Job

When suffering comes to us, we often ask why. People sometimes say it’s because the sufferer did something wrong. The book of Job examines the suffering of one man who suffered precisely because he was blameless. Job’s friends supposed that he was guilty of some unknown sin. They tried to persuade him to repent, but Job knew he hadn’t sinned, so he questioned God. Finally, God appeared, but he did not give Job the answers he sought. Instead, God confronted Job, changed his perspective, and blessed him.

Setting

The book of Job unfolds early in the patriarchal age, before Israel became a nation. Job’s wealth, like Abraham’s, was in livestock and slaves (1:3; 42:12; see Gen 12:16; 32:5). He was his family’s priest, as was a common practice before the law of Moses (1:5; 42:8; see Gen 4:4; 8:20; 12:7-8; 13:18; 15:9-10; 26:25; 33:20; 35:1-6; 46:1). During Job’s time, the Sabeans and Chaldeans were nomadic raiders (1:15, 17), not important political and economic powers as in the late monarchical period (cp. Isa 45:14; Joel 3:8). The money used by Job and his relatives was called the kesitah, which was used during the patriarchal age (42:11; see Gen 33:19; Josh 24:32). Only those who lived before the flood (Gen 1–6) and the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) matched or exceeded Job’s longevity (42:16; see Gen 5:3-32; 25:7; 35:28; 47:28; 50:26). With Job, we return to the beginning of history, when mortals first struggled to know God and understand the world.

Summary

The prose introduction to the book of Job (chs 1–2) provides the heavenly perspective on Job’s suffering and sets the context for the human dialogue that forms most of the work. Job was a righteous man whom God allowed Satan to test. In the heavenly courtroom, Satan argued that if God removed his blessings from Job, he would “surely curse you to your face” (1:11). Instead, Job responded, “Praise the name of the Lord!” (1:21), and, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (2:10). God’s praise for Job was vindicated.

The reader then leaves the court of heaven and enters the council of humans as three of Job’s friends come to sympathize with him. Their silent, seven-day vigil is apparently a genuine attempt to console Job (2:11-13). However, when Job breaks his silence with a bitter complaint (ch 3), his counselors begin to criticize and condemn him. In three rounds of debate (chs 4–27), their rhetoric varies from innuendo to blatant accusation. Job’s friends argue a tight theological case: Since God is righteous, he rewards each person according to what that person has done; therefore, Job’s suffering must be the just punishment for some evil he has committed. Job responds to each of their speeches by insisting that he is innocent and that his suffering is undeserved and unfair.

After the three rounds of dialogue between Job and his friends, a poetic interlude praises God as the sole source of wisdom (ch 28). When Job then makes his final statement about both his misery and his righteousness (chs 29–31), his three friends give up on him (32:1). Elihu, a new voice, then renews the human struggle to explain Job’s suffering (chs 32–37). Finally, God arrives to challenge Job (chs 38–41). Instead of hearing Job’s case, God demands answers and poses questions that demonstrate his own power and sovereignty. Job responds with repentance and acknowledges that he does not have the right to question God (42:1-6).

In the final prose section (42:7-17), God reaffirms Job’s righteousness and faithfulness, pronounces judgment on Job’s friends, and pours out tremendous blessings on Job.

Job as History

The heavenly setting of the book’s opening and the manifestation of the supernatural at its closing tempt the modern reader to cast the book of Job as a fictional parable. The poetic dialogues also suggest that it is something more than just a dry historical record. But history can be described in flights of poetry just as well as in detailed narrative (cp. Exod 14:21-31; 15:1-12; Pss 78; 105). The biblical record elsewhere suggests that the account of Job is historical. Both Ezekiel and James referred to Job as an example of righteousness and endurance (Ezek 14:14, 20; Jas 5:11).

Author and Date of Composition

The authorship and composition of Job is a riddle. Although the story has a patriarchal setting (around 2000 BC), the date of its composition appears to be much later. Commentators have suggested dates that range from the era of Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Exodus—Numbers) to the era following the return from exile (Ezra—Nehemiah). The final composition of Job probably took place during the monarchy (1–2 Kings), when other wisdom materials such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were being accumulated.

Even if we accept that Job was a historical character, we still do not know who the author was, where he lived, or what level of society he came from. The author appears to have been a sage who was skilled in the use of proverbs (e.g., 4:2; 6:5-6), rhetorical questions (e.g., 21:29), and the art of eloquence. He also knew about plant and animal life, foreign culture, and antiquity, including the patriarchal period.

