The Book of Job consists of two separate portions. The bulk of the work is an extended dialogue between the hero and his friends and eventually Yahweh himself in poetic form. The poem is set within the framework of a short narrative in prose form. The book falls into five sections: a prologue (chapters 1 and 2); the dialogue between Job and his friends (3-31); the speeches of Elihu (32-37); the speeches of Yahweh and Job's reply (38-42:6); and an epilogue (42:7-17).
The prologue and epilogue are the prose narrative. This is probably an old folktale recounting the story of Job, an Edomite of such outstanding piety that he is mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel in conjunction with Noah and Daniel. The name Job was common in antiquity, being found in texts ranging from the 19th to the 14th century BCE. Whether the folktale is preserved in its original oral form or whether it has been retold by the poet of the dialogue is not known. The fact that an Edomite sheikh is commended by the Hebrew God, however, suggests a date before the 6th century BCE, for Jewish distrust of Edomites became intense during the exile, and the archaic language makes a date in the 8th century probable.
Job is pictured as an ideal patriarch who has been rewarded for his piety with material prosperity and happiness. The Satan (Accuser), a member of the heavenly council of Yahweh, acts with Yahweh's permission as an agent provocateur to test whether or not Job's piety is rooted in self-interest. Faced with the appalling loss of his worldly possessions, his children, and finally his own health, Job refuses to curse Yahweh. His capacity for trusting Yahweh's goodness has made him an unsurpassed model of patience. Three of Job's friends, whose names identify them also as Edomites, now arrive to comfort him. At this point the poetic dialogue begins. The conclusion of the tale, as given in the epilogue, describes the restoration of Job, who receives double his original possessions and lives to a ripe old age.
The picture of Job that is presented in the poetic portion is radically different. Instead of the patient and loyal servant of Yahweh, he is an anguished and indignant sufferer, who violently protests the way Yahweh is treating him and displays a variety of moods ranging from utter despair, in which he cries out accusingly against Yahweh, to bold confidence, in which he calls for a hearing before Yahweh. Most scholars have dated this section to the 4th century BCE, but there is a growing tendency to regard it as two centuries earlier, during the period of the exile. This precise dating is based on the fact that the dialogue shows clear literary dependence on Jeremiah, whereas equally obvious connections with Deutero-Isaiah suggest the dependence of the latter on Job.
The poem opens with a heartrending soliloquy by Job in which the sufferer curses the day of his birth. The shocked friends are roused from their silence, and there follow three cycles of speeches (chapters 4-14, 15-21, and 22-27) in which the friends speak in turn. To each such speech Job makes a reply. The personalities of the friends are skillfully delineated, Eliphaz appearing as a mystic in the prophetic tradition, Bildad as a sage who looks to the authority of tradition, and Zophar as an impatient dogmatist who glibly expounds what he regards as the incomprehensible ways of God.
Eliphaz begins the first cycle by recounting a mystical vision that revealed to him the transcendence of God and the fact that all men are by nature morally frail. He suggests that suffering may be disciplinary, although this is irrelevant to Job's plight. Finally, he urges contrite submission to Yahweh. Job chides his friends for failing him in his hour of need and charges God with being his tormentor.
Bildad suggests that the fault may have lain in Job's children and reiterates Eliphaz' call to humble submission. Job then retorts that the doctrine of Yahweh's omnipotence is no answer but a serious problem, because Yahweh appears to be merely omnipotent caprice. He is convinced that if he could only meet Yahweh in open debate he would be vindicated, but he recognizes the need for an impartial third party who could intervene and protect him from Yahweh's overpowering might.
Zophar re-echoes his predecessors' views on Yahweh but goes the full length of accusing Job himself of sin and once more urges Job to a contrition that for him could only be hypocritical. Job continues to insist that Yahweh is capricious and defiantly challenges him but is bewildered when no reply is forthcoming. His longing for death as a welcome release leads him to ask whether man might not hope for a revival after death, but this daring hope is immediately rejected.
The second cycle opens with Eliphaz accusing Job of blasphemy and almost exultantly describing the fate of the wicked. In his reply Job returns to the idea of a third party to the debate. Now, however, this umpire or judge has become an advocate, a counsel for the defense. After Bildad has again elaborated on the fate of the wicked, Job states that a Vindicator, or Redeemer (Go`el), will establish his innocence. The Vindicator of this crucial but sadly corrupted passage (19:25-27) has long been identified with God himself, so that according to some scholars Job "appeals away from the God of orthodox theology to God as He must be." A few scholars, however, recognize the Vindicator as the third party (the "umpire" or "witness") of earlier chapters. It is also unclear whether this vindication will take place before or after Job's death. Then Zophar, though freely admitting that the wicked may indeed enjoy some prosperity, describes how they fall victim to inevitable nemesis. Job maintains that the wicked do not end thus but live on to an old age.
