Copyright 2018 by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City PO Box 419527 Kansas City, MO 64141 www.beaconhillbooks.com ISBN 978-0-8341-3684-7 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Cover Design: J.R. Caines Interior Design: Sharon Page Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV ). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The following version of Scripture is in the public domain: The King James Version (KJV) The following copyrighted versions of Scripture are used by permission: Good News Translation (Today s English Version, Second Edition) (GNT). Copyright 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. The New American Standard Bible (NASB ), copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. www.lockman.org. The New English Bible (NEB), the Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press 1961, 1970. The New JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (NJPS), 2000 by The Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved. The New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bowes, A. Wendell, author. Title: Job / A. Wendell Bowes. Description: Kansas City, MO : Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2018. Series: New Beacon Bible commentary Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2018024991 ISBN 9780834135628 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Job Commentaries. Classification: LCC BS1415.53.B69 2018 DDC 223/.107 dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018024991 The Internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS General Editors Preface 13 Abbreviations 15 Bibliography 19 Table of Sidebars 25 INTRODUCTION 27 A. Author 28 B. Date 29 C. Text 33 D. Unity 34 E. Theological Topics 34 F. Historicity 35 COMMENTARY 37 I. PROLOGUE: JOB 1 2 37 A. Introduction of Job (1:1-5) 38 B. The Examiner Questions Job s Righteousness and Integrity (1:6-12) 47 C. Job s First Test: He Loses His Wealth and His Children (1:13-22) 53 D. The Examiner Again Questions Job s Righteousness and Integrity (2:1-6) 61 E. Job s Second Test: He Loses His Health (2:7-10) 64 F. The Friends Arrive (2:11-13) 71 II. JOB S ANGUISH: JOB 3 77 A. I Wish I Had Never Been Conceived or Born (3:1-10) 78 B. I Wish I Had Died at Birth (3:11-19) 83 C. I Wish My Life Would End Now (3:20-26) 87 III. FIRST CYCLE OF SPEECHES: JOB 4 14 95 A. Eliphaz s First Speech (4:1 5:27) 96 1. May We Speak with You? (4:1-6) 97 2. People Reap What They Sow (4:7-11) 99 3. Listen to What God Has Revealed to Me (4:12-21) 103 4. Trouble Is Inevitable (5:1-7) 110 5. God Is the Only Genuine Source of Help (5:8-16) 114 6. Sometimes God Disciplines Us (5:17-27) 118
B. Job s Response to Eliphaz (6:1 7:21) 127 1. I Am in Anguish (6:1-13) 128 2. You, My Friends, Are Worthless (6:14-30) 132 3. All Human Beings Have a Hard Lot in Life (7:1-6) 138 4. My Death Is Imminent (7:7-10) 141 5. God, Leave Me Alone (7:11-21) 143 C. Bildad s First Speech (8:1-22) 150 1. Seek God and Live an Upright Life (8:1-7) 150 2. Previous Generations Confirm What I Am Saying (8:8-10) 154 3. There Is No Hope for the Godless (8:11-19) 155 4. God s Ways Are Always Just (8:20-22) 157 D. Job s Response to Bildad (9:1 10:22) 160 1. God s Wisdom and Power Are Overwhelming (9:1-13) 160 2. It Is Futile to Argue with God (9:14-21) 164 3. God Is Not Just (9:22-24) 166 4. Oh, for a Mediator! (9:25-35) 