The Book of Job

The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as

How do human beings talk about God in the face of poverty and suffering? This is the question the Book of Job raises for us. A moral and honorable man lives a prosperous, happy and fruitful life. As a wager between God and Satan on the issue of disinterested religion, they test to see if his faith and religion are actually disinterested. This leads to another question of whether human beings are capable of asserting their faith and talking about God in the face of suffering in a disinterested way. In his book “On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent” Gustavo Gutierrez makes the point that human beings, especially the poor, are capable of a disinterested faith and knowledge of God in the face of suffering. His application of liberation theology, way of talking about God, and interest in the poor allow Gutierrez to assert that human beings are capable of a disinterested religion in the face of poverty and suffering.

The book of Job 1:3, in The New Oxford Annonated Bible, states "Job was the

Who I chose to write my character study paper over was Job and his life influenced by god’s grace, mercy, and evilness. The dominant theme of Job is the difficulty of understanding why God the creator of everything can allow good people and followers of his to suffer. In Job he is trying a way to justify God’s actions. The poetry in Job is a true dialogue, for the characters develop ideas and unique personalities throughout the course of their responses. The Book of Job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, also because it is extremely well written.

In the book of Job, Job walks through life making sure his actions and words are carefully chosen, and even goes as far as to burn offerings for sins yet committed. The book of Job, and then later the modern take titled J.B., was a new display from God, showing that bad things can happen to good people. The book of Job made it clear in the bible that God was not giving or taking anything because of our own achievement, but that all things good and bad are from God. Archibald Macleish tries to reenact Job in a more modern version that new readers today might find easier, and although so aspects might be off from the original text, the story of J.B. follows closely to Job’s story line. One area that can be compared when looking at both texts

As we have seen, God promises a blessing to those who trust in His word and strive to live by it. Christians do not want to miss out on God’s blessing, especially those waiting for Him to reveal something. Now reading any book of the Bible, even Job, one begins to understand that God will bless you as you strive to study and practice His way of life. The Bible prophetically warns of even more pain in many different forms then what is done here Job, and through this we begin to portray God in a different light (Janzen 2012). However, the book of Job reveals God’s level of intervention during such a violent time. Due to the context and dire situation it would be difficult to imagine anything more then the pain for the members of Job’s family and the community at that time. They needed encouragement and the assurance that the trials Job faced would soon be over. The evil powers of Satan that governed Job’s life for a moment would be destroyed, and a triumphant sense of peace would be reestablished. The message of Job was intended for those in a particular time and circumstances of pain. Christians familiar with other violent writings would understand the book's symbolism, for practically everything Job went through was a test that other biblical figures felt during similar times of persecution. Job’s story was written to all people that may face the same trials, and find peace after their

Job is the central figure in the Book of Job from the bible. In this biblical story, God takes up Satan's challenge and overwhelms Job with many tragedies in order to test his faith. Job becomes victim of the plague and marauders. Through all this suffering Job had three friends that would visit in an attempt to comfort him, but only made things worse. They agreed Job must have been guilty of some evil and that is why God is punishing him. However, at the end of the story instead of turning to sin Job confides in a false comfort. The biblical allusion to Job characterizes Rebekka’s own suffering. She too is suffering, in this case from smallpox, and takes comfort in her imaginary friends. These imaginary friends, or spirits, are welcomed by

The Book of Job is of wisdom genre. Job was a righteous, rich man. God and Satan have a confrontation regarding Job’s faith in God. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his family, sheep, camels, and servants. Job was passed the test. Job was tested again. This time it was his health that was taken away. Job speaks to his three friends and curses the day he was born. The four of them have a lengthy conversation as to why Job is being punished. Elihu enters the conversation and becomes somewhat angry with Job’s lack of faith in God. God speaks to Job in question form. Job repents. God speaks the three friends and advises them to sacrifice a burnt offering. Job was them made prosperous and was “given twice as much as he had before” by God.

     Job is a man very limited by God. As illustrated, he has only a negligible amount of agency to begin with. By the time God and Satan finish with him, he has virtually no control over his own life. The fragment of agency he does cling to is his ability to choose whether or not to curse God. No one, except himself, could prevent Job from cursing God. Yet, he refuses to curse God, even though He is responsible for his suffering.

His nature, however, is problematic to interpret. The God’s concepts in the book differ from the ones described in the New Testament. Here he is not charitable, merciful, and kind God, we used to know. He appears as omnipotent and even egoistic God with uncoherent speeches and deceptive appearances. At the end of the book He has a conversation not only with Job but with the whole Earth population. He requires them to comprehend the complexity of the universe, to admit their ignorance, and to appreciate the difficult work done by Him ruling the universe.

Zaphar tells Job that he must put away his sins and then God will restore him to former form.3 By saying this, Zaphar claims that once Job repents for the sins he has committed, God will heal Job and he will be well once again. Similar to Zaphar’s speech, Bildad asks Job if he should be blameless and that surely God will awaken in him and restore him to his former domain.4 After these speeches Eliphaz tells Job “Call now! Will anyone respond to you? To which of the holy ones will you appeal?”5 By saying this, he is telling Job to call for help and pity from God and religious officials. He is also claiming that Job does not appeal to anyone in his current state because of his leprosy and distorted state. After all of these accusations and claims against Job, the thought that he may truly be innocent never crosses any of the friends minds.7 And after his friend’s speeches, Job’s other friend Elihu cannot hold his thoughts in any more and begins a tirade against Job.

In stark contrast to God’s presence in Genesis, the character of God in Job strays from the ideal perfection of the divine. The concept of the ideal manifested in Genesis is embodied in God’s moral, reasonable, and rational behavior. In Job, on the other hand, rather than being reasonable, methodical, and creating life, God displays more human characteristics and plays the role of both creator and destroyer. The book of Job begins with God’s boastful bargain with Satan, which subsequently leads God to allow the total destruction of Job’s family and livelihood. Job is even attacked physically with “loathsome sores… from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In an uncharacteristically immoral decision, God gives Satan the power do

The Book of Job has been praised but also neglected all at the same time. Its literary work is written in a poetry sense with a prose format and considered one of the greatest pieces of literature of all time. The Book of Job is one of first book of five generally called "The Books of Poetry", which contain Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The Book of Job is written in the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible and the main theme that is seeks out is "Why does God allow the righteous to suffer?" First of all I will be talking about the origins and history of the book, and then I will give a brief summary on the story and theme of what the Book of Job is addressing. I will then be breaking down, in

The Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible is characterized by the misery of a faithful servant of God, and how it relates to this character's ability to praise God. Job is an unwaveringly loyal and righteous subject of God, blessed with immense wealth and a beautiful family. One day God boasts to Satan of the innate goodness of Job, to which Satan questions “does Job fear God for nothing? … you have blessed the work of his hands … but stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (The Bible, Book of Job, 1:6-12). If Job has faced no trials and tribulations, and only experienced the bounty that

The end of the story has Job restored to his former state, living a long and prosperous life. As for his friends, they are not so lucky. God punishes them for misrepresenting Him, and asks that they give burnt offerings to Him, while Job prays for them.