Book of Job

Book of the Bible

For the Indian film also known as Book of Job, see Iyobinte Pustakam.

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Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3522: dated to the 1st century AD, it contains part of Job 42 translated into Greek.

The Book of Job (Biblical Hebrew: אִיּוֹב, romanized: ʾĪyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonian Hebrew and Aramaic influences, indicates it was composed during the Persian period (540–330 BCE), with the poet using Hebrew in a learned, literary manner.[2] It addresses the problem of evil, providing a theodicy through the experiences of the eponymous protagonist.[3] Job is a wealthy God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God discusses Job's piety with Satan (הַשָּׂטָן, haśśāṭān, 'lit. 'the adversary''). Satan rebukes God, stating that Job would turn away from God if he were to lose everything within his possession. God decides to test that theory by allowing Satan to inflict pain on Job. The rest of the book deals with Job's suffering and him successfully defending himself against his unsympathetic friends, whom God admonishes, and God's sovereignty over nature.

## Structure

[edit]

A scroll of the Book of Job, in Hebrew

The Book of Job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues.[4] 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 book's underlying editorial unity.[5]

1. Prologue: in two scenes, the first on Earth, the second in Heaven[6]
2. Job's opening monologue[7] – seen by some scholars as a bridge between the prologue and the dialogues and by others as the beginning of the dialogues[8] – and three cycles of dialogues between Job and his three friends;[9] the third cycle is not complete, the expected speech of Zophar being replaced by the wisdom poem of chapter 28.[10]

* First cycle:
* Eliphaz and Job's response[11]
* Bildad and Job[12]
* Zophar and Job[13]
* Second cycle:
* Eliphaz and Job[14]
* Bildad and Job[15]
* Zophar and Job[16]
* Third cycle:
* Eliphaz and Job[17]
* Bildad and Job[18]

3. Three monologues:

* A Poem to Wisdom[a][8]
* Job's closing monologue[20]
* and Elihu's speeches[21]

4. Three speeches by God,[22] with Job's responses
5. Epilogue – Job's restoration[23]

## Contents

[edit]

Job's Tormentors from William Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job

### Prologue on Earth and in Heaven

[edit]

In chapter 1, the prologue on Earth introduces Job as a righteous man, blessed with wealth, sons, and daughters, who lives in the land of Uz. The scene then shifts to Heaven, where God asks Satan (Biblical Hebrew: הַשָּׂטָן, romanized: haśśāṭān, lit. 'the adversary') for his opinion of Job's piety. Satan accuses Job of being pious only because he believes God is responsible for his happiness; if God were to take away everything that Job has, then he would surely curse God.[24]

God gives Satan permission to strip Job of his wealth and kill his children and servants, but Job nonetheless praises God:

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.[25]

In chapter 2, God further allows Satan to afflict Job's body with disfiguring and painful boils. As Job sits in the ashes of his former estate, his wife prompts him to "curse God, and die", but Job answers:

Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?[26]

### Job's opening monologue and dialogues between Job and his three friends

[edit]

In chapter 3, "instead of cursing God",[27] Job laments the night of his conception and the day of his birth; he longs for death, "but it does not come".[28]

His three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, visit him, accuse him of sinning, and tell him that his suffering was deserved. Job responds with scorn, calling his visitors "miserable comforters".[29] Job asserts that since a just God would not treat him so harshly, patience in suffering is impossible, and the Creator should not take his creatures so lightly, to come against them with such force.[30]

Job's responses represent one of the most radical restatements of Israelite theology in the Hebrew Bible.[31] He moves away from the pious attitude shown in the prologue and begins to berate God for the disproportionate wrath against him. He sees God as, among others,

* intrusive and suffocating[32]
* unforgiving and obsessed with destroying a human target[33]
* angry[34]
* fixated on punishment[35]
* hostile and destructive[36]

Job then shifts his focus from the injustice that he himself suffers to God's governance of the world. He suggests that God does nothing to punish the wicked, who have taken advantage of the needy and the helpless, who, in turn, have been left to suffer the significant hardships inflicted on them.[37]

### Three monologues: Poem to Wisdom, Job's closing monologue

[edit]

Job and His Friends by Ilya Repin (1869)

The dialogues of Job and his friends are followed by a poem (the "hymn to wisdom") on the inaccessibility of wisdom: "Where is wisdom to be found?" it asks; it concludes in chapter 28 that wisdom has been hidden from humankind.[38] Job contrasts his previous fortune with his present plight as an outcast, mocked and in pain. He protests his innocence, lists the principles he has lived by, and demands that God answer him.[39]

### Elihu's speeches

[edit]

A character not previously mentioned, Elihu, intrudes into the story and occupies chapters 32–37. The narrative describes him as stepping out of a crowd of bystanders irate. He intervenes to state that wisdom comes from God, who reveals it through dreams and visions to those who will then declare their knowledge.[38]

### Two speeches by God

[edit]

From chapter 38, God speaks from a whirlwind.[40] God's speeches do not explain Job's suffering, defend divine justice, enter into the courtroom of confrontation that Job has demanded, or respond to his oath of innocence of which the narrative prologue shows God is well aware.[41]

Instead, God changes the subject to human frailty and contrasts Job's weakness with divine wisdom and omnipotence: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" Job responds briefly, but God's monologue resumes, never addressing Job directly.[42]

In Job 42:1–6, Job makes his final response, confessing God's power and his own lack of knowledge "of things beyond me which I did not know". Previously, he has only heard God, but now his eyes have seen God, and therefore, he declares, "I retract and repent in dust and ashes".[43]

### Epilogue

[edit]

God tells Eliphaz that he and the two other friends "have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has done".

