Overview of the Book
The book of Job is the third book under the division of Ketuvim (The Writings) according to Hebrew Scripture, and the first book under the division of Old Testament Wisdom and Poetic Literature in the English Bible we use. The title of the book is drawn from the name of Job, a very rich but righteous man who lived in the land of Uz. The central message of the book is regarding the ‘sufferings of the righteous and the justice of God,’ which is displayed through the life of Job.
The historical set up of the book shows that Job lived around the time of Abraham. We can infer this because of:
- Social unit: A family-clan was considered as a social unit in the days of patriarchal age,
- Life-span: Job lived after his sufferings about 140 years (Job 42:16), thus his life-span could have been 200 years or more, which was more than the life-span of Abraham (175 years)
- Wealth of Livestock: One’s wealth is being measured based on the maximum number of livestock. Job’s wealth is recorded in Job 1:3 prior to the calamity and in Job 42:12 after the calamity
- The Priestly Responsibility: During the patriarchal age the head of the family performed the duties of a priest. Job, just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, offered sacrifices on behalf of his families.
The book does not name its author, and thus, the authorship of the book is unknown. However, there are Bible historians who believe (but there is no evidence) that the book was written either by Job himself or one of his contemporaries (such as his friend Elihu) in Aramaic and later in the era someone (perhaps Moses) translated it into Hebrew. The date of writing is also unknown, but the book of Job is believed to be the first book ever written in the Bible. There are some suggestions regarding the date of writing:
- about 20th century BC, which is referred to the patriarchal age
- about 15th century BC, which referred to pre-Mosaic era because there is no mentioning of any Israelite history or the Ten Commandments/The Law
- about 10th century BC, which is referred to either David’s or Solomon’s reign in Israel because of its literary style
- about 5th century BC, which is referred to a period during Jewish exile (c. 586 – 538 BC) using the oral or written sources that come down from the time of Job
The book raises questions regarding the sufferings of godly people for no reasons of their own faults. Job is shown as a righteous man in the early part of the book as well as at the concluding part of the book – God called Job ‘My Servant Job (Job 42:7b – 8), and introduced him as (Job 1:1 & 8):
- a blameless person
- an upright person
- a man who feared God
- a man who shunned evil
- there was no one on earth like him
- Job, a righteous and God-fearing person Greatest of all the people of the East (Job 1:3)
Characters and Setting
Job: Given the details we know about Job through the book, we know:
- Job was a righteous and God-fearing man (Job 1:1)
- Job was the greatest of all the people of the East (Job 1:3)
- The name Job was probably the short form of the name Jobab:
- Jobab, son of Joktan, mentioned in Genesis 10:29 (Job was probably not this person)
- Jobab, son of Zerah, the great grandson of Esau, who ruled as the second king of Edom (Genesis 36:33). If this person was the main character of the book of Job, the following description would well fit with the person mentioned in Job 29:1-25
1 Job continued his discourse: …
4 “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house …
7 “When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
8 the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
9 the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, …
12 I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
13 The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.
14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban…
15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth. …
21 “People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. …
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops …
Job’s Wife (Job 2:9-10): “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Job’s Response to her reaction (Job 2:10):He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman.Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Job’s Friends:
Eliphaz the Temanite: a mild and modest friend (Job 4:1). Perhaps a descendant of Teman, the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau (Genesis 36:9-19). According to Job 4:7; 15:4-6, and 22:5, Eliphaz accused Job and testified based on his personal assumptions that Job has committed sin.
Bildad the Shuhite (Job 8:1): Perhaps a descendant of Shuah, the son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2). According to Job 8:5-6 and 18:14, Bildad accused Job and testified based on his personal convictional assumptions that Job had committed sin.
Zophar the Naamathite (Job 2:11): There is no mentioning of Zophar other than Job 2:11, 11:1, 20:1. He could be a ruler or a wealthy and renowned inhabitant of a place called Naamah. According to Job 11:6 and 20:29, Zophar accused Job and made assumptions that Job has committed sin.
Elihu the Buzite (Job 32:2): He was the son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. Perhaps a descendant of Buz, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother (Genesis 22:20-24). According to Job 34:7, 37, and 35:16, Elihu accused Job of committing sin.
The Land of ‘Uz’: According to Lamentations 4:21, the land of Uz was identified with the kingdom of Edom. The exact location of this place is unknown, but according to some Bible historians, the geographical location of Edom is south of Israel and southwest of Jordan. The name ‘Uz’ was probably named after one of the following individuals who lived before the settlement of Israelites in Canaan:
- Uz son of Aram was a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:23 & 1 Chronicles 1:17),
- Uz, son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham (Genesis 22:21),
- Uz, one of the grandsons of Seir, the Horite (Genesis 36:28 & 1 Chronicles 1:38, 42)
God and His Approval of Job:
(1) Job 1:8, “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
(2) Job 2:3, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Satan and his accusations:
(1) Job 1:10-11, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
(2) Job 2:4-5, “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life.But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Causes of Job’s Suffering (According to his friends)
- On one hand, from the point of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, Job’s suffering was because of his secret sins – they did not have a base for such accusations.
- On the other hand, from Elihu’s point of view, Job committed wrong because of the suffering he was going through – refer to the following references:
- (Job 33: 8-13) Elihu accuses Job of trying to blame God
- (Job 34: 5-6 & 35) Elihu accuses Job of speaking to God without Knowledge
- (Job 35:2-6 and 36:23) Elihu accuses Job of placing all the blame on God
- (Job 32:3) Elihu gets angry with Job’s three friends
Purpose of Writing
The book is written to encourage and comfort those who are suffering. Sometimes, things do not go the way we expect or work for, this does not mean that we are living in sin. The book helps us to understand what we do not understand easily. Concerns addressed in Job include:
- ‘Why the righteous suffer?” The book explains the reasons for Job’s suffering.
