Job 8 Study Notes: Bildad Defends God’s Justice
Bildad the Shuhite insists that God never twists justice and suggests that Job’s children died for their own sins. He urges Job to seek God, appeals to the wisdom of earlier generations, and uses images of withering reeds and a fragile web for the godless, before promising Job renewed joy if he is blameless.
General
In 8:8-10, what source of wisdom does Bildad tell Job to consult?
Answer: The insight handed down by earlier generations and their elders
Bildad tells Job to ask the generations before them and to weigh what their ancestors discovered (8:8). His reason is human frailty: people today were born only yesterday, understand little, and their days pass like a shadow (8:9). Those older voices, he says, will teach Job out of their understanding (8:10). Respect for the past has a place in Scripture — Moses told Israel to recall the distant past and ask their elders (Deuteronomy 32:7). But Bildad uses tradition to back up the friends’ belief that suffering proves guilt, and the LORD later says the friends did not speak rightly about Him (42:7).
- Job 8:8-10 (BSB)“Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers. For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?”Bildad tells Job to learn from earlier generations, since people now are newcomers whose days are a shadow.
- Deuteronomy 32:7 (BSB)“Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.”Moses tells Israel to remember the days of old and ask their fathers and elders.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately.
Theological
To what authority does Bildad appeal in 8:8-10?
Answer: The insight handed down by earlier generations and their elders
Bildad grounds his case in inherited wisdom: Job should inquire of the former generation and consider what their fathers searched out (8:8), since the present generation is of yesterday, knows little, and lives a shadow’s span (8:9); the ancients will instruct him from their understanding (8:10). Scripture does commend recalling the distant past and asking the elders (Deuteronomy 32:7). Bildad, however, marshals tradition behind the friends’ retributive conclusion, which the LORD finally rejects (42:7).
- Job 8:8-10 (BSB)“Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers. For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?”Bildad tells Job to learn from earlier generations, since people now are newcomers whose days are a shadow.
- Deuteronomy 32:7 (BSB)“Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.”Moses tells Israel to remember the days of old and ask their fathers and elders.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately.
General
How does Bildad the Shuhite begin his first speech in 8:2-3?
Answer: He calls Job’s words empty wind and asks whether God twists justice
Bildad, the second of Job’s three friends to speak, answers Job with impatience, calling his words a gust of wind (8:2). Then he asks two questions that expect the answer no: does God twist justice, and does the Almighty bend what is right (8:3)? What lies behind his question is true in itself. Moses sings that God’s work is perfect and that every one of His ways is just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and Abraham trusted God, the Judge of the whole earth, to do right (Genesis 18:25). Bildad’s mistake is the conclusion he draws: since God is just, Job’s suffering must be punishment for sin. At the end of the book, the LORD says Bildad and the other friends did not speak rightly about Him (42:7).
- Job 8:1-3 (BSB)“Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?”Bildad dismisses Job’s words as wind and asks whether God perverts justice.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (BSB)“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”Moses sings that God’s work is perfect and that He is just and without injustice.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham trusts God as the Judge of the whole earth who will do what is right.
- 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 says Job’s friends did not speak about Him accurately.
Theological
With what charge and what rhetorical question does Bildad open his first speech (8:2-3)?
Answer: He calls Job’s words empty wind and asks whether God twists justice
Bildad the Shuhite opens by dismissing Job’s speech as so much wind (8:2) and then poses a double question expecting a negative answer: does God bend justice, or the Almighty distort what is right (8:3)? The premise is sound — Scripture confesses that God’s work is perfect and all He does is just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and Abraham appealed to the Judge of the whole earth to act rightly (Genesis 18:25). Bildad’s error lies in the inference he draws from it, that Job’s suffering must be retribution. The LORD’s closing verdict is that the friends did not speak of Him rightly (42:7).
- Job 8:1-3 (BSB)“Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?”Bildad dismisses Job’s words as wind and asks whether God perverts justice.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (BSB)“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”Moses sings that God’s work is perfect and that He is just and without injustice.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham trusts God as the Judge of the whole earth who will do what is right.
- 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 says Job’s friends did not speak about Him accurately.
General
How does Bildad sum up his argument in 8:20-22?
