Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 18:1-11

"Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long will ye hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. Wherefore are we counted as beasts, [And] are become unclean in your sight? Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place? Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon the toils. A gin shall take [him] by the heel, [And] a snare shall lay hold on him. A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels." — Job 18:1-11 (ASV)

Since Bildad the Shuhite could not grasp what blessed Job meant, he assumed that what he himself did not understand was spoken without basis. At the beginning of his answer, he says, “To what end will you just toss out words?” Here he blames Job for three things. First, for the ineffective nature of his speech, as though Job’s words had no effective proof, which is shown when he says, “To what end.” Second, he blames him for the empty multiplication of words, as though Job’s words lacked the weight of serious consideration, which is shown when he says, “words.” Third, he criticizes him for the disordered connection of his words, shown when he says, “will you just toss out words?” For one is said to “toss out words” who scatters them without order, although this can also be interpreted as a display of boasting.

These three faults occur in the speech of someone with a weak intellect, and a confrontation with such a person is useless. So he continues, “Understand first, and then we will speak,” as if to say: “From the fact that you speak ineffectively, frivolously, and without order, it is clear that you have a weak intellect. I insist that you first apply yourself to understanding, and afterward, we can converse with each other.” Then he blames Job for presumption, since Job had not considered them wise when he had said, I will find no wise man among you (Job 17:10). To answer this, Bildad then says, “Why have you considered us like donkeys and belittled us in your sight?” For the man who lacks wisdom seems contemptible and like a beast of burden, because the honor and crown of man consists of wisdom.

Consequently, he finds fault with him for his anger because Job had said, Anger misted over my vision (Job 17:7). Bildad had taken this the wrong way, believing it was the kind of anger that had taken from him the light of wisdom, not listening to what Job had said after this: The just will preserve his course (Job 17:9). So he then says, “Why do you lose your soul in your anger?” For one loses his soul in anger who, because of that anger, departs from wisdom and justice, which are the principal goods of the soul.

Having established these premises—noting weakness of intellect, presumption, and fury in Job—Bildad arrives at his main proposition, which was the heart of the controversy: that the adversities of this present life are punishments for sin. Job had argued against this, saying, I have not sinned, and my eye lingers on bitter things (Job 17:2). Since Bildad could not use logical arguments to assert his opinion, he wanted to establish it as completely firm based on common opinion, comparing it to things that cannot be moved, like the earth and cliffs. So he says, “Should the land disappear and the cliffs be displaced because of you?” He implies: This opinion—that adversities happen in return for sins—is as firm as the earth and the cliffs. Can it be removed by your arguments proving your innocence?

He then expands his idea more fully, listing one by one the evils that happen to sinners. First among these, he places the end of their prosperous successes, which he compares to light, because as the Lord says, He who walks in the light does not stumble (John 11:9). Thus, those for whom all their undertakings succeed prosperously, just as they would like, seem to walk in the light. He speaks about the loss of this light of prosperity, saying, “Will not the light of evil men go out?”—that is, will not their prosperity cease? Just as physical light comes from the flame of a fire, the luster of a man's prosperity comes from his affection when he attains what he desires. And so he then says, “nor will his fire sparkle?” For fire is commonly used to symbolize the fervor of love, as we read in the Song of Songs: His lamps are fire and torches (Song of Solomon 8:6).

We should note that the prosperity of a man’s success comes from two causes. Sometimes it comes from human foresight—for example, when a man prudently and carefully orders everything. Regarding this cause, he says of the end of this prosperity, “The light will grow dark in the tent of that man?” because both he and his household will lack prudence in their decisions. Sometimes, however, the prosperity of a man’s success comes from a higher cause: divine providence. He describes the end of this prosperity, saying, “the lamp from above him will be extinguished”—not that it does not shine on him, but that it ceases to throw light on the evil man. He fittingly describes man's foresight as a “light,” for it is borrowed from another, but God's providence as a “lamp,” because it gives light from itself. He has premised that because a man loses the light of reason, he seems to deserve to be unprotected by the light of divine providence.

After discussing lost prosperity, he then speaks about adversity, first addressing the impediments to action and effort. A man struggles to achieve the effect of his action in two ways. First, by his own courage, and against this, Bildad says, “The steps of his power will be extinguished,” because courageous assertion can no longer advance. Second, a man tries to attain something by wisdom, and regarding this, he says, “and his own counsels will cast him down,” which happens when what he thought was useful becomes harmful to him.

He says that the cause of these impediments comes from sin: “For he put his feet in the snare.” For just as one who willingly puts his foot in a snare desires to be captured, so one who willingly occupies himself with sin prepares himself to have his progress impeded, as Scripture says, His own iniquities have ensnared the evil man (Proverbs 5:22). Just as there are a variety of meshes in a net, so also in sin there are many different sins that entangle a man in various ways. So he then says, “and he walked forward into the mesh,” which happens when he goes from one kind of sin to another. Since he willingly puts himself in danger and always proceeds further, he will eventually feel himself impeded. And so he then says, “The foot of that man will be bound in a snare”—that is, the forward motion of his will and his action will be blocked by some obstacle.

These kinds of evil things arise from three causes for those who are progressing in sin.

1. On the part of the sinner himself, in whom the desire for sin increases the more he sins. Regarding this, he continues, “and his thirst will burn against him,” because sometimes the sinner's reason shows him that something is harmful, but the burning desire for sin compels him to act against his own thinking.
2. The cause of the harm is sometimes from the very things in which he sins, as Scripture says, Riches are amassed to the evil of the one possessing them (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Harmful things of this kind sometimes come from things already obtained, and regarding this, Bildad says, “A snare is hidden for him in the earth,” because a danger indeed lies hidden in earthly things themselves, by which the sinner's feet are caught. But sometimes harmful things of this kind arise while a man is on his way to acquiring things. Expressing this, he says, “and a trap is set for him on the path,” because even before the sinner obtains what he seeks, dangers already lie in wait on the path itself.
3. Harmful things like this are caused by other people whose plots and attacks are feared. So he then says, “From all sides dread will terrify him,” since, as Scripture says, When the evil man is timid, he has been given for the condemnation of everyone . When, however, a man is wary of everyone, his actions will necessarily be impeded in many ways. And so he then says, “and they will wrap around his feet,” so that he cannot go forward freely in any direction.