Tyndale Open Study NotesJob 6

Job responds by criticizing his counselors and questioning God (chapters 6 and 7). He explains his intense words by indicating his deep "grief" or "anguish" (6:2–3; 7:11). Job states that Eliphaz has not provided comfort or sympathy as a friend. Instead, Eliphaz chose to argue about out of date religious or theological ideas.

 In the Old Testament, arrows symbolize danger, disease, and destruction from God (7:20; 16:12–13; Deuteronomy 32:23–24, 42; Psalms 7:12–13; 38:2; 64:7; 91:5–6; Lamentations 2:4; 3:12–13; Ezekiel 5:16).

The tasteless food … the white of an egg? Job's complaint in the form of a word puzzle (riddle) probably refers to both Eliphaz's weak advice and the situation God allowed him to endure that Job hates.

At one time, both the prophets Moses and Elijah asked God to end their lives (Numbers 11:15; 1 Kings 19:4).

Job and his friends might have shared a covenant (special agreement) of loyalty and faith (Hebrew khesed; see Genesis 21:23; Exodus 15:13; 1 Chronicles 16:34). This bond would have made them like brothers, those who protect, and friends he could trust (Job 6:14–15; 6:21–23, 27). If they were in a covenant with one another, Job was accusing his friends of violating their covenant with him.

• The city of Tema, located in the northern Arabian desert, was at the place roads crossed from Damascus to Mecca and from the Persian Gulf to Aqaba (Isaiah 21:14; Jeremiah 25:23). They might have named it after an ancestor who descended from Ishmael (Genesis 25:15). It was different from "Teman," which was Eliphaz’s home in Edom.

• Sheba, situated in southwest Arabia, was a trading city for valuable goods (Psalm 72:10, 15; Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22–23; 38:13).

even cast lots for an orphan: Job once protected orphans (31:17, 21). He used a common saying to show his counselors' lack of compassion for those who had no one to defend them (see 17:5).

Can my mouth not discern malice?: Job might have been referring to his earlier comment about a "tasteless" and unpleasant diet (6:6–7).