THE BOOK OF JOB

This Book takes its name from the holy man of whom it treats: who, according to the more probable opinion, was of the race of Esau; and the same as Jobab, king of Edom, mentioned Gen. 36.33. It is uncertain who was the writer of it. Some attribute it to Job himself; others to Moses, or some one of the prophets. In the Hebrew it is written in verse, from the beginning of the third chapter to the forty-second chapter.

Job Chapter 1

Job's virtue and riches. Satan by permission from God strippeth him of all his substance. His patience.

1:1. There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.

Hus. . .The land of Hus was a part of Edom; as appears from Lam. 4.21.--Ibid. Simple. . .That is, innocent, sincere, and without guile.

1:2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

1:3. And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.

1:4. And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.

And made a feast by houses. . .That is, each made a feast in his own house and had his day, inviting the others, and their sisters.

1:5. And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early, offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.

Blessed. . .For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the scripture both here and ver. 11, and in the following chapter, ver. 5 and 9, uses the word bless to signify its contrary.

1:6. Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them.

The sons of God. . .The angels.--Ibid. Satan also, etc. This passage represents to us in a figure, accommodated to the ways and understandings of men, 1. The restless endeavours of Satan against the servants of God; 2. That he can do nothing without God's permission; 3. That God doth not permit him to tempt them above their strength: but assists them by his divine grace in such manner, that the vain efforts of the enemy only serve to illustrate their virtue and increase their merit.

1:7. And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.

1:8. And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil?

1:9. And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?

1:10. Hast thou not made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath increased on the earth?

1:11. But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless thee not to thy face.

1:12. Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

1:13. Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,

1:14. There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them,

1:15. And the Sabeans rushed in, and took all away, and slew the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

1:16. And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

1:17. And while he also was yet speaking, there came another, and said: The Chaldeans made three troops, and have fallen upon the camels, and taken them; moreover, they have slain the servants with the sword: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

1:18. He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,

1:19. A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

1:20. Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

1:21. And said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.

1:22. In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish thing against God.