In Job 15:23, Eliphaz emphasizes the hopeless wandering and fearful anticipation of judgment that awaits the unrighteous.
Eliphaz the Temanite, believed to have lived around the time of the ancient patriarchs (approximately 2000-1800 B.C.), continues his argument against Job by painting a somber portrait of the fate that he believes awaits the wicked. Referring to such a man, Eliphaz states, “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand” (v.23). Here, Eliphaz pictures a desperate individual who scours the earth for sustenance but cannot find it, reflecting an internal panic that spills outward in fruitless motions, anticipating inevitable doom.
The imagery of wandering about for food conveys an existence stripped of security, hinting that a life distant from God will be defined by lack and restlessness, always searching but never satisfied. The phrase a day of darkness intensifies the looming dread, implying that judgment or calamity is near, creating a sense of urgent fear. Eliphaz suggests that such darkness is not a mere metaphor; it symbolizes a moral and spiritual crisis that descends on those who choose wickedness, a crisis that even the strongest of human efforts cannot forestall.
From a broader perspective, this verse resonates with teachings in the New Testament where Christ describes a life separate from Him as one that inevitably leads to spiritual hunger and distress (John 6:35). Believers are reminded that security and satisfaction ultimately come from trusting the Lord, whose provision extends beyond physical needs to include peace for the heart and soul.
Even in bleak warnings like these, Scripture invites readers to turn toward God, rather than living in perpetual fear of the “day of darkness.”
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Job 15:23 meaning
Eliphaz the Temanite, believed to have lived around the time of the ancient patriarchs (approximately 2000-1800 B.C.), continues his argument against Job by painting a somber portrait of the fate that he believes awaits the wicked. Referring to such a man, Eliphaz states, “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand” (v.23). Here, Eliphaz pictures a desperate individual who scours the earth for sustenance but cannot find it, reflecting an internal panic that spills outward in fruitless motions, anticipating inevitable doom.
The imagery of wandering about for food conveys an existence stripped of security, hinting that a life distant from God will be defined by lack and restlessness, always searching but never satisfied. The phrase a day of darkness intensifies the looming dread, implying that judgment or calamity is near, creating a sense of urgent fear. Eliphaz suggests that such darkness is not a mere metaphor; it symbolizes a moral and spiritual crisis that descends on those who choose wickedness, a crisis that even the strongest of human efforts cannot forestall.
From a broader perspective, this verse resonates with teachings in the New Testament where Christ describes a life separate from Him as one that inevitably leads to spiritual hunger and distress (John 6:35). Believers are reminded that security and satisfaction ultimately come from trusting the Lord, whose provision extends beyond physical needs to include peace for the heart and soul.
Even in bleak warnings like these, Scripture invites readers to turn toward God, rather than living in perpetual fear of the “day of darkness.”