41:1 Unlike the peaceful Behemoth (40:15-24), Leviathan was menacing (see also 3:8; Pss 74:14; 104:26; Isa 27:1). Most commentators identify Leviathan with the crocodile, with its terrible jaws (Job 41:14) and armored hide (41:15-17, 23), thrashing the water (41:31-32). But Leviathan is a fire-breathing dragon (41:18-21) that wraps its coils around the sun to cause an eclipse (3:8-9). The background for Leviathan is the seven-headed sea monster that represents chaos in ancient Near Eastern mythology. In the biblical record, this unruly maritime monster is a frequent biblical image for chaos and wickedness, whose head the Lord crushes (Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1; cp. Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps 89:9-10; Isa 30:7; 51:9). Later in the Bible, Satan is linked to the ancient serpent (Gen 3) and unruly dragon (Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose head Christ and his followers crush (Rom 16:20).

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