Job 25:1 — Word Study
WLCוַ֭יַּעַן בִּלְדַּ֥ד הַשֻּׁחִ֗י וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
BSAThen BildadBildad [next, afterwards, one of Job's friends, meaning confusion] the ShuhiteShûwchîy [a descendant of Shuach, from the family of Shuach] repliedʻânâh▸ [answered, spoke up, and said, to dwell, to make music, or to respond, to say, to speak, or to declare]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַ֭יַּעַן | and he answered | Verb, Qal, sequential imperfect third person masculine singular |
| בִּלְדַּ֥ד | Bildad | Noun proper masculine |
| הַשֻּׁחִ֗י | the Shuhite | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| וַיֹּאמַֽר׃ | and he said | Verb, Qal, sequential imperfect third person masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: |
| KJV | Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, |
| ASV | Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, |
| YLT | And Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith: — |
| WEB | Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, |
| BBE | Then Bildad the Shuhite made answer and said, |
There are no significant differences among the translations on this verse.
The structure is simple, with a main clause followed by two verb phrases indicating Bildad's actions.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbעָנָה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 25:1
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Dialogue of Jobgenerated
Job 25:1 presents Bildad the Shuhite as he replies to Job, contributing to the ongoing dialogue among Job and his friends regarding suffering and divine justice. In the preceding chapters, Job has expressed his anguish and confusion, prompting his friends to respond with their perspectives on righteousness and God's governance. Bildad's response initiates a new phase in this complex interaction, as he seeks to articulate the nature of God's authority and the human condition.
Cross References
The Key Word — עָנָה, Vai.ya.'angenerated
The verb עָנָה (*anah*) is a Qal imperfect form, indicating an action that is ongoing or habitual, specifically in the third person masculine singular. Its meanings include to answer, respond, or even to sing, reflecting a range of verbal interactions. In this context, it signifies Bildad's act of responding to Job's previous statements.
The lexicons indicate that עָנָה carries a duality of meaning, encompassing both verbal responses and musical expression. This highlights the complexity of communication in the biblical text, where answering can take on various forms, including the act of speaking or the act of singing.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
Translations of this verse generally align in conveying the essence of Bildad's response.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb עָנָה governs the sentence, indicating Bildad's action of answering. The structure is straightforward, with a noun phrase subject followed by a verb phrase.
The verb אָמַר follows, indicating what Bildad said in response. The sentence flows logically, with Bildad's name and identity firmly established before his action is described.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates עָנָה as ὑπολαβὼν, which means 'having taken up' or 'having responded.' This choice suggests a more active engagement in the conversation, emphasizing Bildad's role in the dialogue.
This translation reflects a slight interpretative nuance, focusing on the act of taking up the discourse rather than merely answering.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 25:1 shows Bildad the Shuhite responding to Job. He is one of Job's friends who engages in the discussions about suffering and God's justice. This verse marks the beginning of his reply, contributing to the complex dialogue that unfolds throughout the book.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Bildad is one of Job's friends who attempts to offer comfort and explanation during Job's suffering, representing a perspective on divine justice.
His reply signifies his attempt to engage with Job's lament and offer his understanding of God's authority and the human condition.
Bildad's response adds to the dialogue surrounding suffering, righteousness, and the nature of God, reflecting the diverse perspectives of Job's friends.
The name Bildad means 'confusing love,' which may reflect the complexity of his emotional state and the mixed messages conveyed through his counsel.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do I respond to those who are suffering in my life, like Bildad does?
- What can I learn from Bildad's approach to Job's situation?
- In what ways can I express my understanding of God's justice in conversations with others?
- How can I ensure that my responses to others are both compassionate and truthful?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Julian of Eclanum comments on this verse, discussing Bildad's realization and the implications of Job's responses.
Bildad realizes that Eliphaz’s argument, which claimed holy Job was guilty because of his passions, had evidently been refuted by Job’s retort demonstrating that there were many impious persons who were not exposed to any hardship.Early Church Fathers on Job 25 →
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 25:1 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThen answered Bildad the Shuhite,.... Not to what Job had just now delivered, in order to disprove that, that men, guilty of the grossest crimes, often go unpunished in this life, and prosper and
Read John Gill on Job 25 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThen answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, He tries to show Job's rashness (Job 23:3), by arguments borrowed from Eliphaz (Job 15:15), with which cf. Job 11:17. Verse 2. Power and terror - i:e., terror-inspiring power.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 25 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleJOB CHAPTER 25 Bildad’ s answer: God’ s majesty and purity is such as that man cannot be justified before God: before him the heavenly lights lose their lustre and purity. Bildad answered, not to that which Job spoke last, but to that which stuck most in Bildad’ s mind, and which seemed most reprovable in all his discourses, to wit, his bold censure of God’ s proceedings with him, and his avowed and oft-repeated desire of disputing the matter with him.
