Elihu

Elihu (meaning whose God is he or he is my God himself) appears most prominently in the book of Job as the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram — a young man who had listened in growing frustration as Job and his three friends argued (Job 32:1–6). Unlike the three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar), Elihu waited to speak because of his youth, but he eventually offered four speeches (Job 32–37) in which he rebuked both Job (for self-righteousness) and the three friends (for failing to answer Job adequately while condemning him).

Elihu's speeches are structurally distinct from those of the three friends and from God's answer in the whirlwind; God's rebuke at the end of Job specifically names the three friends but not Elihu, leading to debate about whether his contribution is positively or negatively evaluated. Many commentators see Elihu as a transitional voice who moves the dialogue toward the divine speeches of chapters 38–41. Other men named Elihu include ancestors of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Chronicles 6:34), a Manassite warrior (1 Chronicles 12:20), a temple doorkeeper (1 Chronicles 26:7), and a brother of David (1 Chronicles 27:18).