Bible Commentaries
Job 8

Verses 8-19

It Has Always Been So (8:8-19)

In harmony with his formal, lifeless theology, Bildad gives the basis for such a view. It should not be surprising to learn that it is based on tradition, blindly and indiscriminately followed. The "fathers" are cited by Bildad (vss. 8-10). In view of man’s brief life, so brief that wisdom cannot be achieved, it is necessary to rest upon what former generations have found, even though their wisdom has as little to do with present concerns as Bildad’s advice has to do with Job’s situation.

In verses 11-19 a series of images supports the basic contention of Bildad that the wicked man is insecure and his prosperity transient. An even stronger statement of the same principle appears in Bildad’s second speech (ch. 18). There the matter is explored in frightening detail; here the treatment is more suggestive. The central images are the water reed, the spider’s web, and the plant growing on rocky ground. The first recalls Egypt, where the papyrus plant grows luxuriantly on the banks of the Nile. Verse 11 seems at first reading to be a kind of cause-and-effect argument, but it anticipates verse 12, where the point is established that although such plants make rapid growth they quickly wither when water is removed. The same temporary and ephemeral character of the security of evil men is symbolized in verses 14 and 15 where that security is likened to a spider’s web; it breaks down even while the man leans in confidence against it. Finally, such men are likened to a plant growing rapidly under the warm sun but on insufficient ground, so that it is quickly destroyed and forgotten (vs. 18). The same figure appears in Matthew 13:5-6 where, however, the heat of the sun is the force of destruction. The reference to "joy" in verse 19 is certainly ironic.

Verse 17

Bildad Speaks (8:1-22)

Justice Will Be Done (8:17)

A comparison of Bildad’s opening words (Job 8:2) with those of Eliphaz (Job 4:2) shows a real progression. Where Eliphaz is gentle and considerate Bildad is abrupt and harsh. It may be that the author wished to indicate in this way an actual character differentiation in the two men. Or it may be that he thus indicated a rising intensity in the discussion. Job’s words in chapters 6 and 7 have been more and more violent, and the friends, who are fast being transformed into opponents, are shocked into sterner protest and into a more realistic appraisal of the situation.

They have hitherto assumed that Job was righteous and that the reverses he had suffered were only temporary and relatively unimportant. Now they begin to look for an alternate solution. This is suggested by Bildad’s questions (vs. 3) and by his two hypotheses (vss. 4 and 6). The questions deal with the fact that in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged God with injustice. Any reasonable theology, of course, must assert the opposite. Job had not, in fact, so charged God, although the drift of his protest was in this direction precisely because he was unable to reconcile his own case with a reasonable theology.

The hypotheses are negative and positive. The first (vs. 4) reasons that the catastrophic death of Job’s children could be an exact illustration of the working of a law of rewards and retribution. It could be, Bildad guesses, with a callous indifference to Job’s parental grief, that the children had sinned and were punished. It should be noted that in his view they would have been punished, not directly by God, but by their own transgression, conceived of as an inexorable force, working its own retribution. On the other side, if Job were, or were to become, pure and upright, then God would "rouse himself for him. The result would be the usual happiness and prosperity.

Especially evident in Bildad’s speech is the fact that in both instances the results are almost entirely mechanical. Sin punishes the wrongdoer; in much the same way righteousness on the part of man arouses God’s concern and sets in motion the train of circumstances which leads to a happy conclusion. It is this mechanical view of life, and of God himself, which is challenged by the Book of Job.

Verses 20-22

This Should Be Your Confidence (8:20-22)

Bildad concludes with a repetition of the hope which Eliphaz held out (Job 5:17-27). His statement is briefer than that of Eliphaz, but it has the same note of assurance. It is evident also that his temper has somewhat subsided.