Job 42:7-10

Context

In chapters 38–41 of the Book of Job, the LORD speaks out of the whirlwind, and Job responds in 42:1–6. The book then returns to prose (unmetered narrative), as in chapters 1–2, to bring the story to its conclusion. In this passage the LORD's wrath is kindled against the three friends, with Eliphaz the Temanite addressed as their representative. The reason given, stated twice, is that they "have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." The friends offer burnt offerings, and Job prays for them. Afterward the LORD turns the captivity of Job and gives him twice as much as he had before. Elihu, who speaks at length in chapters 32–37, does not appear in this passage.

Interpretation

• The scope of the verdict that Job "spoke rightly": The LORD rebuked Job in 38:2, and Job himself repents in 42:6. For this reason many interpreters hold that the verdict does not endorse everything Job said. The friends wrongly applied to Job a logic of retribution that treats suffering as punishment for sin. By contrast, a widely known reading holds that Job was "right" in that he appealed honestly and directly to God.
• Job as mediator: The friends who had condemned Job are instead forgiven through Job's prayer. In Reformed and evangelical preaching, this pattern is sometimes taken as grounds for reading Job as a figure who foreshadows the intercession of Jesus Christ. It is also noted that Job, who in chapters 9 and 16 sought a mediator between himself and God, now becomes a mediator for his friends.
• The order of restoration: Verse 10 records that the restoration came "when he prayed for his friends." On this basis a common application is that forgiveness and reconciliation precede restoration.
• Historical-critical readings: Some scholars hold that the prose frame (chapters 1–2 and 42:7–17) and the poetic dialogues originated separately and were later combined. The absence of Elihu from the conclusion is cited as one piece of evidence for this view.

Questions Concerning Application

Some preachers, following a prosperity theology reading, present the "twofold" restoration as a formula for the reward of faith. In response, others object that the Book of Job as a whole portrays precisely this logic of retribution as the friends' error. Those who raise this objection regard the restoration as an act of God's sovereign grace rather than a guaranteed payment for enduring suffering.

Interpretations also differ over the fact that the number of Job's children is the same as before (1:2; 42:13). One traditional interpretation holds that because the children who died earlier were not lost forever, Job's children were in fact doubled as well, though the text does not state this directly.

In the Korean Church

The expression "double blessing" is frequently used in sermons and prayers. This passage is commonly cited as a preaching text on restoration after suffering and on intercessory prayer.

Related Passages

• Job 1:20–22
• Job 9:32–33
• Job 16:19–21
• James 5:11