Job 32 Footnotes

But these charges lack validity. First, Elihu’s absence from the prologue is understandable, if he arrived after the dialogue had begun. His absence from the epilogue is no more inexplicable than that of Satan or Job’s wife. Second, Elihu’s speeches give allusions to all three rounds of the dialogue. Third, the presence of twelve Aramaic words is scarcely disproportionate to the twenty-six Aramaic words found elsewhere in the book. Arguments based on style are subjective; Elihu should be allowed his own style. Fourth, the failure of Job’s friends to convince him necessitates Elihu’s philosophical and theological approach. Elihu’s speeches were a preparatory bridge between Job’s summation of his case and God’s reply.