“Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.”
Elihu denounces Job as speaking 'without knowledge' and his words as 'without insight,' suggesting that Job's complaint stems from intellectual deficiency rather than valid perception. This verse attacks Job's very capacity to think and reason, suggesting that the problem lies not in the content of Job's arguments but in his fundamental intellectual inadequacy. The language of speaking without knowledge and insight echoes the opening of Elihu's discourse and suggests that Elihu has not achieved his goal of teaching Job to think rightly. The harshness of this denunciation suggests Elihu's frustration: despite his long discourse, Job has not been brought to acceptance of retributive theology. Yet the verse also suggests something important: Elihu has primarily argued propositionally and rationally, yet something in Job's experience and integrity resists these arguments despite their logical coherence. The verse illustrates a fundamental limitation of reason in addressing existential suffering: one cannot reason oneself out of the conviction that one is innocent or the conviction that prolonged undeserved suffering is unjust.
Church Fathers on Job 34:35
Let men of understanding speak to me, and let a wise man hear me. But Job hath spoken foolishly, and his words sound not of discipline. Lo, how he lays open that, which he was cherishing within, when, as if humbly, he allows blessed Job to speak; saying, Let men of understanding speak to me. For if blessed Job were to presume to speak, he would have disdained him, as though he could not understand his words. And, because he considered that blessed Job was unworthy not only…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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