Job 22:13-14, does Eliphaz falsely claim that Job said God does Not know or understand how human's conducting themselves?

Question

In Job 22:13-14, Eliphaz accuses Job of saying that there is a thick darkness and clouds between us and God, and therefore God can Not know or understand what we humans are doing. When reading verses Job 22:13-14, does it seem as if Eliphaz is falsely claiming that Job made statements about God Not knowing or understanding when it comes to how human's are behaving or conducting themselves? The reason I'm asking is that I could Not find any statements made by Job that suggested/hinted/indicated that God can Not know about our behaviour and/or personal conduct through the darkness and clouds.

Job 22:9-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 “You have sent widows away empty, And the [e]strength of the orphans has been crushed. 10 “Therefore snares surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you, 11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And an abundance of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the [f]distant stars, how high they are! 13 “You say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness? 14 ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the [g]vault of heaven.’ 15 “Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked men have trod, 16 Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were [h]washed away by a river? 17 “They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’ And ‘What can [i]the Almighty do to them?’

Answer 1

Yes, I believe you have interpreted the text correctly.

Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, as well as Job, all ascribe to the same erroneous religious doctrine. All 4 men believe that God rewards people based on their moral performance; if you do good, you will get good in return, if you do evil, you will reap evil in return. The only difference between Job and his friends is that Job maintains that he has done nothing to deserve this apparent punishment by God and Job’s friends are all accusing him of either doing something evil or neglecting to do something good as the reason for his calamity. All three friends accuse Job of sinning in some tangible way as the reason that God has pronounced a judgment upon him.

In Job 22, Eliphaz starts by sarcastically asking Job if his righteous behavior is the reason for this apparent judgment by God (v4).

Is it because of your reverence that He punishes you, That He enters into judgment against you? NASB

In verses 6-9, Eliphaz accuses Job of stealing as well as sending people away hungry and thirsty.

For you have seized pledges from your brothers without cause, And stripped people naked. 7 You have given the weary no water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 But the earth belongs to the powerful man, And the one who is honorable dwells on it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of orphans has been crushed. NASB

“Therefore”, Eliphaz concludes in verses 10-11, the traps surround you and the floods overflow you (obvious references to the judgment of God).

Therefore traps surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you, 11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And a flood of water covers you. NASB

Then in verses 13 – 14, Eliphaz says:

“But you (Job) say what does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness? Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.” NASB

In these verses (after accusing Job of some proposed sin) Eliphaz also accuses him of sinning with impunity. Eliphaz says that Job goes on sinning with a carefree attitude because God cannot see him as He goes about His activities in heaven. Did Job literally say these things? I don’t believe so. I believe this is a contrivance used by Eliphaz because Job is vehemently protesting that he has done nothing wrong and based on that “evidence” Eliphaz attributes this attitude as sinning with impunity. Again, this is based on Eliphaz’ religious view that God treats people based on their works.