Short Commentary on the Book of Job

“Job belongs to the corpus of wisdom literature, yet it stands apart for its global, rather than national, scope. Its universal themes—suffering, justice, mortality, and faith—speak across cultures and ages”. The Way of Truth ________________________________________ The Way of Truth article (with Damien Mackey’s comments added) can be found at: Understanding the Book of Job: Suffering and Divine Wisdom …. The book of Job stands as one of the most profound and challenging works in all of Scripture. It grapples unflinchingly with the problem of suffering—the question that has haunted humanity since the dawn of time: Why do the righteous suffer? Written in majestic poetry and framed by a prose narrative, Job confronts this question not through philosophical speculation but through divine revelation. It shows that while God’s purposes often lie beyond human understanding, His wisdom and justice remain perfect, and His grace is sufficient even in the darkest affliction. Damien Mackey’s comment: The Book of Job is actually a highly philosophical work: Why Job Had to Suffer (A Philosophical Answer to the Problem of Pain) — The Think Institute The Deeper, Philosophical Meaning of the Book of Job | Owen Anderson (ThinkPod) Worldview Legacy | The Think InstituteBy The Think InstituteJun 23, 2021 The problem of suffering has been with humanity since the very beginning. And no book of the Bible addresses this problem more directly than the book of Job. But what is the meaning of the book? How should we really understand Job's story? And is it possible that the majority of commentators are missing something important here? In this episode, Dr. Owen Anderson helps us get to the true, deeper, philosophical meaning of Job. Owen has been teaching philosophy and religious studies for more than two decades and is a professor of philosophy and religious studies at Arizona State University. His research focuses on general revelation and related questions about reality, value, and knowledge. He has been a fellow at Princeton University, a visiting scholar at Princeton Seminary, and a fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has published several books including "Job: A Philosophical Commentary" (2021), in which he argues that it is Job, not the Greeks, who was the earliest philosopher. Specifically, you will learn: • Why Owen Anderson believes Job is the earliest work of true philosophy. • Why we should view Job as a philosophical conversation. • What is the deepest problem being addressed in the book of Job? • Whether Job had been sinning, and why he was still called "blameless." • What's up with Job's 10 kids. • How Job's interpreters have gotten him wrong over the years. • The deep, philosophical meaning of Job. And much, much more. …. I. Historical Setting and Authorship The exact time of Job’s life is uncertain, but internal clues suggest an early patriarchal setting, perhaps contemporaneous with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Damien Mackey’s comment: I believe, on the contrary, that the prophet Job clearly belonged to the time of the Chaldean empire (Job 1:17): ‘The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them’. This era was a good millennium and more after “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”. For, Job was none other than Tobias, the son of Tobit, whose life began in Assyrian captivity in Nineveh. On this, see e.g. my article: Job’s Life and Times (5) Job’s Life and Times There are many parallels between Job and Tobias, not least of which is having seven sons (cf., Job 1:2; 42:13; Tobit 14:3) – which is, surprisingly, quite rare in the Bible. The article continues: Job’s wealth is measured in livestock, his lifespan exceeds 140 years, and there is no mention of the Mosaic Law or Israelite institutions. The author is likewise unknown. Some traditions attribute the book to Moses, while others suggest an ancient sage inspired by God to record Job’s story as both history and divine drama. Regardless of authorship, the book’s literary excellence and theological depth mark it as one of the earliest and greatest masterpieces of biblical revelation. Damien Mackey’s comment: The Book of Job is, in fact, considered to be closest in style to the Book of Jeremiah, which, again, is much later than the era as suggested in The Way of Truth article: “Some traditions attribute the book to Moses …”. intertextual.bible | Biblical Intertextuality | Comparing Job and Jeremiah Job and Jeremiah: A Comparison The Book of Job and the Book of Jeremiah share several parallels, particularly in their treatment of suffering and the relationship between the individual and God. Both texts address the question of why the righteous suffer, with Job's narrative providing a way to relate to the Jewish exile and the themes of divine justice and human suffering. The cursing of the day of their birth is a strikingly similar moment in both texts, highlighting the shared human experience of despair and the search for meaning. The comparison between Job and Jeremiah also touches on the idea of knowing God's will in advance, a