Zophar

Zophar the Naamathite was the third and most blunt of Job's friends, accusing Job of empty talk and insisting his suffering was actually less than his sin deserved. He pressed Job to put away iniquity and painted a vivid portrait of the fate of the wicked. Zophar speaks only twice and falls silent in the third cycle; like the others he was rebuked by God and needed Job's prayer.

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Biography

Occupation: One of Job's counselors
Era: Patriarchal Age
Nationality: Naamathite

Old Testament Job

Did You Know?

Zophar the Naamathite is the harshest of Job's three friends, telling the suffering man that God actually 'exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth' (Job 11:6).

He speaks only twice and has no third speech at all, suggesting the debate collapses before he can respond - the friends simply run out of things to say.

Zophar's vivid description of the fleeting prosperity of the wicked (Job 20) is rhetorically brilliant but aimed entirely at the wrong target, since Job is not the wicked man he imagines.

Key Chapters

Job 11 Zophar's First Speech 2 min read Zophar bluntly charges Job with deserving even more than he suffers, urging him ... Job 20 Zophar's Second Speech 3 min read Zophar describes the short-lived triumph and sure ruin of the wicked, aiming his...

Key Passages

Zophar Accuses Job

Job 11:1-6

Zophar bluntly charges Job with deserving even more than he suffers, urging him to repent.

T¹hen answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

² Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? ³ Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? ⁴ For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. ⁵ But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; ⁶ And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

Read full chapter: Job 11 →

The Portion of the Wicked

Job 20:4-11

Zophar describes the short-lived triumph and sure ruin of the wicked, aiming his words at Job.

K⁴nowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

⁵ That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? ⁶ Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; ⁷ Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? ⁸ He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. ⁹ The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. ¹⁰ His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. ¹¹ His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

Read full chapter: Job 20 →