Reference: Job
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A patriarch distinguished for his integrity and piety, his wealth, honors, and domestic happiness, whom God permitted, for the trial of his faith, to be deprived of friends, property, and health, and at once plunged into deep affliction. He lived in the land of Uz, lying, it is generally thought, in Eastern Edom, probably not far from Bozrah.
THE BOOK OF JOB, has originated much criticism, and on many points a considerable diversity of opinion still exists. Sceptics have denied its inspiration, and called it a mere philosophical romance; but no one who respects revelation can entertain this notion, or doubt that Job was a real person. Inspired writers testify to both. See Eze 14:14; Jas 5:11, and compare 1Co 3:19 with Job 5:13. The book itself specifies persons, places, and circumstances in the manner of true history. Moreover, the name and history of Job are spread throughout the East; Arabian writers mention him, and many Mohammedan families perpetuate his name. Five different places claim the possession of his tomb.
The precise period of his life cannot be ascertained, yet no doubt can exist as to its patriarchal antiquity. The book seems to allude to the flood, Job 22:15-17, but not to the destruction of Sodom, to the exodus from Egypt, or the giving of the Law. No reference is made to any order of priesthood, Job himself being the priest of his household, like Noah and Abraham. There is allusion to the most ancient form of idolatry, star-worship, and to the earliest mode of writing, Job 19:24. The longevity of Job also places him among the patriarchs. He survived his trial one hundred and forty years, and was an old man before his trial began, for his children were established each at the head of his own household, Job 1:4; 42:16. The period of long lives had not wholly passed away, Job 15:10. Hales places the trial of Job before the birth of Abraham, and Usher, about thirty years before the exodus, B. C. 1521.
As to the authorship of the book, many opinions have been held. It has all the freedom of an original composition, bearing no marks of its being a translation; and if so, it would appear that its author must have been a Hebrew, since it is written in the purest Hebrew. It exhibits, moreover, the most intimate acquaintance with both Egyptian and Arabian scenery, and is in the loftiest style of oriental poetry. All these circumstances are consistent with the views of those who regard Moses as its probable author. It has, however, been ascribed to various other persons. IT presents a beautiful exhibition of patriarchal religion. It teaches the being and perfections of God, his creation of all things, and his universal providence; the apostasy and guilt of evil spirits and of mankind; the mercy of God, on the basis of a sacrifice, and on condition of repentance and faith, Job 33:27-30; 42:6,8; the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body, Job 14:7-15; 19:25-27.
The main problem discussed in Job is the justice of God in suffering the righteous to be afflicted, while the wicked prosper. It is settled, by showing that, while the hand of a just God is manifest in his providential government of human affairs, it is his sovereign right to choose his own time and mode of retribution both to the evil and the good, and to subject the graces of his people to whatever trials he deems best.
The conference of Job and his friends may be divided into three parts. In the first, Eliphaz addresses Job, and Job replies; then Bildad and Job, and Zophar and Job speak, in turn. In the second part, the same order is observed and in the third also, except that after Job's reply to Bildad, the three friends have no more to urge, and instead of Zophar, a fourth friend named Elihu takes up the word; and the whole is concluded by the decision of Jehovah himself. The friends of Job argue that his remarkable afflictions must have been sent in punishment of highly aggravated transgressions, and urge him to confession and repentance. The pious patriarch, conscious of his own integrity and love to God cast down and bewildered by his sore chastisements, and pained by the suspicions of his friends, warmly vindicates his innocence, and shows that the best of men are sometimes the most afflicted; but forgets that his inward sins merit far heavier punishment, and though he still maintains faith in God, yet he charges Him foolishly. Afterwards he humbly confesses his wrong, and is cheered by the returning smile of God, while his uncharitable friends are reproved. The whole book is written in the highest style of Hebrew poetry, except the two introductory chapters and part of the last, which are prose. As a poem, it is full of sublime sentiments and bold and striking images.