theme that resonates in both texts as they explore the complexities of suffering and the human condition. That may make the prophet Jeremiah, who was the High Priest, Eliakim (Joakim), of the Book of Judith: Jeremiah was both prophet and high priest (2) Jeremiah was both prophet and high priest and who is a favoured candidate for the authorship of that book: Author of the Book of Judith (2) Author of the Book of Judith a potential candidate also for the authorship of the Book of Job. Another, perhaps likelier, candidate for the authorship of Job would be the inspired “Elihu … the Buzite” (Job 32:2), who may well be the same as the great prophet “Ezekiel son of Buzi” (Ezekiel 1:3): Elihu a contemporary of the prophet Ezekiel (3) Elihu a contemporary of the prophet Ezekiel Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries, both of whom referred to Job (Elihu addressed Job), Buzites, they experienced similar awesome theophanies, and were filled with God’s spirit. There are three other points raised in The Way of Truth article upon which I would like to comment. Firstly: “Job’s wealth is measured in livestock…”. In “Job’s Life and Times”, I compared Job and Tobias in this regard: …. The fortunes of the once-impoverished Tobias had taken a quantum leap upwards by the conclusion of his successful visit to Ecbatana. We read: “... Raguel ... gave Tobias half his wealth, menservants and maid-servants, oxen and sheep, donkeys and camels, clothes, and money and household things” (10:10. Jerusalem Bible version). Moreover, the angel Raphael had retrieved for Tobias, from nearby “Rages”, the ten talents of silver that his father had “left there in trust with Gabael”, one of his kinsmen (v.14), some 20 years before (cf. 4:20 and 9:5). Interest on this sum (equivalent to many thousands of dollars) must have greatly accumulated during that period of time. Materially speaking, Tobias would eventually benefit further from family inheritances; from his father’s estate in Nineveh, and afterwards, from that of his parents-in-law, in Ecbatana: “[Tobias] inherited their property and that of his father Tobit” (14:13). Thus the wealth that Tobias had accumulated by the time that he had settled down away from Assyria would compare most favourably with the following description that we encounter in the opening verses of the Book of Job: “There was a man ... whose name was Job .... He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants ...” (1:1, 3). Note that the very same types of livestock are listed in both accounts: “oxen”, “sheep”, “donkeys” (she-asses) and “camels”, plus the abundance of human “servants”. We might add another domestic animal here as well: the sheepdog. The dog in the Book of Tobit is sometimes singled out by commentators as being an irrelevancy. What is the point, they exclaim, of even mentioning it! I personally am glad for the dog’s inclusion. Apart from it adding a realistic, eyewitness flavour to a story that is already saturated with such detail (as is often noted by biblical commentators), it provides a further possible link with Job. For, whereas virtually every reference in the Old Testament to a “dog” or “dogs” is derogatory or unflattering - and never homely - it seems that the rare exceptions are to be found in the books of Tobit and Job. Thus: Tobit: “And Tobias went forward; and the dog followed him ...” (cf. 6:1 and 11:4). …. “Then the dog, which had been with [Tobias and the angel] along the way, ran ahead of them; and coming as if he had brought the news showed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail” (Tobit 11:9). Job: “But now they make sport of me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have distained to set with the dogs of my flock” (30:1). (RSV version). Another version has: “... no sheep-dog of mine ever tended”. …. According to the Heb. Londinii (or HL) version of Tobit, a large party went with the bridal pair (Tobias and Sarah) a day’s journey homewards; and “... everyone gave a ring of gold … and a piece of silver” (11:1). The only other place in Scripture of which I am aware, where the same thing happened, is in the Book of Job; and it is virtually word for word with Tobit: “... each of them gave [Job] a piece of money and a ring of gold” (42:11). Secondly, “Job’s … lifespan exceeds 140 years …”. While Tobias, likewise, surpassed 1oo, the numbers vary in the different versions of the Book of Tobit, e.g. “a hundred and twenty-seven years” (RSV); “117 years” (GNT); but only “ninety-nine years” in the Douay version. Thirdly, “… and there is no mention of the Mosaic Law or Israelite institutions”. The supplementary Book of Tobit, however, is replete with such: e.g., Tobit 1:3-8; 2:1-9; 3:1-6, 11-15; 4:3-19; 6:11-15; 8:5-7; 12:6-10; 13:1-18; 14:4-6, 9. II. Structure and Literary Form Job is composed of a prologue and epilogue in prose (chapters 1–2 and 42:7–17) framing an extensive poetic dialogue (chapters 3–42:6). 