Introduction to Job

Who was Job? He is a mysterious figure. Was he a real, historical person or a literary construct? When did he live? Was he an Israelite or a Gentile? Who wrote the book that bears his name?

The Babylonian Talmud notes that some rabbis argued that Job was not a real historical person but a literary device or parable. But the Talmud rejects that view by appealing to the opening line of the book, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job” (1:1). That sounds like Job was a real historical person. Later in the Old Testament, Job is listed along with Daniel and Noah as a man of exceptional righteousness (Ezek 14:14, 20). The New Testament once refers to him as a real historical person, an example of someone who remained steadfast under trial (James 5:11). Thus, the text itself and later canonical testimony leads us to think the story of Job was historical, not a parable.

Assuming that Job was a historical person, we must then inquire whether he was a member of the covenant people of God or a Gentile. On the one hand, he seems to be a member of the covenant people, since he regularly offered burnt offerings (1:5; 42:8). In the opening heavenly scene, the LORD says to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” (1:8), a designation that would seem out of place for a Gentile. Job is also presented in the text as knowing God’s covenant name: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21). The text says that the LORD spoke directly to Job and that Job spoke to the LORD (42:1, 7, 9) in an intimate, face-to-face manner akin to Moses or one of the prophets.

On the other hand, he is said to be “the greatest of all the people of the east” (1:3), which sounds like he is a Gentile. Furthermore, the poetic contents of the book lack any references to special revelation pertaining to God’s covenant promises or mighty acts in redemptive history. The entire dialogue between Job and his friends seems to be conducted in a wisdom mode grounded primarily in natural theology rather than special revelation.

Most likely he is a man like Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20), who is presented in Scripture as a true worshipper of the one true God outside the Abrahamic line, but within the broader Shemite line. Recall God’s special revelation to Noah that his son Shem would be the one through whom the covenant would flow: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem” (Gen 9:26). This suggests that the worship of the LORD was preserved here and there among some of the descendants of Shem outside of the narrow Abrahamic line.

As to the question of who authored the book of Job, the Babylonian Talmud quotes a rabbinic tradition that directly attributes its authorship to Moses without argument (Bava Batra 14b, 15a). We know that the Torah was not the only thing Moses wrote—Psalm 90 is “A prayer of Moses, the man of God.” Mosaic authorship of Job is not impossible, but we simply do not know.

Outline

1. Prose Prologue (chs. 1–2)
2. Poetic Dialogue (3:1–42:6)
   • Job’s Lament (ch. 3)
   • Speeches by Job’s Comforters, Punctuated by Job’s Protests (chs. 4–27)
     1. First round (chs. 4–14)
     2. Second round (chs. 15–21)
     3. Third round (chs. 22–27)
   • A Poem on the Search for Wisdom (ch. 28)
     Is Job or the narrator speaking?
   • Job’s Defense (chs. 29–31)
   • Elihu’s Speech (chs. 32–37)
   • The LORD Answers Job (chs. 38–41)
   • Job Submits to the LORD (42:1–6)
3. Prose Epilogue (42:7–17)

Summary of the Story

1. Job is “blameless and upright, one who fears God and turns away from evil” (1:1, 8; 2:3).
2. Satan charges that Job fears God only because God has prospered him (1:9–11).
3. God permits Satan to take everything away from Job (1:12–19; 2:6–8).
4. Job’s friends accuse him of sin and call him to repentance (4:7; 8:1–6; 11:14; 22:5, 21–23).
5. Job protests his innocence and demands to speak with God (9:15–23; 16:17; 23:1–13; 27:1–6; 31:5–40, especially 35–37).
6. God answers Job out of the whirlwind (chs. 38–41).
7. Job humbles himself before God (40:3–5; 42:1–6).
8. God is angry with Job’s friends for misrepresenting him (42:7).
9. Job offers sacrifice and prays for his friends (42:8–9).
10. God restores Job’s fortunes (42:10–17).

The Problem of the Suffering of the Righteous

What Is the Book of Job’s Answer?

1. Not all who suffer are being punished for their sins—sometimes the righteous suffer.
2. “Sinners” who, in deep emotion, question God but ultimately submit to him (Job) are more right with God than “the righteous” who defend—and therefore misrepresent—God through rigid orthodoxy and harsh judgment of sufferers (Job’s comforters).
3. The best of human wisdom, represented by Job’s comforters, turns out to be a colossal failure (Job 5:13, quoted in 1 Cor. 3:19). True wisdom is not based on the arrogance of moral certainty or intellectual cleverness, but on the fear of the LORD (Job 28:28).
4. God is not answerable to humans for how he governs the world: “Where were you …?” (38:4).
5. We do not know why God permits the righteous to suffer. Ultimately, we must trust that God is perfectly just, wise, and good in the exercise of his sovereignty.

“Yahweh’s speeches are intended not to give Job an answer to the question of why he suffers but to reestablish the proper relationship between God and his human creature. Job has sought God to accuse him of injustice (40:8), but God, through a display of his power and wisdom, brings Job to the point where he ‘repents’ (42:1–6). He no longer seeks an answer to the question of his suffering: he simply bends the knee to God in submission.”
— Tremper Longman, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament

Is the Book of Job a Critique of Proverbs?

For example: Proverbs 11:21, 31; 12:7, 21; 13:9 (cf. Job 21:17).

No. However, the book …

“attacks the arrogance of pontificating about the application of these truths, and of thereby misrepresenting God and misjudging one’s fellow men … The book shows (by its context, the opening scene in heaven) how small a part of any situation is the fragment that we see.” — Derek Kidner

Job’s friends misapplied the truth and ended up misrepresenting God (13:1–12).

“One of the important contributions of the book of Job … is to undermine the idea that retribution theology works absolutely and mechanically … [The book of Job] shatters the myth that our own righteousness can protect us from unjust suffering.” — Tremper Longman

Job places a large asterisk next to Proverbs. Proverbs offers general rules for life and encourages civil righteousness, but the true reward of righteousness is only in the life to come.

Glimmers of Eschatological Hope in Job

1. Job’s longing for a heavenly mediator or advocate before God (9:32–33; 16:18–22).
2. Job’s longing for eschatological vindication and resurrection (14:13–15; 17:13–16; 19:25–29).