Job 15:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He indicates nearly the following: 'Are you the one who precedes everyone else so that you might receive instruction from ages past? Or have you received revelation from God? Your understanding is not greater than ours. Since you assert that wisdom is found among the aged (Job 12:12, LXX), you reveal your limitations. For you are neither advanced in years nor were you present before the dawn of creation.' Job spoke this in response to their arrogance.

With us are venerable elders, grey-haired and advanced in age, many older than your father Job. All heretics have separated from the Holy Universal Church, as John affirms when he states, "They went out from us, but they were not of us" (1 John 2:19). They claim to impart wisdom to the weak-minded around them, drawing from the sayings of ancient teachings, asserting their connection to the early church fathers. Positioning themselves as authorities in the faith, they declare mastery over its doctrine. Observing contemporary preachers, they boast with unwarranted pride, claiming to uphold the teachings of the ancient fathers while wrongly asserting that these fathers endorsed their claims.

In his second address, Eliphaz critiques Job's justifications with renewed vigor, deeming his statements unfounded and even contrary to divine will. He implies that Job views prayer as superfluous (15: 1-4). Eliphaz aims to confront Job with his own words regarding his hypocrisy and arrogance, as Job claims wisdom and insights akin to those of the elders (5-12), while overlooking the truth that no one can be deemed righteous in the sight of God (13-16). In contrast, Eliphaz presents the ancient wisdom of their forebears, who were characterized by both age and experience. They maintained that the life of the wicked is filled with dread and that his demise is dreadful due to his arrogance against God (17-35).