by
Damien F. Mackey
Was the young Elihu of the Book of Job (ch’s 32-37), as according to
some, an enlightened prophet whose input is crucial to the dialogue, providing
a “bridge” between Job and God, or, as according to Mason, “… an astonishingly pompous little windbag. He takes the entire first
chapter, for example, plus portions of the second, simply to clear his throat
and announce that he has something to say.”?
Not pompous, but modest
According to Tom Brown, “Why Job Suffered”, the
poorly-known Elihu was given by God an “insight into the true nature of Job’s
sufferings” (http://tbm.org/why_job_suffered.htm):
THE UNFORGOTTEN
HERO
Do you remember the last
character in the book of Job? Elihu is his name. He was not one of Job’s
friends. He was simply listening to Job’s friends judging him and Job defending
himself. As he began to listen to all four, God gave him insight into the true
nature of Job’s sufferings.
Out of all the human
characters, only Elihu understood why Job suffered. It is amazing that I
haven’t heard anyone ever mention Elihu. We almost forget him. But the truth
is, Elihu was the only one with true insight, not only into the sufferings of
Job but, insight into the sufferings of all mankind. This is why Elihu is the
last to speak concerning Job’s sufferings. It is interesting to note that when
God appeared to Job, He rebuked Job for not having insight and He rebuked Job’s
three friends for falsely judging Job. Yet God never rebuked Elihu. Why?
Because Elihu was correct in understanding suffering.
Elihu begins by saying,
I am young in years, and
you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I
thought, "Age should speak, advanced years should teach wisdom." But
it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him
understanding. (Job 32:6-8)
Notice, Elihu is about to give
wisdom not because of any human understanding, but because God’s Spirit gave
him understanding. The first thing he does is correct Job’s friends.
I waited while you [Job’s
three friends] spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching
for words, I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job
wrong; none of you has answered his argument. (Job 32:11-12)
Elihu showed Job’s friends
that they were wrong in judging him. The second thing Elihu does is correct
Job, but he does it in humility.
But now, Job, listen to my
words; pay attention to everything I say. I am about to open my mouth; my words
are on the tip of my tongue. My words come from an upright heart; my lips
sincerely speak what I know. The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the
Almighty gives me life. Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and
confront me. I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. No
fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you. But you have
said in my hearing--I heard the very words-- "I AM PURE AND WITHOUT SIN; I
AM CLEAN AND FREE FROM GUILT.." (Job 33:1-9)
Elihu saw one fundamental flaw
in Job: that Job believed that he was without original sin. Job was
self-righteous. Yes, he was righteous as far as men are concerned, but he was
not righteous as far as God was concerned.
Since Job thought he was
sinless and not under the curse of sin, he could not figure out how he could
suffer. This bothered Job. But Elihu points out the fact that Job was a sinner
like everyone else and is subject to the curse of sin which includes sickness
and poverty.
People erroneously think that
the book of Job was written to try to answer the question: Why does God allow
good people to suffer? But Elihu has no trouble with that question because he
knows that there are no truly "good" people in God’s sight. The thing
that perplexed Elihu was not the fact that Job was suffering, but why weren’t
he and Job’s friends suffering along with Job. In fact, Elihu is wondering why
everyone doesn’t suffer all the time since everyone is a sinner.
Elihu realized that sinners
are under the curse of sin, and therefore have no legal right to get mad when
they suffer. They should realize that they deserve to suffer and if they are
not suffering, they should praise God even more because He is having mercy on
them.
WHY ARE SINNERS BLESSED?
Elihu asked the right
question, "Why does God allow sinners to be blessed?" The answer:
Because God is merciful.
In other words, before Job had
his trials, he experienced the mercy of God. But when Job had his trials, he
experienced the justice of God--he only got what he deserved.
Immediately after Elihu spoke,
God answered Job in a whirlwind and rebuked him for falsely accusing God of
injustice. Job wisely repented. ….
