Introduction to the Book of Job [Theology 101]

by Andrew Kim PhD

The Hebrew Bible has three sections: the Law, Prophets, and Writings.

• The Law contains the first five books of the Old Testament.
• The Prophets is made up of eight books divided into the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets.
• The Writings consists of religious poetry and wisdom literature. Job is one of eleven books in the Writings section.

Author and Context of Job

We do not know who wrote the book of Job or when he lived. However, most scholars think that the author probably an Israelite writing sometime between 1500 and 500 B.C.

Now, we can assume that Job lived during the time of the patriarchs, like Abraham. Why? His wealth was measured in cattle rather than in precious metals, as was the case during the time of Solomon. Job does not quote any Mosaic commandments or mention Levitical priests. Like the patriarchs, he was a priest to his own household (Job 1:5).

Structure of Job

The structure of Job is that it begins with two chapters of prologue and then ends with about one chapter of an epilogue. The rest of the book consists of speeches by Job’s three friends interspersed with responses from Job, and then two speeches by God with a brief response by Job.

Purpose of Job

Now, the purpose of Job is not to explain why God allows evil and suffering, but to give comfort to those who do suffer. When talking about the problem of evil, David Hume has said the following: If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all powerful. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?

Based on this premise, secular philosophers either deny evil, or deny God’s power or his goodness. In other words, they cannot see how a loving and powerful God would allow evil. The Book of Job, however, provides a different premise. We see this play out in the speeches given by Job’s friends, who apply general principles to Job’s case, but are not considered valid by God. Interestingly, Job’s friends’ arguments echo other parts of the Bible.

We see that God typically related to Israel in two ways: life, through obedience, or death, through disobedience. There is a simple cause and effect expressed in God’s Law (Lev 26; Deut 27–30). As the Apostle Paul states: you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). Although this principle is true, according to Scripture, life can be more complex and suffering is not just a system of rewards and punishments, as the book of Job reveals.

You see, Scripture also gives other potential reasons for suffering. Sometimes suffering is God’s discipline of his children (Hebrews 12:5–11), or for the spiritual growth of his people (James 1:2-4), or an opportunity for believers to glorify God (1 Thess 1:6–10).

So, for Job, we see that his suffering is not caused by his sin, which indicates that a loving and power God does allow evil and suffering, even if the person who suffers is not at fault. The Book of Job teaches that God is a personal God who is aware of each person’s suffering and is sovereign over it and will use it according to his wisdom and love. Although God is powerful enough to prevent suffering, he allows it for a variety of reasons, even if he does not disclose the reasons to those who suffer.

Content of Job

In the prologue all the major characters, except Elihu, appear. First there is Job, the main character in the book, who has wealth, a family, and is considered righteous (Job 1:1-5). Then, we see Yahweh, who sits with his angels along with Satan (Job 1:6). Satan is a major character in the prologue, but he does not appear again in the book. He was the one who inflicted on Job all this pain and suffering, including the death of his children, a skin disease, and material loss (Job 1:13-19).

Job’s wife makes a brief appearance in Job 2 but is not heard from again. At the very end of the prologue Job’s three friends appear on the scene to comfort Job. But instead of comforting, they accuse and blame Job for his suffering.

In Job 3, Job laments his birth and seems to be addressing God with his complaints.

Beginning in Job 4, there is a cycle of speeches. Three speeches from Eliphaz, three from Bildad, three from Zophar, and nine from Job (Job 4-31). The structure within the speeches follows recurring themes. The overarching message of the three friends is that suffering is a result of sin, implying that Job must have sinned to experience this type of suffering. Also, Job’s friends assume that prosperity is a result of righteous living. Arguing from these assumptions, Job’s friends could only conclude that Job must be a sinner and in need of repentance. They assumed that Job must have sinned in secret since they could not identify what he did wrong, which is why they accuse Job of hiding his sin.

Then, in Job 32, Elihu speaks and is the only speaker until the end of Job 39. The first three of his speeches follow a pattern. Initially he would state Job’s position. then he would attempt to refute those arguments with reasons that sound like Job’s three friends. Then, he would ask Job to repent of sin, even though Job did not sin. When Elihu gets tired of getting the response he wanted from Job, he joins Job’s friends in silence.
Finally, all human voices and reasoning has stopped.

Then, God speaks up beginning in Job 38. God gives two speeches that each have two parts. In his first speech, (Job 38-39), God gives a list of rhetorical questions and statements about creation (Job 38:2–38) and the animal kingdom (Job 38:39-39:30). The purpose of these rhetorical questions is for God to show Job that he cannot blame or argue with God since God alone is creator and holds authority over all things.

So, Job responds with repentance and says the following: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4-5).

Then, God’s second speech contains mainly questions and observations about two creatures called the “behemoth” (Job 40:15) and “leviathan” (Job 41:1). Both these animals represented things that humans could not control. So, God is reminding Job as the creator of the Behemoth and Leviathan that he alone possesses power and wisdom that humans can never attain, including Job.

Again, Job responds with repentance after God’s second speech: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore, I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2-6).

Then, the book of Job concludes with the epilogue (Job 42:7-17), where we see God condemn Job’s three friends, and Job is given double his former wealth, more children and grandchildren, while being buried at an old age.

So, the book of Job is a story showing that a good and powerful God allows suffering for his purposes. Although we may not know the reasons, God reminds us to trust him since he alone is sovereign and wise. God reveals that his wisdom surpasses human wisdom, as exemplified with Job’s friends. And we also see the proper response to suffering is to have faith in God. Even in the middle of his suffering, Job would declare his faith by saying: “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). Although God ended all discussion by declaring that he alone is wise (Job 38-41), he vindicates Job’s faith in him (Job 42), revealing that faith in God is the only thing that will help a person endure unjust suffering in life.

Dr. Andrew Kim received his B.A. in Religious Studies from U.C. Berkeley, M.Div and Th.M from The Master's Seminary, and his Ph.D in Systematic Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Multinational Kingdom in Isaiah and the creator of Theology 101, a YouTube channel committed to teaching Christian theology in everyday language.