Job 6 Study Notes: Job Replies to Eliphaz
Job answers Eliphaz, saying his grief is heavier than all the sand by the sea and that God’s arrows have struck him. He longs for God to end his life, compares his friends to streams that dry up in summer, and pleads with them to show him his wrong and to reconsider.
General
True or False: In Job 6:4, Job blames his suffering on Satan, whom he names as the one shooting arrows at him.
Answer: False
This is false. Job names God, not Satan, as the source of his pain: the Almighty’s arrows have pierced him, their poison fills his spirit, and God’s terrors are lined up against him (6:4). Job says nothing of Satan here. From the start Job received his losses as from God’s hand (1:21; 2:10). The opening chapters show that Satan could act only as far as the LORD allowed (1:12), so Job is right that nothing reached him apart from God’s rule, even though God is never the author of evil.
- Job 6:4 (BSB)“For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.”Job describes his suffering as coming from the Almighty.
- Job 1:12 (BSB)““Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”Satan could act against Job only within the limits the LORD set.
- Job 1:21 (BSB)“saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.””From the start Job received his losses as coming from the LORD’s hand.
- Job 2:10 (BSB)““You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”Job accepts adversity as well as good from God, without sinning in his words.
Theological
True or False: In Job 6:4, Job attributes his suffering to Satan, naming him as the archer whose arrows have pierced him.
Answer: False
This is false. Job ascribes his affliction to God: the Almighty’s arrows have pierced him, his spirit drinks their poison, and God’s terrors are ranged against him (6:4). Satan is not mentioned. Job’s attribution matches his earlier confessions (1:21; 2:10) and the prologue’s portrait of a Satan who acts only within the limits the LORD sets (1:12). God rules over Job’s suffering without being the author of evil.
- Job 6:4 (BSB)“For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.”Job describes his suffering as coming from the Almighty.
- Job 1:12 (BSB)““Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”Satan could act against Job only within the limits the LORD set.
- Job 1:21 (BSB)“saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.””From the start Job received his losses as coming from the LORD’s hand.
- Job 2:10 (BSB)““You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”Job accepts adversity as well as good from God, without sinning in his words.
General
In Job 6:8-10, what does Job say still gives him comfort?
Answer: That he has not denied what the Holy One has spoken
Job wishes that God would grant his request and crush him, letting loose His hand to cut him off (6:8-9). He longs for death, yet he looks to God alone to bring it. His one comfort, even in relentless pain, is that he has not turned away from what the Holy One has said (6:10). Job’s faithfulness to God’s word appears again later, when he says he has valued God’s words above his daily bread (23:12), and earlier he had not sinned in his losses (1:22). James holds Job up as an example of perseverance and of the Lord’s compassion and mercy (James 5:11).
- Job 6:8-10 (BSB)“If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope: that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off! It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”Job asks God to end his life, while holding to his faithfulness to God’s words.
- Job 23:12 (BSB)“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.”Job later says he has treasured God’s words more than his daily food.
- Job 1:22 (BSB)“In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.”Through his losses Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
- James 5:11 (BSB)“See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”James holds up Job’s perseverance and the Lord’s compassion and mercy.
Theological
According to Job 6:8-10, what consolation does Job still hold?
Answer: That he has not denied what the Holy One has spoken
Job’s petition is that God would crush him and cut him off (6:8-9), a longing for death that he leaves in God’s hands. Yet amid relentless pain his consolation is that he has not rejected what the Holy One has said (6:10). This fidelity to God’s word recurs later (23:12) and matches his conduct in the prologue (1:22). James presents Job as a model of perseverance and a witness to the Lord’s compassion and mercy (James 5:11).
- Job 6:8-10 (BSB)“If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope: that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off! It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”Job asks God to end his life, while holding to his faithfulness to God’s words.
- Job 23:12 (BSB)“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.”Job later says he has treasured God’s words more than his daily food.
- Job 1:22 (BSB)“In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.”Through his losses Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
- James 5:11 (BSB)“See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”James holds up Job’s perseverance and the Lord’s compassion and mercy.
General
What point does Job make by asking whether a wild donkey brays when it has fresh grass (Job 6:5)?
Answer: Animals cry out only when they lack food, so his cries have a cause
Job uses images from ordinary life. A wild donkey does not bray, and an ox does not bellow, when it has plenty to eat (6:5); their noise means something is wrong. In the same way, Job’s loud complaint is not empty but comes from real loss and pain. He adds that bland food is hard to swallow without salt, and that what is set before him now sickens him (6:6-7). Interpreters differ on whether the bland food pictures his suffering or Eliphaz’s counsel, but either way Job is saying he has good reason to cry out (7:11). Scripture shows God hearing the cries of His people in their troubles (Psalm 34:17).
- Job 6:5-7 (BSB)“Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.”Job uses images of animals and tasteless food to describe his situation.