The book cannot be dated with certainty by reference to (1) events or people mentioned or implied in the book (the earliest reference to Job is during the Exile, Ezek 14:14, 20); (2) theological ideas in the book that point to distinct dates; or (3) its textual relationship to other material in the Old Testament (e.g., cp. 3:3-10; Jer 20:14-18). Job may even have been edited over a period of time by a number of different people.

Literary Characteristics

Ancient Parallels to Job. The book of Job has several parallels in ancient Near Eastern literature (The following list of parallels is based on James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament , 3rd ed. [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969]):

• The Canaanite “Legend of King Keret” tells of a king who loses his family in a series of natural disasters; his god El restores his family.

• The Egyptian document “Dispute over Suicide” (2000s BC) tells of a man who considers suicide and hopes that someone will take up his case with the heavenly council. (Job wishes he had never been born, but he never considers suicide.)

• Also from Egypt, “Protests of the Eloquent Peasant” (2200s BC) tells the story of a robbery victim who is not treated justly and appeals to local authorities. At first he is polite, but as he keeps presenting his case, his language becomes increasingly strident.

• From Babylonia, the story “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom” tells of a pious man of high rank who is struck with illness and mocked by friends. Unlike Job, this man believes that he has committed some accidental sin, perhaps something that he never thought was wrong. Rather than maintain his innocence, he acknowledges his guilt and begs for mercy. After a series of exorcisms that bring healing, his god restores his fortunes. In gratitude, he concludes with a long hymn of praise to his god.

• Also from Babylonia, the “Babylonian Theodicy” follows the same dialogue form that the book of Job uses: The sufferer complains, and his friends respond with rebukes. The arguments on both sides are remarkably similar to those in Job. Yet we also see key differences: (1) The “Babylonian Theodicy” is polytheistic, whereas Job is monotheistic; (2) its sufferer threatens to abandon his faith and give up obedience, even as he ends with a petition to his god and goddess. Job remains committed to the Lord throughout (e.g., Job 13:15-16).

Relationship to Israel’s Wisdom Literature. The book of Job has the flavor of other works of Old Testament wisdom literature. Job’s friends follow lines of thought spelled out in Deuteronomy, Chronicles, and Proverbs. They argue that wisdom and righteousness lead to life and prosperity, while folly and wickedness lead to death and failure. Job joins the author of Ecclesiastes in questioning the simplistic, universal application of this doctrine.

Meaning and Message

The book of Job does not explain suffering. That is not its purpose. But it does demonstrate that suffering is not necessarily God’s retribution for sin. Job does not get an answer as to why bad things happen to good people, and neither do we.

The central conflict of the book is between the integrity of the Creator and the integrity of a man. Heaven and earth appear to be at odds. It is too easy simply to line up with Job’s three friends in denying Job’s innocence, as we can appeal to various New Testament passages that deny that any human is righteous (e.g., Rom 3:10, 23; Luke 18:19). Job’s righteousness is genuine and thorough, though his obsession with his own rectitude sometimes borders on self-righteousness. He grows so adamant in defending his integrity that he seems ready to defy God. Job’s three friends set out a view of God that is more orthodox, at least on the surface. These counselors are more than weak, imaginary straw men; they accurately develop most of the biblical ways of explaining suffering. But their presumptuous applications go sour. They insist on a quid pro quo view of retribution, in which all the good and evil that people experience is directly related to what they have earned or deserved.

The book works within the basic commitments of Old Testament Israel’s faith. Job and all of the other speakers take seriously the covenantal ideas of blessing and cursing (Lev 26; Deut 28) and of sowing and reaping in this life (Ps 34:11-22; see also Gal 6:7; 1 Pet 3:10). They don’t even consider solutions to the problem of why God permits the righteous to suffer (theodicy) from outside the scope of biblical revelation (e.g., metaphysical dualism, polytheistic tensions, or materialistic naturalism). Instead, the book’s speakers explore only biblical answers. They explain the meaning of suffering as (1) punishment for sin (e.g., Job 4:7-9); (2) the inevitable lot of mortals, who tend toward sin (e.g., 15:14-16); (3) God’s discipline (e.g., 5:17-18; 33:15-28; 36:8-15; see Prov 3:11; Heb 12:2-13); (4) part of God’s mysterious plan (e.g., Job 11:7-8; 37:19, 23); or (5) a test imposed on earth to satisfy a heavenly dispute (e.g., 1:6-12).

