Book of job commentary jewish

Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord this is generally understood of the angels, as in job 38. Designed for both jewish and nonjewish readers alike, the israel bible offers a unique commentary that seeks to explain gods focus on the land of israel alongside the original hebrew text, transliteration of select hebrew verses, and the new jewish publication society translation. Here are some of my reactions to using this book as a reference. This view i have presented and defended on many other grounds in my two books, the book of god and man university of chicago press, 1968 and the book of job, commentary, new translation, and special studies jewish theological seminary, 1970. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children. Jewish liturgy does not use readings from the book of job in the manner of the pentateuch. The distinction between yhvh and elohim is reflected in a number of important biblical sources, in talmudic sources and in traditional jewish. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. This one the buzite who shatters my words is of my family. Read the rambans introduction to his commentary on the book of job for a deeper understanding of how jobs lot was truely just.

The debate is about god, his attributes and how he interacts with humankind. A commentary the jewish commentary for bible readers on. Ezekiel referred to job as an important person alongside. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Rabbi moshe pinchas weisblum, phd delivers a fascinating lecture rich in content on the book of job, introducing the book and its key messages. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings.

Jewish liturgy does not use readings from the book of job in the manner of the pentateuch, prophets, or five megillot, although it is quoted at funerals and times of mourning. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. 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 could not occur in israel. Jan, 2016 rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. Job, possibly the strangest book in the bible, is based on legends going back thousands of years, and is written in a very unusual form of. Jan 19, 2016 assuming that job was a historical figure, he most likely would have been an israelite, though its unclear in the book of job where the land of uz where job is from is in relation to israel or judah. The book of job, celebrated as a classic of world literature and one of the glories of the bible, can often be puzzling and frustrating.

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. Japhet, sara the commentary of rabbi samuel ben meir rashbam on the book of job jerusalem, 2000 book of job. For those who may wish to study the book of job, a critical and exegetical commentary on the book of job by samuel rolles driver, d. 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. An explanation of the biblical book of job jewish books. An explanation of the biblical book of job the book job is composed of three parts.

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. Jewish bible commentaries merrimack valley havurah. Read the rambans introduction to his commentary on the book of job for a deeper understanding of how job s lot was truely just. This is the most singular book in the whole of the sacred code. If we cannot say where job originated, it is equally difficult to say when.

The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character. Top 5 commentaries on the book of job ligonier ministries. We may be sure that the author was an israelite, since he not job or his friends frequently uses the israelite covenant name for god yahweh. The commentary includes the hebrew text plus an english translation of the entire book of job. This is why the book of job is considered the most theological book of the old testament.

The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. Commentary, new translation, and special studies robert gordis 1978. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. The book of job, celebrated as a classic of world literature and one of the glories of. Gersonides commentary on the book of job published on 01 jan 2001 by brill. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central.

Dec 02, 2008 if the book of job is a portion of the word of god, as i believe it is, it deserves to be read with all the more care and diligence. You can find the best commentary on job for you using the tools on the right side. This book of job stands by itself, is not connected with any other, and is therefore to be considered alone. The book of job a widely misunderstood book jeffrey radon. It has also been suggested that the focus of the book is not general, universal human suffering, but the specific suffering of the jewish people. Job does not believe he has sinned and doesnt understand why he is suffering. In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil. Tanakh hebrew bible projectan online project that aims to present critical text of the hebrew bible with important ancient versions samaritan pentateuch, masoretic text, targum onkelos, samaritan targum, septuagint, peshitta, aquila of sinope, symmachus, theodotion, vetus latina, and vulgate in parallel with new english translation for.

Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. The author of the book of job incorporated the folk book into his work in a manner still showing traces of the component parts. Then the wrath of elihu, the son of barachel the buzite, of the family of ram, was aroused against job. The date of composition of the book of job in the context. The date of composition of the book of job in the context of. Job and three of his friends debate the cause of jobs tremendous loss and illnesses. Many copies of the hebrew bible place it after the book of psalms, and some after the proverbs, which perhaps has given occasion to some learned men to imagine it to have been written by isaiah or some of the later prophets. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away.

Gd runs the world, he is just and everything that happens is just even though we cant always see how that is so. 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, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. The book of job, in the old testament, opens with words both majestic and onceuponatimeish. Many scholars are convinced that the prologue and epilogue are later additions to the original, the body of the tale. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. However, there are some jews, particularly the spanish and portuguese jews, who do hold public readings of job on the tisha bav fast a day of mourning over the destruction of the first and second temples and other tragedies.

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. The poetical masterpiece that confronts the inexplicable mystery of good and evil can be a companion on your own spiritual journey. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. So these three men ceased answering job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Job overview matthew henrys complete commentary on the bible. You will also find options for commentaries on job that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. Instead, i sampled his work focusing on one chapter of the book of job, chapter 38, on which i was doing a special study. Where did the biblical story of creation come from. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author.