Job 15 10

Job 15:10 kjv

With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

Job 15:10 nkjv

Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Much older than your father.

Job 15:10 niv

The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.

Job 15:10 esv

Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.

Job 15:10 nlt

On our side are aged, gray-haired men
much older than your father!

Job 15 verses

Job 15 10 Meaning

Job 15:10 conveys Eliphaz's assertion of superior wisdom and authority due to age and tradition. He claims that he and his companions possess knowledge that comes from many years of experience, implied by their "gray-headed" and "aged" state, and that this accumulated wisdom is greater even than what Job might have learned from his own father. This statement is part of Eliphaz's argument that Job's suffering must be a consequence of hidden sin, based on the established, traditional understanding of divine justice that Eliphaz and his elders uphold.

Job 15 10 Context

Job 15 opens Eliphaz's second round of discourse, a response to Job's earlier passionate defenses and challenges to God's justice. Unlike his initial more sympathetic tone in chapter 4, Eliphaz here adopts a harsher, more accusatory stance. He claims Job's words are worthless, self-condemning, and reflect a lack of the "fear of God" (Job 15:4). Eliphaz firmly believes in a direct, retributive justice system where suffering is always proportional to sin. In Job 15:10, he appeals to the collective wisdom of his advanced age and that of his companions, setting their established traditional understanding against Job's lived experience of seemingly innocent suffering. He argues that their extensive life experience gives them irrefutable knowledge, implicitly criticizing Job's challenging questions as born of youthful folly or ignorance. This verse reinforces the deep theological chasm between Job, who seeks understanding in his unique experience, and his friends, who rigidly cling to human wisdom traditions.

Job 15 10 Word analysis

• With us (עִמָּנוּ, ‘immānu): The plural suffix "-נו" (our) emphasizes a shared, collective authority and perspective among Eliphaz and his two companions. It forms a united front against Job's solitary claims.

• are both: An intensifier in many translations, highlighting the presence and significance of these specific types of individuals among them.

• the gray-headed (שָׂיב, sayib): This term directly refers to white hair, a common physical sign of advanced age. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, gray hair was a symbol of honor, reverence, and accrued wisdom (Prov 16:31). Eliphaz invokes this respected status.

• and the aged (יָשִׁישׁ, yashish): This word complements sayib, reinforcing the idea of individuals who have lived a long life. It speaks to extensive experience and mature judgment that comes from "length of days." The pairing strengthens the claim of traditional wisdom.

• older than your father (כַּבִּירִים מֵאָבִיךָ, kabbīrīm mē’āvīḵa):

  • older / much older / stronger: The Hebrew kabbīrīm (from כַּבִּיר, kabbir) can mean "numerous," "great," "mighty," or "strong." In this context, it often refers to being greater in number of years or in accumulated wisdom/strength of argument due to that age.
  • your father: A direct and somewhat condescending comparison. By claiming they are "older than your father," Eliphaz implies that their experience and therefore their wisdom surpasses anything Job could have learned or inherited from his own parental instruction, thereby subtly diminishing Job's personal or familial standing and insight.

• "With us are both the gray-headed and the aged": This phrase establishes Eliphaz's appeal to conventional, inherited wisdom. He leverages the social respect afforded to elders, presenting their age as prima facie evidence of superior knowledge and insight, which he then uses to validate his own (and his friends') rigid theological framework. It's a statement of perceived authority rooted in tradition.

• "older than your father": This group of words functions as a subtle put-down and an aggressive claim of supremacy. It asserts that their accumulated wisdom not only stands apart but also outranks any wisdom Job might personally possess or have acquired, implying that Job is speaking foolishness in comparison.

Job 15 10 Bonus section

• Eliphaz's argument here is typical of what some scholars refer to as "wisdom orthodoxy" – a well-established, universally accepted body of practical and moral truths. His error isn't that this wisdom is wrong in all contexts, but that it's applied rigidly and indiscriminately, lacking divine insight into a situation that transcends human categorization.
• The comparison "older than your father" also served as an insult. To be told that one's counsel or standing was inferior to individuals older than one's parent was a significant put-down, undermining Job's perceived maturity or right to speak out against established views.
• This statement highlights the "gap" in ancient wisdom literature between the general observation that elders often have valuable insight, and the profound theological truth that ultimate wisdom resides solely with God (Job 28). Human wisdom, even from the most experienced, can be incomplete or flawed, particularly when trying to interpret God's sovereign actions.

Job 15 10 Commentary

Eliphaz, in Job 15:10, asserts the authority of traditional wisdom, emphasizing the advanced age of himself and his companions as a basis for their counsel. This was a generally respected principle in the ancient world (Lev 19:32, Prov 16:31), where age was often synonymous with wisdom due to prolonged observation of life and adherence to communal standards. However, Eliphaz fundamentally misapplies this truth in Job's context.

His statement functions as a dismissive rebuttal to Job's profound questions and suffering. Rather than genuinely engaging with Job's unique experience of righteous affliction, Eliphaz resorts to an appeal to established tradition and the wisdom of elders. He implies that because they are "gray-headed" and "aged," even "older than your father," their understanding of divine justice—namely, that great suffering must imply great sin—is beyond question and superior to any personal insight Job might have. This reliance on a rigid, dogmatic theological framework derived from human experience and passed down through generations ultimately fails to account for the mystery of Job's suffering. The irony is that Eliphaz appeals to wisdom while being profoundly unwise in his judgment of Job.

This verse sets the stage for a crucial biblical truth revealed later in the book of Job (and elsewhere): while age can confer wisdom, it is not the sole or ultimate source of truth. Elihu will challenge this very notion, stressing that wisdom comes from the Spirit of God within an individual, not simply from chronological age (Job 32:8-9). This highlights that traditional human wisdom, no matter how venerable, can become a stumbling block when it's rigidly applied without divine revelation or compassion for unique circumstances, or when it’s used to judge rather than to understand.