איוב, פרק ל״ב, פסוק י״א

Stepping into an ongoing debate, Elihu justifies his sudden intervention by emphasizing his strict adherence to the rules of respectful discourse. He clarifies that he gave the older men every opportunity to state their case, fulfilling his duty as a patient and attentive listener before offering his own response.

He explains that he waited in absolute silence, patiently expecting them to make their points [רלב״ג, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is that he simply listened closely with his ears [אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, מצודת ציון]. However, another perspective suggests a deeper level of engagement, noting that he did not just hear the words but actively weighed and evaluated them in the scales of his mind [מלבי״ם].

The flow of his explanation can be understood in a few ways. Some view his statement as a repeated emphasis of the same basic idea, showing that he waited until his companions had entirely finished sharing their insights and exhausted all their arguments [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Others see a clear, step-by-step progression in how he engaged with their claims. One view suggests this reflects the necessary stages for truly analyzing a companion's arguments: first, quietly listening to the surface claims; next, digging into the foundational assumptions behind those claims; and finally, waiting until every logical deduction and detailed investigation has been fully explored [מלבי״ם]. Another approach views this progression as a ladder of different sources of wisdom. In this light, he first absorbed the traditional, accepted knowledge they shared. Then, he examined the personal insights they developed from their own understanding. Finally, he followed the logical conclusions they reached through deep intellectual investigation [אלשיך].