Difficult portions of the hebrew text are thoroughly handled, but the commentary is written for the nontechnical. How do people know that job is the oldest book of the. Job 15 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job we have observed in the argument, that the firstborn son of nahor, abrahams brother, was called uz. Read the rambans introduction to his commentary on the book of job for a. The pentateuch the first five books by moses would have been written after the time of the patriarchs, so job would be, by default, the oldest book in the bible. Volume 18b is devoted entirely to the response of the lord from the tempest to job, together with the replies of job job 3842, presenting the lords own explanation of his manifold purposes in creation and bringing to an unexpected conclusion jobs dramatic quest for justice. The underlying pain in this question has bothered the great thinkers in every generation. Satan is permitted to strip him of all his children and property, job 1. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. 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. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children.
However, the book of job is also called the most theological book of the entire old testament theology study and commentary on the existence and attributes of a god. Hebrew bible judaism, torah and jewish info chabad lubavitch. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times. Last year, we had marvin popes translation and commentary on the anchor bible, and now we have robert gordis, the distinguished jewish authority on hebrew wisdom literature, presenting a study, a commentary, and a translation. English translation of the entire tanakh tanach with rashis commentary. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. Gods explanation if you can call it that is that job, being a mere human, cannot hope to understand his actions. My dad was a hero good advice to help keep us safe it helps these days to laugh the.
Free online bible library jewish commentary on the bible. Job is a book that ranks as one of the most difficult books in thetanach bible. Full text of biblical commentary on the book of job see other formats. Many scholars are convinced that the prologue and epilogue are later additions to the original, the body of the tale.
Job baker commentary on the old testament wisdom and psalms. In my letter to the editor letters from readers, july, i pointed out that the concept of human nature described and espoused by sidney hook in his article, isaiah berlins enlightenment may, is essentially the view of the normative tradition in judaism rather than that of the classical christian doctrine of original sin with which he virtually identified it. Job is perhaps one of the most interesting and perplexing books of the bible, and longmans commentary does much to shed light on some of the primary difficulties people often encounter when engaging with job. Heilprin wrote a collection of bibelkritische notizen baltimore, 1893, containing comparisons of various passages of the bible, and the historical poetry of the ancient hebrews n. An explanation of major themes within the book of job based mainly on the writings of the malbim rabbi meir leibush malbim with important additions from the ramban nachmanides and the biur hagra commentary of the vilna gaon. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Thomas is a reformed scholar with a heart for god, for his word, and for his people that comes through on every page. Job baker commentary on the old testament wisdom and. The book of jobnamed after its chief protagonist, job, or iyov in hebrew explores the morality of divine justice through the experience of human suffering. This hebrew bible was edited by esteemed translator and scholar, rabbi a. Jan, 2016 rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job.
It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Presented by rabbi yitzchak schwartz, rosh hayeshiva dean of orchos chaim yeshiva in jerusalem the malbim, in. Sefer iyov begins with a narrative about an extremely righteous person named iyov, who is to be tormented by hashem. Online english translation of the tanakh jewish bible with rashis commentary. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil.
A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. 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. How do people know that job is the oldest book of the bible. Satan accuses him to god as a selfish person, who served god only for the hope of secular rewards, job 1. Hebrew bible judaism, torah and jewish info chabad.
The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. It is the first critical commentary to give proper weight to reception history along with the philological and literary analysis necessary to support judicious interpretation. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. Full text of biblical commentary on the book of job. Ayyub is also considered a prophet job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by satan with gods. An explanation of the biblical book of job the book job is composed of three parts. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles. The appearance of leong seows marvelous, eclectic commentary on the book of job is an occasion for celebration. Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. Top 5 commentaries on the book of job ligonier ministries. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible.
Its incredibly complex and obscure hebrew allowing for multiple translations and meanings. Ezekiel simply explained welwyn commentary series, 1993. Commentary, new translation, and special studies robert gordis 1978. 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. 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. Judaism and ethics our readers, commentary magazine. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to. Chapter one describes a wager god made with the adversary. This article interprets jobs teaching on suffering from five broad perspectives. If we cannot say where job originated, it is equally difficult to say when. The date of composition of the book of job in the context of. Divisions of the book description of jobs trials ch. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. Commentary on the book of job bible study notes and comments by david e.
The book of job continues to fascinate and challenge scholars. The book of job was written 400 years before moses in a land east of edam. 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. You can find the best commentary on job for you using the tools on the right side. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. Job is a book that ranks as one of the most difficult books in thetanach bible, for two reasons. A commentary the jewish commentary for bible readers hardcover january 1, 1963 see all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions price. This view was embraced by the author of the anonymous chronicle, who writes. Job is sure that god does not discover things, nor judge of them, as men do.
Like anything in life, the reward for success reflects the amount of effort put. The newest release in the baker commentary on the old testament wisdom and psalms is tremper longman iiis commentary on the book of job. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times, was offered literally, caused to ascend, referring to the smoke. Although it is not yet complete the final volume will cover chapters 3841 and include extensive indexes, this is the best commentary available on the book. All too often the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on the.
The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system. Biblical archaeology environmental issues ancient near eastern theology modern near eastern theology judaism messianic judaism church. The ot daily bible study series, job looks at personal learning and the theology of. For those seeking an introductory level commentary on the book of ezekiel, the best place to turn is this commentary by derek thomas. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. An explanation of the biblical book of job judaism. The date of composition of the book of job in the context. A short, but succinct, commentary on the bible 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.
And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. Job 15 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Japhet, sara the commentary of rabbi samuel ben meir rashbam on the book of job jerusalem, 2000 book of job. As the commentary in the israel bible demonstrates, sometimes it is those who hashem loves. Ezekiel referred to job as an important person alongside. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. 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. The book of job is an obvious place to turn when a christian suffers, but it is not easy to discern what god means to teach his people through this difficult book. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. Jun 01, 2016 a short, but succinct, commentary on the bible book of job. The ot daily bible study series, job looks at personal learning and the theology of late old testament judaism. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom.
The malbim, in the introduction to his commentary on this holy book, explains that the main purpose of the book of job is to expound upon one of the most perplexing phenomena in the human experience. Where did the biblical story of creation come from. Moses wrote the five books of the torah and the book of balaam and job. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan. The author of the book of job incorporated the folk book into his work in a manner still showing traces of the component parts. It relates the story of job, his trials at the hands of satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to god, and finally a response from god. It poses the difficult and wellknown question oftheodicy. 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. The complex and delicate nature of the subject matter. Jewish bible commentaries merrimack valley havurah.