Segment:
Outline:
· The prose section
of Job covers 1:1-2:13 and 42:7-17.
o
This is the beginning and end of the book.
Notes:
· 1:1- Uz believed
by many to be Edom, but don’t know for sure.
· 1:5- Sin
offerings are covered in Torah
· 1:6- Satan
is actually ha-satan in the Hebrew
o
ha= the, satan= accuser or adversary
o
Implied this is some being that is part of the
heavenly court
o
The word in Hebrew is used for both human and divine
beings.
· 1:9- Hebrew
for fear- yara
o
Means “fear” more in the sense in honor and deep
respect/ awe.
· 2:9-
“Curse”- barakh- actually means to
bless as in to praise (cf.1:21)
· 2:12- Tearing
one’s robes in Hebrew Scripture is a sign of mourning.
· 42:11 evil-
raah- evil in the sense of misfortune
or distress
· 42:12- same
word for bless as in 1:21 and 2:9.
· 42:15-
giving inheritance to women would’ve been unusual in this age
· 42:17- “died,
old and full of days”- same ending for Isaac and David
o
cf. Genesis 35:29 and 1 Chronicles 23:1
o
Davidson in New
Interpreter’s Bible- Neither Issac or David had happy ends to their lives
“Perhaps this is the storyteller’s covert way of saying that although Job may
have appeared appeased, he never fully recovered from his tribulations.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Why is Job
righteous? Is it in his nature or is it his way of surviving?
2. Is he a
character you can connect to? Why or why not?
3. What do we
think of the set up with ha-satan?
a. Is he part
of the heavenly court?
b. Is this a
sign that God is completely in control of all things?
c. Is this at
all similar to our idea of Satan today?
4. Is Satan
trying to inflict harm on Job or show he’s not really just?
5. Do we need
to go through trials to truly acknowledge God as Lord?
6. What are
your thoughts on Job’s words in 1:21?
·
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I
return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name
of the Lord.”
7. Do you
believe ha-satan that people will
give all they have to save their
lives?
8. Job’s
friend sit with him in silent mourning. What do you do with your friends or
loved ones in their mourning?
9. What do you
think of Job’s fortunes being restored at the end?
10. Do you think that Job was restored or
did he still hold on to his pain?
11. Could there be a sense of resurrection in
this story? (cf. Long)
Sources:
Davidson,
Lisa ed. “The Book of Job”, The New
Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.
Long, Thomas G. What
Shall We Say?: Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2011.