---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Job 15"
description: "CHAPTER 15   SECOND
SERIES.   :-. SECOND SPEECH
OF ELIPHAZ. 2. a wise man—which Job claims
to be. vain knowledge—Hebrew,
\"windy knowledge\"; literally, \"of"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/job/15"
---

CHAPTER 15

SECOND
SERIES.

. SECOND SPEECH
OF ELIPHAZ.

**2. a wise man**—which Job claims
to be.
**vain knowledge**—*Hebrew,*
"windy knowledge"; literally, "of wind" (). In [Ecclesiastes 1:14](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/1/14), *Hebrew,*
"to catch wind," expresses to strive for what is vain.
**east wind**—stronger than
the previous "wind," for in that region the east wind is
the most destructive of winds ([Ecclesiastes 1:14](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/1/14)). Thus here,—empty violence.
**belly**—the inward parts,
the breast ([Proverbs 18:8](../../../kjv/proverbs/18/8)).

**4. fear**—reverence for God
([Job 4:6](../../../kjv/job/4/6); [Psalms 2:11](../../../kjv/psalms/2/11)).
**prayer**—meditation, in
[Psalms 104:34](../../../kjv/psalms/104/34); so *devotion.*
If thy views were right, reasons Eliphaz, that God disregards the
afflictions of the righteous and makes the wicked to prosper, all
devotion would be at an end.

**5.** The sophistry of thine own
speeches proves thy guilt.

**6.** No *pious* man would
utter such sentiments.

**7.** That is, Art thou wisdom
personified? Wisdom existed before the hills; that is, the eternal
Son of God ([Proverbs 8:25](../../../kjv/proverbs/8/25); [Psalms 90:2](../../../kjv/psalms/90/2)).
Wast thou in existence before Adam? The farther back one existed, the
nearer he was to the Eternal Wisdom.

**8. secret**—rather, "Wast
thou a listener *in the secret council* of God?" The *Hebrew*
means properly the *cushions* of a divan on which counsellors in
the East usually sit. God's servants are admitted to God's secrets
([Psalms 25:14](../../../kjv/psalms/25/14); [Genesis 18:17](../../../kjv/genesis/18/17);
[John 15:15](../../../kjv/john/15/15)).
**restrain**—Rather, didst
thou take away, or *borrow,* thence (namely, from the divine
secret council) thy wisdom? Eliphaz in this ([Job 15:8](../../../kjv/job/15/8);
[Job 15:9](../../../kjv/job/15/9)) retorts Job's words
upon himself ([Job 12:2](../../../kjv/job/12/2); [Job 12:3](../../../kjv/job/12/3);
[Job 13:2](../../../kjv/job/13/2)).

**9. in us**—or, "with us,"
Hebraism for "we are aware of."

**10.** On our side, thinking with
us are the aged. Job had admitted that wisdom is with them (). Eliphaz seems to have been himself older than Job;
perhaps the other two were also (). Job, in [Job 30:1](../../../kjv/job/30/1),
does not refer to his three friends; it therefore forms no objection.
The Arabs are proud of fulness of years.

**11. consolations**—namely, the
revelation which Eliphaz had stated as a consolatory reproof to Job,
and which he repeats in [Job 15:14](../../../kjv/job/15/14).
**secret**—Hast thou some
*secret* wisdom and source of consolation, which makes thee
disregard those suggested by me? ([Job 15:14](../../../kjv/job/15/14)). Rather, from a different *Hebrew* root, Is the word
of *kindness* or *gentleness* addressed by me treated by
thee as valueless? [UMBREIT].

**12. wink**—that is, why do thy
eyes *evince pride?* ([Proverbs 6:13](../../../kjv/proverbs/6/13);
[Psalms 35:19](../../../kjv/psalms/35/19)).

**13.** That is, frettest against
God and lettest fall rash words.

**14.** Eliphaz repeats the
revelation ([Job 4:17](../../../kjv/job/4/17)) in
substance, but using Job's own words (see on [Job 4:17](../../../kjv/job/4/17), on "born of a woman") to strike him with his own
weapons.

**15.** Repeated from ; "servants" there are "saints" here;
namely, holy angels.
**heavens**—literally, or
else answering to "angels" (see on , and [Job 15:2](../../../kjv/job/15/2)).

**16. filthy**—in *Arabic*
"sour" ([Psalms 14:3](../../../kjv/psalms/14/3);
[Psalms 53:3](../../../kjv/psalms/53/3)), corrupted from his
original purity.
**drinketh**— ([Psalms 53:3](../../../kjv/psalms/53/3)).

**17.** In direct contradiction of
Job's position ([Job 12:6](../../../kjv/job/12/6), &c.),
that the lot of the wicked was the most prosperous here, Eliphaz
appeals (1) to his own experience, (2) to the wisdom of the ancients.

**18.** Rather, "and which as
handed down from their fathers, they have not concealed."

**19.** Eliphaz speaks like a
genuine Arab when he boasts that his ancestors had ever possessed the
land unmixed with foreigners [UMBREIT].
His words are intended to oppose Job's (); "the earth" in their case was *not* "given
into the hand of the wicked." He refers to the division of the
earth by divine appointment ([Genesis 10:5](../../../kjv/genesis/10/5);
[Genesis 25:32](../../../kjv/genesis/25/32)). Also he may insinuate
that Job's sentiments had been corrupted from original purity by his
vicinity to the Sabeans and Chaldeans [ROSENMULLER].