[End of quote]
By
contrast with Brown’s favourable view of Elihu, is the put-down of the young
man by Mason as already quoted (http://biblehub.com/commentaries/guzik/commentaries/1833.htm):
Despite all the good that might be said of
Elihu, the fact remains that he really is an astonishingly pompous little
windbag. He takes the entire first chapter, for example, plus portions of the
second, simply to clear his throat and announce that he has something to say.
Two quite contrasting views here, Elihu a man of
‘true insight’ (Brown), Elihu ‘a pompous little windbag’ (Mason)!
Nigel Bernard’s most sensitive estimation of Elihu
is likewise, as Brown’s, a favourable
one. Elihu is a “modest” (not pompous) “messenger of God” (thus not bent
upon self-justification) http://nhiemstra.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/elihu-the-messenger-of-god/
Elihu: The Messenger
of God
Now comes the part of the whole story that
is my personal favorite, at least my favorite character. You see, sitting back
and listening to everything that was being said was a young man named Elihu. He
was never mentioned before, probably because he was too young to be noticed.
But once he starts talking, there is no doubt he possessed a spiritual
discernment unknown by the others.
Elihu’s Modesty
It’s pleasant to notice Elihu’s modesty and
tact in entering the discussion with his elders. It says that his “wrath was
kindled” against Job and the three friends. This is explained later when he
talks about the constraining of the Spirit within him, so that he was “ready to
burst.”
Ezekiel refers to this “heat of the Spirit”
when the Lord had moved him to speak. Jeremiah spoke of God’s word being “in
his heart like a burning fire” and being “weary of holding it in. Indeed (he)
could not” (Jeremiah 20:9). When “the Sovereign Lord has spoken, who can but
prophesy” (Amos 3:8)? “Woe to me, if I do not . . .” (I Corinthians. 9:16).
Who could blame Elihu? Here he was sitting
there as he saw Job becoming more and more concerned about clearing his own
character than justifying the love and character of God. He also watched as his
elders condemned Job without mercy and never were able to find an answer to
Job’s complaints or to explain to him God’s purpose.
Elihu realizes that he is in a very
delicate position for a young man. How is he going to speak to these dignified
seniors? He holds himself back, waits and watches for the right moment. If
indeed the Spirit of God has chosen him to be the “interpreter,” he will wait
until He opens the way for him.
That is where many of us miss it. We think
that just because we have a message from the Lord, whether it is to a specific
brother or sister or in a congregational time of worship, we have to give it now! Do you notice the urgency?
I’m sure we have all said, “Lord, what would you have me to say?” However, we
also need to ask, “Lord, when would you have me say it?”
Proverbs 15:23 says: “A man has joy in
making an apt answer and a word spoken in
the right moment—how good it is!”
So finally, there’s a pause. The friends
“stopped answering Job” and “the words of Job are ended.” The Lord’s message
comes to Elihu and he obediently speaks. He takes from the beginning a place of
humility and acknowledges his youthfulness and confesses how he had shrunk from
saying what was on his heart because of their age and his respect for them. He
knows there’s “a spirit in man,” and that it’s “the breath of the Almighty”
alone that gives understanding and not age or position. So he is going to be
obedient to the Lord and boldly say “Listen to me” although he is young.
He had waited and listened very attentively
to every word that the older men had “searched out to say” while they were
reasoning with Job, but he saw that they had utterly failed to convince him.
“Not one of you has proved him wrong and none of you has answered his
arguments. Look, Job hasn’t said anything to me, so I’m not going to answer
anything he said. All I want to do is speak for the truth, not revenge.”
After all that, Elihu pauses almost as if
he was waiting for some kind of encouragement from them or something. But they
just sit there.
“You sit there baffled and embarrassed with
no more replies. Should I just sit here and wait because you haven’t said
anything?” No, he must be faithful to God regardless of their silence. He has
to fulfill his “part” in God’s purpose and give the light that has been given
to him. ….
Ezekiel’s contemporary
Elihu, who must have been - according to my reconstructions of the life
of the righteous Job - a contemporary of the prophet Ezekiel, is found to have
“similarities” with that prophet.
