Elihu thought of himself as wise, but in being angry against Job and his three friends (vv. 2-5), he was very foolish. It is not wise to be burning with anger (Prov. 29:11; cf. Eph. 4:26).
Elihu thought of himself as wise, but in being angry against Job and his three friends (vv. 2-5), he was very foolish. It is not wise to be burning with anger (Prov. 29:11; cf. Eph. 4:26).
Meaning He is God, or He is my God.
Or, it is the spirit in man, indeed the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. In this verse a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty are in apposition, indicating that the spirit of man is the breath of God (see note Gen. 2:75b).
Heb. ruach…neshamah.
Elihu’s speaking indicates that he was quite proud. Although he was full of assurance that he could answer Job adequately concerning God’s purpose in dealing with Job, in all his speaking Elihu did not answer Job with a clear view like the apostle Paul’s clear vision in the New Testament concerning the goal of gaining Christ in his suffering the loss of all things (Phil. 3:8-14) and concerning the believers’ affliction working out for them an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). Elihu’s word had nothing of the divine wisdom. With Paul, however, there was a clear word of revelation. Hence, Paul’s word was truly the word of wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8).
Furthermore, the speaking of Job, of his three friends, and of Elihu was altogether lacking in the exercise of the spirit to contact God. They spoke concerning God, and they also referred to their spirit, but in all their debates there is no hint that they were exercising their spirit. Rather, they exercised their mind to make a display of their knowledge. In this matter Elihu followed the example of the older ones and spoke in the same way. Elihu was a person who was full of the knowledge of good and evil. He was not a person in the spirit (cf. Rev. 1:10).