Answer: God won’t cast off the blameless, so Job may yet laugh again
After describing the godless person whose trust is as flimsy as a spider’s web (8:14-15), and the lush plant that is torn up and forgotten by its place (8:16-19), Bildad concludes that God does not cast off the blameless or give strength to evildoers (8:20). He assures Job that God will yet make him laugh and shout for joy, while his enemies are put to shame (8:21-22). The irony is sharp: the book’s opening calls Job blameless (1:1), and the LORD Himself says so, adding that Job was ruined without cause (2:3). Bildad’s rule is too simple, because it reads every disaster as a verdict on the sufferer. The LORD’s final word is that the friends did not speak rightly about Him (42:7).
- Job 8:20-22 (BSB)“Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers. 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 concludes that God does not reject the blameless and will yet give Job joy and shame his enemies.
- Job 1:1 (BSB)“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.”The book’s opening calls Job blameless and upright.
- 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 calls Job blameless and says he was ruined without cause.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately, as Job did.
Theological
What is Bildad’s closing claim in 8:20-22?
Answer: God won’t cast off the blameless, so Job may yet laugh again
Having likened the godless man’s confidence to a spider’s web (8:14-15) and to a thriving plant uprooted and disowned by its place (8:16-19), Bildad concludes that God neither rejects the blameless nor upholds evildoers (8:20), and he holds out the prospect of renewed laughter and joy for Job and shame for his enemies (8:21-22). The irony is pointed: the book’s opening calls Job blameless (1:1), and the LORD affirms it, adding that Job was afflicted without cause (2:3). Bildad’s scheme of strict retribution cannot account for innocent suffering, and the LORD finally declares that the friends did not speak of Him rightly (42:7).
- Job 8:20-22 (BSB)“Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers. 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 concludes that God does not reject the blameless and will yet give Job joy and shame his enemies.
- Job 1:1 (BSB)“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.”The book’s opening calls Job blameless and upright.
- 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 calls Job blameless and says he was ruined without cause.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately, as Job did.
General
True or False: In 8:5-7, Bildad tells Job that if he seeks God and is pure and upright, God will restore him and his future will flourish beyond his modest beginnings.
Answer: True
This is true. Bildad urges Job to search for God earnestly and to seek mercy from the Almighty, and he adds a condition: if Job is pure and upright, God will act on his behalf and restore what rightly belongs to him (8:5-6). Though Job’s start was small, Bildad says, his future will be great (8:7). Bildad’s advice assumes Job is suffering because he is not upright, but the LORD had already called Job blameless and upright (1:8). The book does end with the LORD restoring Job after Job prayed on behalf of his friends (42:10) and blessing the last part of his life more than the beginning (42:12) — yet the same chapter says the friends had not spoken rightly about God (42:7), so the ending does not prove Bildad’s reasoning right.
- Job 8:5-7 (BSB)“But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate. Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.”Bildad urges Job to seek God and promises restoration if he is pure and upright.
- 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 calls Job blameless and upright before any of his losses.
- Job 42:10 (BSB)“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.”The LORD restored Job after Job had prayed for his friends.
- Job 42:12 (BSB)“So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.”The LORD blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately, as Job did.
Theological
True or False: In 8:5-7, Bildad promises that if Job seeks God and proves pure and upright, God will restore him and make his latter state flourish beyond his small beginnings.
Answer: True
This is true. Bildad counsels Job to seek God diligently and implore the Almighty’s mercy, conditioning the promise on Job’s integrity: if he is pure and upright, God will rouse Himself and restore his rightful dwelling (8:5-6), so that his modest beginning gives way to a great future (8:7). The counsel presupposes that Job is not upright, which the LORD had explicitly denied (1:8). The epilogue does record restoration — after Job interceded for his friends (42:10), the LORD blessed his latter state beyond his former (42:12) — but in the same context the LORD rejects the friends’ account of Him (42:7), so the outcome does not vindicate Bildad’s reasoning.
- Job 8:5-7 (BSB)“But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate. Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.”Bildad urges Job to seek God and promises restoration if he is pure and upright.
- 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 calls Job blameless and upright before any of his losses.
- Job 42:10 (BSB)“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.”The LORD restored Job after Job had prayed for his friends.
- Job 42:12 (BSB)“So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.”The LORD blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first.
- 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 says the friends did not speak about Him accurately, as Job did.
General
What point does Bildad make with the picture of papyrus and reeds in 8:11-13?
