Commentary on the Book of Job Bible Study Notes and Comments by David E. Pratte Available in print at www.gospelway.com/sales Commentary on the Book of Job: Bible Study Notes and Comments © Copyright David E. Pratte, 2010, 2014 Minor revisions 2016 All rights reserved ISBN-13: 978-1495909535 ISBN-10: 1495909530 Note carefully: No teaching in any of our materials is intended or should ever be construed to justify or to in any way incite or encourage personal vengeance or physical violence against any person. Front page photo Statue with artist’s conception of Job Photo credit: Jörg Syrlin the Younger distributed under GNU free documentation license, via Wikimedia Commons Other Acknowledgements Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are generally from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from Holy Bible, New American Standard La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (MLV) are from Modern Literal Version of The New Testament, Copyright 1999 by G. Allen Walker. Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1978 by Zondervan Bible publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Study Notes on Job Page #2 Other Books by the Author Topical Bible Studies Growing a Godly Marriage & Raising Godly Children Why Believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible? (evidences) The God of the Bible (study of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Grace, Faith, and Obedience: The Gospel or Calvinism? Kingdom of Christ: Future Millennium or Present Spiritual Reign? Do Not Sin Against the Child: Abortion, Unborn Life, & the Bible True Words of God: Bible Inspiration and Preservation Commentaries on Bible Books Genesis Gospel of Mark Joshua and Ruth Gospel of John Judges Acts 1 Samuel Romans Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther Ephesians Job Philippians and Colossians Proverbs Hebrews 1 & 2 Peter Bible Question Class Books Genesis Gospel of John Joshua and Ruth Acts Judges Romans 1 Samuel 1 Corinthians Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther 2 Corinthians and Galatians Job Ephesians and Philippians Proverbs Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians Ecclesiastes 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Isaiah Hebrews Gospel of Matthew General Epistles (James – Jude) Gospel of Mark Revelation Gospel of Luke Workbooks with Study Notes Jesus Is Lord: Workbook on the Fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ Following Jesus: Workbook on Discipleship God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ: Workbook on the Theme of the Bible Visit our website at www.gospelway.com/sales to see a current list of books in print. Page #3 Study Notes on Job Other Resources from the Author Printed books, booklets, and tracts available at www.gospelway.com/sales Free Bible study articles online at www.gospelway.com Free Bible courses online at www.biblestudylessons.com Free class books at www.biblestudylessons.com/classbooks Free commentaries on Bible books at www.gospelway.com/commentary Contact the author at www.gospelway.com/comments Study Notes on Job Page #4 Table of Contents Job 1 ...................................... 9 Job 2 .................................... 23 Job 3 .................................... 29 Job 4 .................................... 33 Job 5 .................................... 38 Job 6 .................................... 44 Job 7 .................................... 48 Job 8 ..................................... 52 Job 9 .....................................56 Job 10 .................................. 62 Job 11 ....................................65 Job 12 .................................. 69 Job 13 ................................... 74 Job 14 .................................. 80 Job 15 .................................. 84 Job 16 .................................. 90 Job 17 .................................. 93 Job 18 .................................. 96 Job 19 .................................. 99 Job 20 ................................ 104 Job 21 ................................. 108 Job 22 ................................. 114 Job 23 ................................. 120 Job 24 ................................. 123 Job 25 ................................. 128 Job 26 ................................. 130 Job 27 ................................. 133 Job 28................................. 137 Job 29 ................................. 141 Job 30 ................................ 145 Job 31 ................................. 150 Job 32 ................................. 156 Job 33 ................................. 160 Job 34 ................................. 166 Job 35 ................................. 172 Job 36 ................................. 175 Job 37 ................................. 181 Job 38 ................................. 186 Job 39 ................................. 191 Job 40 ................................ 194 Job 41 ................................. 197 Job 42 ................................ 202 (Due to printer reformatting, the above numbers may be off a page or two.) Page #5 Study Notes on Job Notes to the Reader To save space and for other reasons, I have chosen not to include the Bible text in these notes (please use your Bible to follow along). When I do quote a Scripture, I generally quote the New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated. Often – especially when I do not use quotations marks – I am not quoting any translation but simply paraphrasing the passage in my own words. Also, when I ask the reader to refer to a map, please consult the maps at the back of your Bible or in a Bible dictionary. You can find study questions to accompany these notes at www.gospelway.com/sales To join our mailing list to be informed of new books or special sales, contact the author at www.gospelway.com/comments Study Notes on Job Page #6 Introductory Thoughts about Commentaries Only the Scriptures provide an infallible, authoritatively inspired revelation of God’s will for man (2 Timothy 3:16,17). It follows that this commentary, like all commentaries, was written by an uninspired, fallible human. It is the author’s effort to share his insights about God’s word for the purpose of instructing and edifying others in the knowledge and wisdom found in Scripture. It is simply another form of teaching, like public preaching, Bible class teaching, etc., except in written form (like tracts, Bible class literature, etc.). Nehemiah 8:8; Ephesians 4:15,16; Romans 15:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:12-14; 5:12-14; 10:23-25; Romans 10:17; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 8:4; 2 Timothy 2:2,24-26; 4:2-4; 1 Peter 3:15. It follows that the student must read any commentary with discernment, realizing that any fallible teacher may err, whether he is teaching orally or in writing. So, the student must compare all spiritual teaching to the truth of God’s word (Acts 17:11). It may be wise to read several commentaries to consider alternative views on difficult points. But it is especially important to consider the reasons or evidence each author gives for his views, then compare them to the Bible. For these reasons, the author urges the reader to always consider my comments in light of Scripture. Accept what I say only if you find that it harmonizes with God’s word. And please do not cite my writings as authority, as though people should accept anything I say as authoritative. Always let the Bible be your authority. “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” – 1 Corinthians 1:31 Page #7 Study Notes on Job Abbreviations Used in These Notes ASV – American Standard Version b/c/v •– book, chapter, and verse ESV – English Standard Version f – the following verse ff – the following verses KJV – King James Version NASB – New American Standard Bible NEB – New English Bible NIV – New International Version NKJV – New King James Version RSV – Revised Standard Version Study Notes on Job Page #8 Job 1 Introduction Basic Information Author and date Other Bible references confirm the historical truth of the story of Job, showing that he lived and his story was well known: Ezek. 14:14,20; James 5:11. He was a real man, his story actually occurred, and he was a faithful servant of God, just as surely were Noah, Daniel, etc. Further, the inspiration of the book is confirmed by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:19, where he quotes directly from Job 5:13 saying, “it is written.” This expression is used repeatedly to refer to inspired Scripture. However, the date when the book was written and by whom it was written are so uncertain as to be unworthy of any in-depth discussion. Various commentators have speculated upon nearly every imaginable Old Testament author and every imaginable Old Testament time period. Nor do we know for certain the exact location of the land of Uz where these events occurred. Horne argues, on the basis of Lamentations 4:21, that Uz refers to Edom or Idumaea, the area south of the Dead Sea. He adds, “…there seems to be no good reason for supposing that it was not written by Job himself.” However, he grants that it is possible that, even if Job wrote the original record, it may have been edited and revised