And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. The psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, the song of solomon and lamentations. Even the snake in the genesis account is an anthropomorphism of eves intellect as in ancient egyptian mythology the snake sym. Top 5 commentaries on the book of job ligonier ministries. The loss of jobs property, and the death of his children. Commentary on the book of job chapter four by wm w wells. The book of job introduction the book of job belongs to the poetical books of the old testament. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. Job 15 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on the. The book of job and the role of uncertainty in religion and law. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of.
The purpose of the book of job is to explore gods policies with regard to suffering in the world, especially by the righteous or the innocent. The date of composition of the book of job in the context of. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. Hartley deals carefully with this book whose language, text, and theology are not only among the most intriguing in the old testament but also among the most difficult to grasp. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. I have found that excellent commentaries on the book of job are hard to come by. Andersons volume is part of the totc and is necessarily limited by the series. The book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Jobs story invites us to consider what it means that god runs. Another indication that job lived early in history is the fact that his wealth is measured in terms of livestock 1. A critical and exegetical commentary on the book of job.
The book of job new international commentary on the old. The book of job has long been hailed by biblical scholars as a literary masterpiece. The author of the book of job incorporated the folk book into his work in a manner still showing traces of the component parts. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Best commentaries and books on job logos bible software. Commentary on the book of job with translation logos bible. Moses wrote the five books of the torah and the book of balaam and job. All my other re3ferences regarding job are measured against this one. He insists job only serves god because god protects him and seeks gods permission to test jobs faith and loyalty. Bob utley, retired professor of hermeneutics biblical interpretation table of contents. Commentary on the book of job sermon by eric hanson, job 1.
Job commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. Commentary on the book of job by matthew henry old. See also greg parsons excellent article on job guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job from bibliotheca sacra 151, 1994, pages 3934 introduction the reader who desires to unlock the rich theological treasures contained in the book of job should assume its literary unity. Maimonides, a famous medieval jewish scholar, thought a lot about the book of job. Andersen, tyndale old testament commentaries totc, intervarsity press, 1976, 318 pp. Kushner offers an analysis of the book of job, one of. Job overview james burton coffman commentaries on the bible.
There were at least two authors of the book of job. Job begins another section the poetical books of the bible which also includes psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, song of solomon, and the little book of lamentations, tucked in behind jeremiah. You can find the best commentary on job for you using the tools on the right side. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal age with noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, and other heads of. You will also find options for commentaries on job that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. Read by a modern clinician, the book becomes a treatise on adaptation to illness and loss, on doctorpatient relationships, and on the role of belief systems in the. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. Or perhaps this is an at least partially an afterward because i write this after i have completed half of the melding together of roger hahns online crivoice bible study and the excerpts from john c. He also examines the date and history of job as well. The book sheds a remarkable light on the philosophic breadth and intellectual culture of the patriarchal age. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.
Read christian news christian columns christian song lyrics christian mailing lists. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god and only you can defile it and cause god to reject it. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times, was offered literally, caused to ascend, referring to the smoke. Job 15 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Satan targets job because of his righteousness and favour with god and wishes to turn job against god. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children. In the introduction to this commentary, therefore, we provide a preliminary exploration of the literary characteristics of the book of job and their significance for interpreting the major theological. At one point in history, perhaps somewhere around the sixth century a. Johnson is able to identify the various stages of grief that job goes through and correlate each stage and the response from the friends in current psychological terms.
Job proves faithful to god in prosperity and in adversity. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. The narrative framework of the book tells the story of job as a very rich man who lives in the land of uz. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to the original book. In the book of genesis, god placed a curse on adam and eve subsequent to the fall, saying, i will put enmity between you and the woman genesis 3. His story is a difficult one to understand in all its specifics, but we can glean useful and soulsaving nuggets from it. The theme of the book of job is nothing less than human suffering and the transcendence of it. The subject of the book of job is gods dealings with mankind in his governmental ways in a world in which satan, the adversary of god, has introduced sin, suffering and death. Study the bible online using commentary on job and more. Jul 01, 2015 commentary on the book of job here is my rather lengthy work concerning the book of job. Nevertheless these ways of god with mankind have always a good purpose romans 8. It is certainly not a sermon actually, but could serve to help prepare wither a single sermon or a series regarding this book. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times. This view was embraced by the author of the anonymous chronicle, who writes.
It is found in the third section of the biblical canon. When teaching our adult sunday school class on job, my old bible college proffesor recommended this volume and it opened the book of job to me in new and exciting ways. Internet archive bookreader commentary on the book of job. This commentary on job follows in the tradition of the nicot series by providing an uptodate evangelical commentary based on thorough scholarship. This to me is the overriding teaching of the book of job. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers.
