Job 1:1-5

PROLOGUE TO THE GREAT TESTING

MYSTERY OF SILENCE JOB: MIRROR OF MODERN MANJob 1:1, Job 2:13

1. Job's wealth and piety (Job 1:1-5)

TEXT 1:1-5

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. (2) And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. (3) His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household) so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. (4) And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. (5) And It was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

COMMENT 1:1-5

Job: Whose Face in the Mirror?
He who knows the why can bear with any how.[26] Nietzsche

[26] Viktor Frank), the Viennese psychiatrist, powerfully uses Nietzsche's insight in the development of his Theory of Logotherapy. Dr. Frankl is surely psychologically correct in his assertion that man's search for meaning is our most fundamental project. See his Man's Search for Meaning.

The prose narrative of The Prologue (i.e., Job 1:1, Job 2:13) is divided into six scenes that unfold the dramatic events leading to the dialogue. The drama contains sparse yet powerful simplicity. Charges and countercharges are always delivered with an economy of words. Each dialogue is between two individuals only. Though these dialogues do not engender optimism for the miracle of dialogue (cf. R. Howe, The Miracle of Dialogue), as is often suggested in contemporary encounter literature, we do see the fundamental issues in sharpest focus. But only when Yahweh speaks (Chapter s Job 38:1, Job 41:26) do we experience The Shattering of Silence. Only the word from outside[27] can break the solitude of man enslaved in a world of sin and evil.[28]

[27] My forthcoming exegetical-theological commentary on The Johannine Epistles will be entitled The Word from Outside. How vital John's message is to the church in a world which is continuing to experience a crisis in knowledge and community.

[28]For analysis of this literary structure, See G. Fohrer's Zur Vorgeschichte und Komposition des Buches Hiob, Vetus Testamentum, 6 (1956), 249-67; H. Rongy, Le prologue du livre de Job, Revue ecclessiastique de Liege 25 (1934), 168-71; and N. M. Sarua, Epic Substratum in the Prose of Job, Journal of Biblical Literature 76 (1957), 13-25.

Job 1:1The verse does not begin with the standard Hebrew formula for a historical narrative there was a manwayehi -is but rather with the expression a man there was (-is hay ah). This phrase indicates a new beginning without any reference to preceding events (e.g. 2 Samuel 12:1 and Esther 2:5).[29]

[29] For exhaustive discussion, see E. Dhorme, Job (New York: Nelson, E. T., 1967, pp. 1ff.

There is strong evidence for two different locations for Job's homelandUz. Technically the location is feasible in either one of the two options: (1) One suggests Hauran, and (2) the other to Edom. As Job is identified with the people of the east, (Job 1:3) Hauran, i.e., a location northeast of Palestine, is more in harmony with the claim in Job 1:3. Job is not described as a Jew but rather as a foreigner. This claim suggests that we should not connect Uz with any specific contact in Palestine. Lamentations 4:21 says that the daughter of Edom dwells in Uz. Yet in Jeremiah 25:20 Uz is described separately from Edom, but related to the Philistines. Uz is said to be a son of Dishan and related to the area of Seir in Genesis 36:28. Uz is the name of a son of Aram in Genesis 10:23 (see Josephus, Antiquities, 1.6.4) and of Nahor's oldest son in Genesis 22:21. In a special appendix to Job in the LXX (Job 42:17), Job's homeland is located near Idumea and Arabia. The above possibilities place Job in both the north and the south, but in all probability the suggestions that Hauran or a northern location is closest to the data found in the verse is to be accepted.

The root meaning of the name Job also presents a difficulty. In Hebrew the name is spelled -Iyyob (possible root -ybmeaning the hated one or aggressor). Job the person is pictured as a great near eastern potentate, who was in all probability a comparatively young man (Job 15:10). His character is analyzed in four virtues: (1) Blameless (Hebrew -tarn is similar in import to the Latin word integer, perfect or well rounded). His character is without flaw or inconsistency. The Hebrew word does not mean sinless; perhaps our English word integrity adequately expresses the connotation. (2) Upright (Heb. Yasarlife and behavior measured up to a standard; one who is upright in relations to otherssee Psalms 25:21 for parallel between perfection and uprightness). (3) Fearing God means a relationship based on obedient reverences, cf. Proverbs 3:7; Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 16:6. (4) Avoiding evilor turned away from evil means that Job deliberately and persistently chooses the good. Right living before God always means obedience to the will of the Lord; and reverence is the very foundation of obedience.