Since life “under the sun” (see Ecclesiastes) is an arena too small to provide answers to all the great questions, the writer looks to the courts of heaven for a divine dimension to what takes place on earth. But the answer is not disclosed even there. Why did God entertain Satan’s challenge in the first place?

In the end, the book of Job shows God defending Job’s innocence and rejecting easy explanations of suffering. God also rejects Job’s demands for an explanation. Since Job could not possibly understand the whole universe, he should not demand an explanation of how his suffering fits into that order. The world cannot be explained in terms that humans can fully understand.

The book of Job thus offers a complex picture of God. He could have rejected Satan’s suggestion, having nothing to prove; yet he chose to allow the test, ultimately demonstrating his power and bringing defeat to Satan through the human Job. God never explains to Job what is happening behind the scenes. Instead, God challenges Job’s right to question the integrity of divine justice (40:8).

The way to live through calamities is not just to keep a stiff upper lip but to bow reverently before God and trust his sovereign goodness. In a day of calamity, humans can respond to God by worshiping him and acknowledging the wisdom and justice of his ways, regardless of how harsh the pain or dark the confusion. God’s holy purposes for human suffering are sometimes hidden. In the end, Job draws closer to God through his suffering: “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes” (42:5).

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Job

This book of Job stands by itself, is not connected with any other, and is therefore to be considered alone. Many copies of the Hebrew Bible place it after the book of Psalms, and some after the Proverbs, which perhaps has given occasion to some learned men to imagine it to have been written by Isaiah or some of the later prophets. But, as the subject appears to have been much more ancient, so we have no reason to think but that the composition of the book was, and that therefore it is most fitly placed first in this collection of divine morals: also, being doctrinal, it is proper to precede and introduce the book of Psalms, which is devotional, and the book of Proverbs, which is practical; for how shall we worship or obey a God whom we know not? As to this book,

I. We are sure that it is given by inspiration of God, though we are not certain who was the penman of it. The Jews, though no friends to Job, because he was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, yet, as faithful conservators of the oracles of God committed to them, always retained this book in their sacred canon. The history is referred to by one apostle (Jam 5:11) and one passage (Job 5:13) is quoted by another apostle, with the usual form of quoting scripture, It is written, Co1 3:19. It is the opinion of many of the ancients that this history was written by Moses himself in Midian, and delivered to his suffering brethren in Egypt, for their support and comfort under their burdens, and the encouragement of their hope that God would in due time deliver and enrich them, as he did this patient sufferer. Some conjecture that it was written originally in Arabic, and afterwards translated into Hebrew, for the use of the Jewish church, by Solomon (so Monsieur Jurieu) or some other inspired writer. It seems most probable to me that Elihu was the penman of it, at least of the discourses, because (Job 32:15, Job 32:16) he mingles the words of a historian with those of a disputant: but Moses perhaps wrote the first two chapters and the last, to give light to the discourses; for in them God is frequently called Jehovah, but not once in all the discourses, except Job 12:9. That name was but little known to the patriarchs before Moses, Exo 6:3. If Job wrote it himself, some of the Jewish writers themselves own him a prophet among the Gentiles; if Elihu, we find he had a spirit of prophecy which filled him with matter and constrained him, Job 32:18.

II. We are sure that it is, for the substance of it, a true history, and not a romance, though the dialogues are poetical. No doubt there was such a man as Job; the prophet Ezekiel names him with Noah and Daniel, Eze 14:14. The narrative we have here of his prosperity and piety, his strange afflictions and exemplary patience, the substance of his conferences with his friends, and God's discourse with him out of the whirlwind, with his return at length to a very prosperous condition, no doubt is exactly true, though the inspired penman is allowed the usual liberty of putting the matter of which Job and his friends discoursed into his own words.

