Job 32:7 - I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

Generated Verse: Job 32:7

What does "Job 32:7" mean?


Job 32:7, "I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom,’" expresses the speaker's (Elihu) expectation that wisdom naturally comes with age and experience. He believes that older people, having lived through more days ("days should speak") and accumulated more years ("multitude of years should teach wisdom"), should possess a greater understanding of life and be better equipped to offer sound advice.

Here's a breakdown of the verse's meaning:

"I said": This introduces Elihu's perspective. He's stating his understanding or belief.
"Days should speak": This is a metaphorical expression. It means that each day of life provides experiences and lessons that contribute to understanding. The experiences themselves "speak" volumes.
"Multitude of years should teach wisdom": This is a parallel statement reinforcing the idea that age and accumulated experience are vital for acquiring wisdom. The longer someone lives (a "multitude of years"), the more they should learn and the wiser they should become.

In essence, Elihu believes that age equates to wisdom. It's a common assumption that longer lives provide more opportunities to learn, reflect, and develop a deeper understanding of the world and human nature.

Context within the Book of Job:

It's crucial to understand this verse within the broader context of the Book of Job. Elihu's words are part of his critique of Job and his three friends. He's essentially saying:

He's younger than Job and his friends but feels compelled to speak because he believes they've all failed to provide a satisfactory answer to Job's suffering.
He acknowledges the common assumption that age brings wisdom, but he implies that Job and his friends have demonstrated that this isn't always the case. He feels he, despite being younger, has insights they lack.
He's justifying his own intervention in the debate despite his relative youth. He believes that the Spirit of God gives wisdom, regardless of age.

So, while the verse itself states a general belief in the correlation between age and wisdom, Elihu's speech as a whole suggests that wisdom can also come from other sources, like divine inspiration, and isn't exclusively tied to age.

Therefore, the verse expresses Elihu's understanding that wisdom is typically associated with age and experience, but he's about to challenge this assumption in the specific context of the ongoing debate with Job and his friends.

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