Job Chapter 32
Ugh, It's Elihu
Elihu is a nuisance, a boil, a hopped up little shit. Elihu might not have been in the original draft, but here he is - starting his long-ass speech about how G-d is really cool, guys. He gets seven whole chapters to go on and on and on.
When he's done, G-d will get to speak.
He's so enthusiastic about defending G-d that he delays the part where G-d talks, because he's Elihu. Elihu the son of Barekel the Buzite, from the Ram family. You know the Ram family? They live over near the Smiths and had that party last weekend? The one where your cousin got drunk and beat up that kid? No? Who doesn't know the Family of Ram. Ram gets mentioned as kind of related to King David, but not that branch. Like when your friend has an impressive family tree that includes Benjamin Franklin, but not one knows how that he related.
Elihu is a Buzite, a descendant of Buz, the son of Nachor & Milchah, who might have been related to Avraham Avinu on his mother's side but possibly a third cousin. The Buzites get to taste G-d's wrath in Jeremiah, but only because everyone is getting G-d's wrath. Babylon is coming.
This first chapter says two things about Elihu – first, he's young. He was reluctant to speak because he's interrupting four old guys, but he's also young and eager to jump into conversations that don't concern him. Second, he's defending G-d. He even blames G-d for his presumption.
Defending G-d: Spoilers for Anora
The second act of Anora begins with her new husband's family finding out. They are not happy. Two Russian tough guys, Igor and Garnik, come to make certain. The husband runs away while Garnik takes pictures of the marriage contrast. They also have to make certain that Ani doesn't leave.
From this point on, the movie subverts expectations. Garnik and Igor both look menacing, but neither want to hurt Ani. She has no such qualms. Ani bites Igor and breaks Garnik's nose and even when she's subdued enough to go along with them (and Toros who is the main family fixer), she's hostile.
Fairly early on, it's obvious that Igor likes her. She's not having it. She spends most of the rest of the movie insulting him and calling him a F-ggot. No matter what he says, she's attacking. Yet, he doesn't mind. He knows that she got a raw deal. She had a future envisioned where she was married into a wealthy Russian family with a sweet kid who could grow into a decent adult. Yuriy Borisov is very subtle and powerful in this role, as a decent man who sympathizes with a woman who hates his guts.
At no point does he need to be defended. No one steps in to tell her to back off. He can take her abuse without rancor or wounded feelings.
Granted, Igor is a fictional character, but an aspirational one. If people can hear hurt people and not get angry, then G-d can certain hear Job's complaints and not take offense. G-d is G-d, not one of the Greek deities who turn people into spiders or give them snake hair out of jealousy. Elihu doesn't need to defend G-d. No one needs to defend G-d. G-d created the heavens and the earth and all the waters and the sea monsters.
Go ahead, call G-d an asshole. It's not a big deal and it might make you feel better.
Youth
Most of the chapter is about Elihu being the upright enthusiastic young man. Maybe he doesn't know as much as his elders, but he's got the energy. Many people grow old without growing wise.
Only young people are never wise. They make up with it by being cute and energetic, but often that energy is spent in acting like fucking idiots.
Note Greta Thunberg. One week, she was an annoying teenager in Sweden and the next week, she had enough PR to speak in front of the UN and give that “how dare you speech.” People loved her. People hated her. No one could ignore her. She had autism. She looked inbred. She had indulgent parents that let her skip school to protest the government on behalf of the environment. She was white and rich and could travel the world. She was all over Twitter catching hate from the worst people.
Adults, who should have known better, crowned her the queen of climate change discourse. She shamed people who let their adult ambivalence control the narrative. Trump's followers were certain. Hillary's voters were reluctant. Trump won. The Left needed that sense of purpose and energy. For a few weeks, Greta seemed like the great white hope. She even got in an exchange with Andrew Tate that got Tate arrested for his many crimes against women.
Now she agrees with Andrew Tate and his Nazi Hamas fanboy stance.
She's young and stupid and believes in herself. As long as young people believe in the same things that you believe in, you can celebrate them for their energy. Just look at all the Greta haters praising young rightwingers. Once they stray into stupid shit like spreading blood libel about Jews, you remember why you don't normally listen to lectures given by 15-year old kids.
Elihu is the energetic young person and he's obnoxious. The book is mostly on his side, but this chapter reminds you that he's young and egotistical. He listened to grown men talking about the nature of suffering and the basic unfairness of the universe. His response to was to jump in to defend G-d.
He's really that stupid.
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