Bs511-The Book of Job
Bs511-The Book of Job
Bs511-The Book of Job
Proverbs falls in the first class while Job and Ecclesiastes fall in the second. Wisdom Literature is
distinct in the sense that it uses poetic and metaphorical language. Because of its poetic style, books
such as Job must be read and understood in its entirety, not verse by verse.
Despite these speculations, there is a wide agreement in scholars that the Book of Job was written
from the perspective of the faith of the Israelites, not from the perspective of these foreign stories.
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BS 511: WRITINGS & WISDOM LITERATURE – THE “BOOK OF JOB”
Authorship
Scholars have been struggled for many years to find the book’s author. Three theories are assumed:
a) The Jewish rabbis held to the tradition that Moses was the author of Job which therefore
gives the book the time of the Patriarchs. It is believed that Job married a daughter of
Abraham. However the basis of this assumption is not clear since it is not in line with what is
found in the text.
b) Some believe that the Book of Job was written by King Solomon. However there is no firm
basis for this argument.
c) The most basis statement that can be made is that the author was an Israelite. He was part
of the Wisdom tradition of Israel. He was competent with literary techniques of Wisdom.
The mention of animals and the environment (4:10-11) suggest that the author must be an
outdoor man who hunted (18:8-10) mentions that the author is familiar with traps). He
knows about gems and was aware of weather patterns (28:1-11). He was also
knowledgeable about foreign cultures. The characteristics point to a highly educated and
well-travelled person from the Wisdom literature.
Most of the scholars do agree with c) and d) because it matches the suffering and the agonies that
are experienced in the Book. The suffering of Job represents the suffering of the people of God
during the Fall of Jerusalem especially during the time of the Greek invasion.
The place of writing cannot be known. Job was described in the first verse as a man of Uz. The
location of Uz is uncertain. Some suggest Uz is near Edom, south of the Dead Sea. Some suggest that
Uz is near Haran, the home territory of Abraham and Laban. These are only theories, but we do not
know whether the Book was written in Uz or somewhere else in the Middle East.
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BS 511: WRITINGS & WISDOM LITERATURE – THE “BOOK OF JOB”
Having introduced Job, the author shifts the scene to the court of heaven where Yahweh (the proper
name of God in the OT) praises Job for his righteous character. The heavenly adversary, Satan,
replies that Job acts righteous, but accuses him of doing so simply in order to receive all God’s
blessings. Satan then challenges God to let him (Satan) afflicts Job with the loss of all his material
blessings to see whether or not Job’s devotion to God is genuine or not.
God accepts the challenge with the only stipulation that Satan not harm Job physically. We then
overhear a series of reports to Job describing the loss of his children and all his possessions to
natural calamities and/or enemy tribes. Job begins to grieve but the text notes that he does not sin.
Satan then acknowledges Job’s faithfulness to God but claims that such faithfulness would crumble
in the face of illness. God then gave Satan permission to afflict Job’s body with the restriction that he
not be killed. Satan then attached Job with “loathsome sores” from the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet.
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BS 511: WRITINGS & WISDOM LITERATURE – THE “BOOK OF JOB”
Purpose
The purpose of the Book is summed up in two views:
a) It is an answer to the Deuteronomistic theology of the Israelites that “obedience leads to
blessings and disobedience leads to curse”. In other words, illness, sufferings and death that
encounter us are the results of directives from God. The righteous do not suffer, only the
disobedience. In the Book of Job, it states Job is a righteous man and that he is obedient to
God, but he suffered intensely because of his faith.
b) It is an answer to the questions that continue to puzzle the faithful: “Why do the righteous
suffer? Where is God in the suffering and pain that the faithful are facing?” In the Book of
Job, the author is bringing up the questions of faith that continue to haunt us in the time of
suffering. In other words, the book was written to show the purpose of God for the faithful
and their stand in the time of suffering.
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BS 511: WRITINGS & WISDOM LITERATURE – THE “BOOK OF JOB”
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BS 511: WRITINGS & WISDOM LITERATURE – THE “BOOK OF JOB”
2. The Book of Job is also about why the righteous serve God. This was the question posed by
Satan in the prologue. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” If we reword the question: “Do we
serve God for nothing?” From Satan’s perspective, is it possible for a righteous person to
serve God only because of who and what God is rather than for the “rewards” the righteous
derive from their righteousness? Many people serve God because of rewards. Even Job
wakes up early in the morning to give sacrifice for his sons so that whatever sin they may
commit, his sacrifice will cover for them. Satan expresses what we always believe in as
Christians. We serve God not because of God’s sake, but because of our sake. We serve him
to win his favour and rewards. In other words, this can be called “bribe”. This is why Satan
said: “But stretch out our hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your
face” (1:11). Often our answer in the time of suffering is cursing God. We give so much to
God through the Church and still we go through suffering and pain. We ask: Is this the result
of being honest and faithful to God? This is the question presented by Job’s wife: “Curse God
then you will be fine”. We are tempted and challenged to face this issue of mistrusting God
in the time of suffering. We ask questions such as: “What is the purpose of holding firm to
our faith and making offerings to God if we still face suffering and pain?” The Book answers
that our Christian faith is not founded on “Rewards” but on the belief that “God is love”.
Until we understand God through faith, only then we are able to answer our questions of
suffering. In fact, Job confesses that because of his suffering, he sees clearly the purpose of
God for him. He said: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see
you” (42:5). In other words, we tend to see clearly the face of God especially in the time of
suffering. Through suffering our allegiance to God is challenged but suffering is made to
draw us closer to God.
3. At various times in Christian history the Book of Job has been interpreted specifically in
terms of Christ. The sufferings of Job are seen as a pre-figurement or even a prediction of
the sufferings of Christ. Jesus Christ entered into the pain of human suffering as he came to
identify completely with us (John 1:14). Both Job and Jesus help us understand our suffering
and they help us turn towards God for strength and grace. The time of suffering is the time
of turning towards God, not turning away from him. However, Jesus provides more than Job
because his sufferings were redemptive.