- Why did Job have to go through so much struggles even though he was leading a holy life? Job’s life is an example for us to learn that even those who are obeying the will of God still may have to suffer
- Why the justice is denied or delayed to those who live righteously?
- Why the reward is not accompanied immediately after a righteous act?
- Why judgment is not passed upon the wicked immediately?
[Refer to John 9:2-3, the question disciples asked and the answer Jesus gave]
2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Distinct Divisions of the Book
- Job 1-2
Introduction and Narration about the causes of Job’s sufferings-
1:1-5 Job’s normal life
1:6-19 Satan’s attack on Job’s property and family
1:20-22 Job’s Response to the calamity he faced
2:1-10 Satan’s attack on Job himself
2:11-13 Visits of his three friends
- Job 3-31
Three Cycles of Dialogue between Job and His three Friends-
First Cycle of Dialogue Topic: 3:1-14:22 God and His Righteousness
Second Cycle of Dialogue Topic: 15:1-21:34 The Destiny of Wicked People
Third Cycle of Dialogue Topic: 22:1-31:40 The Sinfulness of Job
- Job 32-37
Elihu’s Four Speeches [Elihu is much younger than Job and his other three friends]-
32:1-5 Introduction of Elihu
Speech One: 32:6-33:33 Instructions of God through Human sufferings
Speech Two: 34:1-37 Justice of God and Judgment of Job
Speech Three: 35:1-16 The Cost of achieving the quality of being Uprightness
Speech Four: 36:1-37:24 The Greatness of God and the Ignorance of Job
- Job 38-42:6
God’s Response to Job regarding His Mighty Power revealed in Creation-
38:1-40:2 The Ignorance of Job Regarding God is exposed
40:3-5 Job Humbles Himself before God
40:6-41:34 God Narration of His Righteous Rule in the World
42:1-6 Job’s Helplessness and Confession of his failures to know God’s way
- Job 42:7-17
Conclusion and God’s Forgiveness of Human Ignorance and His Blessings on Job
God’s reflections on Job
- one who speaks without knowledge about the Almighty (Job 38:2)
- one who finds fault (Job 40:2)
- one who portrays God as wrong (Job 40:8)
Job’s relationship with God and others
- As Elihu started his discourse (Job 32), he was angry at Job’s three friends that they could not establish their stand regarding their accusation about Job’s past/secret sins (Job 32:3, 12).
- Job also defended by himself saying that he did not commit any sin against the will of God (Job 32:9-11). Job’ testimony (Job 1:21-22): “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”
- Of course, we read Job’s concerns and the questions he raises regarding himself and everything else. However, at the end:
- Job admitted that God cannot be grasped within the capacity of human understanding (Job 40:4-5)
- he acknowledged God’s mighty works (Job 42:2-3)
- he confessed for all his short comings and humbled himself before the Lord and trusted God (Job 42:5-6);
- God forgave Job for all his shortcomings (Job 42:7-8).
The Prophecy Regarding the Redeemer - the Messiah
- Jesus’ sufferings (Job’s suffering was a test of his righteous living and to prove his faithfulness to God, but Jesus’ sufferings was to pay as a ransom for our lives)
- Apostle Paul quoted Job 5:13 in 1 Corinthians 3:19
- James emphasized Job’s steadfastness in affliction and God’s faithfulness and mercy towards human suffering in James 5:11
- Comparing and contrasting Devil’s scheme: Job 1:6-2:10 and 1 Peter 5:8-9.
- Jesus Christ is revealed in the book of Job as God’s appointed:
- Mediator (Job 9:32-33),
- Redeemer, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25-27).
- Jesus represented as the Revealer of the El-Shaddai – the Omnipotent God, Omniscient God, Omnipresent God, Wisdom of God, Divine Healer, Light of the world, and Everlasting Life
Lessons from Job
- Fearing God and turning away from evil was the basis of Job’s blamelessness and uprightness:
- Blamelessness refers to one’s moral integrity and wholehearted commitment to God (Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” Mark 12:30).
- Uprightness refers to one’s rightness in word, thought, and deed (Jesus said Matthew 5:37, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” James 5:12, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation”)
- Believe that without God’s knowledge nothing will happen to a righteous person
- Job’s life experience assures us that God will help anyone who fears Him and shuns evil. God being the Righteous Deliverer will deliver us from the hands of our accusers and enemies
- The life of Job reminds us that God knows our pain and what we are going through. He will speak on our behalf and come to our help
- The lessons remind us that in all circumstances we must try to live a righteous life and, like Job, be blameless, upright, fearing God, and shunning evil
- The contents of the book of Job warns us that despite any situation in life (positive or negative), we are no one to blame God. He is above all and He is Sovereign
- The example of God’s dealings with Job’s friends – Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar regarding the burnt offering of 7 bulls and 7 rams and a prayer of intercession by Job are lessons for us to learn to honor God by word and action in all occasions
- God’s favor will be always with anyone who lives a righteous life. God restored Job’s health, wealth, family, and blessed him with a long life that he lived to see his children and grandchildren up to fourth generation
- The book leaves us with the lesson that when Job repented and confessed of all his knowingly or unknowingly committed sins (if any), God forgave and restored him and thus, he was able to intercede for his friends and ask for God’s forgiveness and restoration in their lives (refer Proverbs 28:9, 18:5)
- We must ponder the following question: Why do we worship God? Do we worship Him for a blessing/reward? OR do we worship God for who He is?