The three are told to make a burnt offering with Job as their intercessor, "for only to him will I show favour". Elihu, the critic of Job and his friends, is notably omitted from this part of the narrative.

The epilogue describes Job's health being restored, his riches and family being remade, and Job living to see the new children born into his family produce grandchildren up to the fourth generation.[44]

### Additions to Job

[edit]

Among other alterations to the Book of Job, the Septuagint features an extended epilogue. Continuing from the end of 42:17, the Greek edition confirms that Job will be resurrected with the righteous. The addition further identifies Job with Jobab in Genesis, the great grandson of Esau and a king of Edom. Furthermore, Eliphaz in the story of Job is identified as Esau’s firstborn son, Eliphaz, and the king of Taiman; Baldad is noted as the ruler of the Sauchites, and Sophar is noted as the king of the Minneans.

The addition contains several parallels with the writings of Aristeas the Exegete, quoted by Alexander Polyhistor who in turn was quoted in Eusebius in Praeparatio Evangelica 9.25.1-4.[45]

## Composition

[edit]

Anonymous Byzantine illustration; the pre-incarnate Christ speaks to Job

### Authorship, language, texts

[edit]

The character Job appears in the 6th-century BCE Book of Ezekiel as an exemplary righteous man of antiquity, and the author of the Book of Job has apparently chosen this legendary hero for his parable.[46] The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonian Hebrew and Aramaic influences, indicates it was composed during the Persian period (540–330 BCE), with the poet using Hebrew in a learned, literary manner.[47] The anonymous author was almost certainly an Israelite—although the story is set outside Israel, in southern Edom or northern Arabia—and alludes to places as far apart as Mesopotamia and Egypt.[48] Despite the Israelite origins, it appears that the Book of Job was composed in a time in which wisdom literature was common but not acceptable to Judean sensibilities (i.e., during the Babylonian exile and shortly thereafter).[49]

The speeches of Elihu differ in style from the rest of the book, and neither God nor Job appear to take any note of what he has said; as a result, it is widely believed that Elihu's speeches are a later addition by another author.[50][51]

The language of Job stands out for its conservative spelling and exceptionally large number of words and word forms not found elsewhere in the Bible.[52] Many later scholars, down to the 20th century, have looked for an Aramaic, Arabic, or Edomite origin, but a close analysis suggests that the foreign words and foreign-looking forms are literary affectations designed to lend authenticity to the book's distant setting and give it a foreign flavor.[48][53]

### Modern revisions

[edit]

Job exists in a number of forms: the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which underlies many modern Bible translations; the Greek Septuagint made in Egypt in the last centuries BCE; and Aramaic and Hebrew manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[54]

In the Latin Vulgate, the New Revised Standard Version, and in Protestant Bibles, it is placed after the Book of Esther as the first of the poetic books.[1] In the Hebrew Bible, it is located within the Ketuvim. John Hartley notes that in Sephardic manuscripts, the texts are ordered as Psalms, Job, and Proverbs, but in Ashkenazic texts, the order is Psalms, Proverbs, and then Job.[1] In the Catholic Jerusalem Bible, it is described as the first of the "wisdom books" and follows the two books of the Maccabees.[55]

### Job and the wisdom tradition

[edit]

Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Proverbs belong to the genre of wisdom literature, sharing a perspective that they themselves call the "way of wisdom".[56] Wisdom means both a way of thinking and a body of knowledge gained through such thinking, as well as the ability to apply it to life. In its Biblical application in wisdom literature, it is seen as attainable in part through human effort and in part as a gift from God, but never in its entirety—except by God.[57]

The three books of wisdom literature share attitudes and assumptions but differ in their conclusions: Proverbs makes confident statements about the world and its workings that Job and Ecclesiastes flatly contradict.[58] Wisdom literature from Sumeria and Babylonia can be dated to the third millennium BCE.[59] Several texts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt offer parallels to Job,[60] and while it is impossible to tell whether any of them influenced the author of Job, their existence suggests that the author was the recipient of a long tradition of reflection on the existence of inexplicable suffering.[61]

## Themes

[edit]

The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré (1865)

