10.2 Reference to these annals of the kings of Media and Persia gives an air of historical veracity to the story.
10.3 Although the book bears her name, Esther is missing from this final notice of Mordecai’s greatness, goodness, and popularity. The Greek version begins and ends quite differently (Additions A and F).
JOB
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THE CENTRAL THEME of the book of Job is the possibility of disinterested righteousness. The author asks whether virtue depends on a universe that operates by the principle of reward and punishment. At stake is the survival of religion, service to God without thought of the carrot or the stick. Then innocent suffering cannot quench the fires of spiritual devotion. Job’s response to adversity in the prologue affirms such faith. A secondary theme is innocent suffering, for which several explanations are put forth: the retributive, disciplinary, probative, eschatological, redemptive, revelatory, ineffable, and incidental.
Structure
THE BOOK’S STRUCTURE can be viewed from the standpoint of its diction, drama, or individual components in outline form. A frame narrative, in prose, encloses a poetic debate. This combination is found also in some other ancient wisdom texts, such as the Aramaic tale of “Ahikar” and the Egyptian Instruction of Ankhsheshonky. Alternatively, three dramatic episodes take place, each introduced by brief comments in 1.1–5; 2.11–13; 32.1–5. Thus the hero is afflicted (1.1–2.10), complains, and is rebuked by three friends (2.11–31.40), and after a young enthusiast takes up the task of demonstrating Job’s folly, God rebukes Job but restores him (32.1–42.17). A more natural division consists of Job’s affliction (chs. 1–2), a dispute between him and three friends (chs. 3–31), a monologue by a previously unmentioned person (chs. 32–37), two divine speeches and two submissions on Job’s part (38.1–42.6), and a prose “happy ending” (42.7–17).
Tensions exist between prose and poetry and even within each literary form: the story’s patient hero and the defiant Job of the dialogue; a divinely commended hero in the prose and a rebuked one in the poetry; the divine name Yahweh in the folktale and El, Eloah, and Shaddai in the poetry (with one exception); a “happy ending” despite the argument of the hero that God does not deal with humans on the basis of merit; vanishing characters—the Satan and Elihu; a hymn (ch. 28) that anticipates the answer provided by the theophany; and two divine speeches with two responses. Although skilled authors can use dissonance effectively, the book is at odds with itself and irony abounds.
Setting
THE EVENTS OF THE BOOK are set in patriarchal (or prepatriarchal) times when heroes such as Noah, Daniel, and Job (cf. Ezek 14.14, 20) are thought to have lived. Job’s possessions are appropriate to that age: cattle and servants. The monetary unit in the epilogue (42.11) is mentioned elsewhere only in Gen 33.19 (and Josh 24.32, alluding to this incident). Job’s three friends and the enemy marauders, Sabeans and Chaldeans, belong to clans from the patriarchal world. His sacrifice of animals accords with practice prior to the time of official priests. The life span of the restored hero is at home in patriarchal times. The name Job, which could be translated “enemy,” corresponds to Akkadian names with such translations as “Where is the divine father?” and “Inveterate Foe/Hated One.”
Date
THE DATE OF COMPOSITION cannot be determined, but several things point to the late sixth or fifth century BCE: the linguistic evidence, the possible allusion to the Behistun Rock, the mention of caravans from Tema and Sheba, the “Persian” nomenclature of officials, and the development of the figure of the Satan corresponding to the stage represented by Zechariah but less developed than that presented in Chronicles. The theological ideas in the book may also support this relatively late date when compared with similar literary complexes, Jeremiah’s laments, the lyrical hymns in Second Isaiah (Isa 40–55, sixth century BCE), hymnic fragments in the book of Amos, and Pss 37; 49; 73. The book’s monotheism and monogamy are consistent with a late date. The choice of an Edomite for the hero is strange after 587/6 BCE, but the patriarchal setting ruled out an Israelite, and the Edomites were celebrated for wisdom. The book’s silence about the events of the exile is surprising, for Job’s personal misery is in some ways like that of the exiles. The Targum of Job and the Testament of Job, works from the Second Temple period, prove that the biblical text of Job was in circulation by the end of the second century BCE. The Testament of Job exaggerates Job’s charity, depicts his wife favorably, emphasizes his fight against idolatry, speculates about Satan, and alludes to cosmological dualism, magic, and mysticism. The Letter of James recalls the folktale about the endurance of Job (5.11).
Related Texts
THE CLOSEST ANALOGY to the book of Job is “The Babylonian Theodicy.” Several other ancient texts resemble the biblical book to some degree. From the twelfth dynasty in Egypt (1990–1785 BCE) come “The Admonitions of Ipuwer,” “A Dispute Between a Man and His Ba (Soul),” and “The Eloquent Peasant.” Second-millennium Mesopotamia furnishes closer parallels: the Sumerian “A Man and His God,” “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom,” and “A Dialogue Between a Master and His Slave.” Parallels to the Canaanite Keret legend are more remote. [JAMES L. CRENSHAW]
JOB 1
Job and His Family
1There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.
Attack on Job’s Character
6One day the heavenly beingsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satanb also came among them. 7The LORD said to Satan,b “Where have you come from?” Satanb answered the LORD, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8The LORD said to Satan,b “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9Then Satanb answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12The LORD said to Satan,b “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satanb went out from the presence of the LORD.
