When suffering comes to us, we often ask why. People sometimes say it’s because the sufferer did something wrong. The book of Job examines the suffering of one man who suffered precisely because he was blameless. Job’s friends supposed that he was guilty of some unknown sin. They tried to persuade him to repent, but Job knew he hadn’t sinned, so he questioned God. Finally, God appeared, but he did not give Job the answers he sought. Instead, God confronted Job, changed his perspective, and blessed him. Setting The book of Job unfolds early in the patriarchal age, before Israel became a nation. Job’s wealth, like Abraham’s, was in livestock and slaves (1:3; 42:12; see Gen 12:16; 32:5). He was his family’s priest, as was a common practice before the law of Moses (1:5; 42:8; see Gen 4:4; 8:20; 12:7-8; 13:18; 15:9-10; 26:25; 33:20; 35:1-6; 46:1). During Job’s time, the Sabeans and Chaldeans were nomadic raiders (1:15, 17), not important political and economic powers as in the late monarchical period (cp. Isa 45:14; Joel 3:8). The money used by Job and his relatives was called the kesitah, which was used during the patriarchal age (42:11; see Gen 33:19; Josh 24:32). Only those who...

The Book of Job Purpose To offer reflection on the issue of human suffering, primarily by questioning the oft-held connection between moral goodness and prosperity Author Unknown Date Unknown Setting The patriarchal period, possibly in the land of Edom

1:1 The opening phrase, There once was a man, can introduce either a parable (2 Sam 12:1) or history (1 Sam 25:2). • Job is also mentioned in Ezek 14:14, 20 and Jas 5:11. • Uz is east of the Jordan, either in Edom to the south (Gen 36:28; 1 Chr 1:42; Jer 25:19-20; Lam 4:21) or in Aram to the north (Gen 10:23; 22:21; 1 Chr 1:17, 42). Job was not an Israelite—he lived before the nation was born and outside its later territory. • Job was morally blameless—a man of complete integrity (Job 1:8; 2:3; see Pss 25:21; 37:37; Prov 2:7; 20:11; 29:10). He did not claim to be perfect or sinless (Job 6:24; 7:21; see also Eccl 7:20; Rom 3:23; 1 Jn 1:8), but he was righteous; his suffering did not result from guilt. He feared God (see Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; 2 Cor 7:1) and did not appeal to any of the ancient Near Eastern gods (Job 9:8; 23:13; 31:26-28).