The Book of Job is an investigation of the problem of divine justice.[62] This problem, known in theology as the problem of evil or theodicy, can be rephrased as a question: "Why do the righteous suffer?"[3] The conventional answer in ancient Israel was that God rewards virtue and punishes sin (the principle known as "retributive justice").[63] According to this view the moral status of human choices and actions is consequential, but experience demonstrates that suffering is experienced by those who are good.[64]

The biblical concept of righteousness was rooted in the covenant-making God who had ordered creation for communal well-being, and the righteous were those who invested in the community, showing special concern for the poor and needy (see Job's description of his life in chapter 31). Their antithesis were the wicked, who were selfish and greedy.[65] The Satan (or the Adversary) raises the question of whether there is such a thing as disinterested righteousness: if God rewards righteousness with prosperity, will men not act righteously from selfish motives? He asks God to test this by removing the prosperity of Job, the most righteous of all God's servants.[66]

The book begins with the frame narrative, giving the reader an omniscient "God's eye perspective" which introduces Job as a man of exemplary faith and piety, "blameless and upright", who "fears God" and "shuns evil".[67][68] The contrast between the frame and the poetic dialogues and monologues, in which Job never learns of the opening scenes in heaven or of the reason for his suffering, creates a sense of dramatic irony between the divine view of the Adversary's wager, and the human view of Job's suffering "without any reason" (2:3).[68]

In the poetic dialogues Job's friends see his suffering and assume he must be guilty, since God is just. Job, knowing he is innocent, concludes that God must be unjust.[69] He retains his piety throughout the story (contradicting the Adversary's suspicion that his righteousness is due to the expectation of reward), but makes clear from his first speech that he agrees with his friends that God should and does reward righteousness.[70]

The intruder, Elihu, rejects the arguments of both parties:

* Job is wrong to accuse God of injustice, as God is greater than human beings, and
* the visitors are not correct either; for suffering, far from being a punishment, may "rescue the afflicted from their affliction".

That is, suffering can make those afflicted more amenable to revelation – literally, "open their ears" (Job 36:15).[71][69]

Chapter 28, the Poem (or Hymn) to Wisdom, introduces another theme: Divine wisdom. The hymn does not place any emphasis on retributive justice, stressing instead the inaccessibility of wisdom.[72] Wisdom cannot be invented or purchased, it says; God alone knows the meaning of the world, and he grants it only to those who live in reverence before him.[73] God possesses wisdom because he grasps the complexities of the world (Job 28:24–26)[74] – a theme which anticipates God's speech in chapters 38–41, with its repeated refrain "Where were you when ...?"[75]

When God finally speaks he neither explains the reason for Job's suffering (known to the reader to be unjust, from the prologue set in heaven) nor defends his justice. The first speech focuses on his role in maintaining order in the universe: The list of things that God does and Job cannot do demonstrates divine wisdom because order is the heart of wisdom. Job then confesses his lack of wisdom, meaning his lack of understanding of the workings of the cosmos and of the ability to maintain it. The second speech concerns God's role in controlling the formidable 'behemoth' and 'leviathan'.[76][b]

Job's reply to God's final speech is longer than his first and more complicated. The usual view is that he admits to being wrong to challenge God and now repents "in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6),[77] but the Hebrew is difficult: An alternative reading is that Job says he was wrong to repent and mourn, and does not retract any of his arguments.[78]

In the concluding part of the frame narrative God restores and increases Job's prosperity, indicating that the divine policy on retributive justice remains unchanged.[79]

## Influence and interpretation

[edit]

### History of interpretation

[edit]

A carved wooden figure of Job. Probably from Germany, 1750–1850 CE. The Wellcome Collection, London

In the Second Temple period (500 BCE–70 CE), the character of Job began to be transformed into something more patient and steadfast, with his suffering a test of virtue and a vindication of righteousness for the glory of God.[80] The process of "sanctifying" Job began with the Greek Septuagint translation (c. 200 BCE) and was furthered in the apocryphal Testament of Job (1st century BCE–1st century CE), which makes him the hero of patience.[81] This reading pays little attention to the Job of the dialogue sections of the book,[82] but it was the tradition taken up by the Epistle of James in the New Testament, which presents Job as one whose patience and endurance should be emulated by believers (James 5:7–11).[83][84]

When Christians began interpreting Job 19:23–29[85] (verses concerning a "redeemer" who Job hopes can save him from God) as a prophecy of Christ,[86] the predominant Jewish view became "Job the blasphemer", with some rabbis even saying that he was rightly punished by God because he had stood by while Pharaoh massacred the innocent Jewish infants.[87][88]

Augustine of Hippo recorded that Job had prophesied the coming of Christ, and Pope Gregory I offered him as a model of right living worthy of respect. The medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides declared his story a parable, and the medieval Christian Thomas Aquinas wrote a detailed commentary declaring it true history. In the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther explained how Job's confession of sinfulness and worthlessness underlay his saintliness, and John Calvin's interpretation of Job demonstrated the doctrine of the resurrection and the ultimate certainty of divine justice.[89]

The contemporary movement known as creation theology, an ecological theology valuing the needs of all creation, interprets God's speeches in Job 38–41 to imply that his interests and actions are not exclusively focused on humankind.[90]

### Liturgical use

[edit]

Jewish liturgy does not use readings from the Book of Job in the manner of the Pentateuch, Prophets, or Five Megillot, although it is quoted at funerals and times of mourning. However, there are some Jews, particularly the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who do hold public readings of Job on the Tisha B'Av fast (a day of mourning over the destruction of the First and Second Temples and other tragedies).[91] The cantillation signs for the large poetic section in the middle of the Book of Job differ from those of most of the biblical books, using a system shared with it only by Psalms and Proverbs.