III. We are sure that it is very ancient, though we cannot fix the precise time either when Job lived or when the book was written. So many, so evident, are its hoary hairs, the marks of its antiquity, that we have reason to think it of equal date with the book of Genesis itself, and that holy Job was contemporary with Isaac and Jacob; though not coheir with them of the promise of the earthly Canaan, yet a joint-expectant with them of the better country, that is, the heavenly. Probably he was of the posterity of Nahor, Abraham's brother, whose first-born was Uz (Gen 22:21), and in whose family religion was for some ages kept up, as appears, Gen 31:53, where God is called, not only the God of Abraham, but the God of Nahor. He lived before the age of man was shortened to seventy or eighty, as it was in Moses's time, before sacrifices were confined to one altar, before the general apostasy of the nations from the knowledge and worship of the true God, and while yet there was no other idolatry known than the worship of the sun and moon, and that punished by the Judges, Job 31:26-28. He lived while God was known by the name of God Almighty more than by the name of Jehovah; for he is called Shaddai - the Almighty, above thirty times in this book. He lived while divine knowledge was conveyed, not by writing, but by tradition; for to that appeals are here made, Job 8:8; Job 21:29; Job 15:18; Job 5:1. And we have therefore reason to think that he lived before Moses, because here is no mention at all of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or the giving of the law. There is indeed one passage which might be made to allude to the drowning of Pharaoh (Job 26:12): He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab, which name Egypt is frequently called by in scripture, as Psa 87:4; Psa 89:10; Isa 51:9. But that may as well refer to the proud waves of the sea. We conclude therefore that we are here got back to the patriarchal age, and, besides its authority, we receive this book with veneration for its antiquity.

IV. We are sure that it is of great use to the church, and to every good Christian, though there are many passages in it dark and hard to be understood. We cannot perhaps be confident of the true meaning of every Arabic word and phrase we meet with in it. It is a book that finds a great deal of work for the critics; but enough is plain to make the whole profitable, and it was all written for our learning.

1. This noble poem presents to us, in very clear and lively characters, these five things among others: - (1.) A monument of primitive theology. The first and great principles of the light of nature, on which natural religion is founded, are here, in a warm, and long, and learned dispute, not only taken for granted on all sides and not the least doubt made of them, but by common consent plainly laid down as eternal truths, illustrated and urged as affecting commanding truths. Were ever the being of God, his glorious attributes and perfections, his unsearchable wisdom, his irresistible power, his inconceivable glory, his inflexible justice, and his incontestable sovereignty, discoursed of with more clearness, fulness, reverence, and divine eloquence, than in this book? The creation of the world, and the government of it, are here admirably described, not as matters of nice speculation, but as laying most powerful obligations upon us to fear and serve, to submit to and trust in, our Creator, owner, Lord, and ruler. Moral good and evil, virtue and vice, were never drawn more to the life (the beauty of the one and the deformity of the other) than in this book; nor the inviolable rule of God's judgment more plainly laid down, That happy are the righteous, it shall be well with them; and Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them. These are not questions of the schools to keep the learned world in action, nor engines of state to keep the unlearned world in awe; no, it appears by this book that they are sacred truths of undoubted certainty, and which all the wise and sober part of mankind have in every age subscribed and submitted to. (2.) It presents us with a specimen of Gentile piety. This great saint descended probably not from Abraham, but Nahor; or, if from Abraham, not from Isaac, but from one of the sons of the concubines that were sent into the east-country (Gen 25:6); or, if from Isaac, yet not from Jacob, but Esau; so that he was out of the pale of the covenant of peculiarity, no Israelite, no proselyte, and yet none like him for religion, nor such a favourite of heaven upon this earth. It was a truth therefore, before St. Peter perceived it, that in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him, Act 10:35. There were children of God scattered abroad (Joh 11:52) besides the incorporated children of the kingdom, Mat 8:11, Mat 8:12. (3.) It presents us with an exposition of the book of Providence, and a clear and satisfactory solution of many of the difficult and obscure passages of it. The prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous have always been reckoned two as hard chapters as any in that book; but they are here expounded, and reconciled with the divine wisdom, purity, and goodness, by the end of these things. (4.) It presents us with a great example of patience and close adherence to God in the midst of the sorest calamities. Sir Richard Blackmore's most ingenious pen, in his excellent preface to his paraphrase on this book, makes Job a hero proper for an epic poem; for, says he, "He appears brave in distress and valiant in affliction, maintains his virtue, and with that his character, under the most exasperating provocations that the malice of hell could invent, and thereby gives a most noble example of passive fortitude, a character no way inferior to that of the active hero," etc. (5.) It presents us with an illustrious type of Christ, the particulars of which we shall endeavour to take notice of as we go along. In general, Job was a great sufferer, was emptied and humbled, but in order to his greater glory. So Christ abased himself, that we might be exalted. The learned bishop Patrick quotes St. Jerome ore than once speaking of Job as a type of Christ, who for the job that was set before him endured the cross, who was persecuted, for a time, by men and devils, and seemed forsaken of God too, but was raised to be an intercessor even for his friends and had added affliction to his misery. When the apostle speaks of the patience of Job he immediately takes notice of the end of the Lord, that is, of the Lord Jesus (as some understand it), typified by Job, Jam 5:11.