The DISEASE of Job is generally supposed to have been the elephantiasis, or black leprosy. The word rendered "boils" does not necessarily mean abscesses, but burning and inflammation; and no known disease better answers to the description given, Job 2:7-8; 7:5,13/type/darby'>13,13/type/darby'>13; 19:17; 30:17, than the leprosy referred to above. See LEPER.
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And his sons went and made a feast in the house of each one on his day; and they sent and invited their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
And Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah; and he smote Job with a grievous botch from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong:
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates.
For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease; Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground, read more. Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a young plant. But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he? The waters recede from the lake, and the river wasteth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not again; till the heavens be no more, they do not awake, nor are raised out of their sleep. Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thine anger be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me, -- (If a man die, shall he live again?) all the days of my time of toil would I wait, till my change should come: Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee; thou wouldest have a desire after the work of thy hands.
Both the greyheaded and the aged are with us, older than thy father.
My breath is strange to my wife, and my entreaties to the children of my mother's womb.
That with an iron style and lead they were graven in the rock for ever! And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth; read more. And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God; Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me.
Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden? Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood; read more. Who said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them?
The night pierceth through my bones and detacheth them from me, and my gnawing pains take no rest:
He will sing before men, and say, I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it hath not been requited to me; He hath delivered my soul from going into the pit, and my life shall see the light. read more. Lo, all these things worketh God twice, thrice, with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, for ye have not spoken of me rightly, like my servant Job.
And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He who takes the wise in their craftiness.
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.
Easton
persecuted, an Arabian patriarch who resided in the land of Uz (q.v.). While living in the midst of great prosperity, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a series of sore trials that fell upon him. Amid all his sufferings he maintained his integrity. Once more God visited him with the rich tokens of his goodness and even greater prosperity than he had enjoyed before. He survived the period of trial for one hundred and forty years, and died in a good old age, an example to succeeding generations of integrity (Eze 14:14,20) and of submissive patience under the sorest calamities (Jas 5:11). His history, so far as it is known, is recorded in his book.
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though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.
and Noah, Daniel, and Job should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter: they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.
Fausets
Age, and relation to the canon. The book has a unique position in the canon. It is unconnected with Israel, God's covenant people, with whom all the other scriptures are associated. "The law" (towrah),the Magna Charta of the rest, occurs but once, and then not in its technical sense (Job 22:22). The Exodus is never alluded to, though the miraculous events connected with it in Egypt and the desert, with both of which Job shows his acquaintance, would have been appropriate to his and the friends' argument. The destruction of the guilty by the flood (Job 22:15), and that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Job 18:15) possibly, are referred to; but no later facts. The inference seems natural that the book was of an age anterior to Israel. Job's own life was of patriarchal length, 200 years. The only idolatry alluded to is the earliest, Sabeanism, the worship of the sun, moon, and seba or heavenly hosts (Job 31:26-28).
Job sacrifices as priest for his family according to patriarchal usage, and alludes to no exclusive priesthood, temple, or altar. Lastly, the language is Hebrew with an Arabic and Syriac infusion found in no other sacred book, answering to an age when Hebrew still retained many of the elements of the original common Semitic, from which in time branched off Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic, carrying with them severally fragments of the common stock. The obscurity of several phrases, the obsolete words and forgotten traditions (e.g. that of the bushmen, Job 30:4-7), all mark a remote antiquity. The admission of the book into the Hebrew canon, notwithstanding the absence of reference to Israel, is accounted for if Let's theory be adopted that Moses became acquainted with it during his stay in Arabia, near Horeb, and added the prologue and epilogue. To the afflicted Israelites Job's patience and restoration were calculated to be a lesson of special utility.
