Bildad
Bildad takes upon himself to answer Job (chapter 8). Like Eliphaz (chapters 4 and 5), only not so lengthy in his remarks, he condemns Job as being under a punishment from God. Job's children, too, who had been taken away,—their lives must have been taken, Bildad thinks, because of their sins. And if Job were pure and upright, God would surely act to relieve hind
Eliphaz had talked about what he had seen,—his own experience; Bildad thinks of what he has been told.
"Inquire," he says, "of the former age."
Job, to him, was a hypocrite, a bad man trying to appear good, and now overtaken by the hand of God. Bildad was wrong; he was reasoning from his own thoughts of God, which were far from right. God was engaged in teaching Job a deep lesson, and neither the three friends, nor Job, as yet, knew it.