Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 22

When the blessed Job had finished speaking, Eliphaz did not understand his words according to their intended meaning. Indeed, when Job first spoke about the exalted nature of the matter, he said, Is my debate against man? (Job 21:4). Eliphaz takes this as if Job were contentiously disputing with God, and so he accuses him of presumption for three reasons.

1. A person is provoked to discussion or dispute with another when they see that person as comparable to themselves in knowledge of the truth, so that something hidden might be brought to light through mutual discussion. However, it is especially presumptuous for a person to dare to compare their knowledge to divine knowledge. Thus, Eliphaz says, Can man be compared to God, even if he is perfect in knowledge? as if to say, “No,” because God's knowledge is infinite.
2. Someone is provoked to dispute or reason with another concerning things they have received from that person, so that a comparison can be made between what was given and what was received. However, it is presumptuous for a person to think that the good they do is useful to God. And so the Psalmist says, I said to the Lord: You are my God because you do not need my goods (Psalms 15:2). And so he continues, What advantage is there for God if you will be just—that is, in doing good works? Or what will you give him if your life will be blameless—that is, by abstaining from sin?
3. Someone is challenged to a judgment by another out of fear of the higher power of the one calling them into judgment, which is a wicked thing to think of God. Thus he says, In fear—of some judge—will he blame you—by accusing you—and come with you in judgment, as if summoned by an equal?

Then, since Job had said that the opinions of those who claimed his house had perished like the tents of the wicked (Job 21:28) were unjust, Eliphaz intends to show that his own opinion is right. He says, Is it not because of your great malice and your infinite iniquities? as if to say: God accuses you by inflicting punishments, not because of fear, but out of a love for justice, to punish your sins.

Here, “malice” can refer to the sins by which he wounded others, and “iniquity” to the sins by which he omitted works of justice. Eliphaz says the malice is “great” and the iniquities are “infinite” because a person sins in more ways by omission than by commission. He then explains an observation about injuries done to neighbors, which are sometimes inflicted through slander under the pretext of justice. So he says, You took away the pledge of security of your brother without cause—that is, without necessity, because you were able to trust your brothers without a pledge.

Sometimes harms are inflicted without any pretense of justice, and regarding this he says, You despoiled the naked of their clothes. This can be understood in two ways: first, that in robbing them you left them naked, with nothing; second, that although they were already naked and without sufficient clothing, you took away what little they had. He then continues with the omission of good works, saying, you did not give water to the weary. They needed a drink because of the thirst that arises from the toil of a journey, as if to say: You did not offer help and comfort to workers and the afflicted. And you have taken bread from the hungry, which is to say: You did not help the needy. These things are said about the sins he committed as a private person.

He next speaks about sins related to the things given into Job's rule. Among these, he makes three points:

1. He claims that Job obtained his dominion not by justice but by violence. So he says, You gained possession of your land by the strength of your arm, for you acquired dominion over the land by your own force.
2. He says that Job did not govern his subjects with justice but with force, according to what is said in Wisdom, Let our strength be the law of injustice . So he then says, and you kept it because you were the most powerful, as if to say: You used your subjects for your own will with the might of force.
3. He discusses evil judgments, since Job did not render justice to the weak. So he then says, You sent widows away empty handed, since you did not do justice for them against their adversaries, as Isaiah says, The cause of the widows has no place with them (Isaiah 1:23). You even oppressed the weak, and so he then says, and you weakened the arms of the orphans, as if to say: If there was any power in them, you took it away. This is contrary to what is said in Psalm 9, To judge in favor of the humble and the orphan (Psalms 9:35).

He then states that punishments have come upon Job because of these faults. So he says, On that account you are surrounded with snares, for you are oppressed on all sides with adversities so that no place is open for you to escape after you have fallen into them. Nor were you even able to hide beforehand, because they came upon you suddenly. And so he says, and sudden dread throws you into confusion, since evil things overcame him suddenly, causing him to fear other things as well.

He shows the reason they came upon him suddenly when he then says, You thought that you would not see darkness—that is, you thought you would not arrive at these doubts where you do not know what to do, which refers to the “snares.” Then, regarding the fear that throws him into confusion, he says, and you would not be oppressed by the force of flood waters. This is as if to say: You thought that you would never be oppressed by the violence and great number of adversities coming from above, as 1 Thessalonians says, When they say: peace and security, sudden destruction will come upon them from above (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The opinion that one will not suffer punishment for sins is related to a disbelief in God's providence over human affairs. Eliphaz perhaps wished to twist what Job had said, Will anyone teach God knowledge? (Job 21:22), which he wrongly interpreted as expressing a defect in divine knowledge. And so, it seems right to him to imply that Job denies God's providence.