The restriction of "Jehovah" (the divine name revealed to Moses in its bringing the fulfillment of the promise to God's covenant people just at that time: Ex 6:3) mostly to the prologue and epilogue favors this view. The Holy Spirit directed him to canonize the oriental patriarch's inspired book, just as he embodies in the Pentateuch the utterances of Balaam the prophet from the mountains of the East. The grand theme of the book is to reconcile the saint's afflictions with God's moral government in this present world. The doctrine of a future life in which the seeming anomalies of the present shall be cleared up would have given the main solution to the problem. But as yet this great truth was kept less prominent until "the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Job plainly refers to the resurrection, but not with that persistent prominence with which the New Testament saints rest on it as their continual hope; Job does not make it his main solution.
Even still we need something in addition, to clear off the clouds which hang over God's present government of this fallen earth. The first consideration suggested in this sublime history and poem is, "an enemy hath done this." The veil which hides the world of spirits is drawn aside, and Satan, the accuser of the brethren, appears as the mediate cause of Job's afflictions. Satan must be let do his worst to show that his sneer is false that religion is but selfishness," doth Job fear God for naught?" (Job 1:9). The patience and the final perseverance of the saints (Job 1:21; 2:10; 13:15), notwithstanding temporary distrust under Satan's persecutions which entailed loss of family, friends, possessions, and bodily health, are illustrated in Job's history.
God's people serve Him for His own sake, not merely for the temporary reward His service generally brings; they serve Him even in overwhelming trial (Ge 15:1). Herein Job is a type though imperfectly of Him who alone, without once harbouring a distrustful thought, endured all this as well as death in its most agonizing, humiliating form, and, worse than all, the hiding of even God's countenance from Him. Job's chief agony was not so much his accumulated losses and sufferings, not even his being misunderstood by friends, but that God hid His face from him, as these calamities too truly seemed to prove (Job 23:9). Yet conscience told him he was no hypocrite, nay though God was slaying him he still trusted in God (Job 23:10-15; 13:15; compare Abraham, Genesis 22). Job's three trials are progressive:
1. His sudden loss of all blessings external to himself, possessions, servants, and sons; he conquers this temptation: "naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
2. His loss of bodily health by the most loathsome sickness; still he conquers: "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"
3. His mental conflict brought on by the three friends' suspicion of his insincerity, which he felt untrue, but which seemed justified by his trials from God; this was the poignant sting to his soul, for he accepted their premises, that great suffering proved great sin.
Here he failed; yet amidst his impatient groans he still clung desperately to his faith and followed hard after God, and felt sure God would yet vindicate him (Job 23:10; 19:25-27). His chief error was his undue self justification before God, which he at last utterly renounces (Job 30:25 to Job 31; Job 32:1; 33:9; 9:17; 10:7; 16:17; 27:5; 29:10-17; 40:4-5; 42:5-6). After fretfully demanding God's interposition (23) to vindicate his innocence he had settled down into the sad conviction that God heeds not, and that His ways of providence are as a theory inexplicable to man while practical wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Job 28:28). Elihu gives a leading solution of the problem. God not only hereafter shall judge the world, but even now providentially and morally controls all its affairs.
Even the righteous have sin which needs correction. God speaks to them by chastisement; He is not really silent (Job 16:21; 23:3; 31:35), as Job had complained (Job 33:14, etc.); He teaches them humility, and prepares them for pardon and life through the mediating Angel of the covenant (of whom Elihu is the type: Job 33:6-7,23-30). To Job's charge against God of injustice Elihu answers that God's omnipotence (Job 34:35-36), upholding man in life when He could destroy him, and His universal government, exclude the idea of injustice in Him. To Job's charge that God's providence is unsearchable, Elihu answers that suffering is to teach humility and adorntion of His greatness. Affliction to the saint is justice and mercy in disguise; he is thereby led to feel the heinousness of sin (via crucis via salutis), and not being permitted by God's love to fall away for ever he repents of the impatience which suffering betrayed him into for a time.
