It tells the story of a man named job and all of the turmoil he goes through because satan thinks that he can get job to turn on god. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. The book of job is 400 lines shorter in the septuagint than the masoretic because of the translation process that sought to simplify the oriental poetic style text into a coles notes dynamic equivalent for a target greek audience. Ancient jewish tradition credits the authorship of the book of job in the hebrew bible to moses. God saw all of this, and he was very pleased with job. There is limited information in the book of job about its geographical and historical background. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends. No other personal, corporate or theological issues. In this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. In this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks. The prologue, which provides context in the heavenly. The scene shifts to heaven, where god asks satan hebrew.
Though we cannot be certain, job may have lived during the time of jacob or shortly thereafter. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. It begins with an introduction to jobs characterhe is described as a blessed man who lives righteously in the land of uz. For jobs friends, there are two reasons for assuming jobs sinfulness and his troubles as a result of some sin in his life. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner. It teaches humility as god reminds job who is really in control, steadfastness as job refuses to curse god despite his circumstances, and joy and reward when the latter part of. But this claim is rejected by many modern scholars and instead. When he sees how massive job s punishment is, he compares that to his handy dandy chart of sintopunishment ratios, and concludes that job must have done something awful 22. Background and outline job bible commentary theology. Job, possibly the strangest book in the bible, is based on legends going back. Aug 29, 2018 in this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks.
What does the book of job teach us about the coronavirus. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. After the flood and long before moses after 2350 bc and before 1750 bc. Other than being from uz, the first thing the bible tells us about job is that he was righteous and godly, blameless and upright, a man who feared god and shunned evil job 1. Little does satan know that job is godfearing and determined to lean on god. The central figure in the book of job, jobs intense suffering supplies the framework for the primary theme of the book, which deals with the role of suffering in the life of a believer. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner job 1. Apr 29, 20 job lived after the flood, because it was after the flood that uz was born, uz was one of the decendant of ham son of noah, so most likely he was born by uz and dwelt there and became great and god fearing than his brothers.
He struggles to understand his situation and begins a search for the answers to his difficulties. In the pseudepigrapha, one finds the testament of job. Satan wanted job to suffer even more, so he caused sores to break out all over jobs body. The book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. We also know job was a man greatly tested by god and even more greatly blessed by god.
Polzin, the framework of the book of job, int 31 1974. Jobs story invites us to consider what it means that god runs the world. His nonisraelite status explains the absence of many key theological elements in the book, including law, covenant, temple and reference to yahweh, according to the niv cultural backgrounds study bible. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. As was said of goliaths sword, there is none like it, none in ancient or in modern literature. Job sacrifices to god as head of his family a practice of patriarchal times that stopped with moses job 1. Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that job s sin caused his suffering. The most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. The book of job is considered to be one of the three books of wisdom literature found within the bible. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the lord pro 18. Job certainly did suffer, but there is more to his story than just his suffering. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway.
Jan 24, 2011 we should also learn from jobs experience to maintain patient respect and trust in god even in the midst of our sufferings james 5. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. Job is one of the most famous people in scripture, yet he is rarely listed as a favorite bible character. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Job was heartbroken, but he did not stop worshipping jehovah. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1.
God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is. In the land of uz modern day saudi arabia, there lived a man whose name was job. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Background and outline job bible commentary theology of. With that in mind, eliphaz interprets jobs musings as whining. One talmudic tractate claims the book of job was written by moses. The complete book of job is composed of the dialogue of job, his friends and god regarding the issues of god s goodness, his power, and evil in the world. The babylonian talmud claims, moses wrote his own book, and the passages about balaam and job baba bathra, 14b, 15a.
The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering. However, it can be helpful to understand general information about the geography and history of the area to give you a context for reading and studying the book of job. Jan 02, 2020 god restored jobs fortunes twofold job 42. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that jobs sin caused his suffering. Other than being from uz, the first thing the bible tells us about job is that he. The prologue on earth introduces job as a righteous man, blessed with wealth, sons, and daughters, who lives in the land of uz. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b.
God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. The book of job is the story of a normal human being who is beset by misfortune and suffering.
Job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by satan with gods permission with horrendous disasters that take away all that he holds dear, including his offspring, his health, and his property. Job begins another section the poetical books of the bible which also includes psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, song of solomon, and the little book of lamentations. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job, some new theme seems to. We should also learn from jobs experience to maintain patient respect and trust in god even in the midst of our sufferings james 5. One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. This bible study book of job was originally part of a series of devotions written in 2008 while going through the bible chronologically. In addition to them, the patriarch job is pointed out in verse 11 as an outstanding example of steadfast faith in the way he handled severe trials. Another claims it dates back to the time of jacob, that job is the son. Behind the scenes job, unaware at the time of the behind the scenes dialogue between god and satan, thought all his problems were a result of gods discipline. The life of job demonstrates that humans are often unaware of the many ways god is at work in the life of each believer. When he sees how massive jobs punishment is, he compares that to his handy dandy chart of sintopunishment ratios, and concludes that job must have done something awful 22. The author of the book of job was a hebrew poet who had an extensive vocabulary. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has blessed him abundantly.
According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. The most hurtful comments of jobs friends bible study. Job is the central figure of the book of job in the bible. There are 12 devotions including this one from the book of job. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job.
Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. The friends do not waver in their belief that jobs suffering is. The same god is both the punisher and the healer in life. The book of job the book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. Job is the last of the three books that explore these themes of biblical. A literary masterpiece of the english language, the original king james bible is still in use today. In hindu theology, the principle of cause and effect is so airtight that the person has to suffer consequences, good or bad, for anything he does, for many lives to come. Therefore it is not an indepth study of job in the bible. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom.
Jobs life is also one that prompts the common question, why do bad things happen to good people. Dec 29, 2016 the most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. The book of job is one of the most epic and powerful books in the bible. Job never lost his faith in god, even under the most heartbreaking circumstances that tested him to his core. Therefore it is not an in depth study of job in the bible. Others suggest that job was contemporaneous with moses 0 bce. The book of job was also found among the dead sea scrolls. The book of job is not only one of the most remarkable in the bible, but in literature. Look at the specific lessons we can learn about responding to trials as revealed in the book of job. Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. Eliphaz refers to the flood as being in the past in job 22. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because god has favored him generously.
The book of job is often upheld as an example of godly patience while suffering. With that in mind, eliphaz interprets job s musings as whining. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. Book of job overview insight for living ministries. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. In old testament times, authors sometimes referred to themselves in the third person, so jobs authorship is a strong possibility.
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