ZOPHAR
(zoh' far) HEBREW: SOPAR
possibly "bird"
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One of three friends of Job who came "to condole with him and comfort him" (Job 2:11), Zophar was the first to condemn him. Job had just lost his 11,500 head of livestock, his ten children, and his health. Yet, in an insensitive attack, Zophar said, "God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves" (Job 11:6). Because Zophar was always the last of the three to speak, and because of his lak of compassion, some scholars suggest he was the youngest.

Unlike his colleagues, Eliphaz and Bildad, Zophar made no attempt to empathize with Job's pain. Instead, he callously declared, "a stupid man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man" (Job 11:12). Zophar believed that tragedy in life came as God's judgement for sin, and that prosperity was a sign of righteousness. So in Zophar's second and final speech, he harshly charged that any person as wicked as Job "will perish for ever like his own dung" (Job 20:7).

God eventually came to Job's defense and told Eliphaz, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has" (Job 42:7). God ordered the three to offer a sacrifice for their sins and to have Job pray for them.

cf... E2 Dictionary of Biblical People