Job 32:6

6 Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think.

Job 32:6 Meaning and Commentary

Job 32:6

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said,
&c.] Since there was no answer in them, he takes upon him to give one himself; but first makes an apology on account of his youth:

I [am] young, and ye [are] very old;
or "few of days"; a few days, comparatively speaking, had he lived in the world; or "small", or "little as two days" ^F13; he had been but a little time in it, and so could be thought to have but little knowledge and experience; whereas they were old, even very old; with them were the aged and the grayheaded, ( Job 15:10 ) ; in whom it might have been expected was much wisdom and knowledge:

wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show mine opinion;
declare what knowledge he had of the things in dispute, lest it should appear mean, small, and contemptible; or give his sentiments concerning them, lest he should speak wrongly, and not only give offence, but do more harm than good: the first of these words, in the Arabic language ^F14, as Aben Ezra observes, signifies to go back; it is used of worms, which, through fear, withdraw themselves from men; so mean an opinion had he of himself, and such a sense of his own weakness, that it not only kept him back, but even caused him to draw back, and keep out of the dispute, and at a distance from it, instead of being forward to engage in it: one Jewish commentator ^F15 paraphrases it

``I humbled myself as one that goes on his belly;''

referring to worms that go low and creep upon their belly, or to the prostrate posture of men that humble themselves to their superiors.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (Mymyl yna ryeu) "minimus ego diebus", Montanus; "parvus diebus sum", Mercerus.
F14 <arabic> "recessit suo loco", Castel. col. 1036.
F15 Sephorno.

Job 32:6 In-Context

4 Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he.

5 But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily.

6 Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think.

7 I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.’

8 But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.