Consider that some deny God has knowledge and providence over human affairs because of the exalted nature of His substance, to which, they say, His knowledge is proportioned so that He knows nothing except Himself. They think His knowledge would be defiled if it were extended to lower things. And so Eliphaz says, Do you think that God is higher than heaven—the whole universe of creatures—and is elevated above the greatest of the stars—above the highest of creatures? He draws the conclusion of this thought: And you say: What, indeed, does God know?—that is, about these lower things.

Still, people of this sort do not completely take knowledge of things away from God. Instead, they say that He knows them universally—for example, by knowing the nature of their being or their universal causes. And so Eliphaz says, He judges as though through a fog. For to know something only in a universal sense is to know it imperfectly, and so he calls this knowledge “foggy,” as if it were something seen from far off in a mist. For instance, God might know there is a man, but not know who he is.

He shows this to be analogous to what happens with people: one who hides in a certain place is not seen by those outside it, nor does he see them. The clouds are his hiding place and he does not see ours, as if to say: Just as He is hidden from us, as though obscured by the clouds (because we cannot fully know what is above the clouds), so the converse is true. He does not see those things that pertain to us, as if they existed under the clouds. As Ezekiel says, speaking in the person of one who holds this opinion, The Lord has forsaken the earth, he does not see (Ezekiel 9:9).

For they thought that since things on earth are subject to many defects and disorders, they are not ruled by divine providence. Only the heavens, whose order remains without defect, are so ruled. And so he says, And he walks about the hinges of heaven. A hinge is something on which a door turns. Therefore, by this he means that heaven is moved by God's providence, and that divine providence descends to these lower things from this motion as if through a door. For just as they say that God only knows human things in a universal sense, so they say that He governs human affairs, but only through universal causes which He governs directly. Perhaps Eliphaz wanted to allude to what Job had said earlier: Who judges eminent men? (Job 21:22).

In the preceding words, Eliphaz seems to have charged Job with not believing that God has providence in human affairs. Now, as a consequence, he appears to charge him with the effects of this lack of faith. For those who do not believe that God cares for human affairs usually follow their own will in all things, disdaining the fear of God.

Therefore, Eliphaz asks if Job wants to follow the path of the world—the conduct of those who believe in nothing but the temporal things they see, and from this proceed to acts of injustice. He then asks, "which wicked men have trodden?" A path is said to be trodden by those who frequent it, intentionally and without hesitation wearing it away. In the same way, those who do not believe in divine providence frequently, freely, and intentionally commit acts of injustice. This does not happen to those who believe in divine providence, although they sometimes fall into injustice from weakness.

So that they do not appear to do this with impunity, Eliphaz then says, "They were snatched away before their time," because they died without completing their natural lifespan. He assigns the cause for this, saying, "and the river undermined their foundation." A person's foundation is that on which their hope primarily rests. Such men do not place their hope in God, but only in temporal things, which are corrupted by the changing course of events that he calls a river.

Eliphaz explains what he means by this path when he says, “They told God: Depart from us,” for in their hearts they disdained both him and his spiritual goods. He describes their intellectual lack of faith, saying they thought the Almighty could do nothing. This is because if the care of human affairs does not belong to him, he can do nothing good or evil to humanity, which is contrary to the very idea of omnipotence.

To add to their fault, he then speaks of their ingratitude, saying, “though he filled their houses with good things”—that is, with the temporal things God gives to people. To disprove their assertion, he says, “let the opinion of these men be far from me.”

So that it does not seem that the just are also overthrown with the wicked, Eliphaz adds, “The just will see it and will rejoice.” By this, he means to say that the just will not be ruined but will live in joy. To address the potential objection that they would lack justice by rejoicing over the ruin of others, he says, “and the innocent will mock them.” It is as if to say: The innocent can mock them while preserving their own innocence, because the wicked are ruined contrary to their own arrogant opinion. In this, the innocent rejoice in divine justice. This statement seems to answer what Job had said directly, “After this, if it seems right to you, laugh” (Job 21:3), where he seemed to complain that he was being mocked by them.

To remove any doubt that the river has undermined the foundation of evil men, he presents this as something obvious in the form of a question: “Has not their insolence been beaten down?” For they seemed, from earthly prosperity or their own pride, to grow as high as a tree. But just as a tree’s growth is suddenly stopped by being cut down, so also their elevation suddenly ceases when these things are removed.

Sometimes when a tree is cut down, it grows no higher, but its trunk remains. If, however, it is burned, no trace of its former height is left. So also, if a sinner has died or been brought low, his sons also perish and his riches are taken away by the fire of adversity, and nothing will appear to remain of his former prominence. And so Eliphaz continues, “And fire devoured their remains,” in the heat of tribulation. This is similar to the words of James: “The sun rose hot and dried the hay” (James 1:11). A man’s “remains” refers to his sons or whatever else is left of him after his death.

Since Eliphaz had said (Job 22:17) that this kind of ruin happens to the wicked because they struggled against God, he now explains how Job can avoid a similar downfall. He adds, “Go along with him and be at peace,” as if to say: You were agitated because you wanted to argue against him. “And in this”—that is, through the peace by which you will be reconciled with him—“you will bear the best fruit.” This means you will attain whatever is best as the fruit of this peace.

He shows how Job should find comfort in God in the next statement: “Receive the law from his mouth.” This is as if to say: Do not think that human affairs are not ruled by divine providence; rather, you should order your life according to the law of his government. Since some profess the law of divine government but do not follow it in practice, he then says, “and put his decrees in your heart,” meaning to meditate on his commandments and be disposed to keep them.

He shows how Job will experience these “best of fruits,” saying, “If you will return to the Almighty,” by believing in his omnipotence and submitting yourself to him, “he will rebuild you.” This means that the prosperity of your house, which was destroyed, will be restored. He then shows how Job should return perfectly to God, saying, “and you will put evil far from your tent.” (The word “if” should be understood here, so that the literal text reads, “if you will put evil far from your tent, God will give flint in place of earth and golden torrents in place of flint.”) His saying, “If you will put evil far from your tent,” explains what he had said before: “If you return to the Almighty” (Job 22:23).

He does not say, “If you will put evil far from you,” but “from your tent,” because he wants to imply that this adversity happened to Job not only for his own personal sin but also for the sin of his family. Indeed, when he says, “he will give flint in place of earth,” the word “flint” refers back to his earlier statement, “you will be rebuilt.” This indicates that there will be a restoration, but to something greater, so that Job can receive greater things in place of those he lost. For flint is more precious than the soil of the earth, and gold is more precious than flint.

Eliphaz concludes by listing the nature of the goods he promises will be restored to Job. First, he places security resulting from God’s protection, saying, “The Almighty will fight against your enemies,” so that they cannot again destroy what God will restore to you. Second, he places an abundance of riches, saying, “and you will heap up masses of silver.” All riches are meant by the word “silver” because money is commonly made from it.

So that he does not seem to promise only material goods, he adds spiritual goods. Among these, he first places the ability for a person to love and enjoy God, and so the text continues, “Then you will abound in the delights of the Almighty above.” When you have peace with him, you will delight in him. Since everyone looks with pleasure on what they delight in, he then says, “and you will raise your face (your mind) up to God,” so that you can contemplate him often.

From this contemplation, you will gain confidence in turning to him, and so he then says, “you will ask him.” This will not be without effect, as the text says, “and he will hear you.” Those whom God has heard usually fulfill the vows they made while praying, so he says, “and you will fulfill your promises,” as a sign that you have been heard.

Then he promises success and prosperity in all of Job's plans, saying, “You will decide on a matter”—that is, you will determine by your own foresight how something will be—“and it will come to you,” for your hope will not be in vain. So that you do not hesitate about what to decide, the means you should use will be clear to you, and so he then says, “and light will shine on your ways.” This means it will be clear to you which paths you should take.

He shows the reason for these promises, saying, “He who will be humbled,” by subjecting himself to God in his heart, “will be in glory,” which he will receive from God. “And he who lowered his eyes,” so as not to think anything foolish or proud against God in his mind, “will be saved”—that is, freed from evils and made steadfast in goodness.

Still, not only is inner humility of the heart and mind required for salvation, but outward purity of actions is also necessary. And so he then says, “The innocent will be saved.” He shows by what merit this person will be saved, saying, “he will be saved through the cleanness of his hands,” that is, through the innocence of his works. Consider here that Eliphaz not only promises Job temporal goods, which can be common to both the good and the evil (if he converts), as he had already done (Job 5:17–26), but also spiritual goods, which are unique to the righteous. However, he still promises these only in this life.