4- 5. First Speech of Eliphaz. Ch. 3 as a whole means, Why is misfortune? We are now to hear from Job's friends, what the theology of the poet's age had to say on the matter. Eliphaz, who speaks first, is no doubt the eldest of Job's friends. He is the calmest and most considerate in his speech. He is a mystic, who claims for his doctrine the authority of a vision (Job 4:12 f.). The great idea of Eliphaz is the fear of God, i.e. a reverence very much like that attributed to Job in the Volksbuch.