**20. travaileth**—rather,
"trembleth of himself," though there is no real danger
[UMBREIT].
**and the number of*****his*****years,** c.—This gives the reason why the wicked man trembles
continually namely, because he knows not the moment when his life
must end.

**21.** An evil conscience conceives
alarm at every sudden sound, though it be in a time of peace
("prosperity"), when there is no real danger ([Leviticus 26:36](../../../kjv/leviticus/26/36);
[Proverbs 28:1](../../../kjv/proverbs/28/1); [2 Kings 7:6](../../../kjv/2-kings/7/6)).

**22. darkness**—namely, danger or
calamity. Glancing at Job, who despaired of restoration: in contrast
to good men when in darkness ([Micah 7:8](../../../kjv/micah/7/8);
[Micah 7:9](../../../kjv/micah/7/9)).
**waited for of**—that is,
He is destined for the sword [GESENIUS].
Rather (in the night of danger), "he *looks anxiously towards*
the sword," as if every sword was drawn against him [UMBREIT].

**23.** Wandereth *in anxious
search* for bread. Famine in Old Testament depicts sore need (). Contrast the pious man's lot ().
**knoweth**—has the firm
conviction. Contrast the same word applied to the pious ([Job 5:24](../../../kjv/job/5/24);
[Job 5:25](../../../kjv/job/5/25)).
**ready at his hand**—an
*Arabic* phrase to denote a thing's *complete readiness and
full presence,* as if in the hand.

**24. prevail**—break upon him
suddenly and terribly, as a king, &c. ().

**25. stretcheth . . . hand**—wielding
the spear, as a bold rebel against God ([Job 9:4](../../../kjv/job/9/4);
[Isaiah 27:4](../../../kjv/isaiah/27/4)).

**26. on his neck**—rather, "with
outstretched neck," namely, that of the rebel [UMBREIT]
([Psalms 75:5](../../../kjv/psalms/75/5)).
**upon . . . bucklers**—rather,
"*with*—his (the rebel's, not God's) bucklers." The
rebel and his fellows are depicted as joining shields together, to
form a compact covering over their heads against the weapons hurled
on them from a fortress [UMBREIT
and GESENIUS].

**27.** The well-nourished body of
the rebel is the sign of his prosperity.
**collops**—masses of fat.
He pampers and fattens himself with sensual indulgences; hence his
rebellion against God ([Deuteronomy 32:15](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/32/15);
[1 Samuel 2:29](../../../kjv/1-samuel/2/29)).

**28.** The class of wicked here
described is that of robbers who plunder "cities," and
seize on the houses of the banished citizens (). Eliphaz chooses this class because Job had chosen the
same ([Job 12:6](../../../kjv/job/12/6)).
**heaps**—of ruins.

**29.** Rather, he shall not
*increase* his riches; he has reached his highest point; his
prosperity shall not continue.
**perfection**—rather, "His
*acquired* wealth—what he possesses—shall not *be
extended,*" &c.

**30. depart**—that is, escape
([Job 15:22](../../../kjv/job/15/22); [Job 15:23](../../../kjv/job/15/23)).
**branches**—namely, his
offspring ([Job 1:18](../../../kjv/job/1/18); [Job 1:19](../../../kjv/job/1/19);
[Psalms 37:35](../../../kjv/psalms/37/35)).
**dry up**—The "flame"
is the sultry wind in the East by which plants most full of sap are
suddenly shrivelled.
**his mouth**—that is,
God's wrath ([Isaiah 11:4](../../../kjv/isaiah/11/4)).

**31.** Rather, "let him not
trust in vanity or he will be deceived," c.
**vanity**—that which is
unsubstantial. Sin is its own punishment ([Proverbs 1:31](../../../kjv/proverbs/1/31)
[Jeremiah 2:19](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/19)).

**32.** Literally, "it (*the
tree* to which he is compared, , or else *his life*) shall not be filled up in its
time"; that is, "he shall be ended before his time."
**shall not be green**—image
from a withered tree; the childless extinction of the wicked.

**33.** Images of incompleteness.
The loss of the unripe grapes is poetically made the vine tree's own
act, in order to express more pointedly that the sinner's ruin is the
fruit of his own conduct ([Isaiah 3:11](../../../kjv/isaiah/3/11);
[Jeremiah 6:19](../../../kjv/jeremiah/6/19)).

**34.** Rather, The binding together
of the hypocrites (wicked) shall be *fruitless* [UMBREIT].
**tabernacles of
bribery**—namely, dwellings of unjust judges, often reprobated in
the Old Testament ([Isaiah 1:23](../../../kjv/isaiah/1/23)).
The "fire of God" that consumed Job's possessions ([Isaiah 1:23](../../../kjv/isaiah/1/23)) Eliphaz insinuates may have been on account of Job's
bribery as an Arab sheik or emir.

**35.** Bitter irony, illustrating
the "unfruitfulness" () of the wicked. Their conceptions and birthgivings consist
solely in mischief, &c. ().
**prepareth**—hatcheth.

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