Then, justifying God and condemning himself, he is finally delivered from temporal afflictions. Now already the godly are happier amidst afflictions than the ungodly (Mr 10:29-30). Even these considerations do not exhaust the subject; still difficulties remain. To answer these, God Himself (Job 38) appears on the scene, and resolves all that remains uncleared into the one resting thought of faith, the sovereignty of God. We must wait for His solution hereafter of what we know not now (Joh 13:7). Elihu is the preacher appealing to Job's reason and conscience. God alone, in His appearing, brings home the truth experimentally to Job's heart: "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning Providence He hides a smiling face. Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan God's work in vain; God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain."
CONSTRUCTION. The artificial construction of the poem appears in the oft recurring sacred numbers three and seven. Job had seven thousand sheep, seven sons, and three daughters, both before and after his trials. His three friends sit with him seven days and nights. "Job" in Arabic means repentance, the name given him in after life from his experiences. His personal reality appears f
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After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward.
These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty God; but by my name Jehovah I was not made known to them.
I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: There cometh a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and he shall cut in pieces the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.
And his substance was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; and this man was greater than all the children of the east.
And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah!
But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, There is a man child conceived.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong:
Since thou knowest that I am not wicked, and that there is none that delivereth out of thy hand?
Behold, if he slay me, yet would I trust in him; but I will defend mine own ways before him.
Behold, if he slay me, yet would I trust in him; but I will defend mine own ways before him.
The waters recede from the lake, and the river wasteth and drieth up:
(If a man die, shall he live again?) all the days of my time of toil would I wait, till my change should come:
Hast thou listened in the secret council of +God? And hast thou absorbed wisdom for thyself?
Oh that there were arbitration for a man with +God, as a son of man for his friend!
They who are none of his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be showered upon his habitation:
And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth;
And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth; And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God; read more. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me.
It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh. If he have fled from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through.
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.
When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I behold him not; he hideth himself on the right hand, and I see him not. But he knoweth the way that I take; he trieth me, I shall come forth as gold.
But he knoweth the way that I take; he trieth me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held to his steps; his way have I kept, and not turned aside. read more. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have laid up the words of his mouth more than the purpose of my own heart. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, that will he do. For he will perform what is appointed for me; and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence; I consider, and I am afraid of him.
Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me.
And unto man he said, Lo, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved to their palate. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; read more. For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper. The blessing of him that was perishing came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was as a mantle and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame; I was a father to the needy, and the cause which I knew not I searched out; And I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth mourners.
They gather the salt-wort among the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food. They are driven forth from among men they cry after them as after a thief -- read more. To dwell in gloomy gorges, in caves of the earth and the rocks: They bray among the bushes; under the brambles they are gathered together:
Did not I weep for him whose days were hard? was not my soul grieved for the needy?
If I beheld the sun when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness, And my heart have been secretly enticed, so that my mouth kissed my hand: read more. This also would be an iniquity for the judge, for I should have denied the God who is above.
Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold my signature: let the Almighty answer me! And let mine opponent write an accusation!
And these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Behold, before God I am as thou; I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, nor my burden be heavy upon thee.
I am clean without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me;
If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his duty; Then he will be gracious unto him, and say, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. read more. His flesh shall be fresher than in childhood; he shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray unto +God, and he will receive him with favour; and he shall see his face with shoutings, and he will render unto man his righteousness. He will sing before men, and say, I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it hath not been requited to me; He hath delivered my soul from going into the pit, and my life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God twice, thrice, with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were not with intelligence. Would that Job may be tried unto the end, because of his answers after the manner of evil men!
And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
Behold, I am nought: what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; yea twice, but I will proceed no further.
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee:
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up;
Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad!
though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.
though these three men should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters: they only should be delivered, and the land should be a desolation. Or if I bring the sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it, read more. and these three men should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only themselves should be delivered. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast, and Noah, Daniel, and Job should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter: they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
For wherever the carcase is, there will be gathered the eagles.
Jesus answering said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, that shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the coming age life eternal.
And he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.
Jesus answered and said to him, What I do thou dost not know now, but thou shalt know hereafter.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? or who has first given to him, and it shall be rendered to him?
