Introduction to

Job

The story of Job has left its mark on the spiritual psyches of Jews and Christians alike. Even as early as the sixth century BC, Ezekiel knew of Job’s reputation for righteousness (Ezek 14:14, 20), and in the first century AD, James remembered Job for his patience (Jas 5:11). Interestingly, both of these remembrances are dependent on the portrait of Job found in the prologue of the book. For some reason, at least in Christian lore, Job’s argumentative personality, which is seen in the dialogue, does not receive top billing. When one reads the speeches of the dialogue with their charges and countercharges, one can understand why: the Job of the dialogue makes us feel uncomfortable because his words are often caustic and accusatory. But if we are to understand the book as a whole, then we must come to grips with this portrait.

The Major Issue of Job

The major theme of the book has traditionally been articulated as underserved suffering, an issue that strikes a chord in many human hearts. And definitely that is at the heart of the book. Yet when the Lord addresses the book’s hero at the end of this literary masterpiece, he does not explain to Job why Job has suffered. While many readers may view this as a deficiency, it may be at the same time one of the earmarks of the book’s literary genius. Rather than God responding to Job’s demands with a simple and forthright answer, the book puts together a literary configuration that elucidates an answer. The question of why Job suffers is not an easy one. Even if the Lord were to provide a simple answer, at least from his point of view, its complexities would be so challenging that even a wise man like Job would perhaps find them incomprehensible. Eliphaz began such an explanation in his first speech (5:17), which was more fully developed by Elihu (33:14–30; 36:8–11, 15–17; 37:13). Yet the idea that suffering is designed to bring one back on to the right track is only one possibility, and it is by no means entirely satisfactory. Yet Job’s interaction with his friends, the reprimand he receives from Elihu, and the humbling power of God’s speeches help Job come to understand that his relationship to God is ultimately the main issue and that suffering, while extremely important, is secondary. Thus, we ought to see the major issue of the book of Job more like a complex series of issues rather than a single one. It is about the suffering of the innocent, the testing of the righteous, and Job’s relationship to God—all bound together in the totality of the book. The complex of issues is not theoretical but practical, which makes the book all the more relevant. Job’s world is real, not a hypothetical “ivory tower” where these questions can be bandied about among the participants without anyone feeling the hurt.

The Nature and Meaning of the Speeches

There are three cycles of speeches. Each cycle is composed of three speeches, one by each of Job’s three friends, followed by Job’s response—except that in the third cycle, the third friend, Zophar, does not speak, even though Job gives him an opportunity to do so. The speeches do not touch like rectangles set side by side; they are more like circles, some concentric, some partially overlapping, some disjointed. From time to time the disputants seize upon each other’s arguments and turn them on the anvil of their own theological platform to give them a different meaning. After Job has lamented his pitiable state of suffering, the three cycles arrange the speakers in an orderly fashion from the oldest to the youngest. Elihu comes after Job’s closing words because Elihu is the youngest.

The speeches are written in poetic form, while the prologue (chs. 1–2) and the epilogue (42:7–17) are composed in prose—prose being more amenable to the biographical details than poetry. The role of Satan in the prologue is that of a catalyst, but he does not initiate the conversation with the Lord, nor does he mention Job’s name until the Lord himself introduces it. Then it becomes quite obvious that Satan knew Job’s situation quite well.

The friends’ understanding of God and the world changes little amid a variety of topics they introduce and reintroduce, while Job remains steadfast on some issues and advances in understanding on others. On the one hand, Job remains steadfast throughout the dialogue that he is innocent (6:28–30; 9:15; 16:17; 23:12; 27:5–6), that God is acting like his enemy (6:4; 16:11–14; 19:6–12; 23:15–16; 27:2), and that God continues to elude him (9:16, 33; 23:3; 31:35). On the other hand, Job’s understanding of why tragedy has struck him broadside moves from complete lack of understanding to the recognition, at least momentarily, that he is suffering because God is trying to expose his true character (23:10). One of the most significant advances in Job’s understanding is his belief in the afterlife. At first he is skeptical (14:7–17), but with time he comes to embrace the doctrine (19:25–27). The notion of a mediator is coupled with that belief. Job at first is skeptical (as he is regarding the afterlife), even entirely negative, about a mediator who can arbitrate between him and God (9:33), but as his confidence in the afterlife advances, so do his beliefs that there is a witness in heaven who will vouch for him (16:19) and that his hope—that he will face his redeemer—will become a reality (19:25–27). Finally, Job’s beliefs in his innocence and God’s justice come together when Job asserts that if he could find God the judge, God would acquit him (23:7).

