Job 4:12-16

Eliphaz confirms the truth of his doctrine by telling of a vision which he had had. A revelation came upon him like a thief in the night (lit. a word stole upon me). His thoughts were raised to a higher power by the ecstasy of the vision.

Job 4:14 f. describes the presence of the supernatural.

Job 4:16 tells how the spirit, being of a finer matter, could hardly be perceived by the human eye and ear. Stillness and a voice I heard means I heard a still voice (hendiadys). The tenses used in the Hebrew are all present. A spirit passes by me. it stands, and I cannot discern its appearance; a form is before mine eyes, I hear a still voice. Eliphaz, in recalling the experiences of that awful night, feels as if he were passing through them again, and falls into the present in describing them.