Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches with which he can do no good?
All Commentaries on Job 15:3 Go To Job 15
Julian of Eclanum
AD 455
Holy Job had not only shown that Zophar’s words were ridiculous but also had reproved all his friends in common. They all thought that wisdom had to be judged according to the limits of their age. Since he had also discussed many issues concerning both human and divine nature, Eliphaz gets offended. He tries to accuse [Job] openly of different iniquities; since he has no decisive evidence, Eliphaz takes refuge by drawing a comparison with the people of previous generations, without showing any humility but by considering himself to be wiser than anybody else. “Will the wise answer as if he speaks in the wind, or will he fill his stomach with ardor?” [Eliphaz] wants to demonstrate that Job’s longwinded speech is a proof of foolishness and that the words Job said were dictated by anger and not suggested by reason. “Will the wise answer as if he speaks in the wind?” Since holy Job, after the beginning of his speech, had left his antagonists behind and had turned his words to God, Eliphaz says that it is not worthy of a wise man, after neglecting the opponent in a debate, to speak as if in the wind and to pronounce whatever he wants without the fear of an adversary. “You accuse with your words him who is not equal to you and say what is not profitable to you.” Your purification is an accusation against God. In fact, if you are afflicted undeservedly, he who is afflicting you is undoubtedly accused of iniquity.
