Bible Study Reader

Job

Introduction

Job (Hebrew: Iyyov, possibly meaning "persecuted" or "where is the father?") is one of the wisdom books of the Old Testament and is widely considered among the greatest works of literature in human history. Its authorship is uncertain — Jewish tradition attributes it to Moses, while others suggest Job himself, Elihu, or Solomon as possible authors. The events likely take place during the patriarchal era (roughly the time of Abraham or earlier), as evidenced by Job's long lifespan, his role as a family priest, the absence of any reference to the Mosaic law or the nation of Israel, and the use of the divine name Shaddai (the Almighty), which is characteristic of the pre-Mosaic period.

The book addresses the most enduring question of human existence: why do the righteous suffer? It is written for anyone who struggles with the apparent injustice of undeserved pain. Through a dramatic dialogue between Job, his friends, and ultimately God Himself, the book dismantles the simplistic idea that suffering is always a direct punishment for sin. Instead, it reveals that God's ways are beyond human comprehension, that faith can persist without answers, and that encountering God Himself — not an explanation — is the ultimate resolution to human suffering.

Structure

The book of Job has a distinctive structure that frames a poetic dialogue within a prose narrative:

Prologue: The Test (Chapters 1-2)

A prose narrative set in heaven and on earth that establishes Job's righteousness, Satan's challenge, and the catastrophic losses Job endures.

Dialogue Cycle: The Debate (Chapters 3-27)

Three rounds of speeches in which Job's friends argue that he must have sinned, and Job protests his innocence and questions God's justice.

First Cycle (3-14):

Second Cycle (15-21):

Third Cycle (22-27):

Wisdom Interlude (Chapter 28)

A magnificent poem on the inaccessibility of wisdom to human beings — it can be mined from no earth and bought at no price. Only God knows where wisdom resides, and the fear of the Lord is its beginning.

Job's Final Defense (Chapters 29-31)

Job delivers a three-part closing monologue:

Elihu's Speeches (Chapters 32-37)

A younger man, Elihu son of Barachel, who has been listening in silence, now speaks in four speeches. He rebukes both Job and his three friends, arguing that suffering can be God's discipline and instruction rather than punishment.

God Speaks (Chapters 38-41)

The climax of the book. The LORD answers Job out of the whirlwind — not to explain his suffering, but to reveal His sovereign power and wisdom through a series of unanswerable questions about creation.

Epilogue: Restoration (Chapter 42)

A prose conclusion in which God rebukes the three friends, vindicates Job, and restores his fortunes twofold.

