What is the meaning of Job 4:15? Then a spirit glided • The word “Then” anchors the moment in real time, following the “fear and trembling” of verse 14, underscoring that what happens next is an actual event rather than a dreamlike metaphor (cf. Acts 27:23, where Paul speaks of a literal angelic visitation). • “A spirit” points to a real, personal being from the unseen realm. Scripture consistently treats spirits—whether angelic or demonic—as literal (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:14). • “Glided” conveys silent, effortless motion, reminiscent of how the Lord’s presence “passed by” Elijah in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13) and how the wind, an image of the Spirit, “blows where it wishes” (John 3:8). past my face • The spirit’s nearness is intimate—close enough to feel but not to grasp. Moses experienced a similar nearness when the LORD’s glory “passed by” him while he was hidden in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33:22-23). • Such encounters reveal the thin veil between the physical and spiritual realms (2 Kings 6:17, Elisha’s servant seeing the unseen armies). • The phrase also hints at the fleeting nature of spiritual visitations; they are under God’s control, not ours, and come at His initiative (Daniel 10:10-14). and the hair on my body bristled • The reaction is visceral. Throughout Scripture, contact with the holy or the supernatural produces trembling and physical weakness (Daniel 10:7-9; Luke 24:5; Revelation 1:17). • Fear here is not merely terror but an instinctive recognition of other-worldly majesty and power (Psalm 33:8, “Let all the earth fear the LORD”). • The bristling hair testifies that even our bodies know we stand before a reality greater than ourselves, reinforcing that this is a literal, not figurative, experience. summary Job 4:15 records Eliphaz’s literal encounter with a real spirit. The sequence—an unseen being gliding, passing intimately close, and provoking a bodily reaction—shows the tangible intersection of the spiritual and physical realms. Scripture affirms both the reality of such beings and the natural human awe they evoke. |
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