The Book of

JOB

John E. Hartley

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 1988 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Hartley, John E.

The book of Job.

(The New international commentary on the Old Testament)

Bibliography: p. 56.

Includes indexes.

1. Bible. O.T. Job—Commentaries.

I. Title. 11. Series.

BS 1415.H37 1988

223´.1077 87–33079

ISBN 0–8028-2528–1

To My Wife

Dorothy

For Her Persevering Help

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

Numbered among the greatest literature of all time, the book of Job addresses the universal problem of suffering with penetrating insight. It is a radical book, for it lets the throes of pain challenge traditional beliefs. Its author has no sacred cows to protect. Although the many advances that have been made in knowledge, especially in the field of medicine, have enhanced the quality of human life, suffering persists. It could be said that suffering has increased among the human race by reason of the global problems that compound human misery. Thus the book of Job is still relevant, because Job stands as an example of faith in God overcoming the severest suffering.

The message of the book of Job plays a vital role in the theology of the canon. It modifies a simplistic, fatalistic understanding of the doctrine of retribution that condemns all who suffer and praises all who prosper regardless of their moral integrity. I believe that Isaiah was so inspired by the account of Job that Job served as one of his models in his portrait of the Suffering Servant. Since Isaiah’s Servant Songs play a vital role in the NT’s interpretation of Jesus’ mission, the tie between those Songs and the book of Job binds this book even more tightly to the NT message of Christ’s redemptive work. In that Job’s story proves that a righteous person could experience the worst affliction possible and continue to trust in God, it lays the foundation for believing that Jesus truly was a righteous person even though he died a most shameful death, reserved for hardened criminals.

Since this commentary is written for “pastors, scholars, and students,” it is designed so that it may be read without a knowledge of Hebrew, yet it is hoped that the comments and the footnotes will be informative for scholarly readers as well. Even though the Hebrew text of Job is unusually difficult, the purpose of this work has been to concentrate on interpreting the book’s message rather than to write a linguistic commentary. In an effort to make the MT as intelligible as possible, the insights of Dhorme, Pope, Dahood, Fohrer, Gordis, and others have been drawn on freely.

This leads to a comment about the translation found in the commentary. The Hebrew text of Job requires numerous emendations in order for it to be rendered into readable English. I have made a reading for every line and noted the emendations, of course. As a rule, I have followed ...