The Eastern Orthodox Church reads from Job and Exodus during Holy Week. Exodus prepares for the understanding of Christ's exodus to his Father, of his fulfillment of the whole history of salvation; Job, the sufferer, is the Old Testament icon of Christ.[citation needed]

The Roman Catholic Church reads from Job during Matins in the first two weeks of September and in the Office of the Dead,[92] and in the revised Liturgy of the Hours Job is read during the Fifth, Twelfth, and Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time.[93]

In the modern Roman Rite, the Book of Job is read during:

* 5th and 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
* Weekday Reading for the 26th Week in Ordinary Time – Year II Cycle
* Ritual Masses for the Anointing of the Sick and Viaticum – First Reading options
* Masses for the Dead – First Reading options

### In music, art, literature, and film

[edit]

Georges de La Tour, Job Mocked by his Wife

The Book of Job has been deeply influential in Western culture, to such an extent that no list could be more than representative. Musical settings from Job include Orlande de Lassus's 1565 cycle of motets, the Sacrae Lectiones Novem ex Propheta Iob, and George Frideric Handel's use of Job 19:25 ("I know that my redeemer liveth") as an aria in his 1741 oratorio Messiah.

Modern works based on the book include Ralph Vaughan Williams's Job: A Masque for Dancing; French composer Darius Milhaud's Cantata From Job; and Joseph Stein's Broadway interpretation Fiddler on the Roof, based on the Tevye the Dairyman stories by Sholem Aleichem. Neil Simon wrote God's Favorite, which is a modern retelling of the Book of Job. Breughel and Georges de La Tour depicted Job visited by his wife. William Blake produced an entire cycle of illustrations for the book. It was adapted for Australian radio in 1939.

Writers Job has inspired or influenced include[original research?] John Milton (Samson Agonistes); Dostoevsky (The Brothers Karamazov);[94] Alfred Döblin (Berlin Alexanderplatz); Franz Kafka (The Trial); Carl Jung (Answer to Job); Joseph Roth (Job); Bernard Malamud; and Elizabeth Brewster, whose book Footnotes to the Book of Job was a finalist[95] for the 1996 Governor General's Award for poetry in Canada. Archibald MacLeish's drama JB, one of the most prominent uses of the Book of Job in modern literature, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1959. Verses from the Book of Job 3:14 figure prominently in the plot of the film Mission: Impossible (1996).[96] Job's influence can also be seen in the Coen brothers' 2009 film, A Serious Man, which was nominated for two Academy Awards.[97]

Terrence Malick's 2011 film The Tree of Life, which won the Palme d'Or, is heavily influenced by the themes of the Book of Job, with the film starting with a quote from the beginning of God's speech to Job.[98]

The Russian film Leviathan also draws themes from the Book of Job.[99]

The 2014 Indian Malayalam-language film Iyobinte Pusthakam (lit. 'Book of Job') by Amal Neerad tells the story of a man who is losing everything in his life.

"The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" is the final track on Joni Mitchell's 15th studio album, Turbulent Indigo.

In 2015 two Ukrainian composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko created the opera-requiem IYOV. The premiere of the opera was held on 21 September 2015 on the main stage of the international multidisciplinary festival Gogolfest.[100]

In the 3rd episode of the 15th season of ER, the lines of Job 3:23 are quoted by doctor Abby Lockhart shortly before she and her husband (Dr. Luka Covac) leave the series forever.[101]

In season two of Good Omens, the tale of Job and his struggles with good and evil are demonstrated and debated as the demon Crowley is sent to plague Job and his family by destroying his property and children, and the angel Aziraphale struggles with the implications of the actions of God.[102]

In the South Park episode Cartmanland, Kyle Broflovski, who is Jewish, experiences a major crisis of faith. His parents try to cheer him up by reading from the Book of Job, which only serves to demoralize Kyle even more, who despairs at Job's horrific trials by God to prove a point to Satan.[103]

In a series of (now deleted) cryptic tweets detailing the story of an unconfirmed meeting with Bob Dylan, comedian Norm Macdonald makes allusions and references to The Book of Job, calling it his favorite book of the Bible. Dylan allegedly preferred Ecclesiastes.[104][105]

### In Islam and Arab folk tradition

[edit]

