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The Book of Job (see Online Text) is a Second Temple Jewish document, now included in collections of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament (Septuagint, and Vulgate); see Wisdom Studies.

Overview

Satan and Job

Job is a righteous man favored by Yahweh:

1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.

The Satan in the Book of Job is a member of God's heavenly council. He is not a rebellious angel; he is one of God's angels and court officers. The Satan questions the righteousness of Job, urging Yhwh to let him harm Job, promising that Job will abandon his faith at the first tribulation. Yahwh consents and at first gives the Satan only the authority to cause calamity to Job and destroy his properties (but not to touch him!):

6 One day the bene elohim (=the angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan,[g] “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan[h] went out from the presence of the Lord.

Following God's order, the satan destroys Job's servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn Yhwh:

13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “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.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Then the first scene repeats itself, with the satan presenting himself to Yahweh alongside the other "sons of God". Yhwh points out Job's continued faithfulness, to which the satan insists that more testing is necessary; Yahweh once again gives him permission to test Job (but not to kill him!):

2 One day the heavenly beings[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan,[c] “Where have you come from?” Satan[d] answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan,[e] “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4 Then Satan[f] answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.[g] 5 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan,[h] “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”

Once again, refuses to condemn Yhwh, not even at the invitation of his wife

7 So Satan[i] went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 Job[j] took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse[k] God, and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

At this point, having accomplished his task, the satan disappears from the narrative and the story focuses on Job's struggle to "understand" what happened to him. see Book of Job.

Job firmly believes that both "the good" and "the bad" come from God.

Job's three friends of his (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) cone to "console" him. First they are silent before such suffering, but then they try to convince him of the only possible explanation: he must have sinned.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13 They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job's friends remind him that the logic of the Zadokite covenant would require him to acknowledge his sinfulness. Evil can only be the consequence of sin; otherwise God would be unjust. Job refuses. He would not condemn God but he would not even recognize that he is a sinner, because he is not.

2. “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

3. as long as my breath is in me

and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak falsehood,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5. Far be it from me to say that you are right;

until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 I hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go;

my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

(Job 27:2-6)

There must be some other explanation. Job's innocence is the unbearable contradiction that unveil the inherent weakness of the Zadokite concept of covenant. A covenant in which the first party (God) is also the empire or judge is unfair to humans.

[God] is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, "Let's go to trial together," for there is no umpire between us who might lay his hands on us both (9:32-33).

However, Job equally refuses to attribute to God any wrongdoing or falsehood. God's creation made the universe a perfect and eternal order. This idea is at the center of the entire Wisdom tradition (see ch.28)

1. “Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place for gold to be refined.

2. Iron is taken out of the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

3. Miners put an end to darkness,

and search out to the farthest bound

the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

4. They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;

they are forgotten by travelers,

they sway suspended, remote from people.

5. As for the earth, out of it comes bread;

but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

6. Its stones are the place of sapphires,

and its dust contains gold.

7. “That path no bird of prey knows,

and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.:

8. The proud wild animals have not trodden it;

the lion has not passed over it.

9. “They put their hand to the flinty rock,

and overturn mountains by the roots.

10. They cut out channels in the rocks,

and their eyes see every precious thing.

11. The sources of the rivers they probe;

hidden things they bring to light.

12. “But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13. Mortals do not know the way to it,

and it is not found in the land of the living.

14. The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’

and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15. It cannot be gotten for gold,

and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.

16. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or sapphire.

17. Gold and glass cannot equal it,

nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;

the price of wisdom is above pearls.

19. The chrysolite of Ethiopia[f] cannot compare with it,

nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20. “Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

21. It is hidden from the eyes of all living,

and concealed from the birds of the air.

22. Abaddon and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23. “God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

24. For he looks to the ends of the earth,

and sees everything under the heavens.

25. When he gave to the wind its weight,

and apportioned out the waters by measure;

26. when he made a decree for the rain,

and a way for the thunderbolt;

27. then he saw it and declared it;

he established it, and searched it out.

28. And he said to humankind,

‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

(Job 28:1-28)

God is in charge and the creative order is not disrupted. No one can be blamed for evil. The Satan in fact is never blamed in the Book of Job as the source or the cause of evil. God is the source of evil, and God also should not be blamed.

The conclusion is that any covenants would be a too strong limitation of God's liberty and power. Humans have to resign themselves to the will of God as God's plans are good but mysterious. Humans cannot understand and should not try to understand; they should not question God's will, they can only accept it in obedience.

References

• Job, Book of / Carol A. Newsom / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), dictionary, 813-814

• / [[]] / In: The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992 Freedman), dictionary,

External links

• Wikipedia