Saints celebrated on the 10th of May
JOB, PATRIARCH
Many look upon the entire contents of the [biblical] Book of Job [Hiob] as a freely invented parable which is neither historical nor intended to be considered historical; no such man as Job ever lived. Catholic commentators, however, almost without exception, hold Job to have actually existed and his personality to have been preserved by popular tradition. Nothing in the text makes it necessary to doubt his historical existence. The Scriptures seem repeatedly to take this for granted (cf. Ezekiel 14:14; James 5:11; Tobit 2:12-15, according to the Vulgate — in the Greek text of Tobias there is no mention of Job). All the Fathers considered Job an historical person.
The Martyrology of the Latin Church mentions Job on May 10, that of the Greek Church on May 6. The Book of Job, therefore, has a kernel of fact, with which have been united many imaginative additions that are not strictly historical. What is related by the poet in the prose prologue and epilogue is in the main historical: the persons of the hero and his friends; the region where be lived; his good fortune and virtues; the great misfortune that overwhelmed him and the patience with which he bore it; the restoration of his Prosperity. It is also to be accepted that Job and his friends discussed the origin of his sufferings, and that in so doing views were expressed similar to those the poet puts into the mouths of his characters. The details of the execution, the poetic form, and the art shown in the arrangement of the arguments in the dispute are, however, the free creation of the author. The figures expressive of the wealth of Job both before and after his trial are imaginatively rounded. Also in the narrative of the misfortunes it is impossible not to recognise a poetic conception which need not be considered as strictly historical. The scene in heaven (1:6; 2:1) is plainly an allegory which shows that the Providence of God guides the destiny of man. The manifestation of God (38:1) generally receives a literal interpretation from commentators. Saint Thomas, however, remarks that it may also be taken metaphorically as an inner revelation accorded to Job.
DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BOOK OF JOB
The Church teaches that the book was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thus all that its author gives as historical fact or otherwise guarantees possesses unfailing Divine truth. The question, however, arises, what does the book guarantee?
a) Everything in prologue or epilogue that is the comment of the author is Divine truth; nevertheless, what is perhaps poetic ornament must not be confounded with historical verity or objective dogmatic precepts. The same authority is possessed by the utterances assigned by the poet to God. The like is true of the speeches of Eliu. Some think the speeches of Eliu are to be judged just as are those of Job and his friends.
b) The speeches of Job and his three friends have in themselves no Divine authority, but only such human importance as Job and his three friends are Personally entitled to. They have, however, Divine authority when, and in as far as, they are approved by the author expressly or tacitly. In general, such tacit approbation is to be understood for all points concerning which the disputants agree, unless the author, or God, or Eliu, shows disapproval. Thus the words of Job have in large degree Divine authority, because the view he maintains against the three friends is plainly characterised by the author as the one relatively correct. Yet much that the three friends say is of equal importance, because it is at least tacitly approved. Saint Paul argues (1 Corinthians 3:19) from a speech of Eliphaz (Job 5:13) as from an inspired writing. (c) In particular places, especially where descriptions of nature are given or other secular matters are referred to, the caution prescribed by the rules of hermeneutics should be observed.
THE CHIEF PERSONAGE OF THE BOOK OF JOB
(a) JOB'S NAME
He is called the “persecuted one”, that is, the one tempted by (personified) suffering, the one hard beset, the patient sufferer. It is no longer possible to decide whether the name was originally different and was later changed into the expressive form in folklore on account of Job’s fate. Many commentators do not accept this explanation of the name.
(b) THE AGE IN WHICH JOB LIVED
According to the usual and well-founded assumption, Job lived long before Moses. This is shown by the great age he attained. He was no longer young when overtaken by his great misfortune (12:12; 30:1); after his restoration he lived one hundred and forty years longer (42:16). His wealth like that of the Patriarchs, consisted largely in flocks and herds (1:3; 42:12). The kesitah or piece of money mentioned in 42:11, belongs to patriarchal times; the only other places in which the expression occurs are Genesis 33:19, and Joshua 24:32. The musical instruments referred to (21:12; 30:31) are only those mentioned in Genesis (Genesis 4:21; 31:27): organ, harp, and timbrel. Job himself offers sacrifice as the father of the family (1:5), as was also the custom of the Patriarchs. An actual offering for sin in the Mosaic sense he was not acquainted with; the holocaust took its place (1:5; 42:8).