Main article: Job in Islam

Job (Arabic: ايوب, romanized: Ayyub) is one of the 25 prophets mentioned by name in the Quran, where he is lauded as a steadfast and upright worshipper (Q.38:44). His story has the same basic outline as in the Bible, although the three friends are replaced by his brothers, and his wife stays by his side.[88][106]

In Lebanon the Muwahideen (or Druze) community have a shrine built in the Shouf area that allegedly contains Job's tomb.[citation needed] In Turkey, Job is known as Eyüp, and he is supposed to have lived in Şanlıurfa.[citation needed] There is also a tomb of Job outside the city of Salalah in Oman.[107]

## See also

[edit]

* Answer to Job by Carl Jung
* Book of Job in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
* Moralia in Job
* Ludlul bēl nēmeqi, the "Babylonian Job"
* Testament of Job
* God's Favorite, a play by Neil Simon, loosely based on the Book of Job

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Chapter 28,[19] previously read as part of the speech of Job, is now regarded by most scholars as a separate interlude in the narrator's voice.
2. ^ The Hebrew words behemoth and leviathan are sometimes naturalistically translated as the 'hippopotamus' and 'crocodile', but more probably representing more ominous primeval cosmic monsters or chaotic forces, in either case demonstrating God's wisdom and power.[76]

