for not speaking correctly of Me, as did my servant Job.'
Eliphaz might have a good answer for the workings of Governance but it is not the answer to Job's plight. We the readers will still ask why God had to prove His assessment to be right? Was it not sufficient that He had declared that Job was 'a sincere and upright man ...'? Did He not know how he would react to pain? Why did He have to prove Himself? What right does Satan have to question God's evaluations?

Then you shall make a fortification on the earth By returning to Him, you will establish on the earth strength and fortifications.

and on the rocks of the valleys On the lofty rocks in the deep valleys, you shall have a collection of an accumulation of Ophir. This is the treasure of the kings, for they would gather and store gold that came from Ophir.

And the Almighty shall be of your adversaries Heb. והיה שד-י בצריך. If this word is holy [i.e., is a reference to the Almighty], I am bewildered at its interpretation, because its meaning is a curse, that He will be counted with his enemies, as in (Jud. 11:35), “and you have become one of those who trouble me (בעכרי),” with those who trouble me. By necessity, we will adjudge it as one of the elliptical verses, [meaning: And the Almighty shall be the Judge over your adversaries. But if we can interpret it as profane, as an expression of a judge and of strength, the following is its interpretation:] And your fortifications (בצריך) shall be strong (שד-י), like “Then you shall make a fortification (בצר) on the earth.” That is, powerful wealth will be fortified, and according to the context, that is indeed its interpretation, as evidenced by the end of the verse, “and you shall have abundant (תועפות) silver,” an expression of strength, like (Num. 23:22), “his is like the power of (כתועפות) a wild ox.”

and lift your countenance to God You will not come to lift your face except to ask Him for your needs.

and you will pay your wows You will be confident that your sacrifices, the payments of your vows, will be accepted.

When a person's devotion to God is so great that his only wish is to cleave to Him, with no expectation of material or bodily benefit, the Divine Presence attends and hearkens to his prayers.

and it will be accomplished for you Heb. ויקם, lit. and it will rise, like וְיָקוּם לָךְ.

Nature becomes subject to that person's will.⁴Malbim adds: Like Joshua at whose command the sun stood still and Elijah who decreed, 'As the Lord lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these coming years unless I give the word.' (1Kings 17:1).

If they are humble If you see your generation humble, pledge that it be uplifted, and it will be uplifted.

a humble person [One who is humbled] by the trouble that befalls [him] because of his iniquity,

God will save through your hands and through your prayer.

He shall deliver one who is not innocent Heb. אי נקי, synonymous with אין נקִי, not innocent, like (I Sam. 4:21), “Ichabod (איכבוד),” meaning, there is no glory (אין כבוד). And so (Prov. 31:4), “neither is drunkenness for rulers (אי שכר),” there is no drunkenness (אין שכר). It does not befit them to become intoxicated. Menachem joined the three into one group (Machbereth Menachem p. 22). Although they are two words (?), they explain them thus. And that one who is not innocent will be delivered because of the purity of your hands. So I heard. I heard another version that was being said in the name of Rabbi Jacob: This is an expression of a man who lives in pain and sighing, and the “yud” is superfluous in the word, like (Ps. 123:1), “Who dwells (הישבי) in heaven.” But I did not hear this from the rabbi’s mouth.