Job 22 13

Job 22:13 kjv

And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?

Job 22:13 nkjv

And you say, 'What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?

Job 22:13 niv

Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?

Job 22:13 esv

But you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness?

Job 22:13 nlt

But you reply, 'That's why God can't see what I am doing!
How can he judge through the thick darkness?

Job 22 verses

Job 22 13 Meaning

Job 22:13 captures a specific accusation Eliphaz levies against Job, asserting that Job privately questions God's knowledge and His ability to discern and judge human actions. Eliphaz believes Job attributes to God an ignorance of human affairs or a detachment so profound that God cannot perceive hidden deeds. He imagines Job thinking that because God dwells in majestic heights, veiled perhaps by clouds or impenetrable darkness, He is consequently too distant or veiled to witness earthly life, particularly covert sins, and therefore cannot justly intervene or bring judgment. This is presented by Eliphaz as the underlying reason for Job's suffering, a false imputation of impiety to Job.

Job 22 13 Context

Job 22:13 is spoken by Eliphaz the Temanite, in his third and final discourse to Job. This chapter marks Eliphaz's most aggressive and specific accusations against Job, moving beyond general principles to suggest Job has committed definite sins. Earlier in their exchanges, Job had passionately defended his integrity, asserting his reverence for God despite his inexplicable suffering.

In this verse, Eliphaz mischaracterizes Job's perspective entirely. He assumes that Job, like the wicked he describes, harbors a hidden skepticism about God's omnipresence and omnipotence. Eliphaz argues that Job secretly believes God is too far removed in His celestial dwelling ("deep darkness") to see the actions of men on earth, thus making Him unable or unwilling to dispense justice accurately. This accusation functions as Eliphaz's supposed explanation for Job's suffering: if Job believes God doesn't see, then perhaps Job has engaged in secret sins, thereby bringing judgment upon himself. The irony is that Eliphaz's words, intended to reveal Job's impiety, actually reveal Eliphaz's own narrow and flawed understanding of God's character and Job's true piety.

Job 22 13 Word analysis

• "But you say" (וַתֹּ֣אמֶר - vattōmer): This phrase serves as a sharp, direct accusation from Eliphaz. It immediately establishes a rhetorical device where Eliphaz is articulating what he believes Job's internal, hidden thought process to be, rather than what Job has actually expressed. It is a projected idea, forming the basis for Eliphaz's subsequent claims about Job's supposed sin.
• "What does God know?" (מַה־ יֵּדַ֖ע אֵ֥ל - mah-yēdaʿ ʾēl): This rhetorical question, posed by Eliphaz as if it were Job's thought, directly challenges God's omniscience.
  • "What" (mah): Functions as an interrogative signifying denial or doubt.
  • "know" (yēdaʿ): To know, understand, discern. This refers to comprehensive, deep knowledge. Eliphaz suggests Job is denying God’s complete awareness of human activities.
  • "God" (ʾēl): This is a general term for God, often associated with divine power and transcendence, rather than the covenant name Yahweh. It emphasizes His supreme being and distance in Eliphaz's perceived Jobian view. The phrasing aims to convey Job’s purported idea of a God distant and detached, perhaps unknowing.
• "Can he judge" (הַיִּשְׁפֹּ֥ט - hayyishpōṭ): This continues the accusatory thought, adding God's capacity for judgment.
  • "Can he" (hayyishpōṭ beginning with ha-, a leading interrogative particle): Implies incredulity or doubt concerning ability.
  • "judge" (yishpōṭ): To render judgment, to act as a judge, to execute justice. It refers to God's active involvement in maintaining order, dispensing righteousness, and punishing evil. The implication from Eliphaz is that Job doubts God's effective administration of justice on earth.
• "through the deep darkness?" (בַּֽעֲפֵלָֽה - baʿăfēlāh): This is the crux of the verse, offering two possible interpretations, both highlighting God's supposed hiddenness or remoteness.
  • "through" (ba-): Preposition "in" or "through".
  • "deep darkness" (ʿăfēlāh): Literally means "darkness," "gloom," "obscurity."
    • Interpretation 1: God's dwelling place: This refers to the profound, impenetrable obscurity that is sometimes used to describe God's dwelling, a metaphor for His transcendence and mystery (e.g., Ps 18:11, 97:2). Eliphaz implies Job thinks God is so high above the earth, shrouded in majestic darkness, that earthly affairs—especially those hidden in darkness—are beyond His scope or attention.
    • Interpretation 2: Human concealment: This refers to the literal darkness where people might hide their sins. Eliphaz suggests Job believes that since God is already shrouded in darkness, He cannot possibly discern evil deeds committed in secrecy. This ties into the general Ancient Near Eastern concept where gods might be seen as less potent or active if not directly involved in human events.
• "What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness?" (Combined Phrase): This combined accusation implies a complete rejection of God's omnipresence, omniscience, and sovereign control over earthly affairs. Eliphaz casts Job as questioning both God's ability to gather information and His capacity to act on it from His high, veiled position. It speaks to a deep philosophical debate about the relationship between divine transcendence and immanence, specifically Eliphaz’s misguided assertion that Job denies God's active engagement.

Job 22 13 Bonus section

Eliphaz's accusation carries an implied polemic against an "absentee" or "blind" deity. While not explicitly referencing pagan gods, Eliphaz's words suggest that if Job doubts God's ability to see through darkness or judge from a distance, then Job views God in a way that aligns more with passive or limited deities, characteristic of some Ancient Near Eastern myths, rather than the all-seeing, omnipresent God of Israel. This shows the pervasive nature of denying God's active engagement in human affairs. Eliphaz also fails to grasp the theological significance of God dwelling in thick darkness (as seen during the giving of the Law on Sinai, Ex 20:21), which represents not obscurity to God but His majestic and fearful unapproachability for humankind. Eliphaz uses this concept to accuse Job of a flawed understanding of God’s omnipotence and omnipresence, ironically revealing his own theological shortcomings.

Job 22 13 Commentary

Job 22:13 reveals the culmination of Eliphaz’s theological rigidity and personal frustration. Unable to comprehend Job's innocent suffering within his traditional framework of divine retribution, Eliphaz resorts to a specific and grave accusation: he asserts that Job denies God's omniscience and His active role as Judge of all the earth. This is a profound mischaracterization of Job, who consistently affirms God's power and sovereignty throughout the book.

Eliphaz's accusation that Job questions "What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?" stems from a limited view of God. He conflates God's sublime transcendence and dwelling in majesty (sometimes depicted as cloud or darkness) with a practical inability to perceive human actions. He proposes that Job imagines God is either too far away, too veiled by cosmic distance, or perhaps simply uninterested in the hidden details of human life to mete out accurate justice. This theological error is not unique to Eliphaz; it echoes a common failing among the wicked described in Scripture, who convince themselves that God neither sees nor cares about their clandestine iniquities. However, Eliphaz unjustly attributes this specific folly to Job. The true God, as revealed elsewhere in Scripture, is intimately aware of all things, even those hidden in the deepest darkness, and He judges every secret deed. The verse, therefore, highlights Eliphaz's flawed reasoning rather than Job's purported sin, inadvertently setting the stage for a fuller revelation of God's boundless knowledge and unswerving justice later in the book.