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Hartley 1988, p. 3.
2. ^ Greenstein, Edward L. (2019). "Introduction". Job: A New Translation. Yale University Press. p. xxvii. ISBN 9780300163766. "Determining the time and place of the book's composition is bound up with the nature of the book's language. The Hebrew prose of the frame tale, notwithstanding many classic features, shows that it was composed in the post-Babylonian era (after 540 BCE). The poetic core of the book is written in a highly literate and literary Hebrew, the eccentricities and occasional clumsiness of which suggest that Hebrew was a learned and not native language of the poet. The numerous words and grammatical shadings of Aramaic spread throughout the mainly Hebrew text of Job make a setting in the Persian era (approximately 540–330) fairly certain, for it was only in that period that Aramaic became a major language throughout the Levant. The poet depends on an audience that will pick up on subtle signs of Aramaic."
3. ^ a b Lawson 2004, p. 11.
4. ^ Bullock 2007, p. 87.
5. ^ Walton 2008, p. 343.
6. ^ Job 1–2
7. ^ Job 3
8. ^ a b Walton 2008, p. 333.
9. ^ Job 4–27
10. ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 191.
11. ^ Job 4–7
12. ^ Job 8–10
13. ^ Job 11–14
14. ^ Job 15–17
15. ^ Job 18–19
16. ^ Job 20–21
17. ^ Job 22–24
18. ^ Job 25–27
19. ^ Job 28
20. ^ Job 29–31
21. ^ Job 32–37
22. ^ Job 38:1–40:2, Job 40:6–41:34, and Job 42:7–8
23. ^ Job 42:9–17
24. ^ Job 1:21
25. ^ Job 1:21
26. ^ Job 2:9–10
27. ^ Crenshaw, J.L. (2001). "17. Job". In Barton, J.; Muddiman, J. (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary. p. 335\. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017.
28. ^ Job 3:21
29. ^ Job 16:2
30. ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 190.
31. ^ Clines, David J.A. (2004). "Job's God". Concilium. 2004 (4): 39–51.
32. ^ Job 7:17–19
33. ^ Job 7:20–21
34. ^ Job 9:13; Job 14:13; Job 16:9; Job 19:11
35. ^ Job 10:13–14
36. ^ Job 16:11–14
37. ^ Job 24:1–12
38. ^ a b Seow 2013, pp. 33–34.
39. ^ Sawyer 2013, p. 27.
40. ^ Job 38:1
41. ^ Walton 2008, p. 339.
42. ^ Sawyer 2013, p. 28.
43. ^ Habel 1985, p. 575.
44. ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 33.
45. ^ Charlesworth 1985, p. 855. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCharlesworth1985 (help)
46. ^ Fokkelman 2012, p. 20.
47. ^ Job: A New Translation. Translated by Edward L. Greenstein. Yale University Press. 2019. p. xxvii. ISBN 9780300163766. "Determining the time and place of the book's composition is bound up with the nature of the book's language. The Hebrew prose of the frame tale, notwithstanding many classic features, shows that it was composed in the post-Babylonian era (after 540 BC). The poetic core of the book is written in a highly literate and literary Hebrew, the eccentricities and occasional clumsiness of which suggest that Hebrew was a learned and not native language of the poet. The numerous words and grammatical shadings of Aramaic spread throughout the mainly Hebrew text of Job make a setting in the Persian era (approximately 540–330) fairly certain, for it was only in that period that Aramaic became a major language throughout the Levant. The poet depends on an audience that will pick up on subtle signs of Aramaic."
48. ^ a b Seow 2013, p. 24.
49. ^ Kugel 2012.
50. ^ "Elihu (Biblical figure)". Encyclopedia Brittanica. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
51. ^ Alter 2018.
52. ^ Seow 2013, p. 17-20.
53. ^ Kugel 2012, p. 641.
54. ^ Seow 2013, pp. 1–16.
55. ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), Introduction to the Wisdom Books, p. 723
56. ^ Farmer 1998, p. 129.
57. ^ Farmer 1998, pp. 129–30.
58. ^ Farmer 1998, pp. 130–31.
59. ^ Bullock 2007, p. 84.
60. ^ Hartley 2008, p. 346.
61. ^ Hartley 2008, p. 360.
62. ^ Bullock 2007, p. 82.
63. ^ Hooks 2006, p. 58.
64. ^ Brueggemann 2002, p. 201.
65. ^ Brueggemann 2002, pp. 177–78.
66. ^ Walton 2008, pp. 336–37.
67. ^ Hooks 2006, p. 57.
68. ^ a b O'Dowd 2008, pp. 242–43.
69. ^ a b Seow 2013, pp. 97–98.
70. ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 194.
71. ^ Job 36:15
72. ^ Dell 2003, p. 356.
73. ^ Hooks 2006, pp. 329–30.
74. ^ Job 28:24–26
75. ^ Fiddes 1996, p. 174.
76. ^ a b Walton 2008, p. 338.
77. ^ Job 42:6
78. ^ Sawyer 2013, p. 34.
79. ^ Walton 2008, pp. 338–39.
80. ^ Seow 2013, p. 111.
81. ^ Allen 2008, pp. 362–63.
82. ^ Dell 1991, pp. 6–7.
83. ^ James 5:7–11
84. ^ Allen 2008, p. 362.
85. ^ Job 19:23–29
86. ^ Simonetti, Conti & Oden 2006, pp. 105–06.
87. ^ Allen 2008, pp. 361–62.
88. ^ a b Noegel & Wheeler 2010, p. 171.
89. ^ Allen 2008, pp. 368–71.
90. ^ Farmer 1998, p. 150.
91. ^ "The Connection Between Tisha B'Av and Sefer Iyov (Job)". Orthodox Union. 19 July 2011.
92. ^ Dell 1991, p. 26.
93. ^ Bergsma, John Sietze; Pitre, Brant James (2018). A Catholic introduction to the Bible. Volume 1, The Old Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. pp. 556–558\. ISBN 978-1-58617-722-5. OCLC 950745091.
94. ^ Rosenshield, Gary (2016). "Dostoevskii and the Book of Job: Theodicy and Theophany in "the Brothers Karamazov"". The Slavic and East European Journal. 60 (4): 609–632\. doi:10.30851/604002. ISSN 0037-6752. JSTOR 26633666.
95. ^ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General’s Literary Awards. Canada Council for the Arts.
96. ^ Burnette-Bletsch, Rhonda, ed. (2016). The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film. Handbooks of the Bible and Its Reception (HBR). Vol. 2\. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 372\. ISBN 9781614513261.
97. ^ Tollerton, David (October 2011). "Job of Suburbia? A Serious Man and Viewer Perceptions of the Biblical Biblical". Journal of Religion & Film. 15 (2, Article 7). Omaha: University of Nebraska: 1–11.
98. ^ McCracken 2012.
99. ^ Moss, Walter G. (16 June 2015). "What Does the Film Leviathan Tell Us about Putin's Russia and Its Past?". History News Network.
100. ^ GogolFest. "Program 2015". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
101. ^ "ER: Season 15 Episode 3 Transcript". Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
102. ^ Covill, Max (26 July 2023). "David Tennant, Michael Sheen Continue to Elevate Quality of Good Omens 2". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024.
103. ^ South Park, Season 5, Episode 6, "Cartmanland". Directed and written by Trey Parker.
104. ^ Loofbourow, Lili (16 September 2021). "Norm Macdonald Never Stopped Bulls–tting". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
105. ^ Yakas, Ben (22 January 2015). "Here's Norm Macdonald's Magical Twitter Story About Meeting Bob Dylan". Gothamist. New York Public Radio. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
106. ^ Wheeler 2002, p. 8.
107. ^ Gray, Martin. "Tomb of Prophet Job, Salalah". World Pilgrimage Guide. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

### Sources

[edit]