According to my reconstructions of the life and
times of Job (as Tobias, son of Tobit) such as:
Job's Life and Times
and:
Stellar Life and Career of the holy Prophet Job
Job’s long life during the neo-Assyrian era took
him at least as far as the destruction of Nineveh (c. 612 BC, conventional
dating). This would mean that Elihu, a young man when Job was already old, had
lived during the Chaldean era. And the Chaldean era was, of course, the very
era during which the prophet Ezekiel had lived and prophesied.
Now, returning to Nigel Bernard, we read of these
intriguing comparisons of Elihu and Ezekiel (http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/apr2010/bernard.pdf)
There are
several similarities between Elihu and Ezekiel. Comparisons include whirlwinds;
sitting for seven days; not speaking; and rebuking elders even though they
themselves were much younger.
IN LAST MONTH’S article we considered Elihu
and Elijah. In this second article we consider Elihu and Ezekiel. As in the
previous study, a whirlwind plays an important role.
Whirlwind
In the opening chapter of Ezekiel we read of a
whirlwind: "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north,
a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and
out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the
fire" (v. 4). Just as the speech of Elihu was terminated by a whirlwind,
the first vision that Ezekiel sees begins with a whirlwind. In Job the
whirlwind provided a demonstration of power out of which God spoke. The
whirlwind in Ezekiel is spoken of in more detail, and from it emerge the
cherubim.
Sat seven days
When Job’s friends came to him (and we know that
Elihu was also there) we read, "So they sat down with him upon the ground
seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that
his grief was very great. After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his
day" (2:13; 3:1). Likewise, Ezekiel spent a period of seven days simply
sitting with a group of people, apparently saying nothing—at least, not words from
God: "Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the
river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among
them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of
the LORD [Yahweh] came unto me, saying . . ." (Ezek. 3:15,16).
In Job 21:5 Job says, "Mark me, and be
astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth". Ezekiel later follows in
the spirit of Job’s request, being "astonished", and effectively
having his hand upon his mouth. Yet, in the case of Job, all the time Elihu was
indeed laying his hand upon his mouth, no doubt humble enough to be astonished
too.
Dumb
As we read the speeches of Job and his three
friends, the presence of Elihu can be felt. We know that he is there listening,
but he restrains himself from speaking: "And Elihu the son of Barachel the
Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was
afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion" (32:6). He was voluntarily
dumb, a dumbness out of respect and fear for his elders, on the basis that
"Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom" (v.
7).
Ezekiel was also to be silent, speaking only when
God caused him to speak. But his silence, unlike Elihu’s, was miraculously
enforced, for he was made dumb: "and I will make thy tongue cleave to the
roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a
reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will
open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh];
He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for
they are a rebellious house" (Ezek. 3:26,27).
Ezekiel was made dumb because the house of Israel
were rebellious. In contrast, after Elihu and God had spoken, Job showed
humility towards God and repented "in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6).
Elders
As we have seen, Elihu says to Job’s friends,
"I am young, and ye are very old". This theme of a younger person
rebuking elders is also echoed in Ezekiel. Assuming that it is his age which is
being spoken of, Ezekiel tells us that it was in his "thirtieth year"
that he saw "visions of God" (1:1). At his comparatively young age he
had to deal on more than one occasion with the elders of Israel, as the
following verses show:
"And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the
sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the
elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD [Yahweh] fell
there upon me" (8:1);
"Then came certain of the elders of Israel
unto me, and sat before me" (14:1);
"And it came to pass in the seventh year, in
the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of
Israel came to enquire of the LORD [Yahweh], and sat before me" (20:1);
"Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh]; Are ye come to enquire of Me? As I live, saith the
Lord GOD [Yahweh], I will not be enquired of by you" (v. 3).
In the
case of both the friends of Job and the elders of Judah, old age proved to be
no guarantee of wisdom or obedience. Their rebuke by younger men only served to
heighten their folly.
Priest and ancestry
[Mackey’s comment: In the
following section, Bernard, whilst continuing to find similarities between
Elihu and Ezekiel, will distinguish between “Ezekiel … the priest” and “Elihu …
not a priest”. Whether or not Elihu was a priest has yet, I think, to be
determined].
