Job 11 Study Notes: Zophar Calls Job to Repent
Zophar, the third friend, rebukes Job for claiming to be pure and says God is punishing him less than he deserves. He stresses that God's wisdom is beyond human reach, then urges Job to turn from sin, promising a secure and hopeful life while warning that the wicked will not escape.
General
In Job 11:7-9, how does Zophar describe the depths of God?
Answer: Above the sky, beneath the realm of the dead, broader than the ocean
Zophar asks whether Job can probe the depths of God or reach the boundaries of the Almighty (11:7). These depths, he says, rise above the heavens and go down below Sheol, the realm of the dead; they reach past the earth and stretch broader than the ocean, so what can Job do or know (11:8-9)? What Zophar says here is true in itself. Scripture praises God’s greatness as beyond searching (Psalm 145:3), Paul marvels at the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge (Romans 11:33), and Job himself later says that people grasp only the edges of God’s ways (26:14). But Zophar uses this truth to silence Job and to back up his claim that Job is guilty, and the LORD later says the friends did not speak about Him accurately (42:7).
- Job 11:7-9 (BSB)“Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”Zophar describes God’s depths as beyond the heavens, Sheol, the earth and the sea.
- Psalm 145:3 (BSB)“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”Scripture confirms that God’s greatness cannot be searched out.
- Romans 11:33 (BSB)“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!”Paul praises the unsearchable depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge.
- Job 26:14 (BSB)“Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?””Job himself affirms that people perceive only the outskirts of God’s ways.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”Though Zophar’s statement is true in itself, the LORD rebukes the friends for how they spoke of Him.
Theological
How does Zophar measure the depths of God in Job 11:7-9?
Answer: Above the sky, beneath the realm of the dead, broader than the ocean
Zophar asks whether Job can probe God’s depths or attain to the boundaries of the Almighty (11:7), describing them in cosmic dimensions: above the heavens, below Sheol, beyond earth and sea (11:8-9). As a statement of God’s incomprehensibility it is sound: God’s greatness is beyond searching (Psalm 145:3), His judgments past finding out (Romans 11:33), and Job himself confesses that we hear only a faint whisper of Him (26:14). Zophar’s error lies in wielding this truth to establish Job’s guilt; the LORD’s verdict is that the friends did not speak of Him accurately (42:7).
- Job 11:7-9 (BSB)“Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”Zophar describes God’s depths as beyond the heavens, Sheol, the earth and the sea.
- Psalm 145:3 (BSB)“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”Scripture confirms that God’s greatness cannot be searched out.
- Romans 11:33 (BSB)“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!”Paul praises the unsearchable depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge.
- Job 26:14 (BSB)“Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?””Job himself affirms that people perceive only the outskirts of God’s ways.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”Though Zophar’s statement is true in itself, the LORD rebukes the friends for how they spoke of Him.
General
What point does Zophar make with the picture of a wild donkey’s colt (Job 11:12)?
Answer: A senseless man growing wise is as unlikely as that colt becoming human
Zophar says that if God comes to arrest someone and calls him to trial, no one can hold Him back (11:10). God knows when people are deceitful, and He takes note of wrongdoing (11:11). Then Zophar adds a stinging saying: an empty-headed man will gain wisdom only when a wild donkey’s colt comes into the world as a man (11:12). In context the jab is aimed at Job, and Job hears it that way, insisting in his reply that he has as much understanding as his friends (12:3). It is true that God sees all wrongdoing (Hebrews 4:13; Proverbs 15:3), but Zophar uses that truth to suggest Job is hiding sin.
- Job 11:10-12 (BSB)“If He comes along to imprison you, or convenes a court, who can stop Him? Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note? But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!”Zophar says God sees human deceit and mocks the idea that a witless man could become wise.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Nothing is hidden from God’s sight, the truth Zophar invokes.
- Proverbs 15:3 (BSB)“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.”The LORD watches over the evil and the good in every place.
- Job 12:3 (BSB)“But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?”Job answers Zophar’s jab by insisting he has understanding and is not inferior.
Theological
What is the force of Zophar’s proverb about the wild donkey’s colt in Job 11:12?
Answer: A senseless man growing wise is as unlikely as that colt becoming human
Zophar affirms that none can hinder God when He arrests and summons to judgment (11:10), and that He discerns human deceit and marks iniquity (11:11). He then caps the point with a proverb: a hollow man will become wise only when a wild donkey’s colt comes into the world as a man (11:12), that is, never. In context it is a barb at Job, and Job takes it so (12:3). God’s omniscience is not in question (Hebrews 4:13; Proverbs 15:3); the fault lies in Zophar’s assumption that God’s all-seeing eye has found hidden sin in Job.
- Job 11:10-12 (BSB)“If He comes along to imprison you, or convenes a court, who can stop Him? Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note? But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!”Zophar says God sees human deceit and mocks the idea that a witless man could become wise.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Nothing is hidden from God’s sight, the truth Zophar invokes.
