Job 36:1 — Word Study
WLCוַיֹּ֥סֶף אֱלִיה֗וּא וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
BSAAnd ElihuʼĔlîyhûw [the friend of Job, He is my God] continuedyâçaph▸ [proceeded, added to his previous words]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥סֶף | and he added | Verb, Hiphil, sequential imperfect third person masculine singular |
| אֱלִיה֗וּא | Elihu | Noun proper masculine |
| 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 | And Elihu continued: |
| KJV | Elihu also proceeded, and said, |
| ASV | Elihu also proceeded, and said, |
| YLT | And Elihu addeth and saith: — |
| WEB | Elihu also continued, and said, |
| BBE | And Elihu went on to say, |
The translations agree on Elihu's action of adding to the conversation — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence consists of a main clause followed by two verb phrases that detail Elihu's actions.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
subjectאֱלִיהוּא
verbיָסַף
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 36:1
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 — Elihu's Continued Speechgenerated
Job 36:1 introduces Elihu's speech, where he continues to address Job and his friends. Elihu seeks to present a perspective on God's justice and the nature of suffering, aiming to clarify misunderstandings about God's actions. This is part of a larger discourse in which Elihu asserts his understanding of divine matters, as he prepares to elaborate further in the subsequent verses.
Cross References
The Key Word — יָסַף, vai.Yo.sefgenerated
The verb יָסַף (yacaph) is a Hiphil form, indicating an action performed by Elihu to add or continue his speech. The parsing shows it is a sequential imperfect third person masculine singular, meaning Elihu is actively engaging in the dialogue.
This word carries the sense of increasing or repeating an action, which is fitting as Elihu aims to add depth to the conversation. His role is to provide further insight, suggesting that there is more to be said regarding God's nature and justice.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In this study, we examine the verse as rendered in the Berean Standard Bible, which captures Elihu's action of continuing his speech.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse consists of two main clauses: the first is governed by the finite verb יָסַף, he added, with the subject אֱלִיהוּ, Elihu, and the second clause follows with another verb יֹּאמַר, he said. This straightforward construction emphasizes Elihu's active participation in the discussion.
The parallel clauses indicate a continuation of thought, where Elihu first adds to the conversation and then articulates his message, highlighting his role as a speaker.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יָסַף as προσθεὶς (prosetheis), meaning 'having added'. This choice reflects a direct correlation to the Hebrew meaning of adding to a discourse, maintaining the sense of Elihu's role in the conversation.
The use of this Greek term reinforces the idea of Elihu's contribution as significant and deliberate, aligning with the Hebrew intent.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 36:1 shows Elihu, a friend of Job, continuing to speak. He aims to add more to the discussion about God and the situation at hand. Elihu's name means 'He is my God', which highlights his relationship with the divine.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Elihu is indicating that he has more insights to share regarding God's nature and justice.
Elihu provides a different viewpoint compared to Job's friends, emphasizing God's justice and the need for humility.
Elihu speaks with authority and claims to have received knowledge from God, setting him apart from the earlier speakers.
Elihu's method encourages careful consideration and respect for God's ways, reminding us to seek understanding.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What insights can I gain from Elihu's perspective on suffering and divine justice?
- How can I apply Elihu's approach of careful speaking and listening in my own conversations?
- In what ways do I see God's justice at work in my life or the world around me?
- How can I better understand and articulate my beliefs about God, as Elihu seeks to do?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early commentators reference Elihu's words to discuss the structure and flow of the speeches in Job. Their insights highlight Elihu's role in the narrative.
The author of the book, while distributing the chapters of the different speeches to us, connects the words that follow to the beginning.Early Church Fathers on Job 36 →
Eliu also added, and spake thus; Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee. He had already said much, and hopes that he will be borne with yet a little longer;Early Church Fathers on Job 36 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 36:1 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleElihu also proceeded, and said. Or "added" (f) what follows to his former discourses; pausing a while to see whether Job would make any reply to what he had already said; but perceiving he had no
Read John Gill on Job 36 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryElihu also proceeded, and said, Elihu maintains that afflictions are to the godly disciplinary, in order to lead them to attain a higher moral worth, and that the reason for their continuance is not,
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 36 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 36:1 Elihu also proceeded, and said,Ver. 1. Elihu also proceeded and said] Heb. And Elihu added, viz. this his fourth oration, not unlike the former, made in behalf and for defence of God’ s justice, which he here further asserteth against Job (who had seemed to cast some slur upon it) by arguments drawn from his wondrous works, the meteors especially; and all to prevail with Job to submit to God’ s justice and to implore his mercy, Ex abundanti quae sequuntur adiecit.