Ezekiel
is described as "the priest, the son of Buzi". That he was both a
priest and the son of Buzi provides a link with Elihu. Malachi wrote that
"the priest’s lips should keep knowledge" (2:7). Although not a
priest, Elihu sought to live the spirit of these words, for he said, "my
lips shall utter knowledge clearly" (Job 33:3).
Elihu is
said to be "the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram"
(32:2). That Elihu was a Buzite could mean that he was a descendant of Buz, the
son of Nahor (see Gen. 22:20,21), and/or he lived in a territory called Buz.
According to Strong, "Buzi" in Ezekiel 1:3 is the same word as
"Buzite" in Job 32:2. This is a rare name in Scripture. That both
Elihu and Ezekiel have this name mentioned in their ancestry alerts us to look
for other similarities between these two men.
Other links
There are other significant connections between the
book of Job and Ezekiel, which, although not relating directly to Elihu, form
an important background to the links we have seen.
For example, some aspects of the cherubim reflect
the words used by God of creation in His speech to Job. God asks Job,
"Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we
are?" (Job 38:35). In Ezekiel it is said of the cherubim, "and out of
the fire went forth lightning" (1:13). God also asks Job, "Doth the
hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?" (Job
39:26). The Hebrew word for "hawk" is related to the word translated
"sparkled" in Ezekiel 1:7, where it is stated that the feet of the
cherubim "sparkled like the colour of burnished brass". As the hawk
flew swiftly south, it did so with a flashing brilliance, sparkling against the
sun. As such, as the cherubim came sparkling from the north, it was like the
hawk flying toward the south.
The
Hebrew word Shaddai occurs forty-eight times in the
Bible and is always translated ‘Almighty’. It is a key word in Job, occurring
thirty-one
times. It is used only four times in all of the prophets: once in Isaiah, once
in Joel, and twice in Ezekiel. It is significant that a key word in Job, so
rare in the prophets, should occur twice in Ezekiel.
Of
course, Job is actually mentioned in Ezekiel: "though these three men,
Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by
their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh]" (14:14). Furthermore,
the phrase "these three men" is itself taken, ironically, from the
book of Job, ironic because here it refers to the three friends of Job, who
were delivered as a consequence of the prayer of Job: "So these three men
ceased to answer Job . . ." (32:1).
[Mackey’s comment: How
fascinating! Bernard is perfectly correct here. The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים
הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job
32:1].
Conclusion
As we have seen in this and the previous article,
there are several connections between Elihu and the two prophets Elijah and
Ezekiel. As well as helping us to understand the work of Elijah and Ezekiel,
these comparisons also help us to see Elihu in a new light, supporting the
view, in my opinion, that Elihu’s speech was vital for preparing the mind of
Job for when God would speak to him.
Elihu may even be Ezekiel
Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries, both of whom referred to Job
(Elihu addressed Job),
Buzites, they experienced similar awesome theophanies, and were filled
with God’s spirit.
A. Taking Elihu Seriously
Continuing firstly with the view that Elihu, far
from being a pompous young upstart, was an inspired messenger of God, let us
consider what Mark Block wrote about him (4th February, 2013 – full
reference no longer available), in his section, “Reasons to Accept Elihu’s
Speech”:
Many Bible interpreters disavow what Elihu has to
say in the Book of Job. Below I will give a few reasons why I believe his
speech to Job is true and is good theology.
1) God never rebukes Elihu. After God has
finished speaking, He states that His wrath is upon the three other friends
that gave counsel to Job. God does not include Elihu into the group of people
who have not spoken rightly. (Job 42:7)
2) There is a break in the text to introduce
him. The words of Elihu in Job 32:1-3 are not continuing what the other
three friends have said, but stating something new. There is a break in the
text that introduces something new. Elihu should not get lumped into the group
of the other three friends with bad theology.
3) Six chapters are given to Elihu in the Book
of Job. The writer of this Book devotes six chapters to Elihu. With much
space given to Elihu, surely there is some importance to it.