- Proverbs 15:3 (BSB)“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.”The LORD watches over the evil and the good in every place.
- Job 12:3 (BSB)“But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?”Job answers Zophar’s jab by insisting he has understanding and is not inferior.
General
What does Zophar tell Job about the punishment God has given him (Job 11:6)?
Answer: God is requiring less from him than his sins deserve
Zophar wishes God would speak against Job and show him the hidden sides of wisdom (11:5-6). Then he makes a harsh claim: God is actually demanding less of Job than his wrongdoing deserves (11:6). In other words, Zophar assumes Job’s suffering is punishment for sin, and that Job is guilty of even more than his losses show. Zophar is wrong about Job. In chapter 1 the LORD called Job blameless and upright (1:8), and later said Satan had incited Him to ruin Job without cause (2:3). At the end, the LORD says the friends did not speak about Him accurately (42:7). It is true in general that God does not repay people as fully as their sins deserve (Psalm 103:10), but Zophar wrongly used that truth to explain Job’s suffering.
- Job 11:5-6 (BSB)“But if only God would speak and open His lips against you, and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.”Zophar claims that God is exacting less from Job than his guilt deserves.
- Job 1:8 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.””The LORD’s own description of Job contradicts Zophar’s assumption of hidden guilt.
- Job 2:3 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.””The LORD says Job’s ruin came without cause, not as punishment for sin.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”The LORD finally declares that the friends did not speak of Him accurately.
- Psalm 103:10 (BSB)“He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.”Scripture does affirm that God does not repay sinners as their iniquities deserve, the truth Zophar misapplies.
Theological
What is Zophar’s claim in Job 11:6 about the relation between Job’s suffering and his guilt?
Answer: God is requiring less from him than his sins deserve
After wishing that God would open His lips and reveal to Job the twofold secrets of wisdom (11:5-6), Zophar asserts that God has exacted less than Job’s iniquity merits (11:6). The claim presupposes the friends’ shared retribution logic: suffering is the measure of sin, so Job’s calamities prove hidden guilt and even understate it. The prologue contradicts this premise: the LORD pronounced Job blameless and upright (1:8) and declared his affliction to be without cause (2:3), and the LORD’s closing verdict is that the friends did not speak of Him accurately (42:7). God’s mercy in not repaying sinners in full for their sins is true in itself (Psalm 103:10), but Zophar misapplies it to Job’s case.
- Job 11:5-6 (BSB)“But if only God would speak and open His lips against you, and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.”Zophar claims that God is exacting less from Job than his guilt deserves.
- Job 1:8 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.””The LORD’s own description of Job contradicts Zophar’s assumption of hidden guilt.
- Job 2:3 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.””The LORD says Job’s ruin came without cause, not as punishment for sin.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”The LORD finally declares that the friends did not speak of Him accurately.
- Psalm 103:10 (BSB)“He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.”Scripture does affirm that God does not repay sinners as their iniquities deserve, the truth Zophar misapplies.
General
True or False: Zophar promises Job that if he turns his heart to God and gets rid of the wrong in his hand, he will hold his face up free of any stain (Job 11:13-15).
Answer: True
This is true. Zophar urges Job to set his heart on God, stretch out his hands to Him in prayer, and remove both the wrong in his hand and any injustice in his home (11:13-14). Then, he promises, Job could raise his face free of any stain and stand firm without fear (11:15). Turning from sin to God is good counsel in itself: the one who confesses and forsakes sin receives mercy (Proverbs 28:13). But Zophar assumes Job’s suffering came from hidden sin, which the LORD’s own words in the prologue deny (2:3). When Job was restored at the end, it came after he interceded for the three friends, not by following Zophar’s formula (42:10).
- Job 11:13-15 (BSB)“As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him, if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents, then indeed you will lift up your face without blemish; you will stand firm and unafraid.”Zophar calls Job to repent and promises that he will then stand firm and unashamed.
- Proverbs 28:13 (BSB)“He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.”Confessing and renouncing sin brings mercy, the sound principle behind Zophar’s counsel.
- Job 2:3 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.””The LORD says Job was ruined without cause, undercutting Zophar’s assumption of hidden sin.
- Job 42:10 (BSB)“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.”Job’s restoration came after he prayed for his friends.
Theological
True or False: Zophar holds out restoration to Job on condition that he set his heart right, spread his hands to God and remove the wrong in his hand (Job 11:13-15).
Answer: True
This is true. Zophar’s counsel is a conditional promise: if Job directs his heart, lifts his hands in prayer, and removes the iniquity and injustice from his hand and household (11:13-14), he will raise his face unblemished and stand secure (11:15). The call to repentance is sound in itself (Proverbs 28:13), but it rests on a false premise, that Job’s affliction is punishment for concealed sin, which the LORD’s word that Job suffered without cause contradicts (2:3). Job’s eventual restoration came after he interceded for his friends (42:10), not through Zophar’s formula.
