Commento su Giobbe 34:40

In the Fifth Oration, Job had argued that the governance of individuals cannot emanate from God , for this would require that the injustice of the suffering of the righteous be attributed to Him. On the basis of this he had concluded that God does not Himself administer the governance of individual human beings but has handed it over to the Cosmos, which does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. Bildad had rejected this proposition on the grounds that for God to have delegated governance to an entity that annihilates righteous people for nothing is itself an injustice. To this Job had replied that on the scale of all existence, no injustice is involved, for on that scale the Earth is no more than a speck of dust. And, if as a result of natural processes, the Earth, together with all its inhabitants, good and bad, should be destroyed, this would be no injustice in terms of the universal balance of nature. Elihu now sets out to demolish this argument.

For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

my right [my] To prove my words.

Elihu starts by reiterating the first argument Job had used to substantiate his assertion that individual governance does not emanate from God. Job could not believe that he deserved his suffering. It was unfair and such unfairness could not emanate from God. It must have another origin, one that is indifferent to good and evil.

I call a liar I accuse my Judge of being a liar, because He did not judge me fairly.

incurable Heb. אנוש, My wound is sore, like (II Sam. 12:15), “and it became mortally ill (ויאנש).”

my wound Heb. חצי [lit. my arrow].

Unable to restrain himself, Elihu interjects that Job’s thesis is scandalous, for it emboldens the wicked, assuring them that they have nothing to fear.

A man derives no benefit A man derives no benefit if he perfects his ways.

Elihu returns to his recapitulation of Job's argument. Job had reasoned that if individual governance was in God's hands, then by the logic of His Perfection, it would be administered in a proper and just manner. Paraphrasing Job's thesis, Elihu says "Therefore, listen to me" etc.

But since it is evident that individual governance is not administered properly and justly, it cannot be in His hands. It has been delegated to the Cosmos and has become an integral part of Nature. This being so, no injustice would be incurred if, as a result of natural events, the Earth together with all its inhabitants was wiped out.

Who gave Him a charge over the earth Who rules over Him, saying, ‘Why did You do so?’ or ‘I did not command You so’? For who gave Him a charge over His dominion, and why should He find pretexts for His creatures? He need not answer one who rules over Him by saying ‘Because of this I harmed him.’

If He puts His heart on man to destroy him, why should He come upon him with a pretext? He can immediately gather in to Himself... His spirit and His soul His spirit and His soul that He blew into him, and no one will stop Him. Thus, all flesh will perish together.

And if you wish, understand And if you wish, understand. hearken to this This בּינה is not a noun but an imperative expression, like (Ps. 5:2), “consider (בּינה) my meditation.” Therefore, these two are accented on the first syllable, on the “beth,” whereas all the others are accented on the final syllable, on the “nun.”

Having completed his summary of Job’s position, Elihu now sets about demolishing it. In order to exonerate God from the evil of the injustice done to himself, a single righteous individual, Job had heaped an infinity of injustices on Him. For if God has indeed delegated individual governance to the merciless and indifferent Cosmos, it is not just Job who is denied justice, but everyone in the world. If the logic of His Perfection made it unthinkable that God would do an injustice to a single person, how can it allow for an infinity of injustices to be done to the multitude of mankind? Thus Job’s argument was self-defeating.

Will...even one who hates judgment Will the Omnipresent heal [even the one who hates the judgment] of the just Judge? If you say that [to do so] is not judgment, for He acted not in accordance with the law, is it possible that you should condemn One Who is very righteous?

very Heb. כביר, an expression denoting “exceedingly.”

Is it proper to say of a king, ‘scoundrel’ Is it fit and proper to say of a king, ‘scoundrel,’ or ‘wicked’ of nobles?

Who did not respect princes That is to say, the King of the world, before Whom there is no favoritism.

a prince Heb. שוע, a prince, as in (Isa. 32:5), “nor shall a deceitful person be said to be noble (שוע).”

In a moment, they die when He wishes.

and at midnight as He did to the Egyptians,

an [entire] people quakes in a moment and passes away.

it is not in their hands it is not in their hands, and they have no strength.

Elihu now turns to the second argument Job had drawn from the prosperity of the wicked, namely, that if individual governance is indeed in God’s hands, why does He not punish the wicked at once, in public and for all to see. In reply, Elihu argues that human justice eschews delays in punishment because of a lack of knowledge and a lack of ability.

1. The lack of knowledge is that most crime goes undetected and so when a criminal is caught he is punished at once and before he can commit any more crimes;

2. the lack of ability is that the criminal may escape or hide and so avoid punishment. However, unlike human justice which misses out at times, Divine justice does not. God, who is omniscient and omnipotent, has no imperfections and can therefore react how and when He chooses. Consequently, Divine justice does not necessarily require instant punishment. Furthermore, if reward or punishment was manifestly a Divine reaction to a specific human act, there would be no basis for the free-will, doubt or faith without which it has no purpose.