Job Loses Property and Children
13One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19and suddenly a great wind came acr
oss the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
20Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
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a Heb sons of God
b Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
c Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
d Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
e Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
f Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
g Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
h Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
1.1–2.13 The prologue. A folktale in elevated prose, akin to epic narrative, sets the stage on which the drama of Job’s extreme suffering unfolds. The story’s action alternates between earth and heaven (e.g., 1.1–5 describes a scene on earth, 1.6–12 one in heaven, with 1.13–22 returning to earth, 2.1–6 occurring in heaven, and 2.7–10 concluding the events on earth). Each scene ends decisively. The first has a remark about Job’s habitual conduct; the second and fourth scenes comment on the Adversary’s (the Satan’s) departure from God’s court; and the third and fifth represent the narrator’s assessment of Job’s innocence despite adverse circumstances. An introduction of Job’s three friends (2.11–13) links this earlier story to the poetic dialogue in 3.1–31.40.
1.1 There was once a man. The unusual form in Hebrew (“A man there was” instead of “There was a man”) emphasizes the name Job, well attested in ancient Egypt (letters from Tell el-Amarna and execration texts), Mesopotamia (Mari), and northern Palestine (Alalakh, Ugarit). A possible pun in 13.24 may refer to a popular etymology of the word as “enemy.” Perhaps the unknown Uz plays on the sound of the Hebrew word for “counsel.” Competing traditions place Uz in Hauran and in Edom. The prophet Ezekiel associates Job with ancient heroes Noah and Daniel (Ezek 14.14, 20). According to Israel’s sages responsible for the final redaction of Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon, the fear of God was the first principle and/or chief ingredient of knowledge (cf. Prov 1.7). Similar hyperbole is used about Solomon in 1 Kings 4.29–34.
1.2 The numbers seven and three were thought to indicate completion. The Canaanite god Baal had seven sons and three daughters. In Hebrew, the verse begins with a conjunction (waw, untranslated by the NRSV), which might be translated “and so,” implying that the children and property were a direct consequence of his piety.
1.3 Job’s wealth consists of animals and slaves rather than silver and gold. The setting is patriarchal.
1.5 The Hebrew has the verb for “bless” in place of curse here and in 1.11; 2.5, 9, presumably a euphemism to avoid the blasphemous thought of actually cursing the Lord, although this is conceivably a literary device to stress the heinousness of the act. The word in both senses, of blessing and cursing, becomes thematic in the story, along with the Hebrew word translated for nothing (1.9) and for no reason (2.3).
1.6 The article “the” with the word Satan, which appears in Hebrew and in some other translations, indicates that an office is involved, something like a CIA agent. The Accuser is therefore in the Lord’s imperial service. The word occurs elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible only in Zech 3.1–2; 1 Chr 21.1. It seems to represent the Lord’s master spy on the road toward becoming a hostile agent.
1.8 Repetition enhances literary effect (e.g., 1.1, 8 and 2.3; 1.22 and 2.10; 1.15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 1.6–8 and 2.1–3). In this verse it suggests ongoing rivalry.
1.9–10 The Satan responds to a rhetorical question in kind.
1.13 An effective illusion of well-being, soon shattered.
1.14–19 Four messengers suggest totality.
1.15 Sabeans, perhaps northern Arabians, not southern Arabians or those living in Africa as in other biblical texts (e.g. 1 Kings 10). The queen of Sheba, said in 1 Kings 10 to have visited King Solomon, traveled from a distant land.
1.17 Chaldeans, probably seminomadic marauders rather than citizens of the Neo-Babylonian Empire that was founded in the seventh century BCE.
1.21 The adverb there refers neither to the mother’s womb nor to mother earth; rather, the word is a euphemism for the realm of the dead (cf. 3.17–19; Eccl 5.15; Sir 40.1). This powerful expression of fidelity takes poetic form, using both synonymous and antithetic parallelism.
JOB 2
Attack on Job’s Health
1One day the heavenly beingsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satanb also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2The LORD said to Satan,b “Where have you come from?” Satanc answered the LORD, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3The LORD said to Satan,b “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4Then Satanb answered the LORD, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.d 5But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6The LORD said to Satan,b “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
7So Satanb went out from the presence of the LORD, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8Jobe took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Cursef God, and die.” 10But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job’s Three Friends
11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
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a Heb sons of God
b Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
c Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
d Or The Accuser; Heb ha-satan
e Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
f Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
g Or All that the man has he will give for his life
h Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
i Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
j Heb He
k Heb Bless
2.4 Skin for skin, a difficult expression, probably associated with barter and meaning an item equivalent to the one being exchanged.
2.8 The scraping was either for relief from the itching or for self-mortification, but hardly an answer to social revulsion accompanying disease of the skin.
2.10 The word for foolish is strong, which suggests that Job did not understand his wife as sympathetically suggesting a form of euthanasia. The Septuagint (the Greek OT) gives her a longer speech about both their suffering, and the pseudepigraphical Testament of Job depicts the wife favorably. Later interpreters emphasize the decisive change in the narrator’s summary statement: Job did not sin with his lips, but his heart was a different matter.
2.11 Job’s three friends are placed in the vicinity of Edom and Arabia. The former was famous for wisdom, according to various OT texts.
2.13 The intermezzo of silence has powerful psychological force.
JOB 3
Job Curses the Day He Was Born
1After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of h
is birth. 2Job said:
3“Let the day perish in which I was born,
and the night that said,
‘A man-child is conceived.’
4Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
or light shine on it.
5Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds settle upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6That night—let thick darkness seize it!
let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
let it not come into the number of the months.
7Yes, let that night be barren;
let no joyful cry be hearda in it.
8Let those curse it who curse the Sea,b
those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.
9Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
let it hope for light, but have none;
may it not see the eyelids of the morning—
10because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide trouble from my eyes.
11“Why did I not die at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
12Why were there knees to receive me,
or breasts for me to suck?
13Now I would be lying down and quiet;
I would be asleep; then I would be at rest
14with kings and counselors of the earth
who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15or with princes who have gold,
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 195