Eliphaz begins the third cycle by accusing Job at last of specific sins and again counsels Job to humble himself before Yahweh. But Job cannot find this God, who seems to be completely indifferent to him. The conclusion of the dialogue is in serious disorder, with speeches placed in Job's mouth that could only have been uttered by the friends. The final speech of Zophar, which is omitted, seems to be represented by a fragment preserved within the third reply of Job.
Chapter 28 is regarded as a later addition by most scholars, because it is hardly in place at this juncture in the dialogue, especially in the mouth of Job. It is a magnificent hymn in praise of wisdom. Chapters 29-31 contain a monologue by Job; in them occurs an adumbration of the highest moral ideal to be found in the Hebrew Bible.
Although a few scholars have maintained that the speeches of Elihu formed part of the original work, most reject this section as a later insertion. The speeches merely reiterate the dogmas of the friends and unduly delay the appearance of Yahweh. Although the section is in poetic form, its style is different from that of the dialogue. Significantly, there is no mention of Elihu in the dialogue or anywhere else in the book, yet the Elihu speeches are familiar with the dialogue, frequently quoting verbatim from it. Chapter 32 is of interest, because it appears to contain the writer's notes and comments on the dialogue, often citing passages from it. Worthy of notice is the writer's emphasis on the disciplinary value of suffering.
The climax of the poem is reached in the speeches of Yahweh, who appears in a majestic theophany--a whirlwind--and reveals himself to Job in three speeches interspersed with two short speeches by Job. Biblical scholars have often questioned whether this section--especially the descriptions of Behemoth (the hippopotamus) and Leviathan (the crocodile) in the second Yahweh speech--is a genuine part of the original poem, but there is no doubt that their presence at this point in the book is a dramatic triumph. Throughout these speeches Yahweh does not offer rational answers to Job's questions and accusations; he raises the discussion to a new perspective. With heavy irony Yahweh puts to Job a series of unanswerable questions about the mysteries of the universe; if, the writer is asking, Job is unable to answer the simple questions about the divine activity in the marvels of nature, how can Yahweh explain to him the deeper mystery of his dealings with men. Job's personal problem is ignored, yet he finds his answer in this direct encounter with Yahweh:
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.Job stands in a new relationship to Yahweh, one no longer based on hearsay but the result of an act of personal faith expressed in repentance.
A few scholars, beginning in the mid-18th century, have attempted to demonstrate the influence of Greek tragedy upon the form of the book. This has not met with acceptance by most critics; its long monologues are not truly dramatic in nature. Neither is it a philosophical discussion in the style of the Platonic dialogues. It is a deeply religious poem with dramatic possibilities. It skillfully blends many genres: folktale, hymn, individual lament, prophetic oracle, and didactic poem.
The author remains quite unknown except for a few hints provided by the book itself. That he was a Jew is assumed because of his familiarity with much of the Hebrew literature. Nevertheless, the book does not have a Hebrew setting, it is pervaded with foreign elements, and it shows a special knowledge of Egypt, thus leading many to believe that he was well travelled or lived outside the Holy Land. He was a keen observer of the natural world, and his feeling for the agony of the sufferer is a compelling argument that he had known anguish.
The book touches on many subjects, such as disinterested obedience to God under testing, innocent suffering, social oppression, religious experience and pious suffering, a man's relation to God, and the nature of God. Scholars have attempted to discover the basic message of the author. Because of the greater difficulty in understanding the Job of the poetic portion, the traditional interpretation looked to the narrative and saw the message as the need for patient bearing and faith despite tribulation. When certain poetic passages were thought to point to a belief in the resurrection of the body, Job became not only a patient sufferer but also a prophet of the resurrection. This view, however, does not account for the Job of the poetic portion. Thus, in the 19th century, with the advancement of biblical criticism, scholars began to claim that the author was dealing with the problem of unmerited suffering. The book presents a deep view of suffering, and Job's experience teaches that man must rest in faith and resign himself to the incomprehensible ways of God.
It would seem, however, that the question raised by Job is both deeper and broader than the question of how to account for the infliction of physical adversity on the innocent. Job's physical suffering is the outward symbol of his intense inward agony, the agony of a man who feels himself lost in a meaningless universe and abandoned even by God. What torments Job--and the author--is the question of the justice of God and the justice and honour of man before God. His passionate pleading of his own righteousness and his calling upon God for a hearing lead him to an encounter with God. This encounter does not answer the question of why the innocent suffer, but it is the only answer to the plea of a man seeking to find his God and to justify himself to him. The complacent believer who has been shattered by suffering, doubt, and despair is confirmed in faith and repents.