Job's comforter

[Tdol]

Check the meaning of this idiom here.

[svartnik]

Job is a biblical figure.
Satan thought Job's affection for God is not Genuine.
To prove that the opposite was true, God tested Job, whom he put through bitter physical anguish.

Although Job was a man of great virtues, the four friends of his who visited him said he was actually a sinner, which was the reason for God putting him to much trouble.
They expressed false sympathy and were insinuating rebukes to him.

I would say Job's comforter is somebody who pretends to be a friend, therefore is a false friend.

Svartnik

[maureenbransden]

Hi,
In my experience the expression of 'Job's comforter' is someone who provides support for someone going through trying times.

[RonBee]

Apparently, a Job's comforter isn't much of a comforter. (I guessed on that one, and I got it wrong. The expression is, perhaps, used more in the UK than in the USA. (I had never heard it before.).)

~R

[thedaffodils]

The story behind this idiom is interesting.
Job's comforter: Definition from Answers.com

[SUDHKAMP]

Thanks for adding another idiom to my vocabulary.