Hebrew-English Text

I. Summary
In chapter 6 Job begins his second speech. He asserts that he has the right to complain, longs for death, and accuses his companions of being fair-weather friends.

II. Photo
For the first time in the book, Job blames God for his suffering, “For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; My spirit absorbs their poison; God’s terrors are arrayed against me!” (v. 4)
III. Important Verses
vv. 2-3: If my anguish were weighed, My full calamity laid on the scales, It would be heavier than the sand of the sea; That is why I spoke recklessly.
v. 4: For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; My spirit absorbs their poison; God’s terrors are arrayed against me.
vv. 11-12: What strength have I, that I should endure? How long have I to live, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of rock? Is my flesh bronze?
v. 14: A friend owes loyalty to one who fails, Though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty (translation open to question)
vv. 29-30: Relent! Let there not be injustice; Relent! I am still in the right. Is injustice on my tongue? Can my palate not discern evil?

IV. Outline

1. Introduction
2-13. Monologue
    2-7. Justification of complaint
    8-10. Longing for death
    11-13. Diminishing strength
14-30. Address to friends
    14. Description of loyal friends
    15-20. Disappointment in the actual friends
    21-23. Rationale: Job didn’t ask to be saved
    24-28. Derision of friends
    29-30. Assertion of being in the right

V. Comment
After listening to Eliphaz accuse him of sinning, Job begins his second speech of the book. He justifies his right to complain (vv. 2-13), accuses his friends of deserting him (vv. 14-30), will turn to God in the next chapter. In terms of literary form, Job’s speech contains many metaphors (vv. 2-3, 4, 5, 6, and 15-20). It also contains wisdom sayings similar to those found in the book of Proverbs (vv. 5, 6, 14).

Job begins his speech defiantly, “If my anguish were weighed, My full calamity laid on the scales, It would be heavier than the sand of the sea; That is why I spoke recklessly.” (vv. 2-3) This is understandably more assertive than Eliphaz’s opening, “If one ventures a word with you, will it be too much? But who can hold back his words?” (4:2) While Job analogizes his pain to the weight of sand, it is interesting that sand is most often used in Tanach to describe a large number, e.g. Gen. 22:17, “I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes.” Also see Gen. 32:13, Josh 11:4, 1 Kgs 5:9, and Jer 15:8.

In v. 4 Job laments, “For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; My spirit absorbs their poison; God’s terrors are arrayed against me!” Clines writes (p. 170), “For the first time, Job explicitly names God as the ultimate (and immediate) cause of his suffering. Of course, he knows nothing of the events that have taken place in heaven that make his complaint only all the better founded. He simply knows that what happens to him does not arise from any guilt of his own, and since he presumably agrees with Eliphaz that trouble is not selfgenerating (5:6–7), there is only one direction in which he can look for the origin of his suffering.” While there is no other place in Tanach which speaks of  “poisoned” arrows, many other verses speak of God’s arrows being shot at humankind. For instance, Deut. 32:23 says, “I will sweep misfortunes on them, Use up My arrows on them,” and Ps. 64:8 says, “God shall shoot them with arrows; they shall be struck down suddenly.” Also see Job 7:20, 16:12-13, Ps. 38:3, Lam. 2:4, and Ezek. 5:16. [Also see ABD “Resheph” (V, 678-679) regarding the ANE arrow-shooting deity.]

In v. 14 Job describes the ideal friend, “A friend owes loyalty to one who fails, Though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” While there are many ways to translate v. 14, one thing is clear: Job expects his friends to realize that he is right. Since they disagree with him (they think that his suffering must be an indication of sin), Job accuses them of being fair-weather friends: he says “My comrades are fickle, like a wadi, Like a bed on which streams once ran,” (v. 15) and “So you are as nothing: At the sight of misfortune, you take fright” (v. 21). It is interesting that the book of Psalms has many descriptions of friends who have become enemies. For instance, Ps. 55:13-15 says, “It is not an enemy who reviles me — I could bear that; it is not my foe who vaunts himself against me — I could hide from him; but it is you, my equal, my companion, my friend; sweet was our fellowship; we walked together in God’s house.” Similarly, Ps. 41:10 says, “My ally in whom I trusted, even he who shares my bread, has been utterly false to me.” Each of these psalms could easily apply to Job’s situation.