(c) JOB'S RELIGION
Job evidently did not belong to the chosen people. He lived, indeed, outside of Palestine. He and the other characters betray no knowledge of the specifically Israelitic institutions. Even the name of God peculiar to the chosen people, Yahweh, is carefully avoided by the speakers in the poetic part of the book, and is only found, as if accidentally, in 12:9, and according to some manuscripts in 28:28. The sacrifice in 42:8, recalls the sacrifice of Balaam (Numbers 23:1), consequently a custom outside of Israel. For the solution of the problem of suffering the revelations made to the Patriarchs or even Moses are never referred to. Nevertheless Job and his friends venerated the one true God. They also knew of the Flood (22:16), and the first man (15:7, and Hebrews 31:33).
(d) JOB'S COUNTRY
Job belonged to the “people of the East” (1:3). Under this name were included the Arabian (Genesis 25:6) and Aramaean (Numbers 33:7) tribes which lived east of the Jordan basin and in the region of the Euphrates (Genesis 29:1). Job seems to have been an Aramaean, for he lived in the land of Hus. Hus, a man’s name in Genesis, is always used there in close connection with Aram and the Aramaean (Genesis 10:23; 22:21; 36:28). His home was certainly not far from Edom where Eliphaz lived, and it must be sought in Eastern Palestine, not too far north, although in the region inhabited by the Aramaeans. It was located on the border of the Syro-Arabian desert, for it was exposed to the attacks of the marauding bands which wandered through this desert: the Chaldeans (1:17) of the lower Euphrates and the Sabeans (1:15), or Arabs. Many, following an old tradition, place the home of Job in the Hauran, in the district of Naiwa (or Neve), which is situated about 36° East of Greenwich and in almost the same latitude as the northern end of Lake Genesareth. The location is possible, but positive proof is lacking. Some seek the home of Job in Idumea, others in the land of the Ausitai, who, according to Ptolemy, lived in Northern Arabia near the Babylon. The land of Hus is also mentioned in Jeremiah 25:20, and Lamentations 4:21. In the first reference it is used in a general sense for the whole East; in the latter it is said that the Edomites live there.
(e) THE STANDING OF JOB
Job was one of the most important men of the land (1:3; 29:25) and had many bondsmen (31:39). The same is true of the friends who visited him; in the Book of Tobias these are called “kings” (Tobit 2:15, in Vulgate). In the Book of Job also Job seems to be described as a king with many vassals under him (29). That he had brothers and relations is seen in 19 and in the epilogue.
(f) Job and Jobab
An appendix to the Book of Job in the Septuagint identifies Job with King Jobab of Edom (Genesis 36:33). Nothing in the book shows that Job was ruler of Edom; in Hebrew the two names have nothing in common.
- Eliphaz, Baldad and Sophar
The most important of Job’s three friends was Eliphaz of Theman. The name shows him to be an Edomite (Genesis 36:11,15). The Themanites of Edom were famous for their wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7; Obadiah 5; Baruch 3:22 sq.). Eliphaz was one of these sages (15:9). He was far advanced in years (15:10), and much older than the already elderly Job (30:1). The second of Job’s friends was Baidad the Suhite, who seems to have belonged to Northern Arabia, for Sue was a son of Abraham by Cetura (Genesis 25:2,6). He may have been of the same age as Job. The third friend, Sophar, was probably also an Arabian. The Hebrew text calls him a Naamathite. Naama was a small town in the territory belonging to Juda (Joshua 15:41), but Sophar hardly lived there. Perhaps the preferable reading is that of the Septuagint which calls Sophar always a Minaean; the Minaeans were an Arabian tribe. Sophar was far younger than Job (cf. Job’s reply to Sophar, 12:11-12; 13:1-2).
