![]() It is generally understood by modern scholars that the central poetic section of the book, in which Job is forced by his changed circumstances to reject his simplistically pious views, was ironically and intentionally set between the beginning and end of a conventionally pious story of a man called Job who remained faithful to God in his suffering. The book closes with an epilogue (42:7-17), conventionally, as it began, almost as though Job had not uttered a single negative word he recovers and is given a new family. ![]() Job ultimately calls God to court (as it were), to answer the charge of injustice, and Job does receive an “answer” two speeches by God from the midst of a storm, or whirlwind–the meaning of which have been the subject of much theological speculation. ![]() This central section consists of the “comforting” words of his friends, who try to persuade Job that if he is suffering he must have sinned, and Job’s increasingly bitter retorts that he is innocent, and that his punishment is undeserved. The tone of the work abruptly changes, however, in chapter 3, as Job begins his poetic speeches by cursing the day on which he was born. Read the full text of the Book of Job in Hebrew and English here. At the end of the prologue, Job has suffered many terrible losses, including his children and his health, but he nevertheless remains “patient,” refusing to speak against God. The book of Job begins with a prologue (Job 1-2), which describes a wager between Satan and God, in which Satan (“the adversary”) bets God that Job–a particularly pious man–will abandon his piety and curse God if all his wealth and well-being are taken away. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate ![]()
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