Job

Biblical Account

Job is the central figure of the Book of Job. Scripture introduces him as a man of the land of Uz who "was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1). He was a wealthy man with seven sons, three daughters, and abundant livestock, and he offered burnt offerings on behalf of his children (Job 1:2–5).

When Satan claims that Job's piety rests on the blessings he has received, God permits him to be tested. In a single day Job loses his possessions and his children (chapter 1), and he is then struck with sore boils over his whole body (chapter 2). His wife tells him, "curse God, and die," yet "in all this did not Job sin with his lips" (Job 2:9–10).

His friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to him and, regarding suffering as the penalty for sin, debate with Job (chapters 3–31). The young Elihu then speaks (chapters 32–37), and God speaks out of the whirlwind (chapters 38–41). Job retracts his words and repents (Job 42:6). God rebukes the three friends, and when Job prays for them, God restores his fortunes twofold. Job lived 140 years afterward (Job 42:7–17).

Significance Within Scripture

Ezekiel 14:14, 20 names Job alongside Noah and Daniel as examples of righteous men. In the New Testament, James 5:11 speaks of "the patience of Job" and "the end of the Lord," emphasizing that "the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."

Interpretations and Issues

• Historicity and date: Conservative churches regard Job as a historical person on the basis of the references in Ezekiel and James. Others read the book as a didactic story belonging to wisdom literature (biblical literature that addresses practical wisdom and questions of faith). Some place Job in the patriarchal era, citing the reckoning of wealth in livestock and the head of the household offering sacrifices himself, but Scripture does not specify his period. Job is not presented as an Israelite.
• The reason for suffering: Job never learns what transpired in heaven. Interpreters commonly stress that God did not accept the friends' reasoning that suffering is necessarily the result of sin (Job 42:7).
• The confession of a Redeemer: Christian tradition has read Job 19:25, "For I know that my redeemer liveth," as pointing to Christ and the resurrection. Other interpreters hold that one must first examine what the Hebrew term go'el (advocate or redeemer) meant in its original context.
• Later traditions: An addition at the end of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) identifies Job with Jobab, king of Edom (Genesis 36:33). An apocryphal work, the Testament of Job, has also been preserved. Neither is part of the canonical text. Moreover, contrary to the popular image of Job as one who endured without complaint, the Job of the text laments and protests vehemently before God.

In the Korean Church

Job is one of the figures most frequently cited in sermons on faith amid suffering. Job 23:10, "when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold," is often quoted, and Job 1:21, "the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away," is commonly read at funeral services. Job 8:7, "Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase," which is frequently used at services dedicating new businesses, is actually spoken by Bildad, one of the friends whom God rebuked. For this reason, some point out that the verse should be quoted with attention to its context. Criticism has also been raised against prosperity theology interpretations that read the twofold restoration at the book's end as a promise of material reward.