We may be sure that the author was an israelite, since he not job or his friends frequently uses the israelite covenant name for god yahweh. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. These guys have plenty to say, and job isnt their biggest fan. Job s three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42. Bildad expresses the view of the mutazillites job is being tested to receive a greater reward. At the end of job 2, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar enter stage left. His friends apparently did not know and understand job and his relationship with god. What did job s three friends have wrong, and what did they have right. How the book of job makes us better friends and better. The reason why job suffered is clarified at the beginning of the book. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. He always gives us enough evidence to discern his voice.
Job laments the day he was born net bible then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great. This time, job is afflicted with horrible skin sores. We often hear these friends described as miserable counselors but this is an unfair and overly simplistic description. Job having warmly given vent to his passion, and so broken the ice, his friends here come gravely to give vent to their judgment upon his case, which perhaps they had communicated to one another apart, compared notes upon it and talked it over among themselves, and found they were all agreed in their verdict, that job s afflictions certainly proved him to be a hypocrite. God speaks to job, rebukes his friends, and blessesrestores job subjects. Evidence that elihu prepared job for god the bible meditator. But job silences these three by showing that is no correlation in this world between righteousness and prosperity or between wickedness and suffering. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan. Social standing is the last thing taken away from job, and his friends essentially turn on him.
What job taught me about courage and honesty working to. The book of job occupies a very peculiar place in the volume of god. The book of job a widely misunderstood book jeffrey. Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. It is a great lesson from god about trusting him, even when we dont. Join me behind the scenes as we talk about job s conversation with his friends and learn what not to say when people suffer. Now when job s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him. Friendship and virtue ethics in the book of job by patricia vesely. The book of job is the third book of ketuvim writings. Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers.
I think that the main topic of job is not suffering. Addressing the theme of gods justice in the face of human suffering or more simply, why do the righteous suffer. It is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. God reminds him that the world has order and beauty.
They were true friends, bringing to job s lonely ashheap the compassion of a. Job 4 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Here god appoints job as the priest for his friends. Most people when studying the book of job, look to see how job s troubles started, progressed and finally ended. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. If they had spent the time to really get to know him, they would have believed and trusted that he was a.
For much of the book, job curses his life, argues with three friends about the cause of the tragic events, and talks about the capriciousness of god. Cambridge core classical philosophy friendship and virtue ethics in the book of job by patricia vesely. Lets see how this main point plays out in the debates between job and his three friends. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. The text this week textweek worship preaching lectionary. Three of job s friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. Job actually feels like his reputation has been damaged by his views. Friendship and virtue ethics in the book of job patricia vesely on. Ive always been captivated by the friends of job in the bible. The bible doesnt say exactly how long job suffered. Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that job s sin caused his suffering.
The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. The book s theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central. If they had spent the time to really get to know him, they would have believed and trusted that he was a righteous man. At the end of chapter 2 job is visited by his three friends. To prove job s loyalty, god allows satan to first destroy everything job has and then cause illness, sparing only job and his wifes lives. Jobs friends and what not to say when people suffer youtube. What were the names of job s four friends that spoke to him throughout the book of job. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives.
Job s nameless wife turns up after the final blow, after job has been struck with boils. What was job arguing about with his friends in the book of. Even though job knew he was blameless, he did not turn against god when everything went wrong. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job, some new theme seems to.
He does not use the same words jobs three friends did. Elihu concluded that the friends had condemned job without finding an answer for him and elihu was angered against job for justifying himself rather than god job 32. The most hurtful comments of job s friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. Friendship and virtue ethics book job biblical studies old. At this time it was not unusual for a man to act as a priest for others, especially a father for his children, as job had done earlier in the book.
The most hurtful comments of jobs friends bible study. His priestly role here also reminds us of christ, and it tells job s friends that they, and we all, need a mediator. So when job s friends insisted he must have sinned terribly job 22, job could say confidently, i will come forth as gold and job did. Drawing upon aristotelian ethics based on virtue, patricia vesely examines friendship as a moral category in the book of job, illuminating those virtues. Job s three friends had taken the position that the severity of job s suffering must be the sign of some grievous sin in his life. Not only do they incur the indignation of job and his other friend elihu, but god himself rebukes them, saying to eliphaz, i am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has. In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of job s friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly. How long did job suffer amazing bible timeline with. The book of job mentions more than once that job was a righteous man in the eyes of the lord. A lesson in friendship from the book of job hodgepodge. Intro to job biblica the international bible society. God permitted the testing, and job proved satan wrong. The majority of the debate section in the book of job is in prose form. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they.
A genuine interest in gods creation is revealed in the content of job. I will show you different tools that i use to study the text and. The attention to job s suffering usually ignores the fact that she too, after all, is a victim of these divine tests in addition to being pained by exposure to his. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. One little help to grasping the book of job for me was the comment by one of jobs friends to the effect that, the hypocrites hope shall perish. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job. Job has some notsonice friends, and boy does he know it. But its not just that the peanut gallery is filled with bullies. God rebukes job s three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. It has been widely and often extravagantly praised for its literary qualities.
The play unfolds as each man gives a long speech, and job responds to each with a speech of. According to maimonides, a superscholarly medieval, guy, each of job s friends represents a different position on divine providence. Blakes illustrations stress the events of the book of job, rather than. The book of job, in my view, is widely misunderstood it is the classic book of the hebrew bible that seemingly is orthodox correct belief and theological in nature in dealing with the. The three elihu, the fourth friend introduced in chapter 32 is not mentioned here are told to make a burnt offering with job as their intercessor. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant job has. As the book of job concludes, we see that job and three of his friends needed to repent before god and also work out their differences due to what was done in the midst of job s travail. Friendship and forgiveness in blakes illustrations to job jstor. At one point job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, you are miserable comforters, all of you. It is not to be supposed that job had no more than three friends indeed, elihu the buzzite appears later on as one of his friends but he had three contemporaries with whom he was especially intimate, old men, with whom he was probably accustomed to confer from time to time, and who were in the habit.
The book of job is a book many people turn to in times of suffering. It begins with an introduction to job s characterhe is described as. Her question to job surely starts his own process of deeper introspection that we get later in the book. It possesses character entirely its own, and teaches lessons which are not to be learnt in any other section of inspiration. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. The text this week textweek sermon, sermons, revised. When we concluded our readings on the book of job in the bible meditator, we wondered about the messages of elihu, the young man who listened to the debate between job and his friends. Eliphaz represents the biblical or rabbinic tradition job is being punished for his sins. In the wellknown biblical story dealing with the problem of undeserved suffering, job loses his children, his possessions, and his health.
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