Summary
When Friends Attack Your Character
The Book of Job by Anonymous
Eliphaz launches his second attack on Job, and this time he's done being polite. He accuses Job of being arrogant, godless, and dangerous—someone whose very words undermine faith itself. Eliphaz pulls out every rhetorical weapon he has: he questions Job's wisdom ('Are you the first person ever born?'), dismisses his experience ('What do you know that we don't?'), and appeals to tradition ('Wise men have always taught this'). He paints a vivid picture of what happens to wicked people—they live in constant fear, lose their wealth, and die in darkness. The message is clear: this is your fate, Job, unless you admit your guilt. What makes this chapter particularly brutal is how Eliphaz weaponizes age and tradition against Job's lived experience. He's essentially saying, 'Who are you to question what we've always believed?' This is a classic move when someone can't actually answer your questions—they attack your right to ask them. Eliphaz represents the voice of conventional wisdom that refuses to be challenged, even when that wisdom clearly doesn't fit the facts. His speech reveals how threatened people become when someone's suffering doesn't match their neat explanations. Instead of sitting with the mystery of Job's situation, Eliphaz doubles down on blame, making Job's questioning itself into evidence of wickedness. This chapter shows us how isolation works—not just through abandonment, but through moral condemnation that makes the sufferer question their own reality.
Coming Up in Chapter 16
Job has heard enough of Eliphaz's lectures and tradition-based attacks. Now it's time for his response, and he's not holding back anymore.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
T18:015:001 hen answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 18:015:002 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? 18:015:003 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? 18:015:004 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. 18:015:005 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 18:015:006 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. 18:015:007 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? 18:015:008 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 18:015:009 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? 18:015:010 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. 18:015:011 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? 18:015:012 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 18:015:013 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 18:015:014 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 18:015:015 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. 18:015:016 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? 18:015:017 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; 18:015:018 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: 18:015:019 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. 18:015:020 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. 18:015:021 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. 18:015:022 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. 18:015:023 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. 18:015:024 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. 18:015:025 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. 18:015:026 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: 18:015:027 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. 18:015:028 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. 18:015:029 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. 18:015:030 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Authority Under Threat
When challenged, threatened authorities attack the questioner's credentials or character rather than address the actual questions being raised.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when people attack your credibility instead of addressing your concerns.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone responds to your question by questioning your right to ask it instead of actually answering.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
East wind
In ancient Middle Eastern culture, the east wind was considered destructive and empty - hot, dry air that withered crops and brought nothing good. Eliphaz uses it as a metaphor for Job's words, calling them hot air that sounds impressive but destroys rather than nourishes.
Modern Usage:
We still use 'hot air' or 'full of wind' to describe someone who talks big but says nothing meaningful.
Appeal to tradition
A rhetorical strategy where someone argues that old ideas must be correct simply because they're old. Eliphaz constantly references 'gray-headed and very aged men' to shut down Job's questions about why bad things happen to good people.
Modern Usage:
This shows up whenever someone says 'That's how we've always done it' to avoid discussing whether the old way actually works.
Gaslighting
Making someone question their own reality and experiences by insisting their perceptions are wrong. Eliphaz tells Job that his own words condemn him and that he's being arrogant for trusting his lived experience over conventional wisdom.
Modern Usage:
We see this in toxic relationships, workplaces, and politics when people are told their valid concerns are actually proof they're the problem.
Moral authority
The claim that you have the right to judge others based on your age, position, or supposed wisdom. Eliphaz asserts his authority by emphasizing how much older and wiser his sources are than Job, making Job's questions seem presumptuous.
Modern Usage:
This appears when people use their title, age, or experience to avoid actually addressing the substance of criticism.
Victim blaming
The practice of holding the person who suffered responsible for their suffering, often to protect a worldview that says bad things only happen to bad people. Eliphaz can't accept that Job is both good and suffering, so Job must be bad.
Modern Usage:
We see this everywhere from 'What was she wearing?' to 'He should have worked harder' - making the victim responsible protects our illusion of control.
Theodicy
The attempt to explain how a good God can allow evil and suffering in the world. Eliphaz represents the simple answer: suffering proves wickedness. Job's existence challenges this neat explanation and threatens Eliphaz's entire worldview.
Modern Usage:
This shows up whenever people try to make sense of tragedy by finding someone to blame rather than accepting that sometimes bad things just happen.
