וְהָיָ֣ה רֵאשִׁיתְךָ֣ מִצְעָ֑ר וְ֝אַחֲרִיתְךָ֗ יִשְׂגֶּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃
Maka permulaanmu akan tampak kecil, karena akhirmu akan menjadi sangat besar.
Guide for the Perplexed
The opinion set forth by Eliphaz in reference to Job’s suffering is likewise one of the current views on Providence. He holds that the fate of Job was in accordance with strict justice. Job was guilty of sins for which he deserved his fate. Eliphaz therefore says to Job: “Is not thy wickedness great, and thine iniquities infinite?” (xxii. 5). He then points out to him that his upright actions and his good ways, on which he relies, need not be so perfect in the eyes of God that no punishment should be inflicted on him. “Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants: and his angels he chargeth with folly: how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay,” etc. (iv. 17-18). Eliphaz never abandoned his belief that the fate of man is the result of justice, that we do not know all our shortcomings for which we are punished, nor the way how we incur the punishment through them.