- Eliu
Like Job, Eliu the Buzite was an Aramean; at least this is indicated by his native country, Buz, for Buz is closely connected (Genesis 22:21) with Hus. Eliu was much younger than Sophar (32:6).
- Listeners
Besides the speakers a large number of listeners were present at the discussion (34:2,34); some maintained a neutral position, as did Eliu at first.
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK OF JOB
The Book of Job consists of (1) a prologue in prose (1-2), (2) a poetic, main division (3-42:6), and (3) an epilogue also in prose (42:7-17).
(1) The prologue narrates how, with the permission of God, a holy man Job is tried by Satan with severe afflictions, in order to test his virtue. In succession Job bears six great temptations with heroic patience, and without the slightest murmuring against God or wavering in loyalty to him. Then Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Baldad, and Sophar, come to console him. Their visit is to become the seventh and greatest trial.
(2) The poetical, main division of the book presents in a succession of speeches the course of this temptation. The three friends are fully convinced that trouble is always a result of wrongdoing. They consider Job, therefore, a great sinner and stigmatize his assertions of innocence as hypocrisy. Job is hurt by the suspicion of his friends. He protests that he is no evil-doer, that God punishes him against his deserts. In the course of his speech he fails in reverence towards God, Who appears to him not unrighteous, but more as a severe, hard, and somewhat inconsiderate ruler than as a kind Father. Taking into consideration that the language is poetic, it is true that his expressions cannot be pushed too far, but the sharp reproofs of Eliu (34:1-9,36-37; 35:16) and of Yahweh (38:2; 40:3-9) leave no doubt of his sin. In answering his friends Job emphasizes that God indeed is accustomed to reward virtue and to punish wickedness (27:7-23; 31). He even threatens his friends with the judgment of God on account of their unfriendly suspicion (6:14; 13:7-12; 17:4; 19:29). He rightly proves, however violently, that in this world the rule has many exceptions. Almost universally, he says, the wicked triumph and the innocent suffer (9:22-24, 21, 24). Yet for all this Job, like his friends, regards all suffering as a punishment for personal sins, although he does not, as his friends, consider it a punishment of gross sin. Job looks upon the sufferings of the righteous as an almost unjust severity of God, which he inflicts for the slightest mistakes, and which the most virtuous man cannot escape (7:21; 9:30-21; 10:6,13-14). The expressions of depression and irreverence uttered by Job are, besides, only venial sins, which human beings can never fully avoid. Job himself says that his words are not to be taken too exactly, they are almost the involuntary expression of his pain (6:2-10,26-27). Many of his utterances have the character of temptations in thought which force themselves out almost against the will, rather than of voluntary irreverence towards God, although Job’s error was greater than he was willing to acknowledge. Thus Job bore all the tests triumphantly, even those caused by his friends. No matter how terrible the persecutions of God might be, Job held fast to Him (6:8-10) and drew ever closer to Him (17:9). In the midst of his sufferings he lauds God’s power (26:5-14) and wisdom (28). Satan, who had boasted that he could lead Job into sin against God (1:11; 2:5), is discredited. The epilogue testifies expressly to Job’s faithfulness (42:7-9). After much discourse (3-22) Job finally succeeds in silencing the three friends, although he is not able to convince them of his innocence. In a series of monologues (23-31), interrupted only by a short speech by Baldad (25), he once more renews his complaints (23-24), extols the greatness of God (26-28), and closes with a forcible appeal to the Almighty to, examine his case and to recognize his innocence (29-31). At this juncture Eliu, a youth who was one of the company of listeners, is filled by God with the spirit of prophecy (32:18-22; 36:2-4). In a long discourse he solves the problem of suffering, which Job and his friends had failed to explain. He says that suffering, whether severe or light, is not always a result of sin; it is a means by which God tries and promotes virtue (36:1-21), and is thus a proof of God’s love for his friends. The sufferings of Job are also such a testing (36:16-21). At the same time Eliu emphasizes the fact that the dispensations of God remain inexplicable and mysterious (36:22; 37:24). Yahweh speaks at the end (38-42:6). He confirms the statements of Eliu, carrying further Eliu’s last thought of the inexplicability of the Divine decrees and works by a reference to the wonder of animate and inanimate nature. Job is severely rebuked on account of his irreverence; he confesses briefly his guilt and promises amendment in the future.
