The book of Job is a thought experiment designed to examine the retribution principle and its limitations.2 The opening scene is set in heaven, where the adversarial character (haśśāṭān) proposes that God’s policies of blessing the righteous are misguided. After all, if righteousness invariably brings blessing, who can say whether someone is truly righteous or is selfishly pursuing personal gain? The adversary argues that, if God withdraws Job’s blessings, Job will reveal that his motives have always