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/kj2000'>13,13/type/kj2000'>13; 19:17; 30:17, than the leprosy referred to above. See LEPER.
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And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one on his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot unto the crown of his head. And he took himself a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes.
He takes the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the cunning is quickly ended.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender shoots thereof will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground; read more. Yet at the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth branches like a plant. But man dies, and wastes away: yea, man expires, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the river decays and dries up: So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that you would hide me in the grave, that you would conceal me, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer you: you will have a desire to the work of your hands.
With us are both the gray headed and very aged men, much older than your father.
My breath is repulsive to my wife, though I make supplication for the children of my own body.
That they were engraved with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: read more. And though after my skin is thus destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me.
Have you marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Who were cut down before their time, whose foundation was swept away with a flood: read more. Who said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do to us?
My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. read more. Lo, all these things works God twice, three times, with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of life.
Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Therefore take unto you now 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, in that you have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy.
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, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.
Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall only deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy.
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 the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward.
These were chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name the LORD was I not known to them.
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall crush the forehead of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a male child conceived.
He takes the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the cunning is quickly ended.
You know that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of your hand.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will defend my own ways before him.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will defend my own ways before him.
As the waters fail from the sea, and the river decays and dries up:
If a man dies, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes.
They shall dwell in his tent, who are none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin is thus destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: read more. Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me.
When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of bronze shall strike him through.
Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
When men are cast down, then you shall say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
On the left hand, where he does work, but I cannot behold him: he hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knows the way that I take: when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
But he knows the way that I take: when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast 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 esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he is of one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desires, even that he does. For he performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove my integrity from me.
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: read more. Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish 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 robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt like a king in the army, as one that comforts the mourners.
Who pick mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their food. They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) read more. To dwell in the clefts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
Did I not weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in brightness; And my heart has been secretly enticed, or my mouth has kissed my hand: read more. This also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that my adversary had written a book.
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Behold, I am according to your wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon you.
I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
If there be a messenger with him, a mediator, one of a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and says, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. read more. His flesh shall be younger than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth: He shall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things works God twice, three times, with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of life.
Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because he answers like wicked men.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer you? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you.
I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
For you will not leave my soul in sheol; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.
As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness.
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
Cursed be the day on which I was born: let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born unto you; making him very glad.
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.
Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: read more. Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 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: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall only deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
For wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered together.
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.
For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy.
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Hastings
JOB
1. The man Job.
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And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for you brought up this people in your might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that you LORD are among this people, that you LORD are seen face to face, and that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them, by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. read more. Now if you shall kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of you will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore to give unto them, therefore he has slain them in the wilderness.
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone am escaped to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone am escaped to tell you. read more. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone am escaped to tell you.
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I alone am escaped to tell you.
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
And he took himself a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes.
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a male child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to arouse leviathan. Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: read more. Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from my eyes.
Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, read more. Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern its form: an image was before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish forever without any regarding it. Does not their excellence which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks that pass away; Which are black by reason of the ice, and in which the snow is hid: read more. At what time they become warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they vanish out of their place. The paths of their way turn aside; they go nowhere, and perish. The caravans of Tema looked, the travelers of Sheba waited for them. They were disappointed because they had confidence; they came there, and were confused.
What is man, that you should magnify him? and that you should set your heart upon him?
So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:
Who makes the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Your hands have made me and fashioned me together totally; yet you do destroy me. Remember, I beseech you, that you have made me as the clay; and will you bring me into dust again? read more. Have you not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? You have clothed me with skin and flesh, and have knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and favor, and your care has preserved my spirit. And these things have you hid in your heart: I know that this is with you. If I sin, then you mark me, and you will not acquit me from my iniquity. If I am wicked, woe unto me; and if I am righteous, yet can I not lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; therefore see my affliction; For it increases. You hunt me as a fierce lion: and again you show yourself awesome against me. You renew your witnesses against me, and increase your indignation upon me; changes and war are ever with me.
He leads counselors away plundered, and makes the judges fools. He looses the bonds of kings, and girds their loins with a waistband. read more. He leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. He takes away the speech of the trustworthy, and takes away the understanding of the aged. He pours contempt upon princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death. He increases the nations, and destroys them: he enlarges the nations, and leads them away. He takes away the heart of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them to stagger like a drunken man.
