Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Book of Job, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Suffering and Divine Justice
The Mystery of God
Human Wisdom vs. Divine Wisdom
Faith in Suffering
Summary
Analysis
Next, Bildad the Shuhite speaks. He says that dominion belongs to God, God’s armies are innumerable, and his light shines on everyone. With all that said, how can a mortal be righteous in God’s sight? If even the stars aren’t pure, then a human being, who’s like a worm, certainly cannot be.
This is the last speech given by one of Job’s friends. As the friends have kept talking, it’s become increasingly clear that they aren’t really listening to what Job says in his own defense—they’re listening to themselves talk more than anything, and Job and his friends have grown more and more distant from each other as a result. Here, Bildad repeats the point that nobody is perfect in God’s sight. While this may be true, and Job wouldn’t dispute it, it also doesn’t address Job’s current situation.
Themes
