Job 13:1-12

4. The friends are self-deceived. (Job 13:1-12)

TEXT 13:1-12

Lo, mine eye hath seen all this,

Mine ear hath heard and understood it.

2 What ye know, the same do I know also:

I am not inferior unto you.

3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty,

And I desire to reason with God.

4 But ye are forgers of lies;

Ye are all physicians of no value.

5 Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace!

And it would be your wisdom.

6 Hear now my reasoning,

And hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

7 Will ye speak unrighteously for God,

And talk deceitfully for him?

8 Will ye show partiality to him?

Will ye contend for God?

9 Is it good that he should search you out?

Or as one deceiveth a man, will ye deceive him?

10 He will surely reprove you,

If ye do secretly show partiality.

11 Shall not his majesty make you afraid,

And his dread fall upon you?

12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,

Your defences are defences of clay.

COMMENT 13:1-12

Job 13:1Job warns of defending God dishonestly: by opposing his experience to that of EliphazJob 4:8; Job 4:12; Job 5:3; Job 5:27. He turns to face God with his charges regardless of the cost.

Job 13:2This is a repetition of Job 12:3 b.

Job 13:3Job's but as for me is possibly a sarcastic response to Eliphaz's use of the same phrase. He told Job but as for me, I would seek God. Job replies, but as for me, I will challenge him to defend His behavior. Job desires to reason (cf. Isaiah 1:18reflective, reason together) with God. The term is a juridical word which means argue, reprove, reason in the sense of establish a case. Two emphatic words strongly set forth Job's commitment to debate God, rather than his counselors. He denounces them.

Job 13:4He accused his friends with forging a lie (plasterers of liesverb means to besmear Psalms 119:69) to cover up the pain and agony which God causes. They are healers of no value (elimay come from the root, not, i.e., worthless). Physicians, heal yourselves!

Job 13:5Even a fool that is silent is counted among the wiseProverbs 17:28. He implies that if his friends are truly wise they would show it by their silence. It is not their lot to shatter God's silence.

Job 13:6Hear (emphatic in Hebrew) my reproofProverbs 1:23-25. The noun is from a root to argue my case (Job 13:3). The R. S. V. is perhaps the best translation of this verse. Now to the impeachment in Job 13:7-9.

Job 13:7Literally, you speak injustice (noun wrong Job 6:29; and parallel to deceit in Job 27:4). For God is in the emphatic position. The meaning is thatFor Godyou lie or speak deceitfully. Will you defend God by speaking proverbs of ashes?

Job 13:8Will you present God your face as His defender? What would God think (and do) if He investigated your actions? If God is a foe of injustice, He would be your foe. God's cause is always the cause of truth. He is not flattered by your present dishonorable behavior. Why show favoritism with God, if He is just?

Job 13:9Sarcasm continues to flow as mighty waters from Job's mouth. God is the sovereign creator of everything; He cannot be flattered. If God searched out the truth (same word used by Eliphaz Job 5:27) He would condemn you too.

Job 13:10Job's prediction is later fulfilled, Job 42:7 f. The paradox here is seen as Job affirms his own righteous indignation against lying deceivers, and the creator of the universe seems less concerned than he is. This thesis is shared by contemporary naturalistic humanists who build their world-live view on the assumption of the inherent worth of the individual. Yet scientific naturalism's functional view of man precludes any defense of such a universal value. There is no way to empirically justify a universal moral value.[157]

[157] For a critique of the relationship of Scientific Theories to Scientific Progress, see my analysis of the epistemological possibility of the scientific method in my doctoral thesis in process on The Kuhn-Popper Debate concerning the relationship of Presuppositions, Evidence, and the Paradigm Revolution: Two Contemporary Paradigms of Scientific Knowledge.

Job 13:11There is a magnificent play on words here in the Hebrew text. The parallelism between God's majesty (se-'etho) or lifting up and show partiality indicates that God's face (lift up his face) will strike fear or horror not joy in the beholder.

Job 13:12Job accuses his friends of coming to his aid with proverbs of ashes. (Zikrommaxims or memorials) Their words serve no purpose; they are already dead. Their answers (gabbim) are like crumbling clay (4:70), with biting sarcasm he becomes more aggressive. How long will you rake trifles or debris (megabbeb)? Your words and arguments are useless bits of clay.