Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
The summons to listen is spoken by Elihu, who calls upon the wise men and those having knowledge to hear his words. It belongs to the poetic body of the book of Job, whose opening narrative and closing statement alone are prose. It stands in the third of the five parts of the book, the argument of Elihu and reproof to Job in chapters 32-37. His instructive discourses occupy chapters 32-36.
It comes after the argument between Job and his friends closes in chapter 31. Elihu is a younger man who steps in thinking his superior wisdom will correct Job. His aim is to convince Job that Job is not great in himself while God is everything. His words follow about the same line as the friends before him. The discourse is instructive and admirable, yet it does little to help Job. No answer is made to him, and Job himself makes no answer to this argument.
The summons to listen is spoken by Elihu, who calls upon the wise men and those having knowledge to hear his words. It belongs to the poetic body of the book of Job, whose opening narrative and closing statement alone are prose. It stands in the third of the five parts of the book, the argument of Elihu and reproof to Job in chapters 32-37. His instructive discourses occupy chapters 32-36.
It comes after the argument between Job and his friends closes in chapter 31. Elihu is a younger man who steps in thinking his superior wisdom will correct Job. His aim is to convince Job that Job is not great in himself while God is everything. His words follow about the same line as the friends before him. The discourse is instructive and admirable, yet it does little to help Job. No answer is made to him, and Job himself makes no answer to this argument.