Clines makes an excellent point about the way in which Job treats his friends (p. 176-177), “What Job means by ‘loyalty’ is plainly different from what the friends mean by it. He is looking for unqualified acceptance that takes his side whether he is in the right or the wrong. They offer sympathy and support, but only from what seems to them a realistic point of view; it is absurd, they would argue, to take the stance ‘my friend right or wrong’ when the evidence (Job’s suffering) proves that—to some extent at least—Job is in the wrong. Are they to disregard the evidence of their eyes and their learning, and prop Job up in what they believe to be a falsely self-righteous position? Eliphaz has done his utmost to emphasize Job’s essential goodness, but he had to point out as delicately as he knew how that even the righteous are not perfect. Could any more be expected of a ‘loyal’ friend?” Yet, the fact that the reader knows that Job is innocent makes it easier to understand his unreasonable demand. It is hard not to agree with his closing words (vv. 29-30), “Relent! Let there not be injustice; Relent! I am still in the right. Is injustice on my tongue? Can my palate not discern evil?”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Proverbs 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Murphy, Wisdom Literature (FOTL)
Photo taken from http://www.sevenmeadowsarchery.com/prodimg/arrowheads2.JPG

Hebrew-English Text

I. Summary
Chapter 5 contains the second section of Eliphaz’s conciliatory speech. Eliphaz makes three main points: (1) people bring suffering upon themselves, (2) suffering can be a positive experience, and (3) God is benevolent to those who accept His rebuke.

II. Photo
Eliphaz tries to convince Job to accept his situation and turn to God because God  “Raises the lowly up high, So that the dejected are secure in victory.” (v. 11)

III. Important Verses
v. 6: Evil does not grow out of the soil, Nor does mischief spring from the ground.
vv. 8-11: But I would resort to God; I would lay my case before God, Who performs great deeds which cannot be fathomed, Wondrous things without number; Who gives rain to the earth, And sends water over the fields; Who raises the lowly up high, So that the dejected are secure in victory.
vv. 15-16: But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, From the clutches of the strong. So there is hope for the wretched; The mouth of wrongdoing is stopped.
vv. 17-18: See how happy is the man whom God reproves; Do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. He injures, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands heal.
v. 25: You will see that your offspring are many, Your descendants like the grass of the earth.
v. 27: See, we have inquired into this and it is so; Hear it and accept it.

IV. Outline

1. Motivation
2-7. The fool is cursed
    2. Proverb
    3-7. Imprecation
8-16. Turn to God
    8. Introduction
    9-10. Ruler of the world
    11-14. God controls human affairs
    15-16. God punishes humans to halt their sinning
    17. Beatitude: God’s rebuke is for the best
    18-26. God will grant you all good things
27. Conclusion

V. Comment
Job 5 is the second section of Eliphaz’s conciliatory speech. Eliphaz attempts to convince Job that he sinned, and that if Job accepts this fact he will be rewarded by God. In terms of structure, the chapter incorporates three familiar elements of Wisdom literature. The first is the “beatitude” (“happy is the man who…”) in v. 17, the second is the “ascending numeration” (… x times, no x + 1 times….) of v. 19, and the third is the wisdom saying in v. 2. Beatitudes come up more than 25 times in the book of Psalms, ascending numeration occurs frequently in the book of Proverbs, and wisdom sayings make up the bulk of the book of Proverbs.

In his lament (ch. 3) Job made it clear that he wants to die: “Why did I not die at birth, Expire as I came forth from the womb?” (v. 11), “Why does He give light to the sufferer And life to the bitter in spirit; To those who wait for death but it does not come, Who search for it more than for treasure, Who rejoice to exultation, And are glad to reach the grave?” (vv. 20-22) However, Eliphaz assumes that what Job really wants is to be healed. He therefore speaks of a happy existence awaiting him in vv. 19-26: “You will know that all is well in your tent; When you visit your wife you will never fail. You will see that your offspring are many, Your descendants like the grass of the earth. You will come to the grave in ripe old age, As shocks of grain are taken away in their season.” It is no wonder that Job, who feels misunderstood, speaks up in ch. 6 and says (vv. 2-3), “If my anguish were weighed, My full calamity laid on the scales, It would be heavier than the sand of the sea; That is why I spoke recklessly.” Eliphaz seems to be misunderstanding Job’s desires.

