Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 4:1-6

"Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, And thou hast made firm the feeble knees. But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not thy fear [of God] thy confidence, [And] the integrity of thy ways thy hope?" — Job 4:1-6 (ASV)

Job's friends, who came to console him, had kept silent until now because of the severity of his pain. After Job finished speaking, they boldly began to speak. First, Eliphaz the Temanite speaks. He had not taken Job’s words in the spirit in which they were spoken. He imputed the hatred of his present life, which Job said he suffered, to despair; his great bitterness to impatience; and his profession of innocence to presumption.

First, he therefore accuses Job of impatience and begins to speak to him as one does to a man prone to the sin of impatience, who immediately reacts angrily to any words spoken to him. So he says, “If one ventures a word with you, you will perhaps be offended.” Here, he accurately describes the typical temperament of an impatient and angry man, who cannot bear to hear someone finish an argument but is immediately provoked to answer when the person has only just begun to speak. He says “perhaps” so that he might not be condemned for rash judgment, although one should always interpret words or deeds in the best possible light, even when they seem presumptuous or suspicious.

But while he accuses Job of impatience, he reveals himself to be given to impatience and foolishness when he says, “but who can keep from speaking?” As Sirach says, As arrows inflicted in the thigh of a dog, so is the word in the heart of a fool . However, one may grant that even the just, out of divine zeal, are sometimes unable to remain silent when speaking what must be said for the honor of God. As Jeremiah says, If I say I will not remember—that is, the words of the Lord—or speak any more in his name, there is a kind of burning fire in my heart shut up in my bones, and I am weary for holding it in and cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).

He next proceeds to demonstrate Job’s impatience clearly by exaggerating it from two points of view: his former teaching and his former life. Regarding his former teaching, Eliphaz argues that it is shameful for a man not to practice what he teaches others. As Saint Matthew says, For they say and do not do (Matthew 23:3). Previously, Job had held many back from impatience and adapted his teaching to different people in different ways.

For example, some are impatient out of ignorance because they do not know how to use adversity for virtue. To these, Eliphaz says Job taught, Behold, you have instructed many. Others practice virtue in adversity at first, but when the adversity lasts a long time, they become discouraged as if tired of doing right. To these, Job taught, and you have strengthened those with weak hands, by persuading them to good works. Still others, in adversity, begin to doubt whether their suffering has come from divine judgment. To these, Job said, Your words have upheld the tottering. Finally, some endure small adversities but fall under great ones, as if crushed by a heavy burden. For these, Job taught, and you have strengthened those with trembling knees—that is, with your counsel, for a man's knees tremble when he carries a great weight. The Lord exhorts us to perfect ourselves in this, saying in Isaiah, Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the trembling knees (Isaiah 35:3).

Eliphaz consequently wants to show that Job did not practice what he taught others, so he continues, But now a trial has come to you, and you have faltered—that is, from the firmness of mind that you seemed to have and which you recommended to others. This refers to the adversity he had suffered in his external circumstances. It touched you, and you are dismayed—that is, you have lost the peace of mind you seemed to have. This refers to the physical affliction he was suffering. So Satan said previously, Put forth your hand and touch his bones and his flesh. He therefore accused Job of not living up to his own teaching by failing to practice patience. This is contrary to Proverbs: A man learns good sense by patience (Proverbs 19:11).

He also exaggerated the impatience Job now showed by contrasting it with his past life. For virtue that fails so quickly in a trial does not seem genuine, because, as it is written in Sirach, Gold and silver are proved in fire; men are proven in the crucible of humility . A person is preserved by many virtues from failing in trials.

1. Some are preserved by the fear of God, as they consider that the evils they suffer come from divine providence. As Job said previously, As the Lord pleases, so has he done (Job 1:21). To counter this virtue, Eliphaz asked, Where is your fear?—with which you seemed to revere God.
2. Some are preserved by constancy of soul, which has two degrees. For some, their strength of soul is so great that they are not overly bothered by adversity. This is due to courage. So Eliphaz says, Where is your courage? This should not be understood here as the fortitude that keeps people from succumbing to fear, but rather the kind that keeps them from being discouraged in sorrow. Others suffer a great burden of sorrow from adversity but are not led astray by it because of their well-ordered reason. This is due to patience. The difference between patience and courage is the same as the difference philosophers draw between continence and chastity. So he continues, Your patience?
3. Some are safeguarded by a love for right action and a horror of doing anything base, so that even if they are inwardly disturbed by adversity, they do not break out in any unworthy word or deed. So he adds, Where is the integrity of your ways? Here, “ways” means the actions by which one arrives at an end, as if by certain roads. “Ways” can also mean carefully considered counsel, through which a person comes to trust that he can escape adversity and therefore tolerates it more easily.