Read Matthew Poole on Job 25 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 25:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,Ver. 1. Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said] A pithy and ponderous speech he here maketh, though little to the purpose, for he quite digresseth from the question in hand concerning the wicked’ s flourishing, and saints’ sufferings, he chooseth to sing the same song with his fellows, concerning the power and purity of God above all creatures. See Job 4:18; Job 15:15. Some men are of that mind, that they will never be said or set down, but strive to have the last word. This was Peter’ s vanity and the rest of the disciples, Matthew 26:35, which our Saviour winked at till time should confute them, as it also did soon after.
Read John Trapp on Job 25 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersXXV.(1) Then answered Bildad.—Bildad attempts no formal reply to Job’s statements, he merely falls back upon the position twice assumed by Eliphaz before (Job 4:17-21; Job 15:14-16), and twice allowed also by Job (Job 14:4)—the impossibility of man being just with God—and therefore implies the impiety of Job in maintaining his righteousness before God. God, he says, is almighty, infinite, and absolute. How can any man contend with Him, or claim to be pure in His sight? This is the final speech of the friends. Bildad no longer accuses Job; he practically owns himself and his companions worsted in argument, seeing that he attempts no reply, but reiterates truisms that are independent of the…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Job 25 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleCHAPTER XXV Bildad, the Shuhite, in an irregular speech, shows that God's dominion is supreme, his armies innumerable, and his providence extended over all, 1-3; that man cannot be justified before God; that even the heavenly bodies cannot be reputed pure in his sight; much less man, who is naturally weak and sinful, 4-6. NOTES ON CHAP. XXV Verse 1. Bildad the Shuhite] This is the last attack on Job; the others felt themselves foiled, though they had not humility enough to acknowledge it, but would not again return to the attack. Bildad has little to say, and that little is very little to the point. He makes a few assertions, particularly in reference to what Job had said in the…
Read AdamClarke on Job 25 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleBILDAD’S THIRD AND LAST REPLY. 1. Then answered Bildad — Job’s burning desire (chap. 23) to meet his Judge, leads Bildad to contrast the infinite and overwhelming glory of God with the corruption and meanness of man.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 25 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
Tyndale line
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and sayd,
Strictly literal
And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
And Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith: —
And Bildad the Shuhite answers and says:
Then answered Bildad the Shuchite, and said,
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
From the Latin
Then Baldad the Suhite answered, and I said:
Simplified
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
Then Bildad the Shuhite made answer and said,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint are in agreement on the wording of this verse, with all four Hebrew words matched in the Greek translation. This consistency indicates a shared understanding of Bildad's response across these ancient texts.
וַ֭יַּעַן בִּלְדַּ֥ד הַשֻּׁחִ֗י וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 25:1
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
The Hebrew word עָנָה (*anah*) is built from a primitive root meaning to heed or pay attention, covering a range of meanings including to answer, respond, testify, and sing. It appears in contexts where one responds to speech or circumstances, and can also refer to singing. The lexicons indicate that it can imply both verbal responses and musical expression.
[עוּן] vb. dwell
base
עָנָה 316 vb. answer, respond
Qal
answer, respond to sthg. said, actual or implied
respond to an occasion, speak in view of circumstances
money meets all demands
specif. respond as a witness, testify
less oft. make response as one accused (respondent)
Niph.
make answer
be answered
Hiph. wholly dub.; causes all things to respond in the joy of his heart
base
עָנָה vb. sing
Qal sing, utter tunefully
Pi. sing sweetly of it
base
H6030a עוּן dwell H6030b עָנָה answer, respond .. answer, respond to sthg. said, actual or implied
. . respond to an occasion, speak in view of circumstances
. money meets all demands
. . specif. respond as a witness, testify
. less oft. make response as one accused (respondent)
. . make answer
. be answered
. wholly dub.; causes all things to respond in the joy of his heart
H6030c עָנָה sing
6030 `anah aw-naw'
a primitive root; properly, to eye or (generally) to heed,
i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extens. to
begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify,
announce:--give account, afflict (by mistake for 6031),
(cause to, give) answer, bring low (by mistake for 6031), cry,
hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, X scholar, (give a) shout, sing
(together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness.
See also 1042, 1043.
see HEBREW for 06031
see HEBREW for 06031
see HEBREW for 01042
see HEBREW for 01043
עוּן (un) — to dwell.
(Qal) to dwell
עָנָה (a.nah) — to answer.
1) to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to answer, respond to
1a2) to testify, respond as a witness
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to make answer
1b2) to be answered, receive answer
Aramaic equivalent: a.nah (עֲנָה "to answer" H6032)
עָנָה (a.nah) — to sing.