Author and Date

We do not know who authored the book of Job, yet we are safe in saying that the author set Job’s story in the patriarchal period. Job and Abraham are culturally and spiritually next of kin. Job’s priestly role, his use of livestock as a measurement of wealth, and even his final repentance “in dust and ashes” (42:6) suggest the patriarchal era. While there are hints that Job knew the moral law, it is possible that the author wanted to suggest that Job, like Abraham, obeyed the law before it was ever handed down to Moses (Gen 26:5). Judging from Ezekiel’s mention of our hero (Ezek 14:14, 20), we may assume that the book was written in the preexilic era and long before Ezekiel’s prophetic activity (ca. 593–571 BC).

Job the Man: The text hints that Job was a comparatively young man (15:10). He was wise and wealthy, and he was highly respected in his community. Though he perhaps lived in Edom, he was not likely an Edomite, for there is too much evidence that Job was a Hebrew believer. There has been much speculation about whether Job was a historical person. However, Ezekiel’s reference to Job’s righteousness (Ezek 14:14, 20) and James’s mention of Job’s perseverance (Jas 5:11) suggest that Job was a real person, not merely a figure in a parable.

When we look at the following outline, it is quite obvious that the dialogue is the major section of the book, which is significant. That is where the protagonist, Job, faces his “comforters,” who are at a safe distance, both emotionally and theologically. If length is any indication and if intensity is any guide, it is in the dialogue that the issues of the book are exposed, challenged, and “resolved,” at least so far as the three friends are concerned. But for Job the dialogue is a platform on which to state his case and challenge God to appear in court to explain himself. That means God’s speeches are central to the reader’s understanding of the book, but they are presented only after the author has introduced the conceited and indicting speeches of Elihu.

Outline

I. The Prologue 1:1—2:13

A. The Main Character Introduced (1:1–5)

B. Job’s First Test Executed and Job’s Response (1:6–22)

C. Job’s Second Test Executed and Job’s Response (2:1–10)

D. Job’s Three Friends (2:11–13)

II. Job’s Lament (3:1–26)

III. The Dialogue (4:1—27:23)

A. The Dialogue: Cycle One (4:1—14:22)

1. First Exchange: Eliphaz (4:1—5:27)

2. Job’s Response to Eliphaz (6:1—7:21)

3. Second Exchange: Bildad (8:1–22)

4. Job’s Response to Bildad (9:1—10:22)

5. Third Exchange: Zophar (11:1–20)

6. Job’s Response to Zophar (12:1—14:22)

B. The Dialogue: Cycle Two (15:1—21:34)

1. First Exchange: Eliphaz (15:1–35)

2. Job’s Response to Eliphaz (16:1—17:16)

3. Second Exchange: Bildad (18:1–21)

4. Job’s Response to Bildad (19:1–29)

5. Third Exchange: Zophar (20:1–29)

6. Job’s Response to Zophar (21:1–34)

C. The Dialogue: Cycle Three (22:1—27:23)

1. First Exchange: Eliphaz (22:1–30)

2. Job’s Response to Eliphaz (23:1—24:25)

3. Second Exchange: Bildad (25:1–6)

4. Job’s Response to Bildad (26:1–14)

5. Job’s Final Word to His Friends (27:1–23)

IV. Job’s First Monologue: Where Wisdom Is Found (28:1–28)

V. Job’s Second Monologue: Job’s Final Defense (29:1—31:40)

VI. The Elihu Speeches (32:1—37:24)

A. Elihu’s First Speech (32:1—33:33)

B. Elihu’s Second Speech (34:1–37)

C. Elihu’s Third Speech (35:1–16)

D. Elihu’s Fourth Speech (36:1—37:24)

VII. God’s Speeches and Job’s Responses (38:1—42:6)

A. God’s First Speech (38:1—40:2)

B. Job’s First Response (40:3–5)

C. God’s Second Speech (40:6—41:34)

D. Job’s Second Response (42:1–6)

VIII. The Epilogue (42:7–17)