1. Prologue (Chapters 1–2): Job is introduced as “perfect and upright,” yet Satan challenges his integrity, asserting that his faith depends on prosperity. God permits Job to be tested, first by the loss of his possessions and children, then by personal affliction. Yet Job refuses to curse God. 2. Dialogues and Discourses (Chapters 3–37): In poetry of unparalleled intensity, Job and his friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—debate the cause of his suffering. They assume that suffering is always the consequence of sin, while Job maintains his innocence and wrestles with God’s silence. Later, a younger man, Elihu, adds his own perspective, emphasizing God’s justice and pedagogical use of suffering. 3. The Divine Encounter (Chapters 38–41): Out of the whirlwind, God speaks, not to explain why Job suffers, but to reveal who He is. Through a series of awe-inspiring questions about creation, providence, and power, God humbles Job’s limited understanding and restores his trust. 4. Epilogue (Chapter 42): Job repents in dust and ashes, not for hidden sin but for presuming to judge God’s ways. His fortunes are restored twofold, and his relationship with God is deepened through the experience of divine grace. III. Purpose and Message The central purpose of Job is not to solve the mystery of suffering, but to deepen our understanding of God’s wisdom, sovereignty, and justice. The book teaches that: • The righteous may suffer not as punishment, but as part of God’s hidden purposes. • True faith clings to God even when His ways are inscrutable. • Human wisdom cannot fully grasp divine providence; “the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom” (Job 28:28). • God is sovereign over both prosperity and pain, and His plans ultimately display His glory and goodness. In essence, Job challenges the shallow theology of retribution, the belief that good things always happen to good people and bad things to the wicked. It replaces this moral simplism with a theology of reverence: God is not obligated to justify Himself to man, and yet He is always righteous in all His dealings. Damien Mackey’s comment: This profound message from the ancient Book of Job appears to have been completely lost on the Apostles (John 9:2-5): His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned’” said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world’. IV. Theological Themes 1. The Sovereignty of God: God reigns supreme over creation and over Satan. Even the Adversary’s attacks are bounded by divine permission. 2. The Reality of Satan and Spiritual Conflict: The opening scenes remind us that earthly suffering often has unseen spiritual dimensions. 3. The Mystery of Providence: God’s purposes transcend human understanding, yet they are never arbitrary or unjust. 4. Faith under Trial: Job’s perseverance under unimaginable loss exemplifies the triumph of faith refined by fire. 5. The Quest for a Mediator: Job’s yearning for an advocate between himself and God (9:33; 16:19) anticipates Christ, the ultimate Mediator who reconciles man to God. 6. The Grace of Restoration: Job’s story ends not in despair but in renewal, prefiguring the resurrection hope that emerges from the ashes of affliction. V. Historical and Apologetic Considerations Job belongs to the corpus of wisdom literature, yet it stands apart for its global, rather than national, scope. Its universal themes—suffering, justice, mortality, and faith—speak across cultures and ages. The book’s ancient setting and poetic style affirm its authenticity as an early and inspired work, while its insights into divine providence and moral order testify to its revelation from God rather than mere human speculation. VI. Christological Significance Throughout Job, faint rays of messianic hope pierce the darkness of suffering. Job’s cry—“I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (19:25)—is one of the clearest anticipations of the resurrection in the Old Testament. Christ is the answer to Job’s longing: the sinless sufferer who bore undeserved pain, the mediator who pleads for His people, and the risen Lord who guarantees final vindication. In Jesus, the riddle of innocent suffering finds its ultimate resolution, not in explanation, but in redemption. VII. Practical and Devotional Application For believers, Job is not merely a philosophical treatise but a pastoral companion in seasons of pain. It teaches that worship is possible even when explanations are withheld, that faith may question without forsaking, and that God’s silence is not His absence. It calls us to trust the God we cannot always trace and to rest in His character when we cannot understand His plan. VIII. Conclusion The book of Job stands as a monument of divine wisdom and human faith. It does not promise easy answers but invites us into a deeper trust in the God who “doeth great things past finding out” (Job 9:10). Through suffering, Job’s knowledge of God moves from hearsay to encounter: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee” (42:5). That is the goal of every believer’s trial: that through pain, perplexity, and perseverance, we might see God more clearly and worship Him more truly. Job thus teaches the greatest lesson of all: though the righteous suffer, God remains righteous. And in the end, His purposes will shine brighter than the storm.