In v. 2 Eliphaz speaks of the ‘awil “fool.” The fool here does not mean someone stupid, but someone who is “always morally bad” (BDB). Is Eliphaz calling Job a fool, and implicitly wishing him and his family harm (vv. 4-5)? This is unlikely, especially because Eliphaz asserts that Job can expect to live a long life if he accepts his fate (the fools can expect immediate death). Rather, Eliphaz seems to speak about a “fool” in order to demonstrate a general principle: people are the cause for their own troubles. Implicit in this statement is that Job, who isn’t entirely evil, is nevertheless a sinner. Thus, 4:7 says, “Think now, what innocent man ever perished? Where have the upright been destroyed?”

It was pointed out in the comment to the previous chapter that Eliphaz’s tone seems to be conciliatory. One of the reasons for this assertion is v. 8: “But I would resort to God; I would lay my case before God…” Clines writes, “it is a sign of Eliphaz’s attempted delicacy, as also of his self-assuredness, that he speaks only of himself and does not presume to tell Job what to do.” Indeed, throughout the entire speech Eliphaz never tells Job what to do, nor does he explicitly call him a sinner. Yet, Eliphaz is still assertive; he tells Job confidently in v. 27, “See, we have inquired into this and it is so; Hear it and accept it.”

In vv. 17-19 Eliphaz says, “See how happy is the man whom God reproves; Do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. He injures, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; In seven no harm will reach you.” This statement must have deeply troubled Job: on the one hand Eliphaz is telling him how great “rebuke” is for improving one’s relationship with God, but on the other hand Job knows that he has done nothing wrong. Once again, Job has been punished chinam “for no reason.”

Eliphaz asserts that if Job accepts his state “You will see that your offspring are many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.” While it is true that Job will live to see many offspring (cf. 42:13, 16), it is interesting that Isa. 44:3 also refers to offspring with a grass metaphor: “Even as I pour water on thirsty soil, And rain upon dry ground, So will I pour My spirit on your offspring, My blessing upon your posterity.” Other verses in Tanach use similar analogies.

VI. Works Used

(see “Commentaries” page)

Clines, Proverbs 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)

Photo taken from http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/wp-content/images/mountain_top.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
One of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, tries to comfort him with a speech. Eliphaz asserts that God only punishes those who are guilty of sin; the innocent do not suffer.

II. Photo
Eliphaz uses a metaphor to explain the fate of the wicked, “The lion may roar, the cub may howl, but the teeth of the king of beasts are broken. The lion perishes for lack of prey, and its whelps are scattered.” (vv. 10-11)

III. Important Verses
vv. 4-5: Your words have kept him who stumbled from falling; You have braced knees that gave way. But now that it overtakes you, it is too much; It reaches you, and you are unnerved.
v. 7: Think now, what innocent man ever perished? Where have the upright been destroyed?
vv. 8-9: As I have seen, those who plow evil And sow mischief reap them. They perish by a blast from God, Are gone at the breath of His nostrils.
vv. 17-19: Can mortals be acquitted by God? Can man be cleared by his Maker? If He cannot trust His own servants, And casts reproach on His angels, How much less those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose origin is dust, Who are crushed like the moth.

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2. Opening statement
3-6. Job’s hypocrisy
7-11. Wicked people perish
12-21. God punishes people for their sins

V. Comment
Job 4 is the first part of Eliphaz’s speech, and it will continue until the end of chapter 5. In regards to the mood and purpose of the speech, Clines writes (p. 121), “The hesitant opening (4:2), the positive assessment of Job’s former life (4:3–4), the affirmation of his present piety and integrity (4:6), and the concluding note of advice (5:27), all show Eliphaz as well-disposed and consolatory toward Job.” Thus, while one might view Eliphaz’s speech to be a diatribe, the aforementioned verses imply that it is an attempt to assuage Job’s awful state.

It is interesting that Eliphaz begins his speech with a reference to “words” in v. 2, “If one ventures a word with you, will it be too much? But who can hold back his words?” Most of the speeches in the book also begin with a reference to words/speaking (cf. 8:2; 9:2; 11:2–3; 15:2–3; 16:2–3; 18:2; 20:2; 21:2; 32:6–33:3; 34:2; 36:2; 38:2). It is also interesting that Eliphaz describes the fate of the wicked in a highly stylized way; this type of description is a common occurrence in the book (cf. 5:2–5; 8:13–19; 15:20–35; 18:5–21; 20:5–29; 27:13–23).