Chapter Summaries

  1. Job is introduced as a blameless and prosperous man; Satan challenges God that Job only worships Him because of his blessings, and God permits Satan to destroy Job's possessions and children.
  2. Satan strikes Job with painful sores from head to foot; Job's wife urges him to curse God, but Job refuses, and his three friends — Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar — arrive to comfort him.
  3. Job breaks his silence and curses the day of his birth, wishing he had never been born or had died at birth.
  4. Eliphaz responds, arguing that the innocent do not perish and recounting a mysterious nighttime vision that declared no mortal can be righteous before God.
  5. Eliphaz continues, urging Job to seek God and assuring him that God wounds but also binds up, and that those who turn to Him will be blessed.
  6. Job replies that his anguish is justified, wishes God would crush him and end his life, and accuses his friends of being as unreliable as dried-up streams.
  7. Job laments the brevity and futility of human life and asks God why He has made him a target, refusing to let him rest even long enough to swallow his saliva.
  8. Bildad argues that God does not pervert justice — if Job's children sinned, they received what they deserved — and urges Job to seek God so that He will restore him.
  9. Job acknowledges God's overwhelming power and wisdom but despairs that no one can contend with God in a legal dispute, since there is no arbiter between them.
  10. Job pours out his complaint directly to God, asking why God formed him only to destroy him, and begs for a brief respite before he dies.
  11. Zophar rebukes Job, insisting that God is actually punishing him less than he deserves, and tells him to put away his sin so that he may be restored.
  12. Job sarcastically responds that his friends are not the only wise ones, declares that even the animals know God controls all things, and asserts that God tears down what cannot be rebuilt.
  13. Job tells his friends they are worthless physicians who plaster over the truth with lies, and he resolves to present his case directly before God, even if it costs him his life.
  14. Job reflects on the brevity of human life, comparing a person to a fading flower, and laments that unlike a tree that can sprout again when cut down, a person dies and does not rise.
  15. Eliphaz becomes harsher, accusing Job of undermining the fear of God with his words and asking whether Job thinks he is wiser than the aged and wiser than God's own consolation.
  16. Job calls his friends miserable comforters and describes how God has shattered him, yet he appeals to a witness in heaven who will vouch for him before God.
  17. Job despairs that his days are spent and his hope is gone, and the only house awaiting him is the grave.
  18. Bildad describes in vivid detail the terrible fate that awaits the wicked — their light is snuffed out, they are caught in traps, and their memory is erased from the earth.
  19. Job protests that his friends have tormented him and declares his triumphant confidence that his Redeemer lives and that in the end he will see God with his own eyes.
  20. Zophar describes how the joy of the wicked is brief — though evil is sweet in their mouth, it turns to venom in their stomach, and God's wrath will consume them.
  21. Job challenges the friends' neat theology by pointing out that the wicked often prosper, live long lives, and die in peace, while their punishment is nowhere to be seen.
  22. Eliphaz directly accuses Job of specific sins — exploiting the poor, withholding bread from the hungry, and mistreating widows and orphans — and urges him to repent and return to God.
  23. Job longs to find God and present his case, confident he would be acquitted, but God cannot be found; yet Job insists that God knows the way he takes and that he will come forth as gold.
  24. Job describes the injustices of the world — the wicked oppress the poor, the needy suffer without relief — and questions why God does not set times of judgment.
  25. Bildad's brief final speech declares that God is majestic and that no human being can be pure or righteous before Him.
  26. Job responds with biting irony, then describes God's power over the cosmos — He stretches the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
  27. Job affirms his integrity with an oath, refusing to concede his friends' argument, and describes the hopelessness of the godless when God takes away their life.
  28. A hymn to wisdom declares that it cannot be found by mining the earth or purchased with gold; only God understands its way, and for humanity, the fear of the Lord is wisdom.
  29. Job recalls his former life — the respect he received, the good he did for the poor and vulnerable, and the authority he held as a leader in his community.
  30. Job contrasts his former honor with his present humiliation, mocked by the lowest of society, afflicted by God, and crying out without receiving any answer.
  31. Job takes a comprehensive oath of innocence, denying lust, falsehood, injustice, greed, idolatry, and every other sin, and calls on God to answer him.
  32. Elihu, a younger man who has waited to speak out of respect, grows angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends for failing to refute Job.
  33. Elihu argues that God does speak to people — through dreams and through suffering — in order to turn them back from the pit and restore them to life.
  34. Elihu insists that God is perfectly just and does not pervert justice; it is unthinkable that the Almighty would do wrong, for He governs the whole earth impartially.
  35. Elihu argues that human righteousness or wickedness does not affect God in His transcendence, and that the reason prayers go unanswered is human pride.
  36. Elihu declares that God is mighty yet does not despise anyone; He uses suffering to open people's ears to instruction and to deliver the afflicted through their affliction.
  37. Elihu points to the majesty of God displayed in thunderstorms, snow, and ice, and asks Job whether he can understand the wonders of the One who is perfect in knowledge.
  38. The LORD answers Job from the whirlwind, challenging him with questions about the creation of the earth, the sea, the dawn, the storehouses of snow, the stars, and the habits of wild animals.
  39. The LORD continues describing His care over the mountain goats, the wild donkey, the ox, the ostrich, the horse, and the hawk — creatures Job cannot command or comprehend.
  40. Job admits he is unworthy to answer and puts his hand over his mouth; the LORD speaks again, pointing to Behemoth as an example of His power over creation.
  41. The LORD describes Leviathan in terrifying detail — a creature no human can tame or subdue — declaring that everything under heaven belongs to Him.
  42. Job repents in dust and ashes, confessing he spoke of things he did not understand; the LORD rebukes the three friends and vindicates Job, then restores Job's fortunes twofold, blessing his latter days more than his former.