2. In this book we have, (1.) The history of Job's sufferings, and his patience under them (ch. 1, Job 2:1-13, not without a mixture of human frailty, ch. 3. (2.) A dispute between him and his friends upon them, in which, [1.] The opponents were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. [2.] The respondent was Job. [3.] The moderators were, First, Elihu, ch. 32-37. Secondly, God himself, ch. 38-41. (3.) The issue of all in Job's honour and prosperity, ch. 42. Upon the whole, we learn that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but that when the Lord delivers them out of them all the trial of their faith will be found to praise, and honour, and glory.

JOB A REAL PERSON.—It has been supposed by some that the book of Job is an allegory, not a real narrative, on account of the artificial character of many of its statements. Thus the sacred numbers, three and seven, often occur. He had seven thousand sheep, seven sons, both before and after his trials; his three friends sit down with him seven days and seven nights; both before and after his trials he had three daughters. So also the number and form of the speeches of the several speakers seem to be artificial. The name of Job, too, is derived from an Arabic word signifying repentance.

But Eze 14:14 (compare Eze 14:16, Eze 14:20) speaks of "Job" in conjunction with "Noah and Daniel," real persons. St. James (Jam 5:11) also refers to Job as an example of "patience," which he would not have been likely to do had Job been only a fictitious person. Also the names of persons and places are specified with a particularity not to be looked for in an allegory. As to the exact doubling of his possessions after his restoration, no doubt the round number is given for the exact number, as the latter approached near the former; this is often done in undoubtedly historical books. As to the studied number and form of the speeches, it seems likely that the arguments were substantially those which appear in the book, but that the studied and poetic form was given by Job himself, guided by the Holy Spirit. He lived one hundred and forty years after his trials, and nothing would be more natural than that he should, at his leisure, mould into a perfect form the arguments used in the momentous debate, for the instruction of the Church in all ages. Probably, too, the debate itself occupied several sittings; and the number of speeches assigned to each was arranged by preconcerted agreement, and each was allowed the interval of a day or more to prepare carefully his speech and replies; this will account for the speakers bringing forward their arguments in regular series, no one speaking out of his turn. As to the name Job—repentance (supposing the derivation correct)—it was common in old times to give a name from circumstances which occurred at an advanced period of life, and this is no argument against the reality of the person.

WHERE JOB LIVED.—"Uz," according to GESENIUS, means a light, sandy soil, and was in the north of Arabia-Deserta, between Palestine and the Euphrates, called by PTOLEMY (Geography, 19) Ausitai or Aisitai. In Gen 10:23; Gen 22:21; Gen 36:28; and Ch1 1:17, Ch1 1:42, it is the name of a man. In Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21; and Job 1:1, it is a country. Uz, in Gen 22:21, is said to be the son of Nahor, brother of Abraham—a different person from the one mentioned (Gen 10:23), a grandson of Shem. The probability is that the country took its name from the latter of the two; for this one was the son of Aram, from whom the Arameans take their name, and these dwelt in Mesopotamia, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Compare as to the dwelling of the sons of Shem in Gen 10:30, "a mount of the East," answering to "men of the East" (Job 1:3). RAWLINSON, in his deciphering of the Assyrian inscriptions, states that "Uz is the prevailing name of the country at the mouth of the Euphrates." It is probable that Eliphaz the Temanite and the Sabeans dwelt in that quarter; and we know that the Chaldeans resided there, and not near Idumea, which some identify with Uz. The tornado from "the wilderness" (Job 1:19) agrees with the view of it being Arabia-Deserta. Job (Job 1:3) is called "the greatest of the men of the East"; but Idumea was not east, but south of Palestine: therefore in Scripture language, the phrase cannot apply to that country, but probably refers to the north of Arabia-Deserta, between Palestine, Idumea, and the Euphrates. So the Arabs still show in the Houran a place called Uz as the residence of Job.