Eliphaz asserts that people suffer on account of their sins, “Can mortals be acquitted by God? Can man be cleared by his Maker? If He cannot trust His own servants, And casts reproach on His angels, How much less those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose origin is dust, Who are crushed like the moth.” (vv. 17-19) Yet, Eliphaz makes the point that only the wicked perish (vv. 7-9), “Think now, what innocent man ever perished (‘avad)? Where have the upright been destroyed (nikhchadu)? As I have seen, those who plow evil And sow mischief reap them. They perish by a blast from God, Are gone at the breath of His nostrils.” Thus, Eliphaz is implicitly telling Job, “You are suffering because you are a sinner. But, on the brighter side, you are still alive because you are not entirely evil.” The notion that God does not forsake the righteous, which will be taken up again by Eliphaz in chapter 5, also occurs in Ps. 37:23-25, “The steps of a man are made firm by the LORD, when He delights in his way. Though he stumbles, he does not fall down, for the LORD gives him support. I have been young and am now old, but I have never seen a righteous man abandoned, or his children seeking bread.” Also see Ben Sira 2:10, “Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? Or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? Or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?”

Clines makes two important points about Eliphaz’s speech. The first has to do with the validity of the argument itself (p. 124): “It may appear quite improbable that Eliphaz’s opinion, that the righteous are never ‘cut off’ in the midst of their days, could ever have been seriously maintained. Yet, however cruel such a doctrine may be, its strength lies in the fact that it is unfalsifiable. If one already believes the doctrine, every instance of premature death is proof of the wickedness (however secret) of the victim, and serves only to support the validity of the original premise.”

The second point is about the speech’s recipient  (p. 124-125): “However crude or cruel Eliphaz’s view may be in the abstract, in the present circumstances it is doubly hurtful. In the first place, it is no consolation to Job to be reminded that as a righteous man he need have no fear of being cut off before his time; for Job not only has no wish to live out his appointed days but numbers himself among those “who long for death . . . who rejoice exceedingly . . . when they find the grave” (3:21–22). In the second place, Eliphaz’s theology implicitly attributes the death of Job’s seven sons and three daughters (1:2) to some sinfulness of theirs. That is hard enough for any father to have to listen to, but is even worse in Job’s case since he had constantly gone out of his way to ensure that any shortcomings on their part had been adequately atoned for by sacrifice (1:5). Job has therefore failed his children as much as they have failed him.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Clines, Proverbs 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Murphy, Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, Esther (FOTL)
Photo taken from http://www.lalibela.net/content/wildlife_encyclopedia/lion/2.jpg

Hebrew-English Text

I. Summary

Job fervently curses the day that he was born. He wishes he could have died at childbirth, and wonders why God keeps people who suffer alive.

II. Photo

Job curses the day he was born: “Job spoke up and said: Perish the day on which I was born, And the night it was announced, ‘A male has been conceived!’ May that day be darkness; May God above have no concern for it; May light not shine on it.” (vv. 2-4)

III. Important Verses

v. 2-4: Job spoke up and said: “Perish the day on which I was born, And the night it was announced, ‘A male has been conceived!’ May that day be darkness; May God above have no concern for it; May light not shine on it.”

v. 6: May obscurity carry off that night; May it not be counted among the days of the year; May it not appear in any of its months!

vv. 20-21: Why does He give light to the sufferer And life to the bitter in spirit; To those who wait for death but it does not come, Who search for it more than for treasure?

vv. 24-26: My groaning serves as my bread; My roaring pours forth as water. For what I feared has overtaken me; What I dreaded has come upon me. I had no repose, no quiet, no rest, And trouble came.

IV. Outline

1. Introduction
2-10. Imprecation
     3. Introduction
     4-5. The day of birth
     6-9. The night of birth
     10. Rationale
11-26. Complaint
     11-19. Job wishes he could have died at birth
     20-23. Why does God grant life to those who wish to die?
     24-26. Job describes his state

V. Comment

After sitting in silence with his friends for seven days, Job breaks the silence with a depressing monologue. He curses the day of his birth (vv. 3-10), wishes he had died at birth (vv. 11-19), and then questions why people who suffer remain alive (vv. 20-26). In terms of structure, Job 3 has many of the characteristics of the Complaint/Lament genre found in the book of Psalms: there is an imprecation (vv. 2-10), and a complaint about an undesired situation (vv. 11-26). However, there are two key differences between  Job 3 and other laments/complaints: (a) Job 3 is not directed to God, and (b) Job has no desire for things to improve (his only wish is to die).

