Job 25:1-4

C. MANA LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS

(Job 25:1-6)

1. Man cannot argue with God. (Job 25:1-4)

TEXT 25:1-4

1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

2 Dominion and fear are with him;

He maketh peace in his high places.

3 Is there any number of his armies?

And upon whom doth not his light arise?

4 How then can man be Just with God?

Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

COMMENT 25:1-4

Job 25:1As with the preceding chapter 24, there are a considerable number of textual problems in the following three Chapter s.[268] The Chapter s 25-27 contain the third speech of Bildad, the eighth response of Job, and the third speech of Zophar. One cannot but be struck by the brevity of Bildad's speech. He fails miserably in responding to Job. Let the facts of history stand, but the spirit with which Bildad sets them forth must be forever false.

[268] On the technical matters concerning the section of Job, see P. Dhorme, Les chapitres XXV-XXVIII du Livre de Job, Revue Biblique, 1924, pp. 343-356; and R. Tournay, L-'ordre primitif des chapitres XXIV-XXVIII du Livre de Job, Revue Biblique, 1957, pp. 321-334.

Job 25:2God alone is Lord, the omnipotent Creator of the universe. His magnificence inspires awe. Perhaps the imagery In line two stems from His reordering the chaos among the heavenly beingsJob 21:22; Job 40:9 ff; and Isaiah 24:21. The peace comes in the form of retributionDaniel 10:13; Daniel 10:20 ff and Revelation 12:7-12. The Qumran Targum contains the more specific reference to God in line onedominion and grandeur are with God.[269]

[269] J. P. M. van der Ploeg and A. S. van Der Woude, trans, and eds., Targum De Job (Brill, Leiden, 1971), on this verse.

Job 25:3Bildad's thesis is that God's power is His purityJob 4:17; Job 15:14. The symbolism here expresses the universal beneficent rule of God. His light emanates and illuminates the entire creation. Nothing is concealed from God's sight.

Job 25:4The argument of Eliphaz in Job 4:17 and Job 15:14-16 is repeated in Job 25:4-6. In comparison to God who can presume to be righteous? No human can be faultlessEcclesiastes 7:20. The verse has no reference to what classical protestant and Catholic theology has called original sin.