Commentary on the book of job chapter one by wm w wells. No answers are given, but god reminds us to trust his wisdom and. This we must keep in mind if we would understand what passed. Comm writes, moses sojourn in midian would have enabled him to become acquainted with this local story. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. Book of job perspectives from faith communities in practice.
The word enmity here is eybah strong, h342 and also derives from the root word ayab. Matthew henrys concise commentary on the book of job. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. Secondly, we can see from jobs behavior that he continues to go above and beyond in following god spiritually. In the process it seeks to revolutionize our thinking about god and the way that he runs the world. Nov 18, 2015 3 common misconceptions in the book of job,leland ryken study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc.
Andersen job tyndale old testament commentaries, 1976. Yet very few have taken the literary dimensions of the text into account in their exegetical analysis. Book of job is accounted by most christians among the wisdom literature but not under major or minor prophets. Settings about this book read aloud search share this book settings one page two pages thumbnails zoom. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end.
Commentary on the book of job here is my rather lengthy work concerning the book of job. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. This is the question, the answering of which is made the theme of the book of job looking to the conclusion of the book, the answer stands. Job, possibly the strangest book in the bible, is based on legends going back thousands of years, and is written in a very unusual form of hebrew. In the book of job, we find questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. In this blog, well explore the final chapters of the book of job. In the hebrew bible they are found in the third section, called kethubim the writings, hagiographa. Job introduction scofield reference bible commentary. Job 41 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Commentary on the book of job with translation logos. The invulnerabuity of leviathan the crocodile here we have the crowning description of a natural wonder, the leviathan crocodile, with an elaboration to which there is no parallel in the rest of the scriptures, forming a fitting climax to the gradually more and more elaborate descriptions in job 3941. He worships god sincerely and regularly, and most importantly, is a truly righteous person in the sight of god job 1. A phonological existential analysis to the book of job. This book is so called from job, whose prosperity, afflictions, and restoration, are here recorded.
In the introduction, ewald gives context to the format, content, and style of the book as poem. As keith mathison says, for those seeking a more introductory level commentary on the book of job, francis andersons commentary is the best place to start. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. It has sought to bring together all the relevant aids to exegesislinguistic and textual no less than archaeological, historical, literary and theologicalwith a level of comprehension and quality of scholarship unmatched by any other series. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. But the odious judgments made by his friends caution us against making toocertain application of any model to our own lives. This current article a phonological existential analysis to the book of job explores the various ways that jobs friends attempted to help him deal with his grief. Brief definitions of hebrew verbal forms that impact exegesis. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as. The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering.
God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so. What are, to our best knowledge, the origins of the book. The use of this preexisting material very cleverly placed the problem outside of palestine, thereby excluding the possible objection of orthodox theology that such a casea perfectly righteous man persecuted by yhwh. Job is the central figure of the book of job in the bible. For francis andersen, the old testament book about job is one of the. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the. Therefore i despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. The first quality we notice regarding the book of job is its poetic medium. How do you trust god even when life isnt fair and you suffer for no good reason. Getting biblical in daily life jewish perspective thinking for yourself. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal age with noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, and other heads of households see job 3842. Read job commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete.
Whatever would possess the rabbis to include the book of job as one of the official books in the canon of holy writ. Job was a wealthy but righteous and godfearing man. The book of job opens with a scene in heaven where satan comes to accuse job before god. German bible scholar georg ewald turns his attention to the book of job in this commentary. Job lived for 140 years after the events recorded in the book 14. Hartleys commentary goes a long way to filling the gap. A history, the beginning and end of the book were written in prose, but the remainder of the book was written as poetry. Victor hugo the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature. The name job indicates one who is hated or persecuted. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid. He lived soon after abraham, or perhaps before that patriarch. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. Most likely it was written by job himself, and it is the most ancient book in existence. This wisdom book of hebrew poetry portrays the suffering of job, his patience, and loyalty to god.
This is a good approach with wisdom literature and much of. Brief explanations of the technical resources used in this commentary. This is true whether the term or idiom is repeated within the same line or verse e. The book of job kindle edition by mitchell, stephen. As keith mathison says, for those seeking a more introductory level commentary on the book of job. For example, that the book of job is in fact in all likelihood a patchwork of at least 2 or 3 different works, written by different people in different times. He systematically goes over each section of job as a drama, highlighting the contentions and resolutions throughout. John hartley the book of job new international commentary on the old testament, 1988. While the main theme of the book can be rather simply stated, the interpretation of various passages and the intentions of the speakers are not. Kushner doesnt take the time to go verse by verse and explain what is being said and i think that is a good in this book, rabbi h. Why do afflictions upon afflictions befall the righteous man. Satan undertook to prove job a hypocrite by afflicting him.
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