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Elihu
A younger man who spoke last, rebuking both Job and his three friends before God answered.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Origin & birthplace
ScholarlyElihu is called 'the Buzite, of the family of Ram,' and Buz is elsewhere listed as a son of Nahor (Abraham's brother) and grouped among north-Arabian desert peoples. Scholars therefore read the epithet as locating Elihu among an Aramean or North-Arabian population, consistent with the book's non-Israelite setting.
Onomastic/geographic argument; cf. Genesis 22:21 and Jeremiah 25:23 for Buz.
Family & lineage
Life, role & deeds
Ancient writersThe Testament of Job, a Jewish pseudepigraphon of roughly the turn of the era, retells the Job story and names Elihu among the visitors, singling him out negatively as one moved by 'the evil one.' It is a non-biblical ancient witness to the character, not to a historical individual.
Testament of Job 41–43 (Jewish pseudepigraphon, 1st c. BCE–1st c. CE), where Elihu is moved by 'the evil one'; Greek text ed. S. P. Brock, Testamentum Iobi (Pseudepigrapha Veteris Testamenti Graece 2, Brill, 1967); Eng. trans. R. P. Spittler in J. H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1 (Doubleday, 1983).
Name & titles
ScholarlyElihu is a theophoric Hebrew name built from 'El (God) plus a pronominal element, conventionally rendered 'He is my God' or 'My God is He.' It belongs to the same 'Eli-' name family common in the Hebrew Bible.
Standard Hebrew onomastics; cf. lexical entries in BDB and HALOT for אֱלִיהוּא.
Where in scripture
JobFamily
In their own words — 4 recorded sayings
“And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, made answer and said, I am young, and you are very old, so I was in fear, and kept myself from putting my knowledge before you.” — Job 32:6
“Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me; For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth. Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good. For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right; Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong. What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God, And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners? For he has said, It is no…” — Job 34:2-37
“Does it seem to you to be right, and righteousness before God, to say, What profit is it to me, and how am I better off than if I had done wrong? I will make answer to you and to your friends: Let your eyes be turned to the heavens, and lifted up to see the skies; they are higher than you. If you have done wrong, is he any the worse for it? and if your sins are great in number, what is it to him? If you are upright, what do you give to him? or what does he take from your hand? Your evil-doing may have an effect on a man like yourself, or your righteousness on a son of man. Because the hand of…” — Job 35:2-16
“Give me a little more time, and I will make it clear to you; for I have still something to say for God.” — Job 36:2
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).