(a.) Introduction (i. and ii.).—God is figuratively represented as
presiding over a council of ministers (בני האלהים “sons of God”),
amongst whom also the accuser (השטן “the hinderer,” one who is
hostile to the word of God) appears. While God praised the piety of
Job, the accuser doubted the purity of his heart, and suggested that if
any adversity were to befall Job he would no longer be pious; Job,
exposed to hard trials, remained firm in his faith in God. “Naked came
I forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the
Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken: let the name of the Lord be
praised” (i. 21). “Skin for skin,” said the accuser, “and everything
that man hath, he giveth for his soul; but stretch now forth thy hand
and touch his bone and his flesh: surely he will take leave of thee in
thy presence” (ii. 5). The trial was granted. And when Job’s wife was
surprised that Job was still holding to his integrity, adding “Take
leave of God and die,” he replied, “Thou speakest like the speaking of
one of the wicked women. Are we to accept of God the good, and shall we
not accept the evil?”—“In all this did Job not sin with his lips, and
did not find fault with God” (i. 22). His friends came to see him, but
felt so distressed that they sat with him for seven days without
uttering a word.
(b.) Discussion between Job and his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar,
and Elihu; Job asserting his innocence, and consequent inability to see
the justice of his afflictions; his friends contending that he has
sinned, and has been justly punished; Elihu attempts to justify Job’s
sufferings, on the plea that they are merely a reminder sent by God
that Job has sinned, and must seek reconciliation with God, who is
All-wise, All-good, and All-powerful; God addresses Job, and shows him
man’s inability to comprehend the Divine power and wisdom in the
creation and in the ruling of the universe; whereupon Job repents.
(c.) Conclusion.—God rebukes the friends of Job, that they have not
spoken rightly like His servant Job (xlii. 7), and richly compensates
Job for his sufferings and losses.
The book has no heading, and therefore we do not know by whom or when
it was written. There is, however, a tradition, mentioned in the Talmud
(Baba Bathra, p. 14b), that Moses wrote the Book of Job. Even about Job
himself it is impossible to ascertain at what time he lived. But the
description of his riches and the length of his life leads us to think
of the time of the patriarchs. His name is mentioned only in one other
book of the Bible. The prophet Ezekiel names him together with Noah and
Daniel as a righteous man who would, by his piety, save himself in the
time of general calamity, though he would not be able to save his
generation (Ezek. xiv. 14). There is also an opinion that Job never
existed at all. איוב לא היה ולא נברא אלא משל היה “Job never lived;
nor has he had any existence; the story is all only an allegory”
(Babyl. Talm. Baba Bathra, 15a). This dictum can only refer to the
detailed account of the manner in which the misfortune came upon Job,
and the poetical discussion of Job and his friends. But it is
undeniable that a pious man of the name of Job lived, and escaped from
a calamity to which others succumbed; since it is clear that Ezekiel
refers to real and not to imaginary personages. Job and his friends
were not Israelites. The patriarch lived in the land of Uz in Arabia;
the friends came from Teman, Shuah, Naamah, and Buz, in the south,
east, west, and north of Uz. Like the Book of Jonah, this book conveys
the lesson, חסידי אומות העולם יש להם חלק לעולם הבא “The pious of all
nations have a portion in the world to come” (Maim., Mishneh-torah I.
Hilchoth Teshubah, iii. 5). God rewards the righteous of all nations,
punishes those among them who deserve punishment, and pardons the
penitent.
The introduction and conclusion are written in prose, but the principal
part of the book is poetical, and consequently parallelism is a
predominant feature of the book.