For many years I wrestled with the Book of Job in the Bible. It is a controversial book and many have tried to pin it down. Some of what I read I disagreed with as I thought others cut out the heart of the book. I thought I would share some of what I have written about it as I find it had a strong message about suffering and redemption.
I will stretch my reflections over the next few weeks as there is too much to put in one article. I hope some of you will find meaning for your lives in this study and I hope others will find a better depth of understanding.
THE STORY OF JOB
In this section I will give an overview of the story of Job. I have simplified the story by summing up the plot so as to make the story easy to understand for the general reader who may or may not have read the book of Job. For those who have not I hope this summation will awaken their desire to read Job. For those who have, I hope this refreshes their memories as they follow the concepts of the future chapters of this book.
Job was a man who lived in the land of Uz. He was the greatest man in the land and was very wealthy. He was spiritually and morally upright and had great integrity. Job 1:1 He had seven sons and three daughters. Job 1:2 His wealth was in livestock of which he had many cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys. Job 1:3 His sons held feasts in their houses and invited their sisters to them. Job 1:4 After the feasts, Job would have his children purified and would make sacrifices for them in case any of them had sinned or cursed God in their hearts. Job 1:5
One day the council of heaven gathered before God and the satan came as well. Job 1:6 The Lord asks the satan if he has noticed his servant Job. He states that Job is blameless and upright, that he fears God and shuns evil. Job 1:7-8 The satan replies that Job fears God because the Lord has blessed him mightily and that if everything were taken away, Job would curse God to his face. Job 1:9-11
The Lord accepts the challenge stating only that whatever the satan does, he must not touch Job, himself. Job 1:12
The satan leaves and has Job’s flocks either carried off or destroyed and his servants killed. The children are killed during a feast when the house collapses on them during a storm. Job 1:13-19
Job goes into mourning for his lost family members and flocks and then falls down in worship to God, stating that God has the right to give and the right to take away and then rather than cursing God, he blesses his name. Job 1:20-21
Once again the heavenly council comes before the Lord and the satan also attends. The Lord, once again, calls the satan’s attention to Job. He states that he is still blameless and upright even though the satan has taken away everything without cause. Job 2:1-3
The satan responds to this saying that even though everything is taken from a man, if he escapes with his life, he considers himself lucky. However, if God would allow him to strike Job, physically, he would surely curse God to his face. Job 2:4-5
Once again, God accepts the challenge with the one proviso that the satan can do anything to Job, himself, but he must spare his life. Job 2:6
The satan leaves and attacks Job with sores or boils all over his body. Job 2:7
We next encounter Job, sitting in the dust or ashes, scraping his sores with a piece of broken pottery. His wife, who has also been spared, is with him. She tells him he should give up his integrity and curse God and die. Job 2:9 Job replies that she is being foolish and that if they accept good, they also must accept trouble. He still did not sin in this nor did he curse God to his face. Job 2:10
Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuite and Zophar the Naamathite hear about Job’s plight and travel together to visit him. They are so distressed that they sit down and mourn with him in silence for seven days and nights. Job 2:11-13
After the time of mourning, Job opens his mouth and speaks of his suffering. From this begins three cycles of dialogue between Job and his friends where he defends himself from their accusations, ending with a discourse by Job. Job 3-27 These are followed by a discourse on wisdom by Job in chapter 28 and then a series of monologues by Job where he calls out for vindication. Job 29-31
A fourth friend approaches named Elihu, son of Barakel the Buzite of the family of Ram. Elihu gives four more speeches to Job. Job 32:1-37:24
At last God speaks and there are two cycles of dialogue in which God questions Job and Job answers. Job 38:1-42:6
Finally the epilogue begins. The Lord takes the three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to task for not speaking about him correctly when Job has told the truth about him. God instructs them to bring seven bulls and seven rams to Job so that he may make sacrifices for them and pray for them. Then God will forgive them. After Job has completed this task, everything he has lost has once again been restored to him in abundance.
THE ORIGINS OF THE BOOK OF JOB
The Book of Job is full of controversy. The message within the book is itself controversial. The origins of the book also are shrouded in controversy. Where the book came from, is it a true story or a folktale, are parts of it authentic? These are all questions which commentators have been wrestling with for centuries. The one thing most commentators agree on is that the date of the writing of this piece is unknown. However, there is much speculation about when it might have been written. One view that is put forward is that the whole book is exilic or post-exilic (Babylonian exile) except for some later additions (chapters 28, 32-37, and 40)(Mackenzie 1990, 467).
On the opposite side, is the belief that Chapters 1, 2, and 42 are from as early as 1000 B.C. because of their similarities to Ugaritic texts and Genesis, while the poetry dates from around 700 B.C. (Lassor, Hubbard, Bush 1996, 472). His wealth is mentioned in animals and servants and his land was the object of tribal raiding. His age of 140 is found only in the Pentateuch. These all attest to the possibility of an ancient writing to parts of the hook.
The Septuagint has about 100 less verses for Job than the Masoretic texts, which shows that even early translations were in disagreement with each other (Mackenzie, 467). Part of this disagreement may stem from the fact that much of the text is corrupted. Later translators had to compare earlier translations with the Syriac texts to come to some agreement on what the proper translations for certain passages should be (Bergant 1982, 22). There are around 100 hapax legomena (rare words), and many Canaanisms and Aramaisms (especially in the Elihu speeches). The Elihu speeches themselves may have been added as late as the Greek period (100 B.C.)(MacKenzie, 467). The Wisdom speech in Chapter 28 may also have been a later addition as well as God's second speech in Chapter 40 (Bergant, 22).
The names of the Characters give the book its geographical setting. Job (Heb. iyyob - where is my father or yb - be an enemy) is found in the Egyptian Execration documents (2000 B.C.) and the Amarna Letters (1350 B.C.) It referred to tribal leaders in the area of Palestine (Lassor, et al, 472). Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar refer to places that point to areas in Edom as well as Uz (Job 1:1) where Job is said to be from (Gutierrez 1987, 3).
One theory is that Job is possibly related to Ayyab of Astarte in the 14th century B.C.E. on the borders of what are now Jordan and Syria. (de Moor, 1994 225-257)
The title the Satan shows an authorship before 300 B.C., as the name was used as a title and did not become a proper name until then.
The book is set in a Patriarchal setting before the creation of the Israelite nation and because of this some commentators attribute its writing to Moses (Lassor, et al, 472).
Though many parts of Job have foreign words and the whole book has international appeal, it seems to be an Israelite composition on suffering and theology for the Israelite people (Bergant, 21).
Many scholars think that around 700 B.C.E was the time of the completion of the book whether it is a compilation or not.
In spite of all the controversy about when certain parts were written and their authenticity to the original piece, it is important to handle the book as a totality as it was canonized.
Next week I will begin reflections on the book.