Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up.
- KJV Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
- NKJV Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
- NASB “Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.
- NLT A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A spirit passed before his face and his hair stood on end. The ghostly detail intensifies the supernatural aura Eliphaz claims for his insight.
Overview
Eliphaz reports a passing spirit and the bristling of his flesh, evoking the uncanny. The vagueness of this apparition stands in marked contrast to the clear self-revelation of the Lord later in the book. Faithful readers note that mysterious experiences must always be tested against God's revealed character and word, for not every spirit is to be trusted.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Heb 1:7Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”
- Luke 24:37–39But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
- Dan 5:6his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Ps 104:4He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.
- Isa 13:8Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
- Isa 21:3–4Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
- Heb 1:14Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- Matt 14:26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 4:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.