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. In addition to them, the patriarch job is pointed out in verse 11 as an outstanding example of steadfast faith in the way he handled severe trials. The book of job is the closest thing that the hebrew bible has to a work of theology. Jacques bolduc suggested in his commentary of 1637 that the book of job may have been authored in a secondary way by moses who found it in its original aramaic form and translated it into hebrew 2 1.
He insists job only serves god because god protects him and seeks gods permission to test jobs faith and loyalty. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. As was said of goliaths sword, there is none like it, none in ancient or in modern literature. Whenever it is possible, a person should seek to get the background of any portion of the word of god in order that he might understand what he reads more perfectly and accurately. The book of job was also found among the dead sea scrolls. One talmudic tractate claims the book of job was written by moses. The book of job opens with a scene in heaven where satan comes to accuse job before god. Historical context for job by unknown the core curriculum. Copeland this study guide is from the executable outlines series, a collection of sermon outlines and bible study lessons by mark a. The book of job belongs to what we call the wisdom literature of the old testament.
We can all agree that job resonates far outside of its originally intended audience. Intro to job biblica the international bible society. In the pseudepigrapha, one finds the testament of job. The primary purpose of the book of joshua is to show gods faithfulness to his promises. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible.
This is the second in a series on types of christ symbolized throughout the bible. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. Other than being from uz, the first thing the bible tells us about job is that he was righteous and godly, blameless and upright, a man who feared god and shunned evil job 1. Third, in its function in the scriptures, the book of job serves the bible readers with a negative background so that they will proceed further from what they can receive in the book of job and seek the divine and spiritual truths as the progression of the divine revelation shown in the psalms. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan. The book of job is not only one of the most remarkable in the bible, but in literature.
Elihu came from the buzites who lived next to the chaldeans in northeast arabia 4. We also know job was a man greatly tested by god and even more greatly blessed by god. Book of joel overview insight for living ministries. Bible gateway treats nameofthefather and name of the father differently. Jobs friend, eliphaz, came from teman, a city in edom. All of this points to a date of approximately 835 bc or soon after, making joel one of the earliest writing prophets, as well as a contemporary of the prophet elisha. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The author of the book of job was a hebrew poet who had an extensive vocabulary. Background and outline job bible commentary theology of. Apr 29, 20 job lived after the flood, because it was after the flood that uz was born, uz was one of the decendant of ham son of noah, so most likely he was born by uz and dwelt there and became great and god fearing than his brothers. The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering.
However, it can be helpful to understand general information about the geography and history of the area to give you a context for reading and studying the book of job. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal age with noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, and other heads of. A few bible scholars believe that character of job of the book of job was an actual historical person described in the prologue and epilogue and who spoke all the words attributed to him in the dialogues. Book of job overview insight for living ministries. However, all it really means is that job must have lived somewhere east of judea, where this book, like many other books in the bible, were being copied, recopied, edited, and in many cases composed for the first time, around the same time that the dead sea scrolls were being written i.
The wet clay was formed into small tablets and wedgeshaped symbols called. Biblical scholars suspect him to be a later addition to the book, mostly because while the first three friends are mentioned in the introduction, elihu. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. Job appears in the 6thcentury bce book of ezekiel as a man of antiquity renowned for his righteousness, and the author of the book of job has apparently chosen this legendary hero for his parable. The book of job was written like a historical poem, but was treated as an actual event in the bible. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Visit the eo web site to browse and download the material for church or personal use. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. The book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man.
Job is lacking references to historical events and reflects a nonhebraic cultural background which little is known about. This knowledge is vital because in many ways, it is the introduction to. Barack and job some people think that president obamas tough times echoed job s. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. But this claim is rejected by many modern scholars and instead. The book delves into issues near to the heart of every human who experiences suffering. The book of joel also makes ample mention of priests, temple rituals, and nations, such as phoenicia, philistia, egypt, and edom, that were prominent in the late ninth century bc. Jobs faith in god is put to the extreme test, and the story intimates that jobs commitment to god wanes. Ancient jewish tradition credits the authorship of the book of job in the hebrew bible to moses. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. In the book of joshua that long anticipated promise became a reality.