Read John Trapp on Job 36 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersXXXVI.(1) Elihu also proceeded.—It is not easy to acquit Elihu of some of the “arrogance” he was so ready to ascribe to Job. He professes very great zeal for God, but it is hard to see that some of his great professions are warranted. For instance, he says—
Read Charles John Ellicott on Job 36 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleCHAPTER XXXVI Elihu vindicates God's justice, and his providential and gracious dealings with men, 1-9. Promises of God to the obedient, and threatenings to the disobedient; also promises to the poor and afflicted, 10-16. Sundry proofs of God's merely, with suitable exhortations and cautions, 17-33. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVI Verse 1. Elihu also proceeded] Mr. Heath gives a good summary of this chapter. Elihu goes on to lay before Job the impropriety of his behaviour towards God, and desires him to consider how vain it will prove. That God Almighty will never yield the point; that he will administer impartial justice to all men, Job 36:2-6. That the general course of his providence is to favour…
Read AdamClarke on Job 36 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1–4. Introductory: Elihu desires Job to hear him still further. He has still more to say in God’s behalf; and it is not trivial or commonplace, either in its object—for he will ascribe right to his Maker; nor in itself, for he is one perfect in knowledge.
Read Cambridge on Job 36 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleElihu also proceeded - Hebrew added - ויסף vayâsaph. Vulgate “addens;” Septuagint, Ηροσθεὶς Eerostheis - “adding, or proceeding.” The Hebrew commentators remark that this word is used because this
Read Albert Barnes on Job 36 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleELIHU’S FOURTH AND LAST , chapters 36, 37.1. Elihu also proceeded — Elihu has thus far made the same number of addresses as each of the three friends, with the exception of Zophar.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 36 →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
And Elihu continued:
Elihu also continued, and said,
And Elihu continued:
Elihu said further:
Tyndale line
Elihu also proceeded, and said,
Elihu also proceeded, and said,
Elihu also proceeded, and said,
Elihu also proceeded, and said,
Elihu also proceeded and sayde,
Strictly literal
And Elihu proceeded and said,
And Elihu addeth and saith: —
And Elihu adds and says:
Then continued Elihu, and said,
Elihu continued on and said,
From the Latin
Eliu also proceeded, and said:
Simplified
Elihu continued speaking.
And Elihu went on to say,
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 reads וַיֹּ֥סֶף אֱלִיה֗וּא וַיֹּאמַֽר׃, which matches the Septuagint's word choices. Both witnesses agree on the key elements of Elihu's action and speech, indicating a consistent understanding of the text across these traditions.
וַיֹּ֥סֶף אֱלִיה֗וּא וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
3 of the 3 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 36:1
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.
יָסַף (yacaph) is a Hebrew verb meaning to add or increase. It can denote actions like joining oneself to something or continuing to do a task. The entries indicate its use in various forms, including Qal, Niphal, and Hiphil, with nuances of doing something again or augmenting an amount.
יָסַף 214 vb. add
Qal add
Niph.
join (intr.), join oneself to
be joined, added to
Hiph.
add
sq. inf. add to do = do again or more
sq. Impf.
sq. Impf. asynd.
base
H3254 יָסַף add . add
. . join (intr.), join oneself to
. be joined, added to
. . add
. . sq. inf. add to do = do again or more
. sq. Impf.
. sq. Impf. asynd.
3254 yacaph yaw-saf'
a primitive root; to add or augment (often adverbial, to
continue to do a thing):--add, X again, X any more, X cease, X
come more, + conceive again, continue, exceed, X further, X
gather together, get more, give more-over, X henceforth,
increase (more and more), join, X longer (bring, do, make,
much, put), X (the, much, yet) more (and more), proceed
(further), prolong, put, be (strong-) er, X yet, yield.
