The book of job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. He teaches by the bible, and that is the best book. A critical reading of the book of job must confront the issue of innocent suffering in a. Internet archive bookreader commentary on the book of job. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Divisions of the book description of jobs trials ch. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on this book of scripture.
The old testament book of job and the 17th chapter. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children. Commentary on the book of job chapter one by wm w wells. In his description of what happens to the fool, eliphaz deliberately goes through a whole roll of disasters corresponding so exactly to what had happened to job, that each word is a poisoned arrow. Commentary on the book of job sermon by eric hanson, job 1. There is a dramatic arc in the story as the arguing and insults from the friends intensify against jobs denials of wrongdoing. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office.
Its a question all of us have asked, and the book of job points us toward the answer. When god finally himself speaks to job he has to confess. The book of job tells the story of a man called job. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. At the end of these speeches, god answers job and his friends and settles the matter. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character. It is certainly not a sermon actually, but could serve to help prepare wither a single sermon or a series regarding this book. Job 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. If moses was the author, the date would be around 1440 b. The most likely candidates are job, elihu, moses, and solomon. He also examines the date and history of job as well. Read and study job, including book summary, with the versebyverse bible commentary.
The book of job is essentially a long dialogue between job, four people who come to sit with him, and god. In this post, we look at the deeply profound book of job. His friends speak in more or less three rounds, with each speech followed by a reply from job. Hartley deals carefully with this book whose language, text, and theology are not only among the most intriguing in the old testament but also among the most difficult to grasp. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. Top 5 commentaries on the book of job ligonier ministries. Job with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.
In the books first cycle, jobs friends speeches were halted by the revelation of gods wisdom. God and job are treated as literary characters and the job poet as a consummate artist. We can all agree that job resonates far outside of its originally intended audience. A short summary of the speeches of these men reveals this fact. Job was now under the special inspiration of the holy spirit, and spoke prophetically. Thats why we have interrupted our chronology through genesis between chapters 11 and 12 to read this book of the bible. As readers of this series of blog posts will know, i find the layout of the word biblical commentaries a bit exasperating. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end.
If i am correct, it is a poetic book of fiction by an unknown author yet the character named elihu. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Jobs questions are our questions, and we can identify with his frustration, disappointment, and confusion in the midst of trials. The old testament library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of old testament study through commentaries and general surveys. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job.
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. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. 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. Harrison, the problem of suffering and the book of job, the evangelical quarterly 25. The book of job in the bibles old testament is a long poem. Job 35 bible commentary matthew henry concise christianity. The prologue to the book of job chapters 12 sets up the meditation on suffering that follows it. And god will help them, although sometimes they must be patient.
Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. Settings about this book read aloud search share this book settings one page two pages thumbnails zoom. Study job 35 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. The book of job, in the old testament, opens with words both majestic and onceuponatimeish. There are reasons that god made this to be that i dont know. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. He systematically goes over each section of job as a drama, highlighting the contentions and resolutions throughout. The climax to the book of job appears in the symmetrical yahweh speeches 38. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. German bible scholar georg ewald turns his attention to the book of job in this commentary. Our job 2 commentary last time in chapter 1 we saw jobs righteous character. Job 5 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on.
There was once a man in the land of uz whose name was job 1. It is plain, from this history, that the lord watched over his servant job with the affection of a wise and loving father. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. God returns job s health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life. We studied job, chapter 16 last time where job was responding to eliphaz. So job thought that god caused the problems job 19. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. And there, in chapter 16, job had ended there speaking of how he despaired of life. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and.
There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. Wherefore i abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Here is my rather lengthy work concerning 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. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. However, indications are that job lived prior to abraham. Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. The book of job does not specifically name its author. Commentary on the book of job with translation logos. This we must keep in mind if we would understand what passed. In the introduction, ewald gives context to the format, content, and style of the book as poem.
Job 19 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. The loss of jobs property, and the death of his children. As laid out in our introduction to this book, job was under the impulse of the blessed spirit. Study job 36 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better. Job, in the bible knowledge commentary, old testament, ed. Job 36 bible commentary matthew henry concise christianity. Verses 710 so satan went forth from the presence of jehovah, and smote job. This commentary on job follows in the tradition of the nicot series by providing an uptodate evangelical commentary based on thorough scholarship. Satan undertook to prove job a hypocrite by afflicting him. Job 40 god concludes his speech to job job 4041 this concluding speech of god to job falls into three parts. Barack and job some people think that president obamas tough times echoed jobs.
Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on jobs goodness. Commentary on the book of job chapter four by wm w wells. The medieval jewish scholar maimonides declared his story a parable, and the medieval christian thomas aquinas wrote a detailed commentary declaring it true. The book of job is a timeless book in which the ever present problem of human suffering and especially in. Job 42 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. This begins a long section in the book of job where jobs friends counsel him and he answers them.
This prose prologue to the book reads like a folktale. We continue our study in the book of job in the second chapter. Job, book ofcommentaries, commentaries old testament. In this volume, norman habel takes on the humbling task of writing a commentary on such a classic work as the book of joba text that is complex and unclear at many points. We also saw the multiple blessings that god had bestowed upon him. Gods answer to the problem of undeserved suffering grand rapids. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the. What you need to know about this book were not sure when job was written.
If you have not read this series from the beginning, i would highly recommend that you go back and start with part 1. Job proves faithful to god in prosperity and in adversity. Eliphaz has concluded that jobs vexation and jealousy show that job has become a fool. Thomas walks us through the book of job and considers what the bible says about our darkest moments. 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. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. But the odious judgments made by his friends caution us against making toocertain application of any model to our own lives.