- Job 11:13-15 (BSB)“As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him, if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents, then indeed you will lift up your face without blemish; you will stand firm and unafraid.”Zophar calls Job to repent and promises that he will then stand firm and unashamed.
- Proverbs 28:13 (BSB)“He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.”Confessing and renouncing sin brings mercy, the sound principle behind Zophar’s counsel.
- Job 2:3 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.””The LORD says Job was ruined without cause, undercutting Zophar’s assumption of hidden sin.
- Job 42:10 (BSB)“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.”Job’s restoration came after he prayed for his friends.
General
In Job 11:4, what does Zophar claim Job has said?
Answer: That his beliefs are right and he is clean before God
Zophar the Naamathite, the third friend, speaks for the first time. He accuses Job of pouring out empty talk and of mocking without being corrected (11:2-3). He sums up Job’s position as a claim that his beliefs are right and that he is clean in God’s eyes (11:4). Job had indeed insisted that God knew he was not guilty (10:7), but he had also begged to be shown where he had gone wrong (6:24). In chapter 1 the LORD Himself called Job blameless and upright (1:8).
- Job 11:1-4 (BSB)“Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: “Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated? Should your babbling put others to silence? Will you scoff without rebuke? You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound, and I am pure in Your sight.’”Zophar begins his first speech by rebuking Job’s words and restating Job’s claim to be pure.
- Job 10:7 (BSB)“though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?”Job had told God that He knew Job was not guilty.
- Job 6:24 (BSB)“Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.”Job had also asked to be taught and shown how he had erred.
- Job 1:8 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.””The LORD Himself describes Job as blameless and upright.
Theological
How does Zophar summarize Job’s claim in Job 11:4?
Answer: That his beliefs are right and he is clean before God
Zophar opens by charging Job with a torrent of words, idle talk and unrebuked mockery (11:2-3), and he reduces Job’s case to a claim of sound doctrine and personal purity before God (11:4). Job had protested his innocence (10:7) and had also asked to be taught his error (6:24). The prologue has already established the LORD’s own verdict that Job was blameless and upright (1:8).
- Job 11:1-4 (BSB)“Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: “Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated? Should your babbling put others to silence? Will you scoff without rebuke? You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound, and I am pure in Your sight.’”Zophar begins his first speech by rebuking Job’s words and restating Job’s claim to be pure.
- Job 10:7 (BSB)“though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?”Job had told God that He knew Job was not guilty.
- Job 6:24 (BSB)“Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.”Job had also asked to be taught and shown how he had erred.
- Job 1:8 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.””The LORD Himself describes Job as blameless and upright.
General
How does Zophar end his speech in Job 11:16-20?
Answer: Promising Job a bright, safe life and warning that the wicked will not escape
Zophar ends with a bright picture. If Job turns back, he will forget his misery like water that has flowed away, his life will shine more brightly than midday, and he will rest in safety with hope, while many seek his favor (11:16-19). But the wicked will find their eyes failing, no way of escape, and nothing to hope for but death (11:20). Bildad had closed his speech in much the same way, promising Job joy and warning that the homes of evildoers would vanish (8:21-22). Job answers by pointing out that in real life robbers often live in peace (12:6), and he later asks why evildoers keep living and growing in power (21:7). The friends’ neat formula did not fit Job’s case.
- Job 11:16-20 (BSB)“For you will forget your misery, recalling it only as waters gone by. Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety. You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.””Zophar promises Job security and hope if he repents and warns that the wicked will not escape.
- Job 8:21-22 (BSB)“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.””Bildad had ended his speech with the same pattern of promise for Job and ruin for the wicked.
- Job 12:6 (BSB)“The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.”Job replies that robbers and those who provoke God often live in security.
- Job 21:7 (BSB)“Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?”Job later presses the point that the wicked often live long and grow powerful.
Theological
What is the shape of Zophar’s conclusion in Job 11:16-20?
Answer: Promising Job a bright, safe life and warning that the wicked will not escape
Zophar concludes with the promise side of retribution theology: repentance will bring forgetfulness of misery, a life brighter than noon, security, hope, untroubled rest and the favor of many (11:16-19), while the wicked face failing eyes, no refuge and only the hope of death (11:20). His close mirrors Bildad’s (8:21-22). Job’s reply immediately contests the premise by noting that robbers dwell at ease (12:6), a complaint he presses further in 21:7. The friends’ scheme of tidy reward and punishment in this life does not match what Job sees.
- Job 11:16-20 (BSB)“For you will forget your misery, recalling it only as waters gone by. Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety. You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.””Zophar promises Job security and hope if he repents and warns that the wicked will not escape.
- Job 8:21-22 (BSB)“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.””Bildad had ended his speech with the same pattern of promise for Job and ruin for the wicked.
- Job 12:6 (BSB)“The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.”Job replies that robbers and those who provoke God often live in security.
- Job 21:7 (BSB)“Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?”Job later presses the point that the wicked often live long and grow powerful.