In vv. 3-5 Job begins to curse the day he was born: “Perish the day on which I was born, And the night it was announced, ‘A male has been conceived!’ May that day be darkness; May God above have no concern for it; May light not shine on it; May darkness and deep gloom reclaim it; May a pall lie over it; May what blackens the day terrify it.” The concept of cursing the day of one’s birth is also found in Jer. 20:14-18: “Accursed be the day That I was born! Let not the day be blessed When my mother bore me! Accursed be the man Who brought my father the news And said, “A boy Is born to you,” And gave him such joy! Let that man become like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting! Let him hear shrieks in the morning And battle shouts at noontide — Because he did not kill me before birth So that my mother might be my grave, And her womb big [with me] for all time. Why did I ever issue from the womb, To see misery and woe, To spend all my days in shame!” The birthday also comes up in other places: Eccl. 7:1 says, “A good name is better than fragrant oil, and the day of death than the day of birth,” and Gen. 40:20 speaks of Pharaoh’s birthday celebration, “On the third day — his birthday — Pharaoh made a banquet for all his officials, and he singled out his chief cupbearer and his chief baker from among his officials.”

Job employs a light/dark metaphor in his maledictions. It is interesting that he says yehi choshekh “let there be darkness,” a sort of reversal of God’s creative words yehi ‘or “let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). In the metaphor, light represents life and darkness represents death: v. 16 says, “Or why was I not like a buried stillbirth, Like babies who never saw the light?” and v. 20 says, “Why does He give light to the sufferer And life to the bitter in spirit?” Similarly, 10:21-22 describes death as a place devoid of light: “Before I depart — never to return — For the land of deepest gloom; A land whose light is darkness, All gloom and disarray, Whose light is like darkness.”

Clines points out (p. 104) that Job 3 is unique in that it is an expression of emotion and not a theological discourse: “The restraint that makes this a poem of world stature is the exclusive concentration on feeling, without the importation of ideological questions. For a book that is so dominated by intellectual issues of theodicy, it is amazing to find here not one strictly theological sentence, not a single question about the meaning of his suffering, not a hint that it may be deserved, not the slightest nod to the doctrine of retribution. All that will come, in its time, but here we are invited to view the man Job in the violence of his grief. Unless we encounter this man with these feelings we have no right to listen in on the debates that follow; with this speech before us we cannot overintellectualize the book, but must always be reading it as the drama of a human soul.” Thus, Job 3 introduces the human Job – a man who can do nothing except damn his very existence.

VI. Works Used

(see “Commentaries” page)

Clines, Proverbs 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)

Murphy, Wisdom literature : Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther (Forms of Old Testament Literature)

Photo taken from http://investmentbuddy.com/investments/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/baby-boy.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
In Job 2 the Satan afflicts Job with severe boils in order to test his piety. Although Job’s wife begs her husband to blaspheme God and die, Job accepts his fate with integrity. At the end of the chapter Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to visit him in his suffering.

II. Photo
Vv. 7-8 describe Job’s affliction and his response, “The Satan departed from the presence of the LORD and inflicted a severe inflammation on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. [Job] took a potsherd to scratch himself as he sat in ashes.”

III. Important Verses
vv. 3-6: The LORD said to the Adversary, “Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. He still keeps his integrity; so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason.” The Adversary answered the LORD, “Skin for skin — all that a man has he will give up for his life. But lay a hand on his bones and his flesh, and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.” So the LORD said to the Adversary, “See, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
vv. 9-10: His wife said to him, “You still keep your integrity! Blaspheme God and die!” But he said to her, “You talk as any shameless woman might talk! Should we accept only good from God and not accept evil?” For all that, Job said nothing sinful.
v. 13: [Job’s three friends] sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. None spoke a word to him for they saw how very great was his suffering.

IV. Outline
1-6. God allows the Satan to afflict Job’s body
7-8. Job is afflicted
9-10. Job maintains his piety
11-13. Job’s three friends come to comfort him

V. Comment
Job 2 consists of three scenes. In the first scene (vv. 1-6) God allows Satan to afflict Job in order to see if he will blaspheme God. The second scene (vv. 7-10) depicts Job’s suffering and relates how he doesn’t abandon his piety. The final scene introduces Job’s three friends who will comment on his fate in the coming chapters. In terms of structure, Job 2 employs repetition: vv. 1-4a are nearly identical to 1:6-9.

