15:2 “Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge, 1
or fill his belly 2 with the east wind? 3
15:3 Does he argue 4 with useless 5 talk,
with words that have no value in them?
1 tn The Hebrew is דַעַת־רוּחַ (da’at-ruakh). This means knowledge without any content, vain knowledge.
2 tn The image is rather graphic. It is saying that he puffs himself up with the wind and then brings out of his mouth blasts of this wind.
3 tn The word for “east wind,” קָדִים (qadim), is parallel to “spirit/wind” also in Hos 12:2. The east wind is maleficent, but here in the parallelism it is so much hot air.
4 tn The infinitive absolute in this place is functioning either as an explanatory adverb or as a finite verb.
sn Eliphaz draws on Job’s claim with this word (cf. Job 13:3), but will declare it hollow.
5 tn The verb סָכַן (sakhan) means “to be useful, profitable.” It is found 5 times in the book with this meaning. The Hiphil of יָעַל (ya’al) has the same connotation. E. LipinÃski offers a new meaning on a second root, “incur danger” or “run risks” with words, but this does not fit the parallelism (FO 21 [1980]: 65-82).