Job 15 8

Job 15:8 kjv

Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

Job 15:8 nkjv

Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

Job 15:8 niv

Do you listen in on God's council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

Job 15:8 esv

Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

Job 15:8 nlt

Were you listening at God's secret council?
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

Job 15 verses

Job 15 8 Meaning

Job 15:8 is part of Eliphaz the Temanite’s second discourse, in which he rhetorically challenges Job’s wisdom and understanding of God's ways. Eliphaz sarcastically questions if Job has gained access to God's deepest, most confidential plans and thoughts, implying that Job is claiming an unparalleled, almost blasphemous, insight into divine matters that is superior to that of others, especially his friends. This verse accuses Job of self-importance and arrogance, as if he exclusively possesses divine wisdom, diminishing the understanding held by the friends or by common, traditional revelation.

Job 15 8 Context

Job 15:8 appears in Eliphaz's second speech (Job 15:1-35) in response to Job's strong defense (Job 13:1-14:22) where Job challenges the friends' wisdom and God's apparent silence. Eliphaz, growing increasingly frustrated and self-assured, views Job's continued insistence on his innocence as audacious defiance of divine justice and an arrogant claim to superior understanding. The historical and cultural context involves the ancient Near Eastern tradition of "wisdom literature," where divine retribution (the belief that suffering directly correlates with sin) was a common theological framework. Eliphaz speaks from this traditional perspective, aligning himself with age and inherited wisdom. His statement in Job 15:8 is a sarcastic attack, insinuating that Job considers himself part of God's intimate council, a privilege typically associated with prophets or divinely appointed figures. It's a direct challenge to Job's perception of his unique suffering, framing Job's perceived grievance as a sign of extreme spiritual pride rather than a cry for justice. It indirectly carries a polemic against Job, suggesting that Job's independent theological assertions are a threat to established, collective wisdom and divine order.

Job 15 8 Word analysis

• הֲסוֹד (Ha-sod):

  • הֲ (Ha-): Interrogative prefix, making it a rhetorical question.
  • סוֹד (sod): "secret," "confidential counsel," "intimacy," "private assembly," "inner circle." In a theological context, it refers to the intimate council of God, a divine deliberation chamber (e.g., Jer 23:18). This word implies deep, confidential knowledge shared only among intimates. Eliphaz uses it sarcastically to question if Job claims this intimate knowledge of God's most hidden plans.

• אֱלוֹהַּ (Eloah): "God." This divine name emphasizes God's singularity and might, often used in Job. The context highlights that any claim to "sod" of such a God would be an extraordinary assertion of divine intimacy.

• תִשְׁמָע (tishma'): "you heard," or "you understand." This implies not just casual hearing but profound comprehension or participation. Eliphaz questions if Job genuinely received revelation or simply imagined it.

• וְתִגְרַע (v'tigra'): "and do you diminish," "reduce," "take away from," "hold back." This verb carries the connotation of a reduction or claim of exclusive possession. Eliphaz is suggesting Job is not only claiming wisdom for himself but simultaneously diminishing the wisdom others possess or can access, thereby centralizing wisdom exclusively to his own understanding.

• אֵלֶיךָ (eleyka): "to yourself," "unto you alone." This preposition and pronominal suffix emphasize the exclusivity Eliphaz attributes to Job's supposed wisdom. It is directed solely to Job, highlighting Eliphaz’s accusation of Job’s spiritual elitism.

• חָכְמָה (chochmah): "wisdom," divine understanding, or skillful knowledge of how to live rightly in God's world. This term encapsulates the comprehensive understanding of life's complexities and divine principles.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "Have you heard the secret counsel of God?": This phrase is highly rhetorical and sarcastic. It questions Job’s authority and legitimacy in presuming such an elevated spiritual position, essentially mocking his understanding. It alludes to the ancient concept of the divine council, a place where prophets like Jeremiah or Amos claimed to have received their revelation (Jer 23:18, Am 3:7). Eliphaz implies Job's suffering must be due to hidden sin, and Job's self-defense presumes an intimate knowledge of God's justice system that surpasses traditional understanding—a privilege he clearly denies Job has.
  • "Or do you limit wisdom to yourself?": This accusation further sharpens Eliphaz's attack, suggesting that Job believes he has an exclusive grip on truth and understanding, reducing the collective or traditionally held wisdom (which Eliphaz and his friends represent) to nothing in comparison. It portrays Job as spiritually arrogant, claiming an absolute and unique insight that discounts everyone else's perspective, especially the long-held doctrines that dictate sin leads to suffering. This line is polemical against Job's assertion of blamelessness in his suffering, interpreting it as an arrogant declaration of superior wisdom that must override the "wisdom of the ages" held by the friends.

Job 15 8 Bonus section

The concept of "sod" (secret counsel) holds particular weight in ancient Near Eastern wisdom traditions and prophetic literature. It implies access to the divine council, a celestial assembly where God's decrees and plans are deliberated. Prophets were unique in claiming to have "stood in the secret counsel of the Lord" (Jer 23:18) or to whom God reveals His "secret counsel" (Am 3:7). Eliphaz's sarcastic question ridicules Job by implying Job presumes himself to be of such prophetic stature, an absurdity to Eliphaz. This illustrates Eliphaz’s view of revelation as something reserved for esteemed, perhaps older, and certainly righteous individuals, categories he sees himself in and Job, by his suffering, as outside of. The phrase "limit wisdom to yourself" implies a theological monopoly. Eliphaz and his friends adhere to a fixed, traditional theology—that the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. Job’s suffering challenges this, and his continued insistence on his blamelessness is interpreted by Eliphaz not as a sincere cry but as an attempt to introduce a new, self-serving, and presumptuous "wisdom" that invalidates their established truth. This rigid adherence to doctrine, without room for divine mystery or individual experience, leads Eliphaz to condemnation rather than empathetic understanding.

Job 15 8 Commentary

Eliphaz's accusation in Job 15:8 reveals a critical theological and personal flaw in the friends' approach. While Eliphaz poses a legitimate theological question (who can fully grasp God's counsel?), his motive is entirely rhetorical and condemnatory. He employs a common argumentative tactic: attributing extreme, inflated claims to the opponent to discredit their more nuanced position. By accusing Job of having access to God's "sod" and limiting "wisdom to himself," Eliphaz ironically exemplifies the very spiritual pride he charges Job with. He acts as if he knows God's secret counsel well enough to discern Job's alleged sin, assuming he can definitively explain Job's suffering based on his rigid, traditional theological framework. This verse underscores the central tension of the book of Job: the inadequacy of human wisdom to fully comprehend the ways of a sovereign God, particularly in the face of inexplicable suffering. It highlights how quickly assumed knowledge can morph into a harsh, misinformed judgment of another’s spiritual state, devoid of compassion.