Eliphaz

Eliphaz the Temanite was the first and arguably most authoritative of Job's three friends, who appealed primarily to personal experience and divine vision in his arguments (Job 2:11; 4–5; 15; 22). In his first speech he recounts a night vision in which a spirit whispered the transcendent question: 'Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?' (Job 4:17). He develops the doctrine that God purifies the righteous through suffering, making it redemptive rather than punitive—a more nuanced position than his companions. In his third speech, however, he moves to specific accusations against Job (Job 22:5–9). Like Bildad and Zophar, he is rebuked by God for not speaking truth and must seek Job's intercession (Job 42:7–9).