In v. 3 God tells the Satan, “so you have incited Me against [Job] to destroy him for no good reason (chinam).” The word chinam makes it clear Job did not bring any of his suffering upon himself. Clines points out (pp. 42-43), “The experiment, however, has even by this inconclusive stage brought into the open—at least to the observant reader—one striking fact about the moral universe as perceived by the narrator: it is indeed possible for a righteous person to suffer gratuitously.” Indeed, while the book of Proverbs guarantees many things to the righteous/wise person, it also recognizes that piety does not necessarily result in prosperity: “Do not reject the discipline of the LORD, my son; Do not abhor His rebuke. For whom the LORD loves, He rebukes, As a father the son whom he favors.” (Prov. 3:11-12, see comment there)

In v. 9 we are introduced to Job’s wife: “His wife said to him, ‘You still keep your integrity! Blaspheme God and die!’” While many view her as the devil’s advocate (much like Eve in the creation narrative), Clines points out that she was under immense stress. He writes (p. 51), “Rarely has the scene been viewed through her eyes… Through no fault of her own, but solely because of the social structures of her time, her own well-being has been wholly dependent on Job’s. She has relied on him for her economic existence, for her social status, and for her moral standing in the community. But now, at a stroke, she has lost everything. Her income is gone, now that the cattle and servants have been destroyed, her position as matriarch and wife of a prince has been lost, and she is open to the obloquy of guilt by association. All this in addition to the sudden loss of her ten children. And who is to blame? No one but her husband.” Indeed, the Septuagint (v. 9) considerably lengthens her speech in order to give voice to her own suffering: “And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, even thy sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me; but say some word against the Lord, and die.”

Job responds in v. 10, “But he said to her, ‘You talk as any shameless woman (nevalos) might talk! Should we accept only good from God and not accept evil?’ For all that, Job said nothing sinful.” The term naval seems to be the opposite of chakham “wise one” (see Deut 32:6). What’s to be made of the statement “For all that, Job said nothing sinful”? While Job remains steadfast in his piety, this phrase seems to foreshadow the different approach Job will take in the next chapter (Ibn Ezra). Psalm 39 comes to mind: “I resolved I would watch my step lest I offend by my speech; I would keep my mouth muzzled while the wicked man was in my presence. I was dumb, silent; I was very still while my pain was intense.”

In vv. 11-13 we are introduced to Job’s three friends, and they practice many of the mourning rites found throughout Tanach: “When they saw him from a distance, they could not recognize him, and they broke into loud weeping; each one tore his robe and threw dust into the air onto his head. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. None spoke a word to him for they saw how very great was his suffering.” (vv. 12-13) The notion of friends consoling mourners can be found in Gen. 37:35 and 2 Sam. 10:2. The three friends sit for seven days before speaking, and a seven day mourning period is attested to in Gen. 50:10, 1 Sam. 31:13, Judith 16:24, and Ben Sira 22:12 which says “Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead; but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life.” The friends also throw ashes on their heads, a practice described in Josh 7:6, 1 Sam 4:12, 2 Sam 13:19, 15:32, Ezek 27:30, Lam 2:10, Esth 4:1, and Dan 9:3.

It was seen in  the last chapter that Job probably lived in Northwest Arabia near the land of Edom. The names and locations of the three friends also lend support to this theory. The first friend, Eliphaz the Temanite, is most strongly associated with Edom: the city of Teman represents Edom (cf. Amos 1:12, Obad 9, Jer 49:7), and the name Eliphaz is found in Gen 36 as a son of Esau. Bildad the Shuhite also has an association: Gen. 25:1-6 describes how Shuah was one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah and that he lived in the “east country.” Also, the beginning of the name Bildad is similar to other people from that area such as Balaam and Balaak. The last friend, Zophar the Naamathite, has a name similar to Zipor (the father of Balaak, cf. Num. 22:2) and Zophu (one of Esau’s descendents listed in Genesis 36:11, 15).

