What he asks can be paraphrased as why do bad things happen to good people. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. It is the most misunderstood, misused, and misapplied book in the bible.
If you have not read this series from the beginning, i would highly recommend that you go back and start with part 1. However, unlike the careful, and at times paranoid, job of the book. The book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. The pressure brought to bear upon him was from satan although job was wholly unaware of this. The book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. 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, book of webbible encyclopedia christiananswers. Nov 25, 2007 in job, the title character does, at one time, come close to giving up, and confronts god directly.
In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. With help of fat au, carrie and hood find the man who took job from the camp. Summary of the books of job the story of the bible.
Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Though we cannot be certain, job may have lived during the time of jacob or shortly thereafter. Oct 24, 2008 the book of job highlights the universal issue that is before every living person. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. Jun 09, 2014 the book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible.
Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. A great diversity of opinion exists as to the authorship of this book. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim section of the hebrew bible, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job.
From internal evidence, such as the similarity of sentiment and language to those in the psalms and proverbs see psalm 88 and 89, the prevalence of the idea of wisdom, and the style and character of the composition, it is supposed by some to have been written in the time of david and solomon. Job had 10 children who appear to be adults at the time his suffering began. Well be studying the last chapter of the book of job today. And, of course, we still have the book of job today. Understanding the book of job by tom tompkins escape. The book tells the story of a man who loses everything. In job, the title character does, at one time, come close to giving up, and confronts god directly. Then there is the last chapter that puts the closure on the whole thing.
Book of job overview insight for living ministries. This overview and outline of job is intended to assist you as you seek god by studying his word. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal age with noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, and other heads of. The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. Jun 28, 2010 the book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people.
Is the book of job meant to be an allegoryparable or a true history of a real person. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. Welcome to our job 9 explained article, where well study job chapter 9, verses 12 through 23. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he forbids satan to take jobs life in the process.
However, the name does occur in genesis 46 and ezekiel 14. Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it. The book of job explained essaysthe book of job is not simply a story, but a fable, rich with meaning and lessons to be learned. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to the original book. When good people suffer, what does god want from them. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. It is the philosophical riddle that concerns us in such an introduction as this. The book of job is among the other old testament books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. The book of job and the paradox of suffering my jewish.
Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. Mar 19, 2012 job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28. The book of job by arno clement gaebelein 18611942. The first quality we notice regarding the book of job is its poetic medium. Justice in the book of job essay 511 words bartleby. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it among the literary masterpieces of all time. In the episode, lisa is shocked to discover that all popular youngadult novels are not each written by a single author with any inspiration, but are conceived by book publishing executives through use of. This reference in james is the only time job is mentioned by name in the n. The author recounts an era in the life of job, in which he was tested and the. However, the initiator of the problems in job s life and the cause of the problems are widely misinterpreted. The poetic section of the book of job, which makes up the majority of the text job 342, is much more theologically ambiguous. Is the book of job meant to be an allegoryparable or a.
Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. It has been widely praised for its literary qualities, with alfred lord tennyson calling it the greatest poem of ancient and modern times. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children. There is no way to identify this area precisely, and for that reason people from all the world wonder at the book of job. And it really does not give us the kind of answer we want, but just says, trust me.
Sep 07, 2010 the book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to. But if salvation comes by faith, he surely isnt at least not at the beginning of his book. It is plain, from this history, that the lord watched over his servant job with the affection of a wise and loving father. Victor hugo the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature. With antony starr, ivana milicevic, ulrich thomsen, frankie faison. In this series of blogs i shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for contemporary society. Here is a prayer that he might be delivered from the sting of his afflictions, which is sin. The book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. Commentary on the book of job chapter ten by wm w wells.
Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. The book of job, named after its protagonist apparently not an israelite. These verses may be the most important verses in the book of job. It originally aired on the fox network in the united states on november 20, 2011. Job tears his clothes and shaves his head in mourning, but he still blesses god in his prayers. If we define salvation on the basis of performance, then job is surely saved. In the course of one day, job receives four messages, each bearing separate news that his livestock, servants, and ten children have all died due to marauding invaders or natural catastrophes. Job opens with jehovah holding court among a number of divini. Job lived southeast of israel, perhaps east of edom and north of arabia see lamentations 4. There is in this book much that is analogous to the arabic language, or that may be explained by it. However, unlike the careful, and at times paranoid, job of the book of job, j. I found job to be one of the most interesting accounts in the bible, especially because it attempts to rationalize human suffering and the ways of the lord.
The book of job takes place in an area called in the bible the land of uz job 1. Two, neither job nor his friends ever saw the conflict going on between. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the. Elsewhere job explained his troubles, fears and doubts. Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on job s goodness. Too many christians want to put themselves into the role of a job. Even though we still dont have a complete understanding of why, the same is true for us. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.
A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of job in easyenglish. It has been used to misrepresent god and cause believers to. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. God is asking us and inviting us to trust him and his wisdom. If someone asked you what the book of job was about, how would you answer. Its subject matter is the allimportant question, why, in a world over which yahweh has jurisdiction, should innocent persons have to suffer when at the same time the wicked escape suffering and are permitted to have comfort and security. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. The purpose of the book of job is to explore gods policies with regard to suffering in the world, especially by the righteous or the innocent. Job 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole.
The book of job is often referred to as one of the great classics of world literature. Job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28. If youd like to study verses 111 read our job 9 commentary and our job 9 summary for verses 2435. The loss of jobs property, and the death of his children. The book of job is primarily about the afflictions of job. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. Job chapter 15 kjv king james version 1 then answered eliphaz the temanite, and said. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the book of job. Translation and annotation by donald kraus foreword by dr.
Understanding the book of job, shreveport, louisiana. There it says that god brought all of this upon job. Introduction to the book of job society of gilbert keith. Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering. In either case, the book is an example of the inconsistent and paradoxical doctrines in the bible. Job wanted a permanent record of the things that he and his friends discovered about god. The book of job highlights the universal issue that is before every living person. Inasmuch then as the book exhibits a fine picture of patriarchal times and its language also bears witness to a very early date all the objections of the critics are void. One of the most puzzling books in the bible is the book of job.
Mar 04, 2014 the book of job is not answering a theoretical question about why good people suffer. The book of job is not answering a theoretical question about why good people suffer. The theme of the book of job is nothing less than human suffering and the transcendence of it. In the reformation martin luther explained how jobs confession of sinfulness and worthlessness underlay his saintliness, and john calvins. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. Whenever you see me answer a question with, read the book of job, this is why. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. In the process it seeks to revolutionize our thinking about god and the way that he runs the world. Job lived one hundred and forty years, seeing four generations of children and grandchildren. There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. The book job is the sixth episode of the twentythird season of the american animated sitcom the simpsons. Job is an unlikely candidate because the book s message rests on job s ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. And even though that was more than 52 weeks ago, this is only the 47th lesson in this series.
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