For He will not place additional [guilt] on a man That is to say: You said (23:6), ‘He will not place upon me anything but my sins,’ only my sins alone, and I reply to you that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not place on His creatures additional accusations over their transgression. [The word] עוד is an expression of addition.

to go to God in judgment When He comes upon His creatures to debate with them.

He shatters Heb. ירע, [like] ירוֹצֵץ. He shatters, and like (Isa. 24:19), “has broken (התרעעה).”

and He stands others in their stead.

Because He recognizes their deeds Because He recognizes their deeds, whether good or evil, He does not need to debate.

He turns night A time of darkness and trouble for them, and they are crushed.

In the place of the wicked Heb. תחת, in their location.

Malbim suggests that one of the ways God might make a public example of the wicked is by an earthquake in which, providentially, only wicked people perished, the righteous being left alive.²⁶ One wonders if he knew of Voltaire's novel Candide in which he recounts that heretics were publicly burned after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 because the University of Coimbra declared 'that the sight of several persons being slowly burned in great ceremony is an infallible secret for preventing earthquakes.' The ultimate reason for things is unknown and unknowable, wrote Voltaire: 'All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds,' but the predicament of man has become anything but 'passable.'

He smote them The people of Sodom.

in the place of viewers Before everyone’s eyes.

Because they turned away from following Him Heb. אשר על-כן as in (Num. 10:31), “because (על- כן) you knew our camping in the desert.” [This is] like: because (מפני אשר) they turned away from following Him, and they brought before Him and upon Him the cry of the poor.

Job had been misled by the invisibility of God’s justice into supposing that the governance of individuals is not in His hands, as it should be. He was wrong: God does hear and respond to the cries of the oppressed.
Elihu suggests a further reason for God’s sufferance of the wicked, namely, that they are the instruments of his wrath: 'The Assyrian, he is the rod that I wield in my anger and the staff of my rod is in his hand. I send him against a godless nation...to spoil and plunder'. But after His judgments have been carried out: 'When the Lord has finished all that He means to do on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem: I will punish the king of Assyria for this fruit of his pride and for his arrogance and vainglory.' (Isaiah 10:5-12) Consequently, God’s apparent silence in the face of wickedness cannot be used as evidence that He has delegated individual governance to another entity. On the contrary, it can just as well be argued that it is evidence of Providence.

When He quiets He gives the poor [some peace and] quiet from those who oppress [them]. Now who will deal wickedly anymore? And as long as He hid His face, who will see Him?

whether [it be done] to a nation or to a man, alike As for individuals, [or] as for a multitude it is the same to Him to quiet [them] and to hide His face.

And it shall be quiet, that a flattering man shall not reign because of the snares of the people Over the poor, who reigned.

because of the snares of the people [who were guilty] of iniquity, and concerning such a God, you should not have said, ‘scoundrel,’ and ‘wicked.

For to God should be said To be said to Him. It is fitting and proper for all those who suffer pains to say, ‘I bear, accept, and tolerate Your judgments, and I will not destroy myself.’ Further, the one who is judged must say...

Besides what I see Besides what I know to perceive in Your words, You instruct me, and if I have committed injustice, I will not continue.

From you should He pay it, for you despised etc. so did Elihu say to Job, “Should the Holy One, blessed be He, have taken counsel from you about repaying you?”

for you despised saying (above 7: 16), “I despised [my life]; I will not live forever”; (above 6:9) “enlarge His hand and finish me off.” Do you think that He would collect from you according to your thoughts and your desire, and you would choose the payment—not I? Elihu spoke instead of the Holy One, blessed be He, with a question.

God’s forbearance is His privilege and His alone and Job has no grounds for challenging it. Now, having rebuffed all the arguments against Providence that Job had drawn from the prosperity of the wicked, Elihu gathers strength for the next stage: he will not give up until he has convinced Job beyond all doubt.

Men of understanding will say to me that Job does not speak with knowledge.

My Father! May [Job] be tried You are my Father. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the Father of all. If only Job were tried to eternity, in order that there be repentance among men of iniquity. And also to men Scripture speaks in this manner (II Kings 5:13): “‘Master (אבי), if the prophet spoke to you to do a difficult thing etc.’” Another explanation: אבי is like (Ecc. 12:5), “and the sexual desire (האביונה) will fail,” an expression of desire. Menachem (Machbereth p. 11) associated it in this manner, and this is its interpretation: אָבִי יִבָּחֵן אִיוֹב עַד נֶצַח, my wish and my desire are that Job should be tried to eternity (omitted in some editions).

he speaks loquaciously Heb. יספוק is an expression of many words and raising the voice.

among us he speaks loquaciously He asks, Why should we be concerned with his words? (above 19:4), ‘And even if I have indeed erred, let my error stay with me,’ and he does not know that we are punished, and he increases iniquities for us because we are listening. So it is explained in Leviticus Rabbah (4:6).