Chapter XXXII.
But these three men were silent, for they considered themselves righteous. As Job's adversaries withdrew, after many mysteries of his prophecy, he too concludes his discourse. Regarding the statement, 'But these three men were silent, for they considered themselves righteous,' the historian of this story explains, based on the understanding of those who responded, that they considered themselves righteous, not by their own judgment. When he recounted or wrote down the things that he commended to the memory of later generations in praise of such a great man, he did so in his own style.
And Heliu, the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry and indignant. From the offspring and generation of Huz and Buz, the sons of Nachor and Melchae, the sister of Sara, the wife of Abraham, Job and Heliu were born. From Huz, Job was born, and from Buz, this is Heliu: hence he is called a Buzite, who was, as is written here, the son of Barachiel. Therefore, they say that this Heliu, the most learned of the Scriptures, is the same as Balaam the soothsayer, whom Balach, the king of the Moabites, had hired to curse Israel, as is reported in the Book of Numbers. And this Scripture states that Heliu was of the family of Ram, and we understand that this Ram is Abraham: from whose family and lineage Heliu was born. From here, undoubtedly the posterity of his brother Nahor will be the kindred of Abraham: where the one who writes this book, whom the Hebrews believe to be Moses, wanted to demonstrate the nobility of his birth by the names of the generation of Eli. But in this book, when he is called Ram, as if his name is divided or split, he is referred to as the holy Abraham: in the same way, in various places in the Scripture of God, his divine grace is named according to his growth. Therefore, when he is called Ram, let him be considered lofty: but when he is called Abraham, let him be the father lofty in virtues. When his faith is considered, Abraham is called the father of many nations. Therefore, it appears that Elijah, according to the goodness of nature, seems to have been a righteous man who also had the spirit of prophecy. But I think not in the same way, or with the same grace, as the holy prophets. Hence, the Lord himself spoke to the holy Job about him: Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? It is said that the prophetic sense is narrated in improper and disorderly words: where the Lord does not condemn what Eli speaks, but rather what is said too hastily, He reproves this. Concerning this, I say, Eli, and his like, and at the beginning of this book we said, that they used the mystery of prophecy even those who deviated from the true religion, because God also gave them His word, so that they might pronounce future mysteries to men: where the faith and admiration of the Gentiles especially depends, so that those who do not believe in our prophets may at least believe in their own divine and seers. Therefore, we have said that this Heliu, who is Balaam, symbolizes the nations opposed to Christ, just as the friends of the blessed Job symbolize heretics. And when he says, 'The words of Job are ended,' we can understand that he is saying the divine words are firmly established and cannot be invalidated, leading those who faithfully believe to the eternal promise. But those who dare to criticize the righteous man and his eternal presumption of invented doctrines will eventually fall into eternal silence. But it is not surprising that Helius is called by two names: this is familiar in divine Scripture, as Solomon was also called Idida, and Jethro, and Raguel, and Peter was called Simon. Hence this variation of names often presents a considerable obscurity to readers.
But he was angry with Job because he justified himself before God. And he was also angry with his friends because they could not provide a reasonable answer, but only condemned Job. Therefore, Elihu waited for Job to speak, because they were the elders who spoke. But when he saw that the three could not answer, he became very angry. And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said. It seems to me that the things we read here happened before those that are recounted in Numbers about this same Elihu or Balaam. Therefore, this Elihu, who Job and his friends say they were waiting to speak, shows that he did what he did out of respect and honor by deferring to his elders. Now, these are the words of Elihu himself, speaking as follows:
I am younger in age, but you are older: therefore, with lowered head, I feared to express my opinion to you. For I hoped that a longer life would speak, and the multitude of years would teach wisdom. But, as I see, there is a spirit in people, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding. The wise are not always old: nor do the aged always understand judgment. He says that this seems more to himself, because people are moved by the spirit, to whom the Almighty God has given the inspiration of his wisdom, and he speaks this indirectly, as if this good of wisdom had been granted to himself alone. It should be noted that here Elihu, through four speeches, as the text of the reading shows, is following himself; through each of which, he attempts to retract the previous responses more learnedly, or to refute each part harshly that was said by the holy Job in front of him. After a lengthy preface, in his first speech, holy Job spoke these words, saying: 'I am blameless and without sin, and there is no iniquity in me. Because he found complaints against me, he deemed me his enemy. He put my feet in the stocks and watched all my paths. In his second speech, Job put these words, saying: 'I am righteous, yet God perverts my justice.' In judging me, it is a lie; my arrow is violent without any sin. The third speech says this, Heliu saying to Job. He said, 'You don't like what is right, that is, God said, so what does it profit you if I sin?' But the fourth speech of Heliu contains that he intends to prove God just by his actions, which he vehemently and persistently pursues throughout the end of this fourth speech of his prophecy, without ceasing.
Therefore, I will speak; listen to me, I will also show you my wisdom. For I have waited for your words; I have heard your understanding, while you disputed with your words. For your knowledge has become clear to me. This is said ironically by him, there is no doubt, and therefore because he had earlier mockingly called the wisdom of Job's friends, he now openly says it.
And while I thought you would say something, I considered. But, as I can see, there is no one who can argue against Job and respond to his words. Lest perhaps you say, 'We have found wisdom, God has rejected him, not man.' He has not spoken to me, and I will not answer him according to your words. They were astonished, and they no longer responded; they removed speech from themselves. 'Job has not argued against me,' he said, 'but neither do I, as you do, approach him with the curses of the victors and with reproaches.'
Since, therefore, I have waited and they have not spoken; they have stood still and have not answered any further, I will also answer and show my knowledge. Therefore, I, too, will try to respond to the best of my abilities, as Elihu said, and I will show you mine, and likewise it seems sufficient to say that Job speaks out of the pride of vanity, as he adds:
For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me. My belly is like unvented wine, bursting new wineskins. I will speak and find relief; I will open my lips and respond. By anagoge, he spoke of his own belly, or womb, calling it his own memory, in that he had collected almost all the words of Job and his friends, disputing for a long time, like food gathered within the capacity of his memory.
I will not accept the person of a man, nor will I equate God to a man. For I do not know how long I will endure, and thus my creator will take me away shortly. This is the judgment of my just judgment, he says, that I will not spare a man by speaking the truth: nor will I do injustice to God by claiming that he has done something unjust.