More and more the friends of Job came to the conclusion that he had
incurred Divine punishment on account of his sins, and as he
asseverated his innocence again and again, they prepared angrily to
leave him to his fate. Especially Elihu was animated by Satan to speak
scurrilous words against Job, upbraiding him for his unshakable
confidence in God. Then the Lord appeared to them, first unto Job, and
revealed to him that Elihu was in the wrong, and his words were
inspired by Satan. Next he appeared unto Eliphaz, and to him He spake
thus: "Thou and thy friends Bildad and Zophar have committed a sin, for
ye did not speak the truth concerning my servant Job. Rise up and let
him bring a sin offering for you. Only for his sake do I refrain from
destroying you."
The sacrifice offered by Job in behalf of his friends was accepted
graciously by God, and Eliphaz broke out into a hymn of thanksgiving to
the Lord for having pardoned the transgression of himself and his two
friends. At the same time he announced the damnation of Elihu, the
instrument of Satan.
God appeared to Job once more, and gave him a girdle composed of three
ribands, and he bade him tie it around his waist. Hardly had he put it
on when all his pain disappeared, his very recollection of it vanished,
and, more than this, God made him to see all that ever was and all that
shall ever be.[33]
After suffering sevenfold pain for seven years[34] Job was restored to
strength. With his three friends he returned to the city, and the
inhabitants made a festival in his honor and unto the glory of God. All
his former friends joined him again, and he resumed his old occupation,
the care of the poor, for which he obtained the means from the people
around. He said to them, "Give me, each one of you, a sheep for the
clothing of the poor, and four silver or gold drachmas for their other
needs." The Lord blessed Job, and in a few days his wealth had
increased to double the substance he had owned before misfortune
overtook him. Zitidos having died during the years of his trials, he
married a second wife, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and she bore him
seven sons and three daughters.[35] He had never had more than one wife
at a time, for he was wont to say, "If it had been intended that Adam
should have ten wives, God would have given them to him. Only one wife
was bestowed upon him, whereby God indicated that he was to have but
one, and therefore one wife suffices for me, too."[36]
When Job, after a long and happy life, felt his end approaching, he
gathered his ten children around him, and told them the tale of his
days. Having finished the narrative, he admonished them in these words:
"See, I am about to die, and you will stand in my place. Forsake not
the Lord, be generous toward the poor, treat the feeble with
consideration, and do not marry with the women of the Gentiles."
Thereupon he divided his possessions among his sons, and to his
daughters he gave what is more precious than all earthly goods, to each
of them one riband of the celestial girdle he had received from God.
The magic virtue of these ribands was such that no sooner did their
possessors tie them around their waists than they were transformed into
higher beings, and with seraphic voices they broke out into hymns after
the manner of the angels.
For three days Job lay upon his bed, sick though not suffering, for the
celestial girdle made him proof against pain. On the fourth day he saw
the angels descend to fetch his soul. He arose from his bed, handed a
cithern to his oldest daughter Jemimah, "Day," a censer to the second
one, Keziah, "Perfume," and a cymbal to the third, Amaltheas, "Horn,"
and bade them welcome the angels with the sound of music. They played
and sang and praised the Lord in the holy tongue. Then he appeared that
sits in the great chariot, kissed Job, and rode away bearing his soul
with him eastward. None saw them depart except the three daughters of
Job.
The grief of the people, especially the poor, the widows, and the
orphans, was exceeding great. For three days they left the corpse
unburied, because they could not entertain the thought of separating
themselves from it.
As the name of Job will remain imperishable unto all time, by reason of
the man's piety,[37] so his three friends were recompensed by God for
their sympathy with him in his distress. Their names were preserved,
the punishment of hell was remitted unto them, and, best of all, God
poured out the holy spirit over them.[38] But Satan, the cause of Job's
anguish, the Lord cast down from heaven, for he had been vanquished by
Job, who amid his agony had thanked and praised God for all He had done
unto him.[39]
IV
MOSES IN EGYPT