Answer: As a reed dies without water, so those who forget God will wither
Bildad asks whether papyrus can grow without a marsh, or reeds thrive without water (8:11). Even while still green and uncut, such plants wither faster than grass (8:12). So it is, he says, with everyone who forgets God: the godless person’s hope dies (8:13). Scripture elsewhere uses the same kind of picture — the one who turns from the LORD is like a desert shrub, while the one who trusts Him resembles a tree beside water (Jeremiah 17:5-8), and the righteous are a fruitful tree while the wicked are chaff (Psalm 1:3-4). The picture itself is sound, but Bildad uses it to suggest that Job’s withering proves he had forgotten God, when the LORD had called Job a man who fears God (1:8).
- Job 8:11-13 (BSB)“Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.”Bildad uses papyrus and reeds without water as a picture of what happens to those who forget God.
- Jeremiah 17:5-8 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”Jeremiah contrasts the one who turns from the LORD, like a desert shrub, with the one who trusts Him, like a well-watered tree.
- Psalm 1:3-4 (BSB)“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.”The righteous are pictured as a fruitful tree and the wicked as chaff.
- 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 calls Job a man who fears God and shuns evil.
Theological
What is the force of Bildad’s papyrus-and-reed image in 8:11-13?
Answer: As a reed dies without water, so those who forget God will wither
Bildad argues from nature: papyrus cannot grow without a marsh nor reeds without water (8:11), and even uncut they wither before any other grass (8:12). So, he concludes, it goes for everyone who forgets God; the godless man’s hope perishes (8:13). The image itself is biblical — the one who turns from the LORD is a desert shrub and the one who trusts Him a tree by the stream (Jeremiah 17:5-8); the righteous are a fruitful tree and the wicked chaff (Psalm 1:3-4). Bildad’s misuse lies in the implied application, that Job’s withering exposes him as godless, against the LORD’s own testimony to Job’s fear of God (1:8).
- Job 8:11-13 (BSB)“Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.”Bildad uses papyrus and reeds without water as a picture of what happens to those who forget God.
- Jeremiah 17:5-8 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”Jeremiah contrasts the one who turns from the LORD, like a desert shrub, with the one who trusts Him, like a well-watered tree.
- Psalm 1:3-4 (BSB)“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.”The righteous are pictured as a fruitful tree and the wicked as chaff.
- 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 calls Job a man who fears God and shuns evil.
General
How does Bildad explain the death of Job’s children in 8:4?
Answer: They must have sinned, so God gave them up to the result of their wrongdoing
Bildad applies his rule directly to Job’s family: when Job’s children sinned against God, God handed them over to the result of their rebellion (8:4). The opening chapters give a different picture. Job had regularly offered burnt offerings for his children in case they had sinned (1:5), and the disaster that took them came as part of the test the LORD allowed, in which, the LORD told Satan, Job was ruined without cause (2:3). Jesus likewise rejected the idea that people who died in a disaster were worse sinners than everyone else, while still calling all people to repent (Luke 13:4-5).
- Job 8:4 (BSB)“When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.”Bildad says that when Job’s children sinned, God handed them over to their rebellion.
- Job 1:5 (BSB)“And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.”Job regularly offered burnt offerings for his children in case they had sinned.
- 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 tells Satan that Job had been ruined without cause.
- Luke 13:4-5 (BSB)“Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.””Jesus denies that those killed by a falling tower were worse sinners than others.
Theological
To what cause does Bildad attribute the death of Job’s children in 8:4?
Answer: They must have sinned, so God gave them up to the result of their wrongdoing
Bildad draws the retributive conclusion explicitly: Job’s children sinned, so God delivered them into the power of their own transgression (8:4). The prologue gives a different account. Job habitually offered burnt offerings for his children in case they had sinned (1:5), and their deaths belonged to the trial the LORD permitted, in which, He testified to Satan, Job had been destroyed without cause (2:3). Jesus likewise refused to read a sudden catastrophe as proof that its victims were exceptionally guilty, while calling all to repent (Luke 13:4-5).
- Job 8:4 (BSB)“When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.”Bildad says that when Job’s children sinned, God handed them over to their rebellion.
- Job 1:5 (BSB)“And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.”Job regularly offered burnt offerings for his children in case they had sinned.
- 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 tells Satan that Job had been ruined without cause.
- Luke 13:4-5 (BSB)“Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.””Jesus denies that those killed by a falling tower were worse sinners than others.