What Does Job 32:4 Mean in the King James?
Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Here, being an elder is age counted in days, and that measure holds Elihu’s words back.
THE MEANING
A pause can hold words without erasing them. Elihu waits for Job to finish speaking because the others have lived more days than he has.
THE ROOT
זְקֵנִים
zeqenim
GROWS FROM
זקן
z-q-n
To be old; to grow old.
The English noun “elder” can sound like a rank, while זְקֵנִים (zeqenim, elders or older men) names people grown old; the verse makes the comparison explicit as greater “in days.” Elihu’s pause is tied to years lived.
ALSO GROWS
zāqēn: An old man; an elder.
זָקֵן
This is the singular form of the word used for those older than Elihu.
ziqnah: Old age.
זִקְנָה
It makes visible the life stage beneath the social role of elder.
THE PATTERN
Speech has its season, and a voice can wait while another finishes.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.THE THREAD
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.Job calls the men זְקֵנִים (zeqenim, elders or older men), from זקן (z-q-n, to grow old); Leviticus uses זָקֵן (zāqēn, old man) in its words about honoring age. The shared root connects Elihu’s wait to the regard given to years lived.
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