4) Elihu shows how Job’s other friends are
wrong. God also rebuked Job’s other three friends.
5) Elihu claims to be full of the Holy Spirit.
In chapter 32 Elihu uses similar language to what Jeremiah used. He reminds me
of Jeremiah saying, that the word of the Lord it is like a fire shut up in his
bones. Elihu says, “For I am full of words; the spirit within me compels me.
Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; it is ready to burst like new
wine skins. I will speak, that I may find relief…”
6) Elihu signals Gods coming to speak. In
37:11-12 Elihu is describing a whirlwind and attributes the whirlwind to God.
We see just a few verses later that God is answering Job out of the
whirlwind. Verse one in chapter 38 states, “Then the Lord answered Job out
of the whirlwind.” Notice the writer of this book did not say “A”
whirlwind. But he says, “THE” That means that there must have been a
whirlwind that was taking place, that had already been mentioned previously in
the Book of Job. All throughout Elihu’s speech we see him referring to nature.
I believe that Elihu is referring to what was actually taking place in front of
Job and his three friends. He is describing what was going on while also
signaling that God is coming to speak.
What do you think? ....
[End of quote]
Well, to answer
Block here, I, for my part, “think” that Elihu was definitely a Jeremiah type,
a prophetic messenger sent by God, wholly aflame with the spirit of God, full
of eloquence yet humble and modest, and young at the same time that Jeremiah
was young.
As we read in Part One, Elihu was, like Jeremiah,
enflamed with the Holy Spirit:
It’s
pleasant to notice Elihu’s modesty and tact in entering the discussion with his
elders. It says that his “wrath was kindled” against Job and the three friends.
This is explained later when he talks about the constraining of the Spirit
within him, so that he was “ready to burst. …. Jeremiah spoke of God’s word
being “in his heart like a burning fire” and being “weary of holding it in.
Indeed (he) could not” (Jeremiah 20:9).
But, if I should
have to choose a biblical alter ego for
Elihu, my preference - based on what we have read in Part One and Part Two - would be for the prophet Ezekiel,
rather than Jeremiah.
“Ezekiel [too]
refers to this “heat of the Spirit” when the Lord had moved him to speak”.
B. Can they be the same?
“Ezekiel
[was] the priest, the son of Buzi …” (Ezekiel 1:3).
We
now know that Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries.
They
also have in common the rare name, Buzi: “According to Strong,
"Buzi" in Ezekiel 1:3 is the same word as "Buzite" in Job
32:2. This is a rare name in Scripture. That both Elihu and Ezekiel have this
name mentioned in their ancestry alerts us to look for other similarities
between these two men”.
Ezekiel 1:3: (בּוּזִי)
Job 32:2: (הַבּוּזִי).
They both refer to Job:
Elihu
says (Job 33:1): ‘But now, Job, listen to my words; pay
attention to everything I say’.
Ezekiel twice has God proclaim (Ezekiel
14:14, 20): ‘… even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it,
they could save only themselves by their righteousness …’.
And most strikingly in
relation to this situation we learned that: “The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת
הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job
32:1.
Then in Part Two, we further learned of a whole variety of parallels and
links between Elihu and Ezekiel, for example: “Comparisons include whirlwinds; sitting for seven days; not speaking;
and rebuking elders even though they themselves were much younger”.
Nigel
Bernard, who had provided us with some of the best of these likenesses, did,
however, distinguish “Ezekiel …
"the priest, the son of Buzi". That he was both a priest and the son
of Buzi provides a link with Elihu. Malachi wrote that "the priest’s lips
should keep knowledge" (2:7)” from Elihu: “Although not a priest, Elihu
sought to live the spirit of these words, for he said, "my lips shall
utter knowledge clearly" (Job 33:3)”.
To which I had attached this
comment: “Whether or not Elihu was a priest has yet, I think, to be
determined”.
