This article is a summary of some of the main arguments of my dissertation entitled The Identity of the Spirit in Eliphaz's Vision (Job 4:12-21) and Its Significance in Understanding the Book of Job (PhD diss., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2...
This article is a summary of some of the main arguments of my dissertation entitled The Identity of the Spirit in Eliphaz's Vision (Job 4:12-21) and Its Significance in Understanding the Book of Job (PhD diss., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017). Many think that Satan disappears for good after afflicting Job in Job 1-2. A careful exegesis, however, suggests that Satan, disguised, returns as an unidentified spirit of Eliphaz's vision (4:12-21), delivering a subversive message to Eliphaz and friends. Taking the message to be an authoritative revelation, Eliphaz condemns Job as a sinner and asks him to repent. Other friends and Elihu, likewise, follow the lead and request Job to repent.
The content of this article is three folds. First, this paper presents how Eliphaz's vision appears and reappears in the dialogues of the friends and Elihu, framing the whole speech cycles. Second, it discusses how the vision's message is arranged and used to support the doctrine of retribution. Third, the article provides eight evidences that demonstrate the spirit of Eliphaz's vision is not God nor angel, but Satan.