Job 32:8-9

32:8 But it is a spirit in people,

the breath of the Almighty,

that makes them understand.

32:9 It is not the aged who are wise,

nor old men who understand what is right.

Job 36:29

36:29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds,

the thunderings of his pavilion?


tn This is the word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”); according to Gen 2:7 it was breathed into Adam to make him a living person (“soul”). With that divine impartation came this spiritual understanding. Some commentators identify the רוּחַ (ruakh) in the first line as the Spirit of God; this “breath” would then be the human spirit. Whether Elihu knew that much, however, is hard to prove.

tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.

tn Heb “his booth.”