Comentário sobre Jó 5:29

Now call Up to here are words of prophecy. From here on, he returns to his rebuke: Cry out to your utmost, who will answer you?

Eliphaz explains to Job that he had not received this prophetic revelation directly because he was unworthy of such a privilege.

To which of the holy ones [i.e., of the angels] who decrees this upon you will you turn, to strive with him?

a fool like you, anger will kill him, for had you remained silent, perhaps the Divine standard of clemency would return upon you.

He had not only questioned the existence of Providence but had also wrongly asserted that a person's fate is determined by the stars not by his behavior

wrath That is anger and fury, as in (Deut. 32:21), “They have provoked Me (קנאוני) to wrath.”

This is the cue for Eliphaz to present his reasoned as distinct from his prophetic reply to Job's hypothesis. He argues that the prosperity of the wicked is a matter of chance and transient, whereas the hard-earned rewards of the righteous are lasting.

May his sons distance themselves from salvation This is the curse with which I cursed him.

and may they be crushed It is punctuated with a dagesh: וְיִדַּכְּאוּ, and may they be crushed, but if it was punctuated without a dagesh (וִידַכְּאוּ), it would mean that they should crush others.

his harvest of the wicked man.

Moreover, the latter will ultimately inherit the wealth of the former. Therefore no conclusions about the injustice or otherwise of Providence can be drawn from the prosperity of the wicked.⁸This is one of the most obscure verses in the book, as is indicated by the many differing and contradictory interpretations given to it. Malbim understands the Hebrew word צמים that appears in the verse as being related to the phrase בעד צמתך meaning 'through your veil' that appears in Song of Songs 4:1,3 and 6:7.

The hungry shall eat When the wicked man dies, the hungry whom he cut off during his lifetime shall come and take payment from his property.

and he will take it for the one saved from his weapons Like (Exod. 27:20), “and they shall take to you”; for the benefit of the poor man who was saved from the weapons of this wicked man, the judge who is appointed for that purpose shall take it [the estate of the wicked man].

shall swallow One of the thirsty ones whom he robbed during his lifetime shall swallow.

their riches Their money that this one stole during his lifetime.

For not from the dust does ruin emerge A plague that comes upon a person is not for nothing, nor does it spring from the ground.

ruin Heb. און. It is an expression of ruin.

Because man is born for trouble For it is impossible that he should not sin and receive trouble as punishment for sin. He is not like the flying creatures—the angels and spirits—who fly upward, and are not of the earthly creatures (other editions read: fly upward so as not to be among the earthly creatures), over whom the Adversary and temptation rule.

The comets are neither messengers of the stars nor portents of doom. God alone governs and man has control over his own actions.

flying Heb. רשף, as in (Ps. 76:4), “arrows of (רשפי) a bow.” When the arrow flies, it is called רשפי, an expression of flying. This is what I heard.

But I would seek of God If these pains came over me, I would appeal to the Holy One, blessed be He, with prayer and supplication, and if I would commit my cause to a request.

Eliphaz brings two examples of God's active involvement in the world:

Who gives rain upon the face of the land The land of Israel.

The general beneficial wonders of Nature, as illustrated by rainfall and the river-irrigation of desert lands such as Egypt, and the particular supernatural interventions which prevent the extinction of the weak and destitute despite the predatory nature of their surroundings. These are an indication of Divine design, for anything that is so wisely apportioned cannot be the result of chance

and sends water upon the face of outside places through a messenger to other countries.

to place the humble on high He gives the rain, and He frustrates the plans of the crafty, who intend to raise the prices and buy the fields of the poor for little grain.

and those blackened whose fares are shriveled from hunger.

so that their hands do not carry out their plans The counsel that they planned to perform.

As an example of this, Malbim cites the way the Lord frustrated the scheme to kill David presented by Ahitophel to Absalom (vide 2Samuel 17:14).

is hasty Any counsel that is planned hastily is foolishness.

The example Malbim cites for this is the selling of Joseph by his brothers. God allowed it to happen as it fitted in with His plans. Indeed, it would lead to the very thing they were trying to prevent, namely, Joseph's pre-eminence over them.

By day, they meet darkness For their counsel is not executed nor accomplished, and the light of their wisdom is converted to darkness.

And He saved the stumblers.

from the sword. From what sword? From their mouth, for they thought to swallow them and longed to destroy them.

and... from the hand of the mighty He saves the needy.

and libel Heb. ועלתה. The libel (עלילה) and the wickedness, as (Ps. 64:7), “They search for false charges,” equivalent to עלילות, libels.

shut Heb. קפצה, shut, as (Deut. 15:7), “nor shut (תקפץ).”

Behold, fortunate is the man etc. with pains, and just as He heals the pain of these [people], so would I [myself] appeal to Him about these pains that would come upon me. So should you accept them and not despise them.

Events are determined by a combination of man's actions and God's interventions. Eliphaz explains that the same is true of suffering. Some suffering is a natural consequence of man's misbehavior and overindulgence, and some is Providential, intended for atonement, the purging of sin or to induce repentance. However, though the former cause is totally bad, the latter should be seen as a Divine gift intended for man's ultimate good. Today's misfortune may turn out to have been a life-saver tomorrow.

In six troubles When they come to the world, he will save you through the pains with which you wee tormented, and also with the seventh one, which when it comes will not touch you.

By being driven from home by famine or war, you may be saved from some other more dangerous life-threatening event.

from the scourging tongue of the Adversary you shall be hidden. These are the seven troubles: 1 famine, 2) the sword, 3) the tongue, 4) plunder etc., and 5) the beasts of the land, which are brigands.

To illustrate the general idea underlying these verses, Malbim refers to the following passage from the Talmud (Niddah 31a):
Like two men who set out on a trading expedition and one of them began to blaspheme and malign when a thorn stuck in him [and he had to cancel his journey]. Subsequently, however, when he heard that his friend's ship had sunk in the sea he began to glorify and give praise [to God]…Even a person for whom a miracle is performed is unaware of the miracle. .

the stones of the field They are: 6) a type of man.

and the beasts of the field That is what is known as grouse(?) in Old French, and this is actually a beast of the field. In the language of the Mishnah in Torath Kohanim, they are called “adnei hasadeh.”

made peace with you will have peace with you.

Then you shall know that there is peace in your tent Then, wherever you are, you will be confident that all is well in your tent.

and you shall visit your habitation and miss nothing Heb. תחטא, like (Jud. 20:16), “at a hairbreadth and not miss (יחטא).” This is the seventh [trouble] that we counted above.

You shall come to the grave at a ripe old age Heb. בְכֶלַח. [In other words,] you will be saved from pestilence. As for the word בְכֶלַח: there is no Biblical support to understand its meaning, but according to the context, it can be interpreted as an expression of the completion of the ripening of the grain, when it is completely ripe. Our Rabbis, however, interpret בְכֶלַח as “sixty years,” according to its numerical value.

as the grain stock is taken away As the grain stack is taken off the ground in its time.

Eliphaz concludes by requesting that Job take note of this reasoned reply.