Bildad

Bildad the Shuhite was one of Job's three friends who came to comfort him after his afflictions and ended up defending God's justice by arguing that Job's suffering must be the result of sin (Job 2:11; 8; 18; 25). His three speeches develop a retributive theology: the wicked are punished and the righteous prosper, therefore Job's suffering proves his wrongdoing. He appeals to the wisdom of the fathers: 'For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out' (Job 8:8). In his third speech he offers a magnificent hymn to God's transcendent majesty while using it to underscore human unworthiness (Job 25). At the book's end, God rebukes Bildad along with Eliphaz and Zophar for not speaking 'what is right' about God, and commands them to offer sacrifices and seek Job's intercession (Job 42:7–9).