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he shall exalt you.
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.
searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out, testifying before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves but to you they ministered those things, which have now been announced to you by those who have declared to you the glad tidings by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, which angels desire to look into.
Hastings
JOB
1. The man Job.
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And Moses said to Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for in thy might thou broughtest up this people from the midst of them; and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of this people, that thou, Jehovah, lettest thyself be seen eye to eye, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; read more. if thou now slayest this people as one man, then the nations that have heard thy fame will speak, saying, Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land that he had sworn unto them, he has therefore slain them in the wilderness.
And it came to pass when Jabin king of Hazor heard this, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
and they of Sheba fell upon them and took them, and the servants have they smitten with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee. read more. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels and took them, and the servants have they smitten with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
and behold, there came a great wind from over the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they died; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah!
And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, There is a man child conceived. That day let it be darkness, let not +God care for it from above, neither let light shine upon it:
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse Leviathan; Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it wait for light, and have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the dawn: read more. Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, and hid not trouble from mine eyes.
Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof. In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: -- read more. Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake; And a spirit passed before my face the hair of my flesh stood up -- It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice: Shall mortal man be more just than +God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker? Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly: How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth! From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever. Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away, Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself: read more. At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place: They wind about in the paths of their course, they go off into the waste and perish. The caravans of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba counted on them: They are ashamed at their hope; they come thither, and are confounded.
What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him?
So are the paths of all that forget God; and the profane man's hope shall perish,
Who maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;
Thy hands have bound me together and made me as one, round about; yet dost thou swallow me up! Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as clay, and wilt bring me into dust again. read more. Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews; Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy care hath preserved my spirit; And these things didst thou hide in thy heart; I know that this was with thee. If I sinned, thou wouldest mark me, and thou wouldest not acquit me of mine iniquity. If I were wicked, woe unto me! and righteous, I will not lift up my head, being so full of shame, and beholding mine affliction; -- And it increaseth: thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and ever again thou shewest thy marvellous power upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses before me and increasest thy displeasure against me; successions of evil and a time of toil are with me.
He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and judges maketh he fools; He weakeneth the government of kings, and bindeth their loins with a fetter; read more. He leadeth priests away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty; He depriveth of speech the trusty, and taketh away the judgment of the elders; He poureth contempt upon nobles, and slackeneth the girdle of the mighty; He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out into light the shadow of death; He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; he spreadeth out the nations, and bringeth them in; He taketh away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunkard.
Man, born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; and he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not. read more. Yet dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean man out of the unclean? Not one!
Who can bring a clean man out of the unclean? Not one! If his days are determined, if the number of his months is with thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds which he must not pass, read more. Look away from him; and let him rest, till he accomplish, as a hireling, his day. For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease; Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground, Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a young plant. But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he? The waters recede from the lake, and the river wasteth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not again; till the heavens be no more, they do not awake, nor are raised out of their sleep.
But now he hath made me weary; ... thou hast made desolate all my family; Thou hast shrivelled me up! it is become a witness; and my leanness riseth up against me, it beareth witness to my face. read more. His anger teareth and pursueth me; he gnasheth with his teeth against me; as mine adversary he sharpeneth his eyes at me. They gape upon me with their mouth; they smite my cheeks reproachfully; they range themselves together against me. God hath delivered me over to the iniquitous man, and hurled me into the hands of the wicked. I was at rest, but he hath shattered me; he hath taken me by the neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. His arrows encompass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. He breaketh me with breach upon breach; he runneth upon me like a mighty man. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and rolled my horn in the dust. My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.
Even now, behold, my Witness is in the heavens, and he that voucheth for me is in the heights.
And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth;
And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth; And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God;
And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God; Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me.
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me.
Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end? For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked. read more. Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it. Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.