In regards to the probable Edomite location for the book of Job, it is important to note that portions of Tanach speak of Edom’s “wisdom.” Jer. 49:7 says, “Concerning Edom. Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? Has counsel vanished from the prudent? Has their wisdom gone stale?” Similarly, Obad. 1:8 says, “In that day — declares the LORD — I will make the wise vanish from Edom, Understanding from Esau’s mount.” Thus, it makes sense that a place renowned for its wisdom (much like Egypt and Mesopotamia) should serve as the setting for the book of Job.

VI. Works Used

(see “Commentaries” page)

Clines, Job 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)

Photo taken from http://www.carlo-bergmann.de/ex2005-6/manu%2010%20Endfassung-Dateien/image079.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Job 1 recounts how Job, a pious and wealthy man, is tested in order to see if his piety is a result of his prosperity. God allows the Satan to kill Job’s children and liquidate his possesions, but Job nevertheless remains faithful.

II. Photo
Messengers tell Job about the calamities that have befallen him: “This one was still speaking when another [messenger came to Job] and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother when suddenly a mighty wind came from the wilderness. It struck the four corners of the house so that it collapsed upon the young people and they died; I alone have escaped to tell you.’” (vv. 18-19)

III. Important Verses
v. 1: There was a man in the land of Uz named Job. That man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
vv. 8-11: The LORD said to the Adversary, “Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil!” The Adversary answered the LORD, “Does Job not have good reason to fear God? Why, it is You who have fenced him round, him and his household and all that he has. You have blessed his efforts so that his possessions spread out in the land. But lay Your hand upon all that he has and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.”
vv. 20-22: Then Job arose, tore his robe, cut off his hair, and threw himself on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” For all that, Job did not sin nor did he cast reproach on God.

IV. Outline
1. Job’s piety
2-3. Job’s good fortune
4-5. Job’s piety
6-12. The wager between God and Satan
13-19. Job’s wealth and family is destroyed
20-22. Job accepts the decree and praises God

V. Comment
The book of Job is made up of 39 chapters of poetic discourse (3:1-42:6) framed by three chapters of prosaic narrative (1:1-2:13, 42:7-17). The first chapter alternates its setting between earth, where Job is at first prosperous and later punished, and heaven, where God and the Satan decide to test Job’s piety. In terms of structure, many of the scenes are introduced by the words wayehi hayom “one day…” (see vv. 6, 13, 2:1), vv. 14-19 use uniform phraseology, and vv. 1, 8 describe Job in the same way.

Clines writes (p. 8), “In the prologue, the two fundamental data indispensable for the book as a whole are presented. First, Job is a righteous man; second, he is suffering undeservedly, and that at God’s hand, or at least with God’s permission. From these data the whole issue of the book arises.” What is the book’s primary issue? Clines quotes Fohrer (p. 9), “The concern of this narrative, as of the book as a whole, is not the problem of suffering, but the behavior of people in their experiencing and enduring suffering… not the problem of theodicy, but of human existence in suffering.”

The book begins by saying, “There was a man in the land of Uz named Job.” The place ‘utz is only mentioned twice elsewhere, once in Jer. 25:20 and once in Lam. 4:21 which says, “Rejoice and exult, Fair Edom, Who dwell in the land of Uz! To you, too, the cup shall pass, You shall get drunk and expose your nakedness.” The relationship between Uz and the Edomites (who lived in the wilderness below the Dead Sea to the west of Arabia) is important: it indicates that Uz was probably located in northwest Arabia. Clines writes, “Further support for a situation in or near Edom may be given by the occurrence of the personal name Uz in an Edomite genealogy (Gen 36:28 = 1 Chr 1:42), and by the probability that most of the personal names in Job have an Edomite origin (see on 2:11). Further, the personal name Uz is linked in Gen 22:21 with the name Buz, which appears in Jer 25:23 as a place name associated with Dedan and Tema, towns in northwest Arabia and thus not far south of Edom.” It is also interesting that the Septuagint’s lengthy ending to the book explicitly states that Job (a) lived on the edge of Arabia, and (b) ruled over the Edomites: “…  [Job] is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausis on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over…” (LXX 42:17).

Regarding Job’s ethnicity, Clines writes (p. 10), “The importance of the name Uz lies not in where such a place is, but in where it is not. Israelites themselves may not have known its precise location, but they will have known, as we do, that it is not in Israel. The name therefore signifies that the action has a horizon that is not peculiarly Israelite. It does not mean that Job necessarily is a foreigner, for most Jews of the exilic period and beyond—if that is the time of the book’s composition—lived outside the borders of Israel, and the patriarchs themselves—since that is ostensibly the time in which the story is set—were almost as often to be found outside the land as within it. The Book of Job simply does not say whether or not Job is an Israelite; by leaving open the question of his race, the book effectively makes his experience transcend the distinction between Israelite and non-Israelite, Jew and non-Jew. We do not know that the storyteller had such a conscious intention, but such is the effect he has created.”