THE AGE WHEN JOB LIVED.—EUSEBIUS fixes it two ages before Moses, that is, about the time of Isaac: eighteen hundred years before Christ, and six hundred after the Deluge. Agreeing with this are the following considerations: 1. Job's length of life is patriarchal, two hundred years. 2. He alludes only to the earliest form of idolatry, namely, the worship of the sun, moon, and heavenly hosts (called Saba, whence arises the title "Lord of Sabaoth," as opposed to Sabeanism) (Job 31:26-28). 3. The number of oxen and rams sacrificed, seven, as in the case of Balaam. God would not have sanctioned this after the giving of the Mosaic law, though He might graciously accommodate Himself to existing customs before the law. 4. The language of Job is Hebrew, interspersed occasionally with Syriac and Arabic expressions, implying a time when all the Shemitic tribes spoke one common tongue and had not branched into different dialects, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic. 5. He speaks of the most ancient kind of writing, namely, sculpture. Riches also are reckoned by cattle. The Hebrew word, translated "a piece of money," ought rather be rendered "a lamb." 6. There is no allusion to the exodus from Egypt and to the miracles that accompanied it; nor to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (PATRICK, however, thinks there is); though there is to the Flood (Job 22:17); and these events, happening in Job's vicinity, would have been striking illustrations of the argument for God's interposition in destroying the wicked and vindicating the righteous, had Job and his friends known of them. Nor is there any undoubted reference to the Jewish law, ritual, and priesthood. 7. The religion of Job is that which prevailed among the patriarchs previous to the law; sacrifices performed by the head of the family; no officiating priesthood, temple, or consecrated altar.

THE WRITER.—All the foregoing facts accord with Job himself having been the author. The style of thought, imagery, and manners, are such as we should look for in the work of an Arabian emir. There is precisely that degree of knowledge of primitive tradition (see Job 31:33, as to Adam) which was universally spread abroad in the days of Noah and Abraham, and which was subsequently embodied in the early chapters of Genesis. Job, in his speeches, shows that he was much more competent to compose the work than Elihu, to whom LIGHTFOOT attributes it. The style forbids its being attributed to Moses, to whom its composition is by some attributed, "whilst he was among the Midianites, about 1520 B.C." But the fact, that it, though not a Jewish book, appears among the Hebrew sacred writings, makes it likely that it came to the knowledge of Moses during the forty years which he passed in parts of Arabia, chiefly near Horeb; and that he, by divine guidance, introduced it as a sacred writing to the Israelites, to whom, in their affliction, the patience and restoration of Job were calculated to be a lesson of especial utility. That it is inspired appears from the fact that Paul (Co1 3:19) quotes it (Job 5:13) with the formula, "It is written." Our Savior, too Mat 24:28), plainly refers to Job 29:30. Compare also Jam 4:10 and Pe1 5:6 with Job 22:29; Rom 11:34-35 with Job 15:8. It is probably the oldest book in the world. It stands among the Hagiographa in the threefold division of Scripture into the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa ("Psalms," Luk 24:44).

DESIGN OF THE BOOK.—It is a public debate in poetic form on an important question concerning the divine government; moreover the prologue and epilogue, which are in prose, shed the interest of a living history over the debate, which would otherwise be but a contest of abstract reasonings. To each speaker of the three friends three speeches are assigned. Job having no one to stand by him is allowed to reply to each speech of each of the three. Eliphaz, as the oldest, leads the way. Zophar, at his third turn, failed to speak, thus virtually owning himself overcome (Job 27:1-23). Therefore Job continued his reply, which forms three speeches (Job 26:1-14; Job 27:1-23; Job 28:1-28; Job 29:1-31:40). Elihu (Job 32:1-37:24) is allowed four speeches. Jehovah makes three addresses (Job 38:1-41:34). Thus, throughout there is a tripartite division. The whole is divided into three parts—the prologue, poem proper, and epilogue. The poem, into three—(1) The dispute of Job and his three friends; (2) The address of Elihu; (3) The address of God. There are three series in the controversy, and in the same order. The epilogue (Job 42:1-17) also is threefold; Job's justification, reconciliation with his friends, restoration. The speakers also in their successive speeches regularly advance from less to greater vehemence. With all this artificial composition, everything seems easy and natural.

