NOTES for Job 1:1-2:13
1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. |
2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. |
3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. |
4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. |
5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. |
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. |
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. |
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? |
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? |
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. |
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. |
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. |
13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: |
14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: |
15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. |
16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. |
17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. |
18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: |
19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. |
20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, |
21 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. |
22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. |
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. |
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. |
3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. |
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. |
5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. |
6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. |
7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. |
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. |
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. |
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. |
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. |
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. |
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great. |
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The Book of Job begins with a kind of prologue. Who is the Job of the Book of Job? We know something about the Job of ancient traditions, though not much. The Job of tradition appears before us as a complete, ideal righteous man, a hero, a knight without fear or reproach. As we can see, the author of the book needed precisely such an image: an ideal and blameless righteous man. Job is even, if one may say so, over-righteous. For example, he performs purification rituals and sacrifices for his children even when he has no reason to think that they need purification. It is enough for him to think that they may have sinned, may have done something that makes purification necessary. Job is certain that in such a case it is better to overdo it than to leave something undone. And this is the very person who becomes the subject of a dispute between God and Satan.
A strange dispute, it would seem. But Satan, this spirit opposed to God, is free just as a human being opposed to God is free. God does not suppress his freedom either by force or by authority. And Satan is true to himself: he trusts no one and laughs at every good thing he sees in the world and in people. Satan simply does not believe that a person, or anyone else, can be good, and in this he is certainly judging by himself. Satan is certain that a person can do something good, pious, or righteous only if it is profitable for him. And he says this to God directly.
Then something happens that seems altogether strange: God permits Satan to test Job, giving him access to the righteous man, to his property, to those close to him, and even to his body. There is only one requirement: to leave Job alive, to preserve his "soul," his life. As we can see, the author of the Book of Job is well aware of the difference between God's will and what theologians would later call God's permission. But a natural question arises: why did God need this peculiar wager? It cannot convince Satan, whatever the outcome, for that is what makes him Satan.
To convince Himself? That is even stranger: could God not know what Job is really like? What, then? Perhaps the matter lies with Job himself? But what does God expect from him? Job accepts the trials as a deeply religious person: God gave, God has taken away; naked I came into the world, naked I will depart; blessed be the name of the Lord. In short, all the traditional religious formulas for such occasions are present. But time goes on. How long will they be enough? And what will Job say next, when these formulas seem too little to him? The story of a righteous man and the testing of his righteousness begins.
Other notes
For Job 2:9-10
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. |
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. |
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