- Job 7:11 (BSB)“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”Job insists on voicing the anguish of his spirit.
- Psalm 34:17 (BSB)“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.”The LORD hears the cries of the righteous in their troubles.
Theological
What does Job argue by asking whether a wild donkey brays over fresh grass (Job 6:5)?
Answer: Animals cry out only when they lack food, so his cries have a cause
Job argues from nature that outcry presupposes need: the wild donkey and the ox are silent when fed (6:5), so his lament signals real deprivation rather than mere petulance. The images of unsalted, insipid food that he refuses to touch (6:6-7) are read by some as his affliction and by others as Eliphaz’s counsel; on either reading Job defends the legitimacy of his complaint (7:11). Scripture affirms that the LORD hears the cries of His people in distress (Psalm 34:17).
- Job 6:5-7 (BSB)“Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.”Job uses images of animals and tasteless food to describe his situation.
- Job 7:11 (BSB)“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”Job insists on voicing the anguish of his spirit.
- Psalm 34:17 (BSB)“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.”The LORD hears the cries of the righteous in their troubles.
General
To what does Job compare his friends in Job 6:15-20?
Answer: Seasonal streams swollen by thawing snow that vanish in the heat
Job calls his friends as undependable as wadis, which are streambeds that rush with water when ice and snow melt but dry up and disappear in the hot season (6:15-17). Trading caravans from Tema and Sheba turn aside hoping for water, only to find nothing and be bitterly disappointed (6:18-20). In the same way, Job says, his friends have proved no help; they see his terrible condition and are afraid (6:21). Jeremiah uses a similar picture of a mirage that offers no water (Jeremiah 15:18), and a psalmist laments friends who keep their distance in his affliction (Psalm 38:11). Job will later call his friends miserable comforters (16:2).
- Job 6:15-17 (BSB)“But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat.”Job compares his friends to streams that fail in the dry season.
- Job 6:21 (BSB)“For now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.”Job applies the image directly to his friends.
- Jeremiah 15:18 (BSB)“Why is my pain unending, and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become like a mirage to me—water that is not there.”Jeremiah uses a similar image of water that fails when it is needed.
- Psalm 38:11 (BSB)“My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.”A sufferer laments friends who keep their distance from his affliction.
- Job 16:2 (BSB)““I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.”Job later calls his friends miserable comforters.
Theological
What image does Job use for his friends in Job 6:15-20?
Answer: Seasonal streams swollen by thawing snow that vanish in the heat
Job likens his friends to wadis, streambeds swollen by melting ice and snow that vanish in the summer heat (6:15-17). Caravans from Tema and Sheba divert to them in hope and are left dismayed (6:18-20). So the friends, seeing his terrible condition, recoil in fear and prove no help (6:21). Jeremiah employs a comparable image of deceptive water (Jeremiah 15:18), a psalmist mourns friends who stand aloof (Psalm 38:11), and Job later names his friends miserable comforters (16:2).
- Job 6:15-17 (BSB)“But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat.”Job compares his friends to streams that fail in the dry season.
- Job 6:21 (BSB)“For now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.”Job applies the image directly to his friends.
- Jeremiah 15:18 (BSB)“Why is my pain unending, and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become like a mirage to me—water that is not there.”Jeremiah uses a similar image of water that fails when it is needed.
- Psalm 38:11 (BSB)“My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.”A sufferer laments friends who keep their distance from his affliction.
- Job 16:2 (BSB)““I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.”Job later calls his friends miserable comforters.
General
Why does Job say he has spoken recklessly (Job 6:2-3)?
Answer: His anguish, put on a scale, would outweigh all the sand by the sea
Job answers Eliphaz by wishing his grief and disaster could be put on a balance (6:2). They would weigh more than all the sand by the sea, he says, and that is why his words have been reckless (6:3). Job is honest that his speech has been hasty, and he will keep pouring out his pain (7:11). The book later records both sides of Job’s words: the LORD rebukes him for clouding God’s counsel with words that lack knowledge (38:2), yet He also says Job spoke rightly about Him, unlike the friends (42:7).
- Job 6:2-3 (BSB)““If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales. For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.”Job opens his reply by wishing his grief could be weighed.
- Job 7:11 (BSB)“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”Job says he will not hold back but will speak out of the anguish of his spirit.
- Job 38:2 (BSB)““Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?”The LORD later rebukes Job for speaking without knowledge.
- 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.”Yet the LORD also says Job spoke accurately about Him, unlike the friends.
Theological
What reason does Job give for the rashness of his words (Job 6:2-3)?
Answer: His anguish, put on a scale, would outweigh all the sand by the sea
Job’s reply begins with the wish that his anguish and calamity could be weighed, for they would outweigh all the sand by the sea, which accounts for the recklessness of his speech (6:2-3). He makes no pretense of measured speech and resolves to voice his bitterness of soul (7:11). The book holds both verdicts on Job’s words together: the LORD rebukes him for obscuring divine counsel without knowledge (38:2), yet commends him over the friends as having spoken rightly of God (42:7).
