Eliphaz

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Elifas is the name of two people mentioned in the Old Testament , a friend of Job and a son of Esau .

etymology

The Hebrew personal name אֱלִיפָז 'älîfāz , German ' Elifas' is a verb sentence name consisting of subject and predicate. The subject and at the same time theophoric element is אֱל äl "God", the predicate is derived from the verb root פוז puz , which is not documented in Biblical Hebrew and which is probably synonymous with the Arabic fāza "to win". The name therefore means "God has won". Hebrew, as found in personal names, preserves an older language level than Bible Hebrew. This is expressed in the fact that the -î- which is attached to the first noun is probably not originally an ending of the 1st person singular ("my God"), but a functionless connecting vowel and possibly a remnant of one old case ending. Of course, this does not exclude the possibility that the name could be understood at a later time as an acknowledgment of the form "My God is victor / my God wins".

For the predicate, a derivation from the noun paz "Feingold" is suggested and the name translated as "Gott ist Feingold". However, this meaning does not seem to make sense. The same applies to a derivation from the root פזז pzz "to be flexible " and the translation of the name as "God is nimble".

The Septuagint gives the name as Έλιφάς Elifas , the Vulgate with Eliphaz .

Eliphaz, son of Esau

Gen 36.4  EU names an Eliphaz as the firstborn Esau. His mother is the Canaanite Ada, a daughter of the Hittite Elon. The sons of Eliphaz are Teman, Omar, Zefo, Gaetam, Kenas and Amalek, his daughter is called Timna (only mentioned in 1 Chr 1.36  EU ).

Eliphaz, Job's friend

Ilja Repin , Job visited by his friends (1869)

Biblical narration

Elifas is the first of Job's friends , ahead of Bildad , Zofar and Elihu . He is therefore the oldest of the friends. His speeches to Job include Hi 4  EU , 15 EU and 22 EU . Eliphaz is called Temanite (resident of Teman). In the Old Testament Teman denotes either a landscape in Edom ( Am 1.12  EU ) or the whole of Edom (e.g. Jer 49.7  EU ), derived from Hebrew jāmîn "right" but it can also simply mean "south". Furthermore, the name could mean an origin from the north-west Arabian oasis town of Tema.

The speeches of Eliphaz

There are three speeches of Eliphaz in the Book of Job. Compared to the other friends of Job, these are the most extensive.

The first speech (chap. 4)

It is a warning and consolation speech. It governs Job's complaint ( Hi 3  EU ) and tries to get Job to behave correctly in his suffering by withdrawing his complaint. As a typical exponent of wisdom , Eliphaz is convinced that God's righteousness manifests itself in punishing the wicked and keeping the pious.

The second speech (chap. 15)

It is a controversial and doctrinal speech. Eliphaz describes the terrible faring of the wicked, whereby he insinuates Job that his suffering shows that he is one of them. Justice through piety continues to be possible, the wicked face destruction.

The third speech (chap. 22)

It is a two-part indictment and consolation speech. It surpasses previous speeches in that direct charges are made to Job of guilty of social crimes. Since the third speech of Eliphaz is much longer than that of Bildad, while Zofar lacks a third speech, it is assumed that Eliphaz's third speech is considered to be a conclusion to the speeches of the friends in that he speaks as the representative of all friends. The third speech of Bildad would then be a later addendum.

Impact history

In the Septuagint, Eliphaz, like the other friends, is referred to as king. He is called "King of the Thaimans". The designation of the friends as kings resulted from equating Job with the Edomite king Jobab mentioned in Gen 36.33  EU .

In the will of Job, Eliphaz is also referred to as king. He is the spokesman for the friends (TestHi 29,3), author of a royal funeral song and sings a hymn to the righteousness of God and the punishment of Elihu .

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