Before getting to the crux of the chapter, two more geographical points are in order. V. 15 describes how the sheva’ “Sabeans” steal Job’s cattle. Who were the Sabeans? Anchor Bible Dictionary (“Sabeans,” Vol. V, p. 861) writes that the term refers to different groups in Tanach, but “the peoples here are a N Arabian group in the vicinity of Tema (Job 6:19), an oasis city which is often associated with Dedan (Isa 21:13–14; Jer 25:23; cf. Gen 10:7 and 25:3).” V. 17 describes how the kasdim “Chaldeans” steal Job’s camels. Who were the Chaldeans? While the Chaldeans were a group of people in Mesopotamia who attacked Judah from a long distance (see Ezek. 23:23, Hab. 1:6), the group mentioned here was probably a group of local marauders.

V. 1 describes Job: “That man was blameless and upright (tom weyashar); he feared God and shunned evil (sar mera’).” These are traits lauded in the Wisdom literature of Tanach. For instance, Prov. 2:21 says, “For the upright (yesharim) will inhabit the earth, The blameless (temimim) will remain in it,” and Ps. 37:37 says, “Mark the blameless (tom), note the upright (yashar), for there is a future for the man of integrity.” The phrases “feared God” and “shunned evil” appear together in many places, albeit with the Tetragrammaton in place of the name ‘elohim. For instance, Prov. 3:7 says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and shun evil (sur mera’).” Also see Prov. 14:16, 16:16.

In v. 8 God describes Job using the same terminology as v. 1, but adds the phrase ‘avdi “my servant”: “The LORD said to the Adversary, ‘Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil!’” This appellation is given to righteous people such as Moses (more than 40 times, e.g. Num. 12:7-8) and the patriarchs (Ex 32:13, Deut 9:27). Given the fact that Job might have been a non-Israelite, it is interesting that the term ‘avdi is also given to a non-Israelite in Jer. 25:9: “I am going to send for all the peoples of the north — declares the LORD — and for My servant (‘avdi), King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all those nations roundabout. I will exterminate them and make them a desolation, an object of hissing — ruins for all time.” It is also interesteing that v. 8’s phrase ‘ein kamohu “there is no one like him” is almost exclusively used to describe God (e.g. 1 Kings 8:23, Jer 10:6, etc., but see 1 Sam 10:24 where the phrase is applied to Saul).

In v. 9 the Satan makes his major point: “The Adversary answered the LORD, ‘Does Job not have good reason to fear God?’” God agrees that Job has never been tested, and allows Satan to do anything but “lay a hand upon him” (v. 12). The next verses describe how Job’s fortune and children are lost, and how Job mourns in response: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, cut off his hair, and threw himself on the ground and worshiped” (v. 20). Tearing one’s robe and cutting one’s hair seem to have been normal mourning rite (for cutting clothes see Gen. 37:29, 2 Sam. 1:2, etc.; for cutting hair see Isa. 15:2, Amos 8:10, and Mic. 1:16 where gaz “shearing” is equated with the qorchah “baldness”). It is interesting that causing baldness (qorchah) is forbidden in Deut. 14:1. “You are children of the LORD your God. You shall not gash yourselves or shave the front of your heads (qorchah) because of the dead.”

Through it all Job does not lose his faith: “[Job] said, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’” (v. 20) This phrase has an interesting parallel in the more pessimistic Eccl. 5:14, “Another grave evil is this: He must depart just as he came. As he came out of his mother’s womb, so must he depart at last, naked as he came. He can take nothing of his wealth to carry with him.” The phrase “blessed be the name of the LORD” in our v. 20 appears in Ps. 113:2 “ Let the name of the LORD be blessed now and forever.”

VI. Works Used

(see “Commentaries” page)

Clines, Job 1-20 (Word Biblical Commentary)

Anchor Bible Dictionary (“Sabeans,” “Chaldeans”)

Photo taken from http://advocacynet.org/blogs/media/blogs/peoplesrebrenica/sreb-07-destroyedhouse.jpg