Eliphaz, in Hebrew pronounced ale-ee-phawz, meaning God is gold (the El in his name is one of the Names Of God) was from Idumea (see the Fact Finder question below) in Edom (one of the sons of Esau/Edom, long before the time of Job, was also named Eliphaz i.e. Genesis 36:4). He was the first of Job's three visiting friends to offer Godly encouragement.
"Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: "If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended? Yet who can keep from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees [see Trials and Tribulations]. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope? Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?" (Job 4:1-7 RSV)Eliphaz's "Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?" is a Timeless truth.
"Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? [see Christ The Creator] Even in his servants He puts no trust, and His angels He charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of Clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth. Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish for ever without any regarding it. If their tent-cord is plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?'" (Job 4:17-21 RSV)Job Chapter 5
The principles of Eliphaz's Godly wisdom can also be found in Proverbs and Psalms (see The Harp String Verses).
"Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple." (Job 5:2 RSV) "For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground; but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:6-7 RSV)Job Chapter 6
"As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause; Who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: He gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields [see also The First Scientist]; He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety [see The Two Kinds Of Pride]. He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end." (Job 5:8-13 RSV)
"Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. For He wounds, but He binds up; He smites, but His hands heal." (Job 5:17-18 RSV)
"He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven there shall no evil touch you [see also Where Is Your Place Of Safety?]. In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. You shall know that your tent is safe, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. You shall know also that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth. You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of grain comes up to the threshing floor in its season. Lo, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good." (Job 5:19-27 RSV)
Job, in his grief and pain, responded with a continuation of his lament.
"Then Job answered: O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. Does the wild ass bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder? Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the slime of the purslane? My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me. O that I might have my request, and that God would grant my desire; that it would please God to crush me, that He would let loose His hand and cut me off! This would be my consolation; I would even exult in pain unsparing; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? In truth I have no help in me, and any resource is driven from me.
He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brethren are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as freshets that pass away, which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself. In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place. The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste, and perish. The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope. They are disappointed because they were confident; they come thither and are confounded. Such you have now become to me; you see my calamity, and are afraid. Have I said, 'Make me a gift'? Or, 'From your wealth offer a bribe for me'? Or, 'Deliver me from the adversary's hand'? Or, 'Ransom me from the hand of oppressors'?
Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have erred. How forceful are honest words! But what does reproof from you reprove? Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind? You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend. But now, be pleased to look at me; for I will not lie to your face. Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn now, my vindication is at stake. Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern calamity?" (Job 6:1-30 RSV)
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