This is the first fulllength commentary to present job systematically and literarily. Carol newsoms commentary in vol 4 of the new interpreters bible nashville. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the book of job.
One would then expect that there are many ways to look at and learn from job. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner job 1. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Too many christians want to put themselves into the role of a job. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. 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.
Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. Job is the first book of the bible that i read as a young man and it affected me greatly even though i didnt quite understand it all. Job 1, new international version niv the bible app. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character.
The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so. I shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching paperback by.
The bible uses figurative language all the time, and this passage is certainly filled with it as is very common in poetic passages job, psalms, most of chapters in the prophets. In the book of job there are several statements that are also scientific facts. The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. And like all good, classical poetry, it is never particularly difficult to recognize figures or to understand how they are to be applied and all the more so in. But after this experience, job came to embody for me a bible in my. 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. The book of job is a book of the christian old testament that tells a story about job, who in jewish tradition is the son of uz, who was the son of nahor, the brother of abraham. This book gives a very indepth interpretation of the story of job which reveals a loving god behind it and valuable lessons. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching kindle edition by janzen, j. It is the ageold question, and difficult to answer, but believers know that god is always in control, and, no matter what. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner. If you do not have your bible side by side with it as you study you will miss much of its value.
God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because. In this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks. Job, as in general in the other poetic books of the bible, are literary devices. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading job. Two correct facts, the earth floats in space and in the milky way to the north of earth there are far fewer stars than to the south. This expression is used repeatedly to refer to inspired scripture.
In fact, god is silent on the question of divine justice. He is not a god of justice but of absolute power, arbitrary and unaccountable to humans. At that time i had no religious interest and very little. 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 is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. Look at the specific lessons we can learn about responding to trials as revealed in the book of job.
This should be a good study for anyone who may be struggling to progress to the next stage of their spiritual evolution because you have one foot still planted in religion. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. Sep 09, 2010 the book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry. The book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. However, the name does occur in genesis 46 and ezekiel 14. Consider job and all of his problems that he faced. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Elihu had silenced job, but had not brought him to admit his guilt before god. He was the greatest man among all the people of the east. In greek lxx the name is transliteration of the hebrew consonants iwb. The book of job is the story of a normal human being who is beset by misfortune and suffering. 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.
This reference in james is the only time job is mentioned by name in the n. Jobs friends were kind enough to sit with him in sympathetic silence for some seven days job 2. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. In job, this prologue serves as a literary device to give the reader a perspective that the characters in the story lack. This is important, for the point of the whole narrative, we shall see, is to expose the. For further study of this exceptional book, the following commentaries on job are recommended. Approaching the character of job from such a perspective enables janzen to expound on the mystery of good and evil, the experiential suffering of humanity, and more. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and the first poetic book in. One author says it is no less than eight types of literature rolled up in one book. The book of job, named after its protagonist apparently not an israelite.
A bible commentary for teaching and preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the bible in the church. Alfred smith has contributed prac tical insights for lessons and sermons on the book of job. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching paperback 9780664238773 by j. I believe you may find plenty to challenge your thinking, however, even if you are already somewhat skilled in interpreting the scriptures. The meaning of my land in conjunction with its owners is that job had. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because god has favored him generously. Gerald janzens commentary in the interpretation series atlanta. Gerald janzen examines the text of the book of job as a literary text within the. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. But the question of gods justice is central to the book of job.
The god job discovers in the tempest a deity of sheer power, amoral on a good day, but certainly capable of behaving immorally too is one with whom we are obligated to sever relations. One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Sep 07, 2010 the book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14.
The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it. Perhaps this post will help show you the difference between religion and true spiritual development. In addition to them, the patriarch job is pointed out in verse 11 as an outstanding example of steadfast faith in the way he handled severe trials. The crivoice bible study focuses on what you personally might learn and apply in your life.
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. The book of job is acclaimed as one of the great literary books of the old testament. Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. 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.
It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Now, job will answer the words of eliphaz the temanite. The book of job is the first document in history to take. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. The god that job had heard about from tradition is different from the god he experiences. Habel has contributed a small but helpful study for preaching the whole book of job. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.
Jobs life is also one that prompts the common question, why do bad things happen to good people. This name might have been derived from the hebrew word for persecution, thus meaning persecuted one. However, the date when the book was written and by whom it was. The titular hero of the book of job, represented as a wealthy and pious landholder who lived in patriarchal times, or at least conditions, in the land of uz, on the borders of idumea. The life of job demonstrates that humans are often unaware of the many ways god is at work in the life of each believer. These stories focus on jobs trials at the hands of god and how he deals with them. Aug 29, 2018 in this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks. If you have not read this series from the beginning, i would highly recommend that you go back and start with part 1. As is customary with epic poems, it begins with a prologue that sets up the story line chs 12. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it among the literary masterpieces of all time. Job broke the silence with an anguished rant job 3, and eliphaz responded with a poetic call to repentance job 45.
A literary examination of the book of job within the context of israels religious history and the broader framework of the universal human condition. As the first poetic book of the english bible, job introduces the reader to the. Jan 12, 20 todays post will provide an esoteric interpretation of job. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end.
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