The prophet Ezekiel was most
definitely a priest, as is clear from 1:3: “Ezekiel the priest …”. So, in order even to consider whether or not Elihu
and Ezekiel could be the same person, one would need to be able to show that
Elihu’s genealogy (the only one given in the Book of Job) (32:2): “… son of Barachel the Buzite, of
the family of Ram”, was Levite.
Given that this is the only
reference in the Bible to the name Barachel, the task is a difficult one.
Moreover, the phrase “of the
family of Ram” (מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת-רָם), has led some to the conclusion that young Elihu was an Aram(=
Ram)ite, i.e., of the Syrian race.
However, the Hebrew phrase
rendered here invariably refers to “family”, rather than to race.
“But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned;
against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God”.
Job 32:2
Introduction
Previously in this series we considered some likenesses between Elihu and the prophet Ezekiel, which others have picked up, and the question was asked:
…. Can they be the same?
“Ezekiel [was] the priest, the son of Buzi …” (Ezekiel 1:3).
We now know that Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries.
They also have in common the rare name, Buzi: “According to Strong, "Buzi" in Ezekiel 1:3 is the same word as "Buzite" in Job 32:2. This is a rare name in Scripture. That both Elihu and Ezekiel have this name mentioned in their ancestry alerts us to look for other similarities between these two men”.
Ezekiel 1:3: (בּוּזִי)
Job 32:2: (הַבּוּזִי).
They both refer to Job:
Elihu says (Job 33:1): ‘But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say’.
Ezekiel twice has God proclaim (Ezekiel 14:14, 20): ‘… even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness …’.
And most strikingly in relation to this situation we learned that: “The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job 32:1.
Then … we further learned of a whole variety of parallels and links between Elihu and Ezekiel, for example: “Comparisons include whirlwinds; sitting for seven days; not speaking; and rebuking elders even though they themselves were much younger”.
Nigel Bernard, who had provided us with some of the best of these likenesses, did, however, distinguish “Ezekiel … "the priest, the son of Buzi". That he was both a priest and the son of Buzi provides a link with Elihu. Malachi wrote that "the priest’s lips should keep knowledge" (2:7)” from Elihu: “Although not a priest, Elihu sought to live the spirit of these words, for he said, "my lips shall utter knowledge clearly" (Job 33:3)”.
To which I had attached this comment: “Whether or not Elihu was a priest has yet, I think, to be determined”.
The prophet Ezekiel was most definitely a priest, as is clear from 1:3: “Ezekiel the priest …”. So, in order even to consider whether or not Elihu and Ezekiel could be the same person, one would need to be able to show that Elihu’s genealogy (the only one given in the Book of Job) (32:2): “… son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram”, was Levite.
Given that this is the only reference in the Bible to the name Barachel, the task is a difficult one.
Moreover, the phrase “of the family of Ram” (מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת-רָם), has led some to the conclusion that young Elihu was an Aram(= Ram)ite, i.e., of the Syrian race.
However, the Hebrew phrase rendered here invariably refers to “family”, rather than to race.
[End of quotes]
At this stage I had to interrupt my pursuit of an understanding of Elihu’s (Ezekiel’s?) genealogy, to write some articles reconstructing the life of the prophet Elisha, for instance:
Elisha – Terminator of Baalism in Judah
which I considered to be necessary to fill in certain ancestral details (e.g. Rechabitism) pertaining to Elihu. The prophet Elisha was identified here with both Jehonadab the Rechabite - Jehu’s partner in the destruction of the northern Baalists - and with Jehoiada, the reforming priest in Jerusalem. Now, it is in this revised package:
Elisha = Jehonadab = Jehoiada,
that, I think, we can find crucial clues for putting together in a satisfactory manner those enigmatic biographical details associated with Elihu:
“… son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram”.
Elihu a descendant of
the prophet Elisha
Barachel
The priest Jehoiada, with whom I am identifying Elisha, was otherwise known as Barachiah, or Berechiah (Matthew 23:35): ‘… on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar’.
Cf. 2 Chronicles 24:22: “King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, ‘May the LORD see this and call you to account’.”
