him as one “blameless and upright; feared God and shunned evil” (1:1; compare 1:8). In addition, the prologue leaves the reader in no doubt regarding the reason for Job’s suffering; it is a divinely sanctioned test of his willingness to endure faithfully without payment. With these issues settled from the outset, the dialogue can no longer be about the reason for innocent suffering—we know why Job is suffering. Nor can the debate actively pursue the question whether retributive theology is an adequate