It takes on the problems of suffering and evil with astounding aporia. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. As we will see, jobs woes begin at work, and the book gives us valuable insights into how a follower of god may faithfully function within the ups and downs of work life. The book of job is the story of a normal human being who is beset by misfortune and suffering. The book contains a wide variety of literary genres narrative, poetry, visions, dialogue and others woven together into a literary. The book of job takes place in an area called in the bible the land of uz job 1. In old testament times, authors sometimes referred to themselves in the third person. Others suggest that job was contemporaneous with moses 0 bce. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.
Theological themes and the book of job miryea gist medium. Job may serve as a rebuke to the historical tradition of sin and repentance, represented by the deuteronomic historian and the surrounding wisdom traditions in ecclesiastes and proverbs. Job does not seem to be an israelite, because he is said to be from the land of uz job 1. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. Like the other two comforters, bildad and eliphaz, zophar emphasizes an old hebrew conceptsuffering is the inevitable lot of the evil m. The book of job, one of the wisdom books of the bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person. Job lived after the flood, because it was after the flood that uz was born, uz was one of the decendant of ham son of noah, so most likely he was born by uz and dwelt there and became great and god fearing than his brothers. Nov 01, 2011 during the time of the book of job, 2,100 1,600 b. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. The old testament also known as the jewish tanakh is the first 39 books in most christian bibles. Background and outline job theology and themes job prologue job 12 jobs prosperity acknowledged as gods blessing job 1. Background and outline job because he is cited in the book of ezekiel ezek. Look at the specific lessons we can learn about responding to trials as revealed in the book of job. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature.
Or perhaps this is an at least partially an afterward because i write this after i have completed half of the melding together of roger hahns online crivoice bible study and the excerpts from john c. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. Therefore i despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. The book can be divided into three main parts and the background only figures in the first and third parts. The old testament contains the creation of the universe, the history of. The difficulty in the book of job is over the nature and the cause of his afflictions, it touches on the philosophical discussion about the problem of evil, and human suffering which is a classic problem that has yet to be given a classic answer. The name stands for the original promise with god to the descendants of abraham in particular prior to the coming of jesus christ in the new testament or the new promise.
A perusal of the pages of the book of job reveals the fact that a primitive civilization constitutes the background of this work. We may be sure that the author was an israelite, since he not job or his friends frequently uses the israelite covenant name for god yahweh. The prologue provides a fascinating peek into the back storywhy god allowed satan to afflict job with such pain and turmoil. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred asses. Then, through a series of dialogues and monologues arranged in a pattern of threes, human wisdom attempts to explain the. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14.
Chronologically speaking, job is the very first book of the bible ever written. There is no way to identify this area precisely, and for that reason people from all the world wonder at the book of job. Many believe the book of job to be the earliest book of the bible. At the same time, it also asks the question we rarely. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. Another claims it dates back to the time of jacob, that job is the son. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. This background of job does not play a major role in the book. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. Clay this was the primary writing surface in the sumerian, assyrian and babylonian empires and is mentioned in the old testament ezekiel 4.
The babylonian talmud claims, moses wrote his own book, and the passages about balaam and job baba bathra, 14b, 15a. Feb 08, 2018 theological themes and the book of job. Some bible scholars believe all the references to job are literary or parabolic. There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. Theology and themes job bible commentary theology of work. Background and outline job bible commentary theology of work. Theology and themes job bible commentary theology of.
Like the other two comforters, bildad and eliphaz, zophar emphasizes an old hebrew conceptsuffering is the inevitable lot of the evil man. You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Rabbinic tradition ascribes it to moses, but scholars generally agree that it was written between the 7th and 4th centuries bce, with the 6th century bce as the most likely period for various reasons. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central character, job, who attempts to understand the sufferings that engulf him. Use fewer words in your search, especially if youre unsure of the exact phrase.
Third, in its function in the scriptures, the book of job serves the bible readers with a negative background so that they will proceed further from what they can receive in the book of job and seek the divine and spiritual truths as the progression of the divine revelation shown in. A recent work on job describes it as one of the classics of western culture with manifold influence. Background and outline job bible commentary theology. This introduction is lesson 1 in the voice bible studies on the book of job. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. For example, baptizing name father and baptizing them in the name of the father will both return matthew 28. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. There is limited information in the book of job about its geographical and historical background. Introduction to the book of job roger hahn this introduction is lesson 1 in the voice bible studies on the book of job the book of job is part of the old testament collection of wisdom literature, along with proverbs, ecclesiastes, and song of solomon.