The name Barachiah was in this case more of a title than a proper name, I suggest, stemming from (and this is where Jehonadab the Rechabite comes in) the Hebrew ben [bar] Rechab.
He was Jehonadab son of Rechab
וִיהוֹנָדָב בֶּן-רֵכָב
Appropriately, now, Elihu was “son of Barachel”. And, as we see from the following list from Abarim (http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Barachel.html#.WKTvp000N9A):
Associated Biblical names
♂Jeberechiahוִיהוֹנָדָב בֶּן-רֵכָב
the name, Barachel can be associated with Berechiah.
Barachel was not, therefore, Elihu’s direct father, but rather his famous priest-ancestor, Berechiah (= Jehoiada), who I am saying was the prophet Elisha himself.
This would mean that Elihu of the Book of Job was actually a priest, thereby strengthening my hopeful equation of Elihu with “Ezekiel the priest …” (Ezekiel 1:3), who was, according to the same verse, “the son of Buzi”. I take this to be, as in the case of Elihu, a geographical indicator - that Elisha was from the land of Buz, not that Ezekiel’s father was called “Buzi”.
Buzite
Was Elisha (Barachel) geographically a Buzite?
Unfortunately it is difficult to be definitive about this because geographical details are, at this present stage of our knowledge, somewhat uncertain. Whilst we know from I Kings 19:16, for instance, that “Elisha … [was] from Abel-Meholah ….”, we do not encounter certainty as to the location of this place.
It is frequently described as being “unknown”.
Saint Jerome gave its location as about ten Roman miles south of Beth-Shean: http://bibleatlas.org/abel-meholah.htm
According to this latest find (https://claudemariottini.com/2013/07/25/have-archaeologists-discovered-elishas-house/):
“… archaeologists have discovered the remains of a house that probably was the house where the prophet Elisha lived. The Bible says that the prophet Elisha was the son of Shaphat and lived in the Israelite city of Abel-meholah (1 Kings 19:16). Elisha was a disciple and the successor of the prophet Elijah. The building that archaeologists believe was the house where the prophet Elisha lived was discovered at the site of Tel Rehov, a few miles from Abel-meholah.
According to the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Rehov was “the location of the largest ancient Canaanite and Israelite site in the Beth-Shean Valley and one of the largest tels in the Holy Land.” The site was occupied in the 10th-9th centuries B.C. during the reigns of David and Solomon and during the reigns of Omri and Ahab.
During the excavations at Tel Rehov, archeologists found a broken piece of pottery with an inscription written in red ink with the name “Elisha.”
[End of quote]
Others place it “east of the Jordan River”: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/abel-meholah
The matter is further complicated by uncertainty as to the location of the “land of Buz”. However, it is commonly associated with the land of Uz (Job’s home), which land we have determined, in:
A Common Sense Geography of the Book of Tobit
to have been the fertile Hauran valley region of Bashan.
King Esarhaddon of Assyria mentions both lands, Uz and Buz, his Ḫazû and Bazû, with the latter being 75 miles further (reckoning from Nineveh), according to F. Delitzsch. See e.g.: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3156857?seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents
An “Abel Meholah in Gilead”, bordering on Bashan, would appear to be a suitable scenario. “The limits of Bashan are very strictly defined. It extended from the “border of Gilead …”.”
A location in Gilead would mean that the prophet Elisha hailed from the same land as did “Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead …” (I Kings 17:1), with whom Elisha was a very close acquaintance – he being Elijah’s chosen disciple.
Family of Ram
Despite the difficulties that commentators have had in explaining Elihu’s “family of Ram” - e.g. does “Ram” stand for Aram (Syrian)? - I think that we can be quite clear about its meaning now in light of the fact that our Barachel (Jehoiada), great ancestor of Elihu, was married to the daughter of king Jehoram (Ram) of Judah. She was Jehosheba (2 Kings 11:2):
But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed.
Elihu’s “Ram”, then, must refer to Jeho-Ram, indicating Elihu’s royal connections through his ancestor, the priest Jehoiada (var. Barachel/Elisha).
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