(Qal) to sing, utter tunefully
Conj | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms — Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect third person masculine singularHc/Vqw3ms
בִּלְדַּד (bil-dad) refers to Bildad, one of Job's friends in the Old Testament, specifically mentioned in Job 2:11. The name is associated with the idea of 'confusing love' and is noted as having an uncertain derivation. He is recognized as the second friend who engages with Job during his trials.
בִּלְדַּד n.pr.m. 2nd friend of Job
base
H1085 בִּלְדַּד
1085 Bildad bil-dad'
of uncertain derivation; Bildad, one of Job's
friends:--Bildad.
בִּלְדַּד (bil.dad) — Bildad.
A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Job.2.11
§ Bildad = "confusing (by mingling) love"
the second friend of Job
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
bil'-dad (bildadh, "Bel has loved"): The second of the three friends of Job who, coming from distant regions, make an appointment together to condole with and comfort him in his affliction (Job 2:11). He is from Shuah, an unknown place somewhere in the countries East and Southeast of Palestine (or the designation Shuhite may be intended to refer to his ancestor Shuah, one of Abraham's sons by Keturah, Ge 25:2), and from his name (compounded with Bel, the name of a Babylonian deity) would seem to represent the wisdom of the distant East. His three speeches are contained in Job 8; 18; For substance they are largely an echo of what Eliphaz has maintained, but charged with somewhat increased vehemence (compare Job 8:2; 18:3,4)…
Bildad
Son of contention, one of Job’s friends. He is called “the Shuhite,” probably as belonging to Shuah, a district in Arabia, in which Shuah, the sixth son of Abraham by Keturah, settled (Gen. 25:2). He took part in each of the three controversies into which Job’s friends entered with him (Job 8:1; 18:1; 25:1), and delivered three speeches, very severe and stern in their tone, although less violent than those of Zophar, but more so than those of Eliphaz.
(son of contention), the second of Job’s three friends. He is called "the Shuhite," which implies both his family and nation. (Job 2:11) (B.C. about 2000.)
A descendant of Abraham by Keturah, Ge 25:1,2. Shuah and his brethren were located in Arabia Petraea; and thus Bildad the Shuhite was a neighbor and friend of Job, and came to condole with him in his affliction, Job 2:11; 8:1-22; 18:1-21; 25:1-6. His chief topics are the suddenness, swiftness, and terribleness of God’s wrath upon hypocrites and oppressors.
שׁוּחִי (Shuchiy) refers to a Shuhite, a descendant of Shuach, and is primarily associated with Bildad, a character in the Book of Job. The term is derived from the root word for Shuach, which means 'wealth.' It is used as an ethnic designation in the context of Job 2:1.
שׁוּחִי, שֻׁחִי adj.gent.
base
H7747 שׁוּחִי, שֻׁחִי
7747 Shuchiy shoo-khee'
patronymic from 7744; a Shuchite or descendant of
Shuach:--Shuhite.
see HEBREW for 07744
שׁוּחִי (shu.chi) — Shuhite.
Someone descended from Shuh(?), first mentioned at Job.2.1
§ Shuhite, of Shua "wealth"
an ethnic appellative applied only to Bildad, the friend of Job
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa
shoo'-hit (shuchi): Cognomen of Bildad, one of Job's friends (Job 2:11; 8:1; 18:1; 25:1; 42:9). The place referred to cannot be definitely located.
See BILDAD; SHUAH.
Shuhite
A designation of Bildad (Job 2:11), probably because he was a descendant of Shuah.
(decendant of Shuah). This ethnic appellative "Shuhite" is frequent in the book of Job, but only as the apithet of one person, Bildad The local indications of this book point to a region on the western side of Chaldea, bordering on Arabia; and exactly in this locality, above Hit and on both sides of the Euphrates, are found, in the Assyrian inscriptions, the Tsahi , a powerful people. It is probable that these were the Shuhites.
אָמַר (amar) is a Hebrew verb meaning 'to say' or 'to utter,' with a broad range of uses including to promise, command, or even boast. It appears in various forms, such as in the Qal (to say), Niphal (to be told), and Hiphil (to avow). The entries highlight its versatility in both spoken and internal contexts, though no specific verse is noted.
אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say
Qal
Say
Say in the heart (= think)
Promise
Command (esp. late)
Niph. be said, told
Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)
Hithp. act proudly, boast
base
H559 אָמַר utter, say .. Say
. Say in the heart (= think)
. Promise
. Command (esp. late)
. be said, told
. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)
. act proudly, boast
559 'amar aw-mar'
a primitive root; to say (used with great
latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call,
certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment),
commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X
expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise,
publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X
suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech),
utter, X verily, X yet.
אָמַר (a.mar) — to say.
1) to say, speak, utter
1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend
1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called
1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly
1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch
Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)
Hc/Vqw3ms — Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect third person masculine singularHc/Vqw3ms