168 5. God, Why Have You Turned against Me? (10:1-17) 172 6. God, Leave Me Alone (10:18-22) 178 E. Zophar s First Speech (11:1-20) 180 1. I Wish That God Would Speak to You (11:1-6) 180 2. God s Wisdom and Power Are Much Greater than Ours (11:7-12) 182 3. Turn to God and He Will Restore You (11:13-20) 184 F. Job s Response to Zophar (12:1 14:22) 187 1. I Am as Wise as You Are (12:1-6) 188 2. Nature Teaches Us That God Controls Everything (12:7-10) 189 3. God s Power Is Overwhelming (12:11-25) 190 4. You Friends Are Worthless Counselors (13:1-12) 195 5. I Have Prepared My Case (13:13-19) 197 6. God, What Have I Done Wrong? (13:20-28) 199 7. Human Beings Are Destined for Trouble (14:1-22) 202 IV. SECOND CYCLE OF SPEECHES: JOB 15 21 209 A. Eliphaz s Second Speech (15:1-35) 210 1. Do You Know More than We Do? (15:1-13) 210 2. All Human Beings Are Sinful (15:14-16) 213 3. The Wicked Suffer Terribly (15:17-35) 213 B. Job s Response to Eliphaz (16:1 17:16) 218 1. My Friends, You Are Miserable Comforters (16:1-6) 218 2. God Has Made Me His Target (16:7-17) 220 3. I Have a Witness (16:18-22) 223 4. I Have No Hope for a Better Life (17:1-16) 226 C. Bildad s Second Speech (18:1-21) 231 1. Why Do You Treat Us as Stupid? (18:1-4) 232 2. The Wicked Die Suddenly and Are Not Remembered (18:5-21) 233 D. Job s Response to Bildad (19:1-29) 238 1. My Friends, Why Do You Persist in Tormenting Me? (19:1-6) 239
2. God Is the One Who Has Caused My Misery (19:7-12) 240 3. My Social Relationships Have Disintegrated (19:13-22) 242 4. I Will Be Vindicated Someday (19:23-29) 245 E. Zophar s Second Speech (20:1-29) 251 1. I Have to Speak Again (20:1-3) 252 2. The Wicked Suffer a Sudden Divine Reversal (20:4-29) 253 F. Job s Response to Zophar (21:1-34) 258 1. My Friends, Please Listen to Me (21:1-5) 259 2. The Wicked Do Well in Life (21:6-16) 259 3. God Does Not Judge Correctly (21:17-26) 262 4. My Friends, You Are Wrong (21:27-34) 264 V. THIRD CYCLE OF SPEECHES: JOB 22 27 267 A. Eliphaz s Third Speech (22:1-30) 269 1. Job, You Are a Sinner (22:1-11) 269 2. God s Transcendence Is Not a Hindrance to His Ability to Judge (22:12-20) 272 3. Repent, and You Will Be Restored (22:21-30) 274 B. Job s Response to Eliphaz (23:1 24:17, 25) 277 1. I Wish I Could Talk to God (23:1-7) 279 2. I Am Confident but Terrified (23:8-17) 280 3. Why Does God Not Punish the Wicked? (24:1-17, 25) 282 C. Bildad s Third Speech (25:1-6; 24:18-24) 287 1. God s Power and Purity Far Surpass That of Humanity (25:1-6) 288 2. The Wicked Are Destroyed Because of Their Evil Deeds (24:18-24) 289 D. Job s Response to Bildad (26:1-14; 27:1-12) 290 1. You, Bildad, Have Not Helped Me a Bit (26:1-4) 291 2. God s Power Is Evident in All Areas of the Cosmos (26:5-14) 292 3. I Swear That I Am Innocent (27:1-6) 294 4. May God Punish My Enemy (27:7-12) 295 E. Zophar s Third Speech (27:13-23) 297 1. God Will Surely Punish the Wicked (27:13-23) 297 Excursus 1: Progress in the Narrative 299 VI. INTERLUDE: THE SOURCE OF WISDOM: JOB 28 303 A. Humans Are Skilled in Finding Hidden Minerals and Gems (28:1-11) 305 B. Where Can One Find Wisdom? (28:12-19) 306 C. Only God Knows How to Find Wisdom (28:20-28) 307 VII. JOB S MANIFESTO: JOB 29 31 311 A. My Former Life (29:1-25) 312 1. God Was Blessing Me (29:1-6) 312 2. My Community Respected Me (29:7-17) 313 3. I Was Enjoying the Good Life (29:18-20) 315 4. People Sought My Advice (29:21-25) 316