(3) In the epilogue Yahweh bears witness in a striking manner to the innocence of His servant, that is to Job’s freedom from gross transgression. The three friends are commanded to obtain Job’s intercession, otherwise they will be severely punished for their uncharitable complaints against the pious sufferer. Yahweh forgives the three at the entreaty of Job, who is restored to double his former prosperity.
GOD'S WISDOM AND PROVIDENCE GUIDE ALL THE EVENTS OF THE WORLD
The Book of Job is intended to give instruction. What it lays special stress on is that God’s wisdom and Providence guide all the events of this world. The main subject of investigation is the problem of evil and its relation to the Providence of God; particularly considered is the suffering of the upright in its bearing on the ends intended in the government of the world. The Book of Job is further intended for edification, for Job is to us an example of patience. It is, finally, a book of consolation for all sufferers. They learn from it that misfortune is not a sign of hatred, but often a proof of special Divine love. For the mystical explanation of the book, especially of Job as a type of Christ, cf. Knabenbauer, “In Job”, 28-32.
TEACHING AS TO THE FUTURE LIFE
In his sufferings Job abandoned all hope for the restoration of health and good fortune in this world (17:11-16; 21). If he were to continue to hold to the hope of reward here Satan would not be defeated. In the complete failure of all his earthly hopes, Job fastens his gaze upon the future. In the argument of the first series of speeches Job in his depression regards the future world only as the end of the present existence. The soul indeed lives on, but all ties with the present world so dear to us are forever broken. Death is not only the end of all earthly suffering (2:13-19), but also of all earthly life (7:6-10), and all earthly joys (10:21-22), with no hope of a return to this world (14:7-22). It is not until the second series that Job’s thoughts on the future life grow more hopeful. However, he expects as little as in the first discussion a renewal of the life here, but hopes for a higher life in the next world. As early as chapter 16 (19-22) his hope in the recognition of his virtue in the next world is strengthened. It is, however, in 19 (23-28) that Job’s inspired hope rises to its greatest height and he utters his famous declaration of the resurrection of the body. Notwithstanding this joyous glimpse into the future, the difficult problem of the present life still remained: “Even for this life how can the wisdom and goodness of God be so hard towards His servants?” Of this the complete solution, so far as such was possible and was included in the plan of the book, does not appear until the discourses of Eliu and Yahweh are given. Great efforts have been made by critics to alter the interpretation of chapter 19, and to remove from it the resurrection of the body; the natural meaning of the words, the argument of the book, and the opinion of all early commentators make this attempt of no avail.
TIME OF COMPOSITION OF THE BOOK OF JOB
The author of the book is unknown, neither can the period in which it was written be exactly determined. Many considered the book the work of Job himself or Moses. It is now universally and correctly held that the book is not earlier than the reign of Solomon. On the other hand it is earlier than Ezechiel (Ezekiel 14:1-20). For it is the natural supposition that the latter gained his knowledge of Job from the Book of Job, and not from other, vanished, sources. It is claimed that allusions to Job have also been found in Isaias, Amos, Lamentations, some of the Psalms, and especially Jeremias. Many Catholic investigators even at the present time assign the book to the reign of Solomon; the masterly poetic form points to this brilliant period of Hebrew poetry. The proofs, however, are not very convincing. Others, especially Protestant investigators, assign the work to the period after Solomon. They support this position largely upon religious historical considerations which do not appear to have much force.
Excerpts from Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
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