Peter petts commentary on the bible peter pett in this modernly written verse by verse commentary of the bible see book exclusions below, dr. Overview bible commentaries read and study from over. Jun 10, 2018 but thats not what job says in the last line of verse 6. In the last line of verse 6, job cant seem to keep up the theoretical possibility that hes a liar. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Alfred smith has contributed prac tical insights for lessons and sermons on the book of job. Yet all that discussion must be put in the context of the genuine love and concern that these friends had for job, and there was a sense in which they earned their right to speak by their sacrificial display of compassion. Oh, and hes one of the most righteous men out there. Therefore i despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job s character, so the hebrew suggests waw consecutive was the basis of his wealth in heirs and possessions. Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. Hes pretty much the coolest guy alive and life is good.
In this epic wager between god and the devil, discover how job reacts to the shocking curses inflicted upon him and what we can learn from his incredible example of remaining faithful through suffering. Macleish began the work in 1953 as a oneact production but within three years had expanded it to a full threeact manuscript. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. Accusations fly back and forth between job and his friends defending and accusing god at several levels. Job, moses, joseph, paul and peter are just a few who had to endure exceedingly difficult circumstances. The first two chapters are written in prose and serve as a prologue to the poetic saga that follows.
It addresses the problem of theodicy, meaning why god permits evil in the world, through the experiences of the. The book of job is rightly understood to be a masterpiece of hebrew poetry and western literature. Job was a wealthy but righteous and godfearing man. I summarised the bible on twitter between aug 2010 and nov 20 one tweet per chapter, one chapter per day. The book of job is considered being part of the poetic books job, psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, and song of songs in todays bible editions. Job 42 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. A verse by verse study guide for the book of proverbs. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. One of the notable things about chapter 3 is that it is where the book of job ceases to be a narrative story and becomes an extended series of poems. The play went through several incarnations before it was finally published. The book of job opens with a scene in heaven where satan comes to accuse job before god. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character. Choose a chapter and verse from job to begin your versebyverse study of gods word using the more than 100 commentaries available on. If you dont know where the verse is found, use a concordance where key words will lead you to it.
Hebrew poetry is very different to the western poetry. In verse 11, satan wanted god to destroy jobs property. Nevertheless these ways of god with mankind have always a good purpose romans 8. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom.
The book of job 3 the book of job introduction to the book the book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. However, the date when the book was written and by whom it was. Jun 02, 2008 when god shook job, the sediment colored the water, and you find job saying some terrible things about god in this book. Jun 04, 2008 job does not curse god or satan or even his misfortune. Rather, it is his very existence which is the subject of his lament. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. The language of the book of job is notable for its numerous rare words and special examples of morphology and syntax some 100 hapax legomena. Job is an unlikely candidate because the book s message rests on job s ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. But the author knew that his readers would be able to work out the meaning of his words. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, the chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and i alone have escaped to tell you.
Mourning in silence he gave his lips no opportunity to sin and charge god with folly. Analysis the book of job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Job applies the doctrine of divine essence to his loss. First is the difficult nature of its hebrew language, with an unparalleled number of words which occur only once in all of the hebrew scriptures. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. The date of the book leans toward a patriarchal age. Job asked, but he got an answer he was not expecting. It should be clear that the book of job is not a simple story with a simple moral teaching.
But job answered and said, having in job 19, declared his belief in a retribution to come, job. This name might have been derived from the hebrew word for persecution, thus meaning persecuted one. To attribute blame to god would be would be the most modest from of cursing god. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Every chapter of the bible in 140 characters or less. Dec 17, 2019 the book of job is often upheld as an example of godly patience while suffering.
Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. He says that job is only so righteous because his life is so. The epistle of james is a very practical book which deals with the ethics of christianity rather than with doctrine. God is psyched about how awesome job is, so he brags to satan. Choose a verse from job 1 to begin your verse by verse study of gods word using the more than 100 commentaries available on. The bible story of job, from the book of job, is a powerful tale of testing the devotion and fortitude of the human will. The epistle of james is a very practical book which deals with the ethics of christianity rather than. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. And in verse 7 job starts to remember his place of prominence in the social and judicial realms. The prologue and epilogue are prose job 1, 2, and 42 while the rest is high poetry structured generally in parallel lines. When the understanding is enlightened by the spirit of grace, our knowledge of divine.
One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. The book of job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, but also because it is extremely well. For a broader view look at the comments in the right column. As far as the symposium is concerned, the authors purpose seems to be none other than to challenge the view presented by both prophets and historians to the effect that suffering is in itself evidence of wrongdoing. While some have questioned the use of job descriptions, the authors explain the reasons why having a good understanding of job requirements can be helpful in basic human resource and talent management activities such as hiring and other aspects of the human capital life cycle. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. The lord said to satan, have you considered my servant job. One would not know it from the first few verses, but the book of job is about an. At last, god fulfills job s desire for a facetoface encounter. Job chapter 1 explained discover books of the bible.
Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. This book is indeed a practical guide to job analysis. There is considerable variance of opinion on the authorship of job. The book portrays job as a faithful man who honestly tried to do right before god, and who acknowledged his errors and sought to correct things when he faltered 42. Study guide for job 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. The book, in its present form, loosely divides into five parts. Introduction the book ofjob has always proved problematic for interpreters, and this for several reasons. Still, that job believed in his continued existence beyond the grave his existence in the dark and gloomy world of shades, is apparent from the whole book, and indeed from the very passage before us. Most people think job was some sort of prophet and casually cite a few verses taken out of context from the book written about him without really knowing a thing. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. In verse 11, satan wanted god to destroy jobs prop. Mar 17, 2014 never studied the book of proverbs on a verse by verse basis.
Jul 22, 2011 critical analysis the book of job is usually dated in the 5 th to 4 th centuries bce, but seems to be an adaptation of an earlier akkadian writing from around the year bce. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering. Therefore, we can assume that he took sin very seriously and repented immediately when he knew he was in the wrong. In addition to outward troubles, the inward sense of gods wrath took away all his courage and resolution. In the book s first cycle, job s friends speeches were halted by the revelation of gods wisdom. As the first poetic book of the english bible, job introduces the reader to the idea of hebrew poetry, which involves the repetition and combination of ideas more than sounds. For each chapter, i have provided some word study helps and, when applicable, identified text problems within the hebrew. This expression is used repeatedly to refer to inspired scripture. Not only do they incur the indignation of job and his other friend elihu, but god himself rebukes them, saying to eliphaz, i am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has. Job has a big family, lots of property, 7,000 sheep 5,000 looks like this, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen, and 500 donkeys. The book of isaiah, which dates back to 8 th century bce, mentions the suffering righteous servant in chapter 53 ii. The image here is one that is very beautiful, and one that is often employed by poets. For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing god and turning away from evil.
The book were about to look at is not primarily about a man it is about god. The back button should bring you back through several pages. Most christians have considered claims of sinlessness as dangerous and even sinful. This reiterated wish job setteth as a preamble to that ensuing memorable testimony of the resurrection, as a matter most weighty and worthy the consideration of all ages. He insists job only serves god because god protects him and seeks gods permission to test job s faith and loyalty. And job continues to reminisce about what his life was like before his trial. Feb 27, 2019 the book of job, one of the wisdom books of the bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person. In the end, job never completely gave up hope or faith in god as an inspiration to everyone enduring suffering of their own. Job chapter 2 explained discover books of the bible. For personal study, i suggest you start at the beginning of a chapter or book. Job chapter 21 explained discover books of the bible. Again there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and.
Job chapter 36 explained discover books of the bible. 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. The foreign tone of the book allows for it to have been written by job arabic words, nomadic habits, illustrations from sandy plains, awareness of nature and the arts iii. Habel has contributed a small but helpful study for preaching the whole book of job. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid. In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of job s friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as.
The new element in the second cycle is that elihus speech is interrupted by the dramatic appearance of god himself job 38. The numbers three, seven, and ten, all are symbolic of completeness, to demonstrate that job s wealth was staggering. It includes short essays which cover one verse, sometimes two, at a time that the authors view as important and relevant. In the intervening chapters there are various speeches in poetry, first between job and his friends chs. God returns job s health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life. In general, i have tried to identify the clustering of proverbs by topic where appropriate. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. After statements affirming job s blessings the author describes his death in the final verse of the book. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. God knew that it was there, and he knew that in shaking this godly, blameless man there would arise some imperfection into his life, and that it would need to be purged. But because god had a very high opinion of one particular man, we will begin by doing what god asked satan to do in verse 8 of the first chapter. Job bible story summary with lesson what christians want to know. The book of job has a prose framework which introduces and concludes the book chs. The subject of the book of job is gods dealings with mankind in his governmental ways in a world in which satan, the adversary of god, has introduced sin, suffering and death.
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. A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of job in easyenglish. 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. It teaches humility as god reminds job who is really in control, steadfastness as job refuses to curse god despite his circumstances, and joy and reward when the latter part of. Peter pett leads the reader through the scriptures with accuracy and insight.
So, when hes weighed by god, this is what will happen not that hell be found guilty, but that god mayand let godthen god knowwill discover mine integrity. The author, date, and place of the book of job are all uncertain. Job certainly did suffer, but there is more to his story than just his suffering. This booklet is provided as a guide to assist the new christian and those who have never studied the book of proverbs on a verse by verse basis. The book of job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. Yet as we read the book itself job frequently seems impatient and even angry.
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