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Eliphaz
The first and eldest of Job's three friends, the Temanite, who argued that Job's suffering must be deserved.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Archaeology — physical evidence · 1
Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Family & lineage
Ancient writersThe Greek appendix to Job (LXX Job 42:17b–e) explicitly genealogizes the friends, tying Eliphaz to Esau and Teman in Edom, and the Testament of Job casts Eliphaz as a king of Teman. These are ancient non-biblical elaborations of the figure.
Septuagint addendum to Job 42:17b–e (Eliphaz styled a son of Esau, 'king of the Temanites'); critical Greek text ed. J. Ziegler, Septuaginta: Iob (Vetus Testamentum Graecum XI/4, Göttingen, 1982); with Testament of Job (Eliphaz as king of Teman); cf. Genesis 36:10–11 for the Esau/Teman line. Ancient non-biblical elaborations of the figure.
Tribe & people
ArchaeologyEliphaz is titled 'the Temanite,' and Teman as a real southern locale is attested by the ca. 800 BCE inscriptions at Kuntillet Ajrud, which invoke 'YHWH of Teman and his asherah.' The find corroborates the place-name tied to Eliphaz's epithet, not the individual.
Kuntillet ʿAjrud (Ḥorvat Teman), NE Sinai; pithoi A–B inscriptions invoking 'YHWH of Teman and his asherah' (l-yhwh tmn w-l-ʾšrth); excavated by Zeʾev Meshel (Tel Aviv University) 1975–76, c. 800 BCE; publ. Z. Meshel, Kuntillet ʿAjrud (Ḥorvat Teman): An Iron Age II Religious Site on the Judah–Sinai Border (Israel Exploration Society, 2012). Corroborates the place-name of Eliphaz's epithet, not the individual.
Name & titles
ScholarlyEliphaz is usually parsed as 'Eli- (my God) plus paz (fine/pure gold), i.e. 'My God is fine gold,' though some read it as 'God of strength.' It is a genuine West-Semitic theophoric name.
Hebrew onomastics; paz = 'refined gold' (cf. Psalm 19:10); BDB/HALOT on אֱלִיפַז.