Job 6:1

Study note

Setting — Job speaks his reply at the opening of chapter 6, immediately preceding his lament about weighing grief in verse 2. This response follows the opening address by Eliphaz the Temanite.

The words — וַיְעַן (va/i.Ya.'an) translates literally as "and he answered," אִיּוֹב ('i.Yov) identifies the speaker as Job, and וַיֹּאמֶר (va/i.yo.Mar) means "and he said." These terms frame the verse as a direct verbal response.

The thread — The same formulaic reply structure appears in Job 4:1, where "Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:" opens the preceding dialogue exchange. This pattern marks the back-and-forth nature of the counsel.

Why it lands — The text records only the act of speaking before the content follows, forcing the reader to notice the structural shift in the debate. It demands attention to the precise moment Job transitions from silence to direct counter-argument.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.