- Job 6:2-3 (BSB)““If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales. For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.”Job opens his reply by wishing his grief could be weighed.
- Job 7:11 (BSB)“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”Job says he will not hold back but will speak out of the anguish of his spirit.
- Job 38:2 (BSB)““Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?”The LORD later rebukes Job for speaking without knowledge.
- 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.”Yet the LORD also says Job spoke accurately about Him, unlike the friends.
General
True or False: Job says that a man in despair ought to receive kindness from a friend, even if that despairing man lets go of reverence for the Almighty (Job 6:14).
Answer: True
This is true. After saying he has no strength left, since he is not made of stone or bronze (6:11-13), Job says a despairing person should be shown kindness by a friend, even if the despairing person is losing his grip on the fear of God (6:14). Job’s friends had come to comfort him (2:11), but Eliphaz answered his grief with correction. Scripture calls friends to love through hard times (Proverbs 17:17) and believers to share the tears of those who mourn (Romans 12:15).
- Job 6:14 (BSB)“A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”Job says a despairing person should be shown kindness by a friend.
- Job 2:11 (BSB)“Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.”The friends had come to sympathize with Job and comfort him.
- Proverbs 17:17 (BSB)“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”A true friend’s love holds steady through adversity.
- Romans 12:15 (BSB)“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”Believers are called to share the sorrow of those who grieve.
Theological
True or False: Job maintains that a man in despair is owed kindness from a friend, even if the despairing man abandons reverence for the Almighty (Job 6:14).
Answer: True
This is true. Having confessed that he has no strength left, since his flesh is not stone or bronze (6:11-13), Job insists that loyalty is owed to a despairing man, even if he is slipping from the fear of God (6:14). The friends came to console (2:11), but Eliphaz met his grief with reproof. Scripture describes a friend’s love as constant in adversity (Proverbs 17:17) and calls believers to share the grief of those who mourn (Romans 12:15).
- Job 6:14 (BSB)“A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”Job says a despairing person should be shown kindness by a friend.
- Job 2:11 (BSB)“Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.”The friends had come to sympathize with Job and comfort him.
- Proverbs 17:17 (BSB)“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”A true friend’s love holds steady through adversity.
- Romans 12:15 (BSB)“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”Believers are called to share the sorrow of those who grieve.
General
What does Job challenge his friends to do in Job 6:24?
Answer: Show him where he has gone wrong, and he will keep quiet
Job points out that he has never asked his friends for a gift, a bribe, or a rescue from an enemy (6:22-23). What he wants is to be taught: if they show him how he has gone wrong, he will be silent (6:24). Honest words can hurt, he says, but their arguments prove nothing, and they treat his desperate words as mere wind (6:25-26). He pleads with them to look at him, to reconsider and not be unjust, for his integrity is at stake (6:28-30). Job does not claim he has never sinned (7:21), but he will not admit that some hidden wrong explains his suffering (27:5-6). Job 32:3 later says Elihu was angry with the three friends since they had found no answer to Job, yet had declared him guilty.
- Job 6:24 (BSB)“Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.”Job asks his friends to show him his error.
- Job 6:28-30 (BSB)“But now, please look at me. Would I lie to your face? Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake. Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?”Job pleads with his friends to look at him and reconsider.
- Job 7:21 (BSB)“Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.””Job does not claim sinlessness; he asks God to pardon his transgression.
- Job 27:5-6 (BSB)“I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.”Job holds to his integrity and refuses to concede that his friends are right.
- Job 32:3 (BSB)“and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.”The friends are later described as having condemned Job without refuting him.
Theological
What challenge does Job put to his friends in Job 6:24?
Answer: Show him where he has gone wrong, and he will keep quiet
Job notes that he never asked his friends for gifts, bribes, or rescue (6:22-23); he asks only to be instructed, promising silence if they can show him his error (6:24). Upright words may sting, but their reproof proves nothing and treats his despairing words as wind (6:25-26). He appeals to them to face him, reconsider, and not act unjustly, since his integrity is at stake (6:28-30). Job does not claim sinlessness (7:21), but he refuses to concede that hidden guilt explains his suffering (27:5-6). Job 32:3 later says Elihu was angry with the three friends since they had found no answer to Job, yet had declared him guilty.
- Job 6:24 (BSB)“Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.”Job asks his friends to show him his error.
- Job 6:28-30 (BSB)“But now, please look at me. Would I lie to your face? Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake. Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?”Job pleads with his friends to look at him and reconsider.
- Job 7:21 (BSB)“Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.””Job does not claim sinlessness; he asks God to pardon his transgression.
- Job 27:5-6 (BSB)“I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.”Job holds to his integrity and refuses to concede that his friends are right.
- Job 32:3 (BSB)“and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.”The friends are later described as having condemned Job without refuting him.