Elihu

Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite was the young man who had listened silently to the dialogue between Job and his three friends before delivering four speeches that fill Job 32–37. He is angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends for failing to refute Job effectively (Job 32:2–3). His speeches develop arguments that suffering is educative—God uses it to reveal sin and prevent pride—and he insists that God is never unjust. Unlike the other three friends, Elihu is not explicitly rebuked by God at the book's conclusion, which has led to various interpretations: some read him as a positive forerunner of God's own speeches, others as sharing in the friends' error. His four speeches serve structurally as a bridge between the human dialogue and the divine speeches from the whirlwind (Job 38–41).