Job 32:8-11

32:8 But it is a spirit in people,

the breath ¹  of the Almighty,

that makes them understand.

32:9 It is not the aged ²  who are wise,

nor old men who understand what is right.

32:10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen ³  to me.

I, even I, will explain what I know.’

32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak; ⁴ 

I listened closely to your wise thoughts, ⁵ while you were searching for words.

¹ tn This is the word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”); according to Gen 2:7 it was breathed into Adam to make him a living person (“soul”). With that divine impartation came this spiritual understanding. Some commentators identify the רוּחַ (ruakh) in the first line as the Spirit of God; this “breath” would then be the human spirit. Whether Elihu knew that much, however, is hard to prove.

² tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.

³ tc In most Hebrew mss this imperative is singular, and so addressed to Job. But two Hebrew mss and the versions have the plural. Elihu was probably addressing all of them.

⁴ tn Heb “for your words.”

⁵ tn The word means “understanding.” It refers to the faculty of perception and comprehension; but it also can refer to what that produces, especially when it is in the plural (see Ps 49:4). See R. Gordis, Job, 368. Others translate it “reasonings,” “arguments,” etc.