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower, and is cut down: he flees also as a shadow, and continues not. read more. And do you open your eyes upon such a one, and bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? no one.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? no one. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with you, you have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; read more. Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day. For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender shoots thereof will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground; Yet at the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth branches like a plant. But man dies, and wastes away: yea, man expires, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the river decays and dries up: So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
But now he has made me weary: you have made desolate all my company. And you have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face. read more. He tears me in his wrath, who hates me: he gnashes upon me with his teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, but he has broken me asunder: he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. His archers surround me, he slashes my kidneys asunder, and does not spare; he pours out my gall upon the ground. He breaks me with breach upon breach, he runs upon me like a warrior. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and laid my strength in the dust. My face is foul from weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Not for any violence in my hands: also my prayer is pure.
For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin is thus destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
And though after my skin is thus destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me.
Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me.
Is not your wickedness great? and your iniquities without end? For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. read more. You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelt in it. You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
They are swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: no one turns into the way of the vineyards. Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so does the grave those who have sinned. read more. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. He evil treats the barren that bears not: and does not good to the widow.
But Job answered and said, How have you helped him that is without power? how save you the arm that has no strength? read more. How have you counseled him that has no wisdom? and how have you plentifully declared the thing as it is? To whom have you uttered words? and whose spirit came from you? Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. Sheol is naked before him, and destruction has no covering. He stretches out the north over the empty place, and hangs the earth upon nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not torn under them. He holds back the face of his throne, and spreads his cloud upon it. He has drawn a circle on the waters at the boundary where the day and night come together. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke. He divides the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through the storm.
He divides the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through the storm. By his spirit he has adorned the heavens; his hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
By his spirit he has adorned the heavens; his hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. Lo, these are only parts of his ways: and how little a whisper is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
As God lives, who has taken away my right; and the Almighty, who has made bitter 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 wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove my integrity from me.
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that rises up against me as the unrighteous.
Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that rises up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul?
For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?
Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Behold, all you yourselves have seen it; why then are you thus altogether vain? read more. This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. read more. Though he heap up silver as the dust, and pile up clothing as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. He builds his house like a moth, and like a booth that the keeper makes. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he opens his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest steals him away in the night. The east wind carries him away, and he is gone: and as a storm hurls him out of his place. For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would scarcely 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, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath aroused, because he justified himself rather than God. read more. Also against his three friends was his wrath aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were older than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was aroused. And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not show you my opinion.
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: So that his life abhors bread, and his soul the choicest food. read more. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen now stick out. Yea, his soul draws near unto the grave, and his life to those who bring death. If there be a messenger with him, a mediator, one of a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and says, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be younger than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth: He shall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
He opens also their ear to discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity.
He delivers the poor in his affliction, and opens their ears in oppression.
He delivers the poor in his affliction, and opens their ears in oppression.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Can you bind the cluster of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Gave you the proud wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaves her eggs in the earth, and warms them in dust, read more. And forgets that the foot may crush them, or that a wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without concern; Because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding. When she lifts up herself high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you.
And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends: for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.
And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends: for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has. Therefore take unto you now 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, in that you have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
Therefore take unto you now 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, in that you have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. read more. And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they consoled him, and comforted him over all the trouble that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters.
He had also seven sons and three daughters.
He had also 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 beautiful as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.
What is man, that you are mindful of him? and the son of man, that you visit him?
Cursed be the day on which I was born: let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born unto you; making him very glad. read more. And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. Why came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its supply of bread, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: read more. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD. If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, so that it is desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 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: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall only deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy.
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 unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenathpaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. And Joseph went out over all 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 before God.
And the furthermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one on his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were finished, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
For inquire, I pray you, of the former age, and prepare yourself to the findings of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
For you write bitter things against me, and make me possess the iniquities of my youth.
With us are both the gray headed and very aged men, much older than your father.
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were engraved with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!
If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in brightness; And my heart has been secretly enticed, or my mouth has kissed my hand: read more. This also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
When I had waited, (for they spoke not, but stood still, and answered no more;) I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show my opinion.
So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
Concerning Edom, thus says the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? has counsel perished from the prudent? has their wisdom vanished? Flee you, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will punish him.
Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out my hand against Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever: But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Shall I not in that day, says the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountains of Esau? And your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy.