Tyndale Open Study NotesJob 11

Zophar the Naamathite, the most harsh of Job’s three friends, focused only on the issue of sin (see study note on 2:11).

• This stream of words: Those who are foolish and those who sin often talk too much, but Job was innocent (Proverbs 10:8, 14; Proverbs 10:19).

• Will you scoff without rebuke?: Zophar thought Job's comments were full of sin because he was making fun of God's justice (Job 10:2–7, 13–15).

My doctrine is sound: Job was not defining doctrine but was defending his own integrity.

exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves: Zophar believed that disasters were God's punishment for sins (compare 34:36).

discover the limits of the Almighty: No one can fully understand the Almighty, who is beyond the heavens, the place of dead people, the land, and the sea (11:8–9).

Zophar outlined three conditions for restoration (11:15):

1. Direct your heart. This is an internal action beyond mere ceremony.

2. Lift up your hands. This is a symbolic gesture of prayer, appeal, or act of surrendering (Exodus 9:29; Proverbs 1:24; Isaiah 1:15).

3. Put away the iniquity. This is not through sacrifice and regret, but by quitting the sin in view (compare Hebrews 11:6; James 4:8; 5:16).