Job 1:2Directly following the analysis of Job's character, our text reveals the close connection between Job's uprightness and the Lord's reward (Psalms 127:3; Psalms 128:6) of many children. The grammar contains a consecutive waw which could be translated and so there were born to him as a result of his righteousness (compare with 1 Samuel 2:5; Ruth 4:15; and Job 42:13).

Job 1:3Job's blessings include such property as a seminomadic potentate might possess (Genesis 12:16; Genesis 24:35). The collective term miqneh is translated by substance in our A. V. text. The term usually designates cattle and sheep and does not include the main sign of the nomad's wealth, camels and asses. The female asses were valued for both their milk and their foals. They were also easier to ride than the male asses. Job's wealth was so enormous that he was the greatest (Heb. verb be, become greatGenesis 26:13) of all the easterners (Hebrew qedeni). In Genesis 29:1 the term describes the Arameans near the Euphrates. In Isaiah 11:14 the word refers to Israel's enemies to the east, i.e., Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites in contrast to the Philistines on the west. (See also Judges 6:3; Judges 6:33; Judges 7:12; Jeremiah 49:8; Ezekiel 25:4).

Job 1:4Though it is not clear from our text whether or not the sons were married, they had their own homes, like David's two sons (2 Samuel 13:7; 2 Samuel 14:28). Like David's daughters, Job's unmarried daughters stayed in their father's house (2 Samuel 13:7-8; 2 Samuel 13:20). It is not to be assumed that we are being confronted with incessant celebration, though the verb forms are in the perfect tense of habit. Probably, the feast was a yearly affair, such as found in Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:26; Numbers 29:35; and 2 Chronicles 7:9. This much is certain from our texteach of the seven sons had his celebration in his own house, and that their sisters were present at each meeting. Those commenters who suggest impropriety, rather than deep affection, have the disadvantage of being at variance with the entire spirit of the drama. Misfortune came upon Job's household when there was no rational explanation for the calamity. We must also remember that not one of Job's three friends suggested any impropriety within Job's family.

Job 1:5Apparently Job did not visit any of the festive celebrations. As soon as sons and daughters had completed the days of their feast, Job sends a summons to his sons. The purpose of the summons is to invite them to the sacrifices which he would offer, as in the case of Balaam, Numbers 23:1; Numbers 23:14; Numbers 23:29. The prescribed sacrifices in Job 42:8 are seven bulls and seven rams, as in the Balaam account. The term translated burnt offerings is not the term used for sin offering, but it is clear that the sacrifice is for the propitiation of sins which they might have committed during the heat of wine. Job rose up early (Heb. verb hsem means to rise early and also connotes quickly, urgentlyJeremiah 7:13; Hosea 6:4; Zephaniah 3:7) and offered the sacrifice. The Hebrew word translated renounced Elohim in our text literally means blessed. It is a euphemism for cursed and is so used in Job 1:11; Job 2:5; Job 2:9; 1 Kings 21:10; 1 Kings 21:13; Psalms 10:3.[30] The Hebrew word translated heart means even in the inner thoughts and attitudes. The Hebrew lev or levav means seat of the intellect and will more than of the affections and emotions.[31]

[30] Much that is found in S. H. Blank, Hebrew Union College Annual, XXIII, Part 1,1950-1, 83ff, is unnecessary for adequate understanding of this euphemism.

[31] For thorough analysis of the biblical vocabulary translated heart, see J. Behm, Kardia, TWNT 2, 609-616; and R. Jewett, Paul's Anthropological Terms (Leiden: Brill, 1971), esp. pp. 305ff.