BILDAD (bĭl'dăd). One of Job’s three “comforters” (cf. Job.2.11-Job.2.13 with Job.42.7-Job.42.10). He was evidently a descendant of Shuah (Gen.25.2), a son of Abraham by Keturah, who became patriarch of an Arab tribe. Bildad made three speeches (Job.8.1-Job.8.22, Job.18.1-Job.18.21, Job.25.1-Job.25.6), and his distinctive character as a “traditionalist” can best be seen in Job.8.8-Job.8.10.
BILDAD bĭl’ dăd (
בִּלְדַּ֥ד). One of the three friends of Job who came to comfort him in his misery, but who really added to his grief. He is called a “Shuhite.” It may be that he was descended from a son of Abraham and Keturah named Shua (
Gen 25:2 KJV, RSV “Shuah”), and that he was a member of an Aramean tribe of nomads who lived SE of Pal. (
Gen 25:2,
6).
Three chs. (Job 8; 18; 25) are filled with Bildad’s speeches, in which he shows himself blustering and relatively kind as he emphasizes the justice of God. In his first speech he maintains that since Job’s children were killed, it must have been for their sins. If Job would repent, God would restore his prosperity. Antiquity shows that God destroys the wicked and supports the upright. In his second speech Bildad declares that sinners receive nothing but misery in this life and dishonor after death. In his third speech he upholds the majesty and perfection of God over against the imperfection of all created things.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
