Unknown (an ancient Jewish tradition attributes it to Moses). Written: Date of writing unknown; the story is probably set in the age of the patriarchs (around 2000 BC)

Poetry and wisdom · Old Testament · 42 chapters

The book of Job

When the righteous suffer

Author: Unknown (an ancient Jewish tradition attributes it to Moses)
Written: Date of writing unknown; the story is probably set in the age of the patriarchs (around 2000 BC)
Time covered: Probably the patriarchal age: before the law of Moses, when the head of the household himself offered the burnt offerings (1:5)
Key word: Trial

Job, an upright and very wealthy man, is accused by Satan of serving God for gain (1:9). God permits the trial: in a single day, Job loses his flocks and his ten children, then is struck with boils (1-2). Yet he blesses God. Three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, come to comfort him, then accuse him: his suffering would prove a hidden sin. Job protests his innocence and cries out in pain, but clings to his “living redeemer” (19:25). The young Elihu steps in (32-37). Finally, the LORD speaks from the whirlwind and reveals his greatness (38-41). Job repents, prays for his friends and receives twice what he had (42).

Main theme

Why do the righteous suffer? God does not give every explanation: he reveals himself as sovereign, wise and worthy of trust, even in the midst of the trial.

Outline

Job 1-2 — The prologue: the trial permitted
In heaven, Satan accuses; on earth, Job loses his possessions, his children and his health without renouncing God.
Job 3-31 — The great debate with the three friends
Three cycles of speeches: the friends accuse, Job protests his innocence and appeals to God.
Job 32-37 — Elihu’s intervention
A young man shows that God can use suffering to warn and to purify.
Job 38-41 — The LORD speaks from the whirlwind
Through a series of questions about creation, God reveals his wisdom and power.
Job 42 — The epilogue: repentance and restoration
Job repents, intercedes for his friends and receives double his possessions.

Key points

Job is not being punished: God himself declares him upright and blameless, with no equal on earth (1:1, 8).
The hidden stake is this: is his faith disinterested (1:9)?
Satan can do nothing without God’s permission, and only within the limits God sets (1:12; 2:6).
Job loses everything and yet says: “blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21).
The friends have too simple a theology: all suffering would be the punishment of sin (4:7-8; 8:4; 22:5).
In the heart of the trial, Job proclaims: “I know that my redeemer liveth” (19:25).
God does not answer the “why”: he reveals himself, and that is enough for Job (38:4; 42:5).
Job is restored when he prays for the friends who had wounded him (42:10).

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 1:21 — Job’s answer of faith on the day of total loss.

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19:25–26 — The hope of a living redeemer and of the resurrection.

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:10 — The trial understood as a crucible that purifies gold.

Jesus in Job

Job calls for an umpire to lay his hand on both God and man (9:33), a witness in heaven (16:19) and a living redeemer (19:25). This threefold cry finds its answer in Jesus Christ, the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:5). Job, the righteous man who suffers undeservedly and then intercedes for those who judged him wrongly (42:10), foreshadows Christ, and the accuser of the prologue will in the end be “cast down” (Rev 12:10).

Did you know?

Ezekiel places Job alongside Noah and Daniel among the righteous (Ezek 14:14), and James holds up his patience as an example (Jas 5:11).
God exactly doubles Job’s livestock (42:12), but gives him seven sons and three daughters again, not double (42:13): many see in this a sign that his first children were not lost forever.
Job’s daughters, Jemimah, Keziah and Keren-happuch, are named while the sons are not, and they receive an inheritance along with their brothers, which was rare in those days (42:14-15).

Quiz on Job

In which land did Job live?

What words does Job speak as he bows to the ground, right after learning that his children are dead?

What does Job’s wife advise her husband to do?

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.