Who is the ‘hungry’ in Job 5,5a?

Abstract

Job 5,5a has been understood as describing situations that are realistically inadequate. The emendation of רעב into ערבי , effected by metathesis, provides a meaningful Sitz im Leben. This approach construes Job 5,3-6 as Eliphaz’ allusion to a sequence of events that resemble Job’s calamities, albeit with a significant accusatory twist.