יָסַף (ya.saph) — to add: again.
: again/continue/more[instances]
1) to add, increase, do again
1a) (Qal) to add, increase, do again
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to join, join oneself to
1b2) to be joined, be added to
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to cause to add, increase
1c2) to do more, do again
יָסַף (ya.saph) — to add.
: add/more[amount]
1) to add, increase, do again
1a) (Qal) to add, increase, do again
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to join, join oneself to
1b2) to be joined, be added to
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to cause to add, increase
1c2) to do more, do again
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3ms — Verb · Hiphil · sequential imperfect third person masculine singularHc/Vhw3ms
אֱלִיהוּ (Eliyhuw) means "He is my God" and refers to several individuals in the Old Testament, most notably the young friend of Job who rebuked him and his companions. The entries detail Elihu's lineage, including his connections to the tribes of Levi and Judah, and mention other figures named Elihu, such as an Ephraimite and a Manassite warrior chief.
אֱלִיהוּ, אֱלִיהוּא n.pr.m. (He is (my) God)
the young friend of Job
an Ephraimite, Samuel’s great-grandfather
chief of Manasseh
a Korahite
one of the brethren of David
base
H453 אֱלִיהוּ, אֱלִיהוּא
453 'Eliyhuw el-ee-hoo'
or (fully) dEliyhuwh {el-ee-hoo'}; from 410 and 1931; God of
him; Elihu, the name of one of Job's friends, and of three
Israelites:--Elihu.
see HEBREW for 0410
see HEBREW for 01931
אֱלִיהוּ (e.li.hu) — Elihu.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.1;
son of: Tohu (H8459);
father of: Jeroham (H3395); also called Eliab at 1Ch.6.27; Eliel at 1Ch.6.34;
§ Elihu = "He is my God"
1) the younger man who rebuked Job and his three friends
2) an Ephraimite, Samuel's great grandfather
3) a Manassite warrior chief for David
4) son of Shemaiah and Korhite gatekeeper
5) David's brother
אֱלִיהוּ (e.li.hu) — Elihu.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.12.20
§ Elihu = "He is my God"
1) the younger man who rebuked Job and his three friends
2) an Ephraimite, Samuel's great grandfather
3) a Manassite warrior chief for David
4) son of Shemaiah and Korhite gatekeeper
5) David's brother
אֱלִיהוּ (e.li.hu) — Elihu.
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
Elihu
Whose God is he. (1.) “The son of Barachel, a Buzite” (Job 32:2), one of Job’s friends. When the debate between Job and his friends is brought to a close, Elihu for the first time makes his appearance, and delivers his opinion on the points at issue (Job 32-37).
(2.) The son of Tohu, and grandfather of Elkanah (1 Sam. 1:1). He is called also Eliel (1 Chr. 6:34) and Eliab (6:27).
(3.) One of the captains of thousands of Manasseh who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:20).
(4.) One of the family of Obed-edom, who were appointed porters of the temple under David (1 Chr. 26:7).
(whose God is he (Jehovah)). One of the interlocutors in the book of Job. [JOB, JOB, BOOK OF] He is described as the "son of Baerachel the Buzite." A forefather of Samuel the prophet. (1 Samuel 1:1) In (1 Chronicles 27:18) Elihu "of the brethren of David" is mentioned as the chief of the tribe of Judah. One of the captains of the thousands of Manasseh, (1 Chronicles 12:20) who followed David to Ziklag after he had left the Philistine army on the eve of the battle of Gilboa. A Korhite Levite in the time of David. (1 Chronicles 26:7)
A native of Buz, Ge 22:21, which was probably a city of Edom, Jer 25:23, perhaps Bozrah, Jer 49:7,8,13. He came to condole with Job in his calamities. Young, ardent, sagacious, and devout, he listened attentively to the discourses of Job and his three friends; and at length broke in, with profuse apologies, to set them all right, Job 32:1-22. His address to Job he blames for condemning him as a hypocrite, in their ignorance of the wonders of God’s providence. In several sentences he beautifully expresses his faith in the pardoning and restoring grace of God towards sinners, Job 33:23,24,27-30, passages in probably the…
he is my God himself
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