B. My Present Humiliation and Suffering (30:1-31) 316 1. I Am Mocked by My Community (30:1-15) 317 2. God Continues to Make Me Suffer (30:16-23) 319 3. My Condition Worsens Even Though I Plead for Help (30:24-31) 320 C. My Innocence and Personal Integrity (31:1-40) 321 1. I Have Not Looked Lustfully at Young Women (31:1-4) 322 2. I Have Not Been Dishonest or Strayed from God s Way (31:5-8) 324 3. I Have Not Committed Adultery (31:9-12) 324 4. I Have Not Mistreated My Servants (31:13-15) 325 5. I Have Not Withheld Compassion from the Needy (31:16-23) 326 6. I Have Not Substituted Wealth or Pagan Worship for My Worship of God (31:24-28) 327 7. I Have Not Been Vindictive against My Enemy (31:29-30) 328 8. I Have Not Withheld Hospitality from the Passing Traveler (31:31-32) 328 9. I Have Not Hidden My Transgressions from Public View (31:33-34) 328 10. I Am Prepared to Defend Myself, if God Will Just Tell Me What I Have Done Wrong (31:35-37) 329 11. I Have Not Exploited My Land or Laborers (31:38-40) 330 VIII. ELIHU S SPEECHES: JOB 32 37 335 A. Introduction of Elihu (32:1-5) 338 B. Elihu s First Speech (32:6 33:33) 340 1. True Wisdom Comes from God and May Be Acquired at Any Age (32:6-10) 340 2. I Will Succeed Where the Friends Have Failed (32:11-14) 340 3. I Will Hold Nothing Back (32:15-22) 341 4. Job, You Can Trust Me to Tell You the Truth (33:1-7) 342 5. Job, You Are Wrong to Claim You Are Pure and God Treats You like an Enemy (33:8-12) 343 6. Job, You Are Wrong to Complain That God Will Not Speak to You (33:13-30) 344 7. Job, Listen to Me! (33:31-33) 347 C. Elihu s Second Speech (34:1-37) 348 1. You Friends, Listen to Me! (34:1-4) 348 2. Job Is Making Preposterous Claims (34:5-9) 348 3. It Is Unthinkable to Accuse God of Being Unjust (34:10-15) 349 4. Job, if God Is All-Powerful, He Is Also Just (34:16-30) 350 5. Job, You Are a Rebel against God (34:31-37) 352 D. Elihu s Third Speech (35:1-16) 353 1. Job, You Are Wrong to Claim That God Is Unjust and There Is No Benefit in Serving Him (35:1-8) 353 2. God Does Not Answer the Prayers of the Wicked (35:9-13) 354 3. Neither Will He Answer Your Complaints, Job, Because They Are Meaningless (35:14-16) 355
E. Elihu s Fourth Speech (36:1 37:24) 355 1. I Will Speak on God s Behalf (36:1-4) 356 2. God Corrects the Righteous and Punishes the Wicked (36:5-15) 356 3. Job, Quit Pursuing Your Own Worthless Solutions to Your Problems (36:16-21) 358 4. God Is Awesome in Power and Beyond Our Understanding (36:22 37:13) 359 5. Job, Can You Do What God Can Do? (37:14-24) 362 IX. GOD S SPEECHES AND JOB S RESPONSE: JOB 38:1 42:6 367 A. God s First Speech (38:1 40:2) 369 1. I Will Question You (38:1-3) 369 2. Could You Have Created the World the Way I Did? (38:4-11) 371 3. Can You Operate the World the Way I Do? (38:12-38) 372 4. Can You Control the Animal Kingdom the Way I Do? (38:39 39:30) 375 5. Would You Care to Respond? (40:1-2) 378 B. Job s First Response to God (40:3-5) 381 C. God s Second Speech (40:6 41:34 [40:6 41:26 HB]) 381 1. Can You Administer Justice Better than I Can? (40:6-14) 382 2. Can You Control the Hippopotamus? (40:15-24) 384 3. Can You Control the Crocodile? (41:1-34 [40:25 41:26 HB]) 387 D. Job s Second Response to God (42:1-6) 393 X. EPILOGUE: JOB 42:7-17 399 A. God Rebukes the Three Friends (42:7-9) 401 B. God Restores Job s Fortunes (42:10-17) 403 Excursus 2: Interpreting the Book of Job 407