[Genesis] [Job][Exodus]

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Book of Job --- by Uncle John

Outline

I. Prologue 1:1 - 2:10

A. Setting the scene (1:1-5)
B. The heavenly council (1:6-12)
C. The satan’s trial (1:13-21) [22 narrator]
D. The stakes are raised (2:1-6)
E. The satan’s second trial (2:7-10b) [10c narrator]
F. The three friends (transition to the dialogs; 2:11-13)

II. Dialogs with "friends" 3:1 - 42:6

A Job’s opening soliloquy (3:1-26)

B. Dialogs with "friends" (4:1-27:23)

1.First cycle (4:1-14:22)
a. Eliphaz speaks (4:1-5:27), Job responds (6:1-7:21)
b. Bildad speaks (8:1-22), Job responds (9:1-10:22)
c. Zophor speaks (11:1-20), Job responds (12:1-14:22)

2. Second cycle (15:1-21:34)
a. Eliphaz speaks (15:1-35), Job responds (16:1-17:16)
b. Bildad speaks (18:1-21), Job responds (19:1-29)
c. Zophor speaks (20:1-29), Job responds (21:1-34)

3. Third cycle (22:1-27:23)
a. Eliphaz speaks (22:1-30), Job responds (23:1-24:25)
b. Bildad speaks (25:1-6), Job responds (26:1-27:23)

III. Monologues 28:1 - 37:24

A. The inaccessibility of Wisdom (28:1-28)
B. Job’s concluding soliloquy (29:1-31:40)
C. The speeches of Elihu (32:1-37:24)

IV. Dialog with God 38:1 - 42:6

A. God speaks (38:1-40-2), Job responds (40:3-5)
B. God speaks again (40:6-41:34), Job’s second response (42:1-6)

V. Epilogue 42:7-17

Key Verse: 1:21 ". . . Naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Key Thought: Why do the righteous suffer?

Key Persons:
Job, a patriarchal chieftain of Uz (southern Syria, at the border of the great Arabian desert), a godly man who is suddenly robbed of his children, his wealth and his health;

His wife, who unconsciously becomes a tool of Satan urging Job to renounce God;

Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, his three friends of long standing. These three being wise men (philosophers) discuss with Job the reasons for his misfortune. They, too, inadvertently are used by Satan to try to destroy Job.

Elihu, a youthful observer, who injects himself into the discussion;

Jehovah in heaven who is proud of Job's righteous life and allows him to be tested to prove his loyalty;

Satan, the adversary and accuser of God's children who is determined to discredit and destroy Job.


Type of Literature: It is dramatic poetry with a prose narrative for introduction and closing. It is based on a true historical episode (Ezekiel 14:14,20; James 5:11).

Period of History: Internal evidence suggests that the events took place in the patriarchal period prior to 1450 B.C (around 2000 BC).

Purpose: To reveal that suffering in itself is not proof of God's displeasure.

Author: Likely Job. (some say Moses or unknown person from Babylonian exile).

Some Questions to ask when reading the Book of Job

1. Where was Job from? (Job 1:1)
2. Did Job have a large family and great wealth before his troubles began? (Job 1:2-3)
3. Was Job careful to obey God? (Job 1:8)
4. Can Satan be everywhere at once, or is he only in one place at a time? (Job 1:7, 2:2)
5. Who was responsible for all of Job's troubles? (Job 1:12)
Note: God permitted the testing of Job.
6. Did Job lose everything that he had? (Job 1:13-19)
7. What was Job's reaction to having lost all of his family and wealth? (Job 1:20-22)
8. After all that had already happened, was Satan then allowed to inflict Job with a painful, hideous disease? (Job 2:7)
Note: Job was unmatched in righteousness among the people his time (Job 1:8) - his testing would be proportional.
9. What were the names of Job's 3 friends who came to encourage him during his trial? (Job 2:11)
Note: And a trial it certainly was. Satan did it, but God permitted it.
10. After his time of adversity was past, did God reward Job with far more than he had before? (Job 42:10-17)

Detailed Descriptions of Job’s friends:

(1) Eliphaz – The Temanite. From the fact that Teman was his son, rather than his father, we gather that the oldest son had already become the patriarch of the family. This would place Eliphaz at an advanced age, perhaps in his mid-eighties, since he was a generation earlier than Job. This is also implied in the fact that another of the comforters, Zophar, was his grandson. His name means “my God is fine gold,” implying either materialistic parents or that he came from the gold mining region of Ophir in Arabia.
(2) Bildad – A Shuhite. As the son of a concubine of Abraham, Keturah, Shuah was sent away after the death of Abraham into the east country (Gen. 25:6). Although Abraham was his ancestor, it is questionable whether he followed after the Hebrew religious beliefs. The meaning of his name is unkown for sure, though some trace it to mean “confusing love” or “disputant, son of contention.” However, if John Genung is right in the International Standard Bible Encylopedia, it means “Bel has loved,” thus indicating that his parents were idolaters and followers of the god Bel.
(3) Zophar – A Naamathite. Naamath was a city in northwest Arabia. The Septuagint calls Zophar the “King of the Minaeans.” These people are identified in the Bible as either the “Maonites” (Jud. 10:12) or the “Mehunims” (2 Chron. 26:7). They apparently dwelt just south of the Seir, on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea. The meaning of his name is uncertain, various lexicographers giving it as “leaping,” “departing,” and “sparrow.” Being the grandson of Eliphaz, he must have been the youngest of the three, perhaps in his forties.
(4) Elihu – A Buzite. As a descendent of a Abraham’s brother, it is likely that he still held to the pure religion of one God. This is evident in his speech as well. He apparently was very young since two of the other comforters were Eliphaz and Zophar, a grandfather with his grandson. Elihu states clearly that he is younger, probably considerably younger, than the other comforters in Job 32:4, “Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.” This might indicate a man in his twenties. He is spoken on as of “the kindred of Ram.” This may be a shortened form of Aram or Aramea. Aram was a grandson of Nahor and therefore of the same kinship as Elihu. Some of the rabbis, however, take Ram as a shortened form for Abraham. In either case, he would have been from the same family lineage.