Eliphaz
Pronounced EL-ih-faz
- Meaning
- "My God is fine gold; God is strength"
- Origin
- Hebrew
Eliphaz means "my God is fine gold" or "God is strength" in Hebrew. He was the first and most prominent of Job's three friends — the Temanite whose theological arguments, while often eloquent, ultimately earned God's rebuke. Eliphaz's speeches are among the most poetically beautiful in the Bible. His opening address begins with genuine pastoral sensitivity: "If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?" He then offers a vision of divine justice that is theologically sophisticated — but ultimately misapplied to Job's situation. Eliphaz's fundamental error was his rigid insistence that all suffering results from personal sin. While this contains a kernel of truth, it cannot explain the suffering of the righteous — as Job's case demonstrated. God's final verdict was devastating: "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." Yet God also showed grace to Eliphaz, accepting Job's prayer on his behalf and restoring the friendship. Eliphaz's story warns against reducing God's complex dealings to simple formulas — however theologically tidy they may appear.
Spiritual meaning
Eliphaz — 'God is fine gold' — offered beautiful theology that was wrongly applied. His story warns that correct doctrine wielded without compassion becomes a weapon that wounds rather than heals.
Related verses (KJV)
"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?"
Job 4:7 (KJV) →"My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."
Job 42:7 (KJV) →