The question to be solved, as exemplified in the case of Job, is, Why are the righteous afflicted consistently with God's justice? The doctrine of retribution after death, no doubt, is the great solution of the difficulty. And to it Job plainly refers in Job 14:14, and Job 19:25. The objection to this, that the explicitness of the language on the resurrection in Job is inconsistent with the obscurity on the subject in the early books of the Old Testament, is answered by the fact that Job enjoyed the divine vision (Job 38:1; Job 42:5), and therefore, by inspiration, foretold these truths. Next, the revelations made outside of Israel being few needed to be the more explicit; thus Balaam's prophecy (Num 24:17) was clear enough to lead the wise men of the East by the star (Mat 2:2); and in the age before the written law, it was the more needful for God not to leave Himself without witness of the truth. Still Job evidently did not fully realize the significance designed by the Spirit in his own words (compare Pe1 1:11-12). The doctrine, though existing, was not plainly revealed or at least understood. Hence he does not mainly refer to this solution. Yes, and even now, we need something in addition to this solution. David, who firmly believed in a future retribution (Psa 16:10; Psa 17:15), still felt the difficulty not entirely solved thereby (Psa. 83:1-18). The solution is not in Job's or in his three friends' speeches. It must, therefore, be in Elihu's. God will hold a final judgment, no doubt, to clear up all that seems dark in His present dealings; but He also now providentially and morally governs the world and all the events of human life. Even the comparatively righteous are not without sin which needs to be corrected. The justice and love of God administer the altogether deserved and merciful correction. Affliction to the godly is thus mercy and justice in disguise. The afflicted believer on repentance sees this. "Via crucis, via salutis" ["The way of the cross, the way of deliverance"]. Though afflicted, the godly are happier even now than the ungodly, and when affliction has attained its end, it is removed by the Lord. In the Old Testament the consolations are more temporal and outward; in the New Testament, more spiritual; but in neither to the entire exclusion of the other. "Prosperity," says BACON, "is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity that of the New Testament, which is the mark of God's more especial favor. Yet even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost has labored more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes." This solution of Elihu is seconded by the addresses of God, in which it is shown God must be just (because He is God), as Elihu had shown how God can be just, and yet the righteous be afflicted. It is also acquiesced in by Job, who makes no reply. God reprimands the "three" friends, but not Elihu. Job's general course is approved; he is directed to intercede for his friends, and is restored to double his former prosperity.

POETRY.—In all countries poetry is the earliest form of composition as being best retained in the memory. In the East especially it was customary for sentiments to be preserved in a terse, proverbial, and poetic form (called maschal). Hebrew poetry is not constituted by the rhythm or meter, but in a form peculiar to itself: 1. In an alphabetical arrangement somewhat like our acrostic. For instance, Lam. 1:1-22. 2. The same verse repeated at intervals; as in Psa 42:1-11; Psa. 107:1-43. 3. Rhythm of gradation. Psalms of degrees, Psa. 120:1-134:3, in which the expression of the previous verse is resumed and carried forward in the next (Psa 121:1-8). 4. The chief characteristic of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, or the correspondence of the same ideas in the parallel clauses. The earliest instance is Enoch's prophecy (Jde 1:14), and Lamech's parody of it (Gen 4:23). Three kinds occur: (1) The synonymous parallelism, in which the second is a repetition of the first, with or without increase of force (Psa 22:27; Isa 15:1); sometimes with double parallelism (Isa 1:15). (2) The antithetic, in which the idea of the second clause is the converse of that in the first (Pro 10:1). (3) The synthetic, where there is a correspondence between different propositions, noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, the sentiment, moreover, being not merely echoed, or put in contrast, but enforced by accessory ideas (Job 3:3-9). Also alternate (Isa 51:19). "Desolation and destruction, famine and sword," that is, desolation by famine, and destruction by the sword. Introverted; where the fourth answers to the first, and the third to the second (Mat 7:6). Parallelism thus often affords a key to the interpretation. For fuller information, see LOWTH (Introduction to Isaiah, and Lecture on Hebrew Poetry) and HERDER (Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, translated by Marsh). The simpler and less artificial forms of parallelism prevail in Job—a mark of its early age.

Next: Job Chapter 1