* Allen, J. (2008). "Job III: History of Interpretation". In Longman III, Tremper; Enns, Peter (eds.). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-83081783-2.
* Alter, Robert (2018). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. Vol. 3\. W. W. Nortion & Company. ISBN 978-0393292497.
* Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1996). A History of Prophecy in Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-66425639-5.
* Brueggemann, Walter (2002). Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes. Westminster John Knox. ISBN 978-0-66422231-4.
* Bullock, C. Hassell (2007). An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567450-6.
* Burnight, John (September 2021). Shepherd, David; Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia (eds.). "Is Eliphaz a false prophet? The vision in Job 4.12–21". Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 46 (1). SAGE Publications: 96–116\. doi:10.1177/03090892211001404. ISSN 1476-6728. S2CID 238412522.
* Dell, Katharine J. (2003). "Job". In Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William (eds.). Eerdmans Bible Commentary. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-80283711-0.
* Dell, Katherine J. (1991). The Book of Job as Sceptical Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-085873-0. OCLC 857769510.
* Farmer, Kathleen A. (1998). "The Wisdom Books". In McKenzie, Steven L.; Graham, Matt Patrick (eds.). The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664256524.
* Fiddes, Paul (1996). "'Where Shall Wisdom be Found?' Job 28 as a Riddle for Ancient and Modern Readers". In Barton, John; Reimer, David (eds.). After the Exile: Essays in Honour of Rex Mason. Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-86554524-3.
* Fokkelman, J.P. (2012). The Book of Job in Form: A Literary Translation with Commentary. BRILL. ISBN 978-9-0042-3158-0.
* Hartley, John E. (1988). The Book of Job. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8028-2528-5.
* Hartley, John E. (2008). "Job II: Ancient Near Eastern Background". In Longman, Tremper; Enns, Peter (eds.). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-1783-2.
* Habel, Norman C (1985). The Book of Job: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-6642-2218-5.
* Hooks, Stephen M. (2006). Job. College Press. ISBN 978-0-8990-0886-8.
* Joyce, Paul M. (2009). Ezekiel: A Commentary. Continuum. ISBN 9780567483614.
* Kugel, James L. (2012). How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-8909-9.
* Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick J. (2009). An Introduction to the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8028-4636-5.
* Lawson, Steven J. (2004). Job. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8054-9470-9.
* McCracken, Brett (21 May 2012). "The Divine Guide in Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life"". Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
* Murphy, Roland Edmund (2002). The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8028-3965-7.
* Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010). The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4617-1895-6.
* O'Dowd, R. (2008). "Frame Narrative". In Longman, Tremper; Enns, Peter (eds.). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-1783-2.
* Pihlström, Sami (2015). "Chapter 5. The Problem of Evil and Pragmatic Recognition". In Skowroński, Krzysztof Piotr (ed.). Practicing Philosophy as Experiencing Life. Essays on American Pragmatism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 77–101\. doi:10.1163/9789004301993_006. hdl:10138/176976. ISBN 978-9-0043-0199-3.. Docx extract[permanent dead link].
* Sawyer, John F.A. (2013). "Job". In Lieb, Michael; Mason, Emma; Roberts, Jonathan (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1992-0454-0.
* Seow, C.L. (2013). Job 1–21: Interpretation and Commentary. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8028-4895-6.
* Simonetti, Manlio; Conti, Marco; Oden, Thomas C. (2006). Job. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830814763.
* Vicchio, Stephen J. (2020). The Book of Job: A History of Interpretation and a Commentary. Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1-7252-5726-9.
* Walsh, Jerome T (2001). Style and structure in Biblical Hebrew narrative. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814658970.
* Walton, J.H. (2008). "Job I: Book of". In Longman, Tremper; Enns, Peter (eds.). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830817832.
* Wheeler, Brannon M. (18 June 2002). Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-4957-3.
* Wilson, Gerald H. (2012). Job. Baker Books. ISBN 978-1-44123839-9.
* Wollaston, Isabell (2013). "Post-Holocaust Interpretations of Job". In Lieb, Michael; Mason, Emma; Roberts, Jonathan (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19967039-0.

## Further reading

[edit]

* The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. Translated by Wise, Michael; Abegg Jr, Martin; Cook, Edward (paperback ed.). San Francisco: Harper. 1996. ISBN 0-06-069201-4. (contains the non-biblical portion of the scrolls)
* Papadaki-Oekland, Stella (2009). Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts of the Book of Job. Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-53232-5.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Book of Job.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Book of Job.

* Betesh, David M. "Sephardic Cantillations for the Book of Job". Sephardic Pizmonim Project.
* Translations of The Book of Job at BibleGateway.com
* "Hebrew and English Parallel and Complete Text of the Book of Job". Archived from the original on 16 October 2011 - via Mechon Mamre. English Translation is the 1917 Old JPS
* "Introduction to the Book of Job" (PDF). 6 September 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2015.[dead link]
* Bible: Job public domain audiobook at LibriVox

Book of Job

Wisdom literature

Preceded by

Proverbs

|  Hebrew Bible | Succeeded by

Song of Songs

Preceded by

Esther

|  Protestant
Old Testament | Succeeded by

Psalms

Preceded by

2 Maccabees

|  Roman Catholic
Old Testament
Preceded by

3 Maccabees

|  Eastern Orthodox
Old Testament

* v
* t
* e

Book of Job

* Job
* In Islam
* In rabbinic literature

Bible chapters|

* Prologue (Job 1
* 2)
* Dialogue (3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 22
* 23
* 24
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31)
* Verdicts (32
* 33
* 34
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40
* 41)
* Epilogue (42)

People and entities|

| Job's family members|

* Job's wife
* Jemima
* Keziah
* Keren-happuch

|

Job's friends|

* Bildad
* Elihu
* Zophar
* Eliphaz

Others|

* Angels (including Satan)
* Behemoth
* Chaldeans
* Jobab ben Zerah
* Leviathan
* Rahab
* Sabeans
* Shuah
* Tannin
* Ziz

