02_Burnight-co_347_370 28/10/14 10:35 Pagina 352 352 JOHN BURNIGHT and the Vulgate as docuisti (“teach, tell, show”). Rabbinic authorities such as Rashi and Ralbag also viewed Eliphaz as rebuking Job here 12. An intertextual reading of the next three cola also indicates that Eliphaz is not encouraging Job, but rather setting up an accusation of double standards in 4,5. Just as 4,2 was a response to Job’s com- plaint of a lack of “rest” in 3,26, so 4,3-4 can be viewed as an in- tertextual response to Job’s expression of “fear” and “dread” in 3,25 (“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me”). The metaphors of “feeble hands” and “weak knees”, though gen- erally taken to be Eliphaz’s praise of Job for his past support of the despondent and unfortunate, are used elsewhere in the biblical cor- pus to describe symptoms of “fear” or “anxiety”, frequently the ter- ror felt by those who have experienced God’s wrath 13. Similarly, forms of lvk (“stumble”) from 4,4a are often used in prophetic lit- erature as a metaphor for sinners facing divine punishment 14. The fact that Eliphaz uses imagery associated with the fear of divine judgment suggests that he is citing Job’s past attitude to those being punished by God, rather than cataloging his general kindness and piety. Since Eliphaz goes on to state, “But now it has come to you [...]” in the next verse, the implication is clear: he views Job’s suf- fering as divine punishment. Even those who believe that Eliphaz affirms Job’s righteousness in his opening speech often acknowledge that 4,5 exhibits a sharp tone. Strahan, for example, writes that in this verse Eliphaz “very distinctly strikes the wrong notes of blame and reproof” 15. But this verse’s accusatory tone is not a “wrong note” in an otherwise sym- pathetic discourse if Eliphaz’s intention from the very beginning is to critique Job, rather than to praise him. If 4,2 is a response to the idea of “exhaustion” in 3,26, and 4,3-4 to Job’s expression of “fear” and “dread” in 3,25, then 4,5 has semantic links to both of these themes: Eliphaz cites Job’s “exhaustion” — again using a form of 12 Mikra’ot Gedolot Sefer Iyov, 14-16. 13 For “weak hands” and/or “feeble knees” as metaphors for fear, cf. e.g., 2 Sam 4,1; Ezra 4,4; Neh 6,9; Isa 13,7; 35,3; Jer 6,24; 38,4; 47,3; 50,43; Ezek 7,17; 21,7; Zeph 3,16. The phrase “strengthen weak hands” is used to indicate an exhortation to courage; e.g., 1 Sam 23,16; Ezra 6,22; Isa 41,13; Ezek 13,22. 14 Cf. Isa 3,8; 8,15; 28,13; 59,14; Jer 6,15.21; 8,12; 18,23; 20,11; 46,6.16; Hos 4,5; 5,5; 14,1.9; Lam 1,14. 15 STRAHAN, The Book of Job Interpreted, 60-61.