He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards. Drought and heat consume snow waters; so doth Sheol those that have sinned. read more. The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree, -- He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow:
And Job answered and said, How hast thou helped the powerless; how saved the arm that is without strength! read more. How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom, and abundantly declared the thing as it is! For whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee? The shades tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof; Sheol is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over empty space, he hangeth the earth upon nothing; He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them. He covereth the face of his throne, he spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath traced a fixed circle over the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at his rebuke. He stirreth up the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
He stirreth up the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab. By his Spirit the heavens are adorned; his hand hath formed the fleeing serpent.
By his Spirit the heavens are adorned; his hand hath formed the fleeing serpent. Lo, these are the borders of his ways; but what a whisper of a word do we hear of him! And the thunder of his power, who can understand?
As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, and the Almighty, who hath embittered my soul, All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of +God is in my nostrils, read more. My lips shall not speak unrighteousness, nor my tongue utter deceit! Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me.
Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart reproacheth me not one of my days.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart reproacheth me not one of my days. Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the ungodly, when God cutteth him off, when +God taketh away his soul?
For what is the hope of the ungodly, when God cutteth him off, when +God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when distress cometh upon him?
Will God hear his cry when distress cometh upon him? Doth he delight himself in the Almighty? will he at all times call upon +God?
Doth he delight himself in the Almighty? will he at all times call upon +God? I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Behold, ye yourselves have all seen it; and why are ye thus altogether vain? read more. This is the portion of the wicked man with God, and the heritage of the violent, which they receive from the Almighty: --
This is the portion of the wicked man with God, and the heritage of the violent, which they receive from the Almighty: -- If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread;
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread; Those that remain of him shall be buried by death, and his widows shall not weep. read more. Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on; and the innocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his house as the moth, and as a booth that a keeper maketh. He lieth down rich, but will do so no more; he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors overtake him like waters; a whirlwind stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away and he is gone; and as a storm it hurleth him out of his place. And God shall cast upon him and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
And unto man he said, Lo, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
And I said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand;
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and tares instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and tares instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
And these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his anger kindled, because he justified himself rather than God; read more. and against his three friends was his anger kindled, because they found no answer, and yet condemned Job. But Elihu had waited till Job had finished speaking, because they were older than he. And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger was kindled. And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are aged; wherefore I was timid, and feared to shew you what I know.
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and with constant strife in his bones; And his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty food; read more. His flesh is consumed away from view, and his bones that were not seen stick out; And his soul draweth near to the pit, and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his duty; Then he will be gracious unto him, and say, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than in childhood; he shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray unto +God, and he will receive him with favour; and he shall see his face with shoutings, and he will render unto man his righteousness. He will sing before men, and say, I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it hath not been requited to me; He hath delivered my soul from going into the pit, and my life shall see the light.
And he openeth their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
But he delivereth the afflicted in his affliction, and openeth their ear in their oppression.
But he delivereth the afflicted in his affliction, and openeth their ear in their oppression.
And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
The wing of the ostrich beats joyously But is it the stork's pinion and plumage? For she leaveth her eggs to the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, read more. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the beast of the field may trample them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labour is in vain, without her concern. For +God hath deprived her of wisdom, and hath not furnished her with understanding. What time she lasheth herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee:
And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job.
And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job. And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, for ye have not spoken of me rightly, like my servant Job.
And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, for ye have not spoken of me rightly, like my servant Job. Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did according as Jehovah had said unto them; and Jehovah accepted Job. read more. And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before. And all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they condoled with him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him; and every one gave him a piece of money, and every one a golden ring. And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters.
And he had seven sons and three daughters.
And he had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. read more. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. And Job died, old and full of days.
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad! read more. And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and a shouting at noonday, because he slew me not from the womb. Or would that my mother had been my grave, and her womb always great with me! Wherefore came I forth from the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by working unfaithfulness, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off man and beast from it; read more. though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah. If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it become a desolation, so that no one passeth through because of the beasts; though these three men should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters: they only should be delivered, and the land should be a desolation. Or if I bring the sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it, and these three men should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only themselves should be delivered. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast, and Noah, Daniel, and Job should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter: they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
But upon mount Zion shall there be deliverance, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.