Characters in This Chapter
Eliphaz the Temanite
Antagonistic friend
Eliphaz escalates his attack on Job, abandoning sympathy for moral condemnation. He represents conventional wisdom that refuses to be challenged, using age, tradition, and rhetorical bullying to silence Job's valid questions about suffering.
Modern Equivalent:
The know-it-all coworker who gets hostile when you question company policy
Job
Suffering protagonist
Though Job doesn't speak in this chapter, he's the target of Eliphaz's increasingly vicious attacks. His previous honest expressions of pain and confusion have been reframed by Eliphaz as arrogance and godlessness.
Modern Equivalent:
The person going through a crisis who gets blamed for asking why it happened to them
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?"
Context: Eliphaz opens his second speech by attacking Job's previous words as empty and destructive
This sets the tone for character assassination disguised as wisdom. Eliphaz isn't addressing Job's actual arguments - he's dismissing them as hot air. It's a classic move when you can't refute someone's points, so you attack their right to make them.
In Today's Words:
Why are you talking when all you're doing is running your mouth with a bunch of hot air?
"Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?"
Context: Eliphaz questions Job's authority to challenge traditional wisdom about suffering
This is pure rhetorical bullying - using sarcasm to make Job's questions seem presumptuous. Eliphaz can't answer Job's real concerns about innocent suffering, so he attacks Job for having the audacity to ask them in the first place.
In Today's Words:
Who do you think you are? Were you there when the world was made? Do you think you know better than everyone else?
"Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee"
Context: Eliphaz claims that Job's own words prove his guilt
This is classic gaslighting - telling Job that his honest expression of pain and confusion is actually evidence of wickedness. Eliphaz is making Job's authenticity into a crime, forcing him to choose between honesty and acceptance.
In Today's Words:
You're condemning yourself with your own words - I don't even need to say anything against you.
"How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?"
Context: Eliphaz argues that all humans are naturally wicked and therefore deserve suffering
Eliphaz reveals the toxic theology behind his attacks - humans are so inherently evil that any suffering is justified. This dehumanizing view allows him to dismiss Job's pain as deserved while maintaining his worldview that God is always fair.
In Today's Words:
People are so naturally evil that they soak up wickedness like a sponge soaks up water.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Eliphaz uses his status as elder and traditional wise man to dismiss Job's experience and perspective
Development
Evolved from earlier subtle class distinctions to overt intellectual and moral superiority claims
In Your Life:
You might face this when questioning workplace policies or challenging family traditions as someone with 'less experience'
Identity
In This Chapter
Eliphaz's identity as wise counselor is so threatened by Job's questions that he must destroy Job's credibility to preserve his own
Development
Building on earlier themes of how suffering challenges self-concept, now showing how others' suffering threatens our identities too
In Your Life:
You might see this when your success or questions make others feel insecure about their own choices
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Eliphaz weaponizes traditional expectations about respect for elders and conventional wisdom to silence Job
Development
Escalated from earlier pressure to conform to now using social norms as weapons against dissent
In Your Life:
You might experience this when family or community uses 'that's not how we do things' to shut down your questions
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
The friendship completely breaks down as Eliphaz chooses protecting his worldview over supporting his suffering friend
Development
Devolved from initial sympathy to increasing hostility and now complete relational breakdown
In Your Life:
You might see relationships end when your struggles or growth make others uncomfortable with their own beliefs
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific tactics does Eliphaz use to attack Job's credibility instead of addressing his questions about suffering?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Eliphaz feel threatened enough by Job's questioning to launch such a personal attack?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen someone attack the questioner's credentials or character instead of answering their actual concerns?
application • medium - 4
How would you stay focused on your original concern when someone starts attacking your right to question them?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how people protect their sense of being right, even when faced with evidence that challenges their beliefs?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Spot the Deflection Tactics
Think of a recent conversation where you asked a legitimate question but got a defensive response instead of an answer. Write down what you originally asked, then list the deflection tactics the other person used - did they question your credentials, appeal to their experience, attack your character, or change the subject? Finally, rewrite how you could have stayed focused on your original concern.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between someone genuinely explaining their expertise versus someone using their authority to shut down questions
- •Pay attention to emotional escalation - defensive people often get louder or more personal when they can't answer directly
- •Consider whether the person might be protecting something they're not ready to examine themselves
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt attacked for asking a reasonable question. How did it affect your willingness to speak up in similar situations? What would you do differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 16: Miserable Comforters
As the story unfolds, you'll explore to recognize when support turns into judgment, while uncovering defending yourself can sometimes make things worse. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.