8:1 Bildad the Shuhite Bildad is from Shua—an unknown location. Shuah is listed as a son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2). See note on Job 2:11.

8:2 How long will you say these things Unlike Eliphaz, who responded sympathetically to Job’s lament, Bildad responds to Job’s protests against God (7:11–21; compare 4:3–5). He has less sympathy for Job, who has criticized God’s action toward him, so he reprimands Job from the beginning of his speech.

8:3 God pervert justice Belief in divine justice is central to Bildad’s argument. However, he mistakenly expands this to a belief in divine retribution, where any misfortune is evidence of God’s judgment (see note on 4:6).

Justice

8:4 If your children sinned Bildad’s insensitive statement is based on his belief in divine justice. He believes that anyone who experiences disaster must have sinned. Since Job’s children have died, he assumes they must have done something to warrant God’s punishment (compare 4:8 and note).

8:5 you would plead to Shaddai for grace Since Job is still alive, unlike his children, his sin is not (yet) as severe as theirs. He can still plead for mercy.

The Name Theology of the Old Testament

8:6 pure and upright Job has already been described in similar terms (see 1:1 and note). Unlike Eliphaz, Bildad doubts Job’s righteousness (compare 4:6; 5:17–18).

he will restore your righteous abode According to Bildad’s understanding of divine retribution, God will restore Job if he pleads for mercy and is pure and upright (compare note on v. 3).

8:7 your end will be very great An ironic foreshadowing of what later happens to Job, though not because he listened to Bildad’s counsel (see 42:10–17).

8:8 please inquire of former generations Bildad cites traditional wisdom teaching to back up his argument (compare Eliphaz, who drew on his own experiences; 4:8, 12–17; 5:3).

8:9 are a shadow The brevity of individual life is Bildad’s rationale for adhering to wisdom passed down through the ages. Life is too short for a single person to acquire the knowledge necessary to live wisely.

8:13 who forget God Forgetting God does not simply indicate a careless lapse of memory; it implies intentional disobedience or a decision to reject God (see Deut 8:11, 19; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21).

8:20 God will not reject the blameless Bildad holds to his mistaken beliefs about God’s justice and Job’s status before Him. He asserts that if Job is blameless, God will restore him (compare Job 8:6). However, God described Job as blameless before Job’s suffering (1:8). See note on 4:6.

8:22 the tent of the wicked A tent was often used to describe the welfare of a group of people (see 18:15 and note). Bildad assures Job that God will destroy the wicked. Job later uses this same language to argue that God does not punish the wicked (12:6).