Morish
1. The 'perfect and upright man' whose history is given in the book of Job.
2. Son of Issachar. Ge 46:13. See JASHUB.
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Smith
(persecuted), the third son of Issachar,
called in another genealogy JASHUB.
See Jashub
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Watsons
JOB, a patriarch celebrated for his patience, and the constancy of his piety and virtue. That Job was a real, and not a fictitious, character, may be inferred from the manner in which he is mentioned in the Scriptures. Thus, the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of him: "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God," Eze 14:14. Now since Noah and Daniel were unquestionably real characters, we must conclude the same of Job. "Behold," says the Apostle James, "we count them happy which endure: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy," Jas 5:11. It is scarcely to be believed that a divinely inspired Apostle would refer to an imaginary character as an example of patience, or in proof of the mercy of God. But, beside the authority of the inspired writers, we have the strongest internal evidence, from the book itself, that Job was a real person; for it expressly specifies the names of persons, places, facts, and other circumstances usually related in true histories. Thus, we have the name, country, piety, wealth, &c, of Job described, Job i; the names, number, and acts of his children are mentioned; the conduct of his wife is recorded as a fact, Job ii; his friends, their names, countries, and discourses with him in his afflictions are minutely delineated, Job 2:11, &c. Farther: no reasonable doubt can be entertained respecting the real existence of Job, when we consider that it is proved by the concurrent testimony of all eastern tradition: he is mentioned by the author of the book of Tobit, who lived during the Assyrian captivity; he is also repeatedly mentioned by Arabian writers as a real character. The whole of his history, with many fabulous additions, was known among the Syrians and Chaldeans; and many of the noblest families among the Arabs are distinguished by his name, and boast of being descended from him.
Since, then, says Horne, the book of Job contains the history of a real character, the next point is the age in which he lived, a question concerning which there is as great a diversity of opinion, as upon any other subject connected with this venerable monument of sacred antiquity. One thing, however, is generally admitted with respect to the age of the book of Job, namely, its remote antiquity. Even those who contend for the later production of the book of Job are compelled to acquiesce in this particular. Grotius thinks the events of the history are such as cannot be placed later than the sojourning of the Israelites in the wilderness. Bishop Warburton, in like manner, admits them to bear the marks of high antiquity; and Michaelis confesses the manners to be perfectly Abrahamic, that is, such as were common to all the seed of Abraham, Israelites, Ishmaelites, and Idumeans. The following are the principal circumstances from which the age of Job may be collected and ascertained:
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And Noah built an altar to Jehovah; and took of every clean animal, and of all clean fowl, and offered up burnt-offerings on the altar.
And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High God.
And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurim, and the Letushim, and the Leummim.
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and gave him as wife Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.
The cities at the extremity of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the south, were: Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities and their hamlets.
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and this man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and abstained from evil.
And his sons went and made a feast in the house of each one on his day; and they sent and invited their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of the feasting were gone about, that Job sent and hallowed them; and he rose up early in the morning, and offered up burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers; For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow.
For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth;
Both the greyheaded and the aged are with us, older than thy father.
Oh would that my words were written! oh that they were inscribed in a book! That with an iron style and lead they were graven in the rock for ever!
If I beheld the sun when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness, And my heart have been secretly enticed, so that my mouth kissed my hand: read more. This also would be an iniquity for the judge, for I should have denied the God who is above.
And I waited, for they spoke not, but stood still, and answered no more; -- I will answer, I also in my turn, I also will shew what I know:
And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners of their beard cut off;
Concerning Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom spent? Flee, turn back, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I visit him.
Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Edom, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them.
though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.
therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also stretch out my hand upon Edom; and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; and his anger did tear continually, and he kept his wrath for ever. And I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter.
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.