Places|

* Ethiopia
* Jordan River
* Ophir
* Sheba
* Tema
* Teman (Edom)
* Uz

Phrases/Terms|

* Eloah
* Shaddai
* YHWH
* Chol

Related religious texts|

* Book of Ezekiel (14:14–20)
* Book of Sirach (49:9)
* Epistle of James (5:11)
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3522
* Testament of Job
* Moralia in Job
* Add MS 31031
* of 945
* Cîteaux

In art|

| Films|

* Adam's Apples (2005)
* A Serious Man (2009)
* The Reverend (2011)
* Leviathan (2014)
* The Shift (2023)

|

Literature|

* Job (1930 novel)
* Job (1939 radio play)
* A Masque of Reason (1945 play)
* Silverlock (1949 novel)
* Answer to Job (1952 analysis)
* J.B. (1958 play)
* God's Favorite (1974 play)
* Job's Passion (1981 play)
* Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984 novel)
* Job's Wife (2002 play)

Other|

* Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
* Job (Bronze sculpture by Judith Shea)
* William Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job

Other|

* Tomb of Job

Sources|

* Hebrew Bible
* Septuagint
* Wycliffe Version
* King James Version
* American Standard Version
* World English Version

* v
* t
* e

Books of the Bible

Old Testament|

| Hebrew Bible
(protocanon)|

* Genesis
* Exodus
* Leviticus
* Numbers
* Deuteronomy
* Joshua
* Judges
* Ruth
* 1–2 Samuel
* 1–2 Kings
* 1–2 Chronicles
* Ezra
* Nehemiah
* Esther
* Job
* Psalms
* Proverbs
* Ecclesiastes
* Song of Songs
* Isaiah
* Jeremiah
* Lamentations
* Ezekiel
* Daniel
* Hosea
* Joel
* Amos
* Obadiah
* Jonah
* Micah
* Nahum
* Habakkuk
* Zephaniah
* Haggai
* Zechariah
* Malachi

|

Deuterocanon
or apocrypha|

| Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox & others|

* Tobit
* Judith
* Additions to Esther
* 1 Maccabees
* 2 Maccabees
* Wisdom
* Sirach
* Baruch / Letter of Jeremiah
* Additions to Daniel
* Susanna
* Song of the Three Children
* Bel and the Dragon

|

Eastern Orthodox & others|

* 1 Esdras
* 2 Esdras
* Prayer of Manasseh
* Psalm 151
* 3 Maccabees
* 4 Maccabees
* Odes

Orthodox Tewahedo|

* Enoch
* Jubilees
* 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan
* Paralipomena of Baruch
* Broader canon

Syriac Peshitta|

* Psalms 152–155
* 2 Baruch

Beta Israel|

* Testaments of the Three Patriarchs
* Abraham
* Isaac
* Jacob

New Testament|

| Canon|

* Matthew
* Mark
* Luke
* John
* Acts
* Romans
* 1 Corinthians
* 2 Corinthians
* Galatians
* Ephesians
* Philippians
* Colossians
* 1 Thessalonians
* 2 Thessalonians
* 1 Timothy
* 2 Timothy
* Titus
* Philemon
* Hebrews
* James
* 1 Peter
* 2 Peter
* 1 John
* 2 John
* 3 John
* Jude
* Revelation

|

Antilegomena|

* Acts of Paul
* Apocalypse of Peter
* Didache
* Gospel of the Hebrews
* Epistle of Barnabas
* 1 Clement
* 2 Clement
* 3 Corinthians
* Shepherd of Hermas

Subdivisions|

* Chapters and verses
* Pentateuch
* Historical books
* Wisdom books (Poetic Books)
* Prophetic books
* Major prophets
* Minor prophets
* Gospels
* List
* Synoptic
* Epistles
* Pauline
* Johannine
* Pastoral
* Catholic
* Apocalyptic literature

Development|

* Authorship
* Jewish canon
* Intertestamental period
* Christian canon
* Old Testament canon
* New Testament canon
* Antilegomena
* Apocrypha
* Jewish
* Old Testament
* New Testament
* Pseudepigrapha
* Old Testament
* Dating the Bible

Manuscripts|

* Dead Sea Scrolls
* Samaritan Pentateuch
* Septuagint
* Targum
* Diatessaron
* Muratorian fragment
* Peshitta
* Vetus Latina
* Vulgate
* Masoretic Text
* New Testament manuscript categories
* New Testament papyri
* New Testament uncials

Related|

* Bible version debate
* English Bible translations
* Other books referenced in the Bible
* Additional Scriptures
* Studies
* Biblical and Quranic narratives
* Synod of Hippo
* Textual criticism

* Category
* Portal
* WikiProject

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Norway
* Croatia
* Argentina
* Sweden
* Poland
* Vatican
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[lit.]: literal translation
*[c.]: circa