The document provides an overview of the biblical Book of Job. It discusses that Job was a wealthy and devout man who suffered many tragedies late in life but maintained his faith in God. God later spoke to Job and Job saw God's greatness. The document also examines authorship, date, location, themes, and key passages of Job. It provides context and a brief summary of the plot and lessons of Job.

1. THE BOOK OF JOB
Whois Job?
A wealthyanddevoutman,sufferedmanytragedies inhisoldage.Throughouthissuffering,he kepthisfaithonGodbut
finallyquestionedthe fairnessof hismisfortunes.Godspoke withhim, andJobsaw the Lord’s greatness.FinallyJob
regainedhisgoodfortune because he sawhiserrorisquestioningthe waysof the Lord.
AUTHORSHIP - UNKNOWN
NOTE: Suggestedhumanauthors andan Israelite sincehe refersGodasby the covenantname “Yahweh,”while joband
hiscompanions(see 1:1) use such termas God and the Almighty(12:9 isthe only exception).
A. Job
NOTE: Job(or unknown) isthe overwhelmingchoice asthe authorby conservative scholars
B. Moses
C. Solomon
D. Isaiah
E. Hezekiah
NOTE: Almostall theological liberalsholdtoa late date forthe writingof Job(Solomon,Isaiah,Hezekiah)
II. THE DATE OF THE EVENTS OF THE BOOK
Uncertain
(Butthe storyis seton the daysof patriarchs)
NOTE: To knowthe date wouldnarrowthe fieldof supposedauthors
B. The WritingOf The Book Of Job Is Dated From:
The time of Abraham
To the sixthcenturyB. C.
C. It Was ProbablyWrittenBefore OrDuringThe Time Of Abraham, Making It The FirstBook Of The Bible Written
III. THE LOCATION OF THE EVENTS IN JOB: UNKNOWN
(Joblivesatthe landof Uz , a townto the eastof palestine inEdomiteterritory,orpossiblyinthe Hauran,southof
Damascus)
A. The CitiesOf The Plain Job18:15
B. The Flood Job22:16
C. EdomOr Arabia
Uz
Teman
Eliphaz
IV. THE THEME OF THE BOOK: THE PROBLEMOF: SUFFERING

2. V.PURPOSE
Purpose of Writing:The Bookof Jobhelpsusto understand the following:Satancannotbringfinancial andphysical
destruction upon usunless itisbyGod's permission. GodhaspoweroverwhatSatan can and cannotdo. It isbeyondour
humanability tounderstand the "why's"behind all the sufferinginthe world. The wickedwill receivetheirjustdues. We
cannot alwaysblame sufferingandsinonourlifestyles. Sufferingmaysometimes be allowedinourlivestopurify, test,
teachor strengthen the soul. Godremainsenough,deserves andrequests ourlove andpraise inall circumstances of life.
VI. THE OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF JOB
A. Job’sTrial AndFriends Job1–2
B. LamentationOf Job Job 3
C. DiscussionsOf HisFriends Job4–31
D. Elihu’sDiscussion Job32–37
E. JehovahSpeaks Job38–42:6
F. The Conclusion Job42:7-17
VII. CONTEXT
Key Versesof the Book of Job: Job 1:1, "In the landof Uz there livedaman whose name wasJob. Thisman was
blameless andupright;he fearedGodandshunned evil."
Job1:21, "NakedIcame frommy mother's womb, andnakedI will depart. The LORDgave and the LORD has takenaway;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
Job38:1-2, "Thenthe LORD answered Joboutof the storm. He said, 'Who isthisthat darkens mycounsel withwords
withoutknowledge?'"
Job42:5-6, "My earshad heardof youbut now my eyeshave seenyou. ThereforeIdespisemyself andrepentindust
and ashes."
Brief Summary: The book of Jobopens witha scene inheavenwhere Satancomestoaccuse Jobbefore God. He insists
Jobonly servesGodbecause God protectshimand seeksGod’s permission totestJob’sfaithandloyalty. GodgrantsHis
permission,only withincertainboundaries. Whydothe righteous suffer?Thisisthe question raisedafterJobloseshis
family, hiswealth, andhishealth. Job'sthree friendsEliphaz, BildadandZophar, come to“comfort” himandto discuss
hiscrushingseries of tragedies. They insisthissufferingispunishmentforsininhislife. Job, though, remainsdevotedto
God throughall of thisand contends thathislife hasnotbeenone of sin. A fourthman, Elihu, tellsJobhe needsto
humble himself andsubmittoGod'suse of trialstopurify hislife. Finally, Jobquestions GodHimself andlearnsvaluable
lessons aboutthe sovereignty of Godandhisneedto totally trustinthe Lord. Job isthenrestored tohealth, happiness
and prosperity beyond hisearlierstate.
Foreshadowings:AsJob wasponderingthe cause of hismisery, three questions came tohismind, all of whichare
answered only inourLord JesusChrist. These questions occurinchapter14. First, inverse 4, Jobasks, "Who can bring
whatis pure fromthe impure?Noone!?"Job’squestion comesfromaheartthat recognizes itcannotpossibly please
God or become justified inHissight. Godisholy;we are not. Therefore, agreatgulf existsbetween manandGod,
causedby sin. Butthe answertoJob’sanguished question isfoundinJesusChrist. He haspaidthe penalty foroursin
and has exchanged itforHisrighteousness, thereby makingusacceptable inGod’ssight(Hebrews 10:14; Colossians

3. 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Job’ssecond question, "Butmandiesandliesprostrate;Manexpires, andwhere ishe?"(vs. 10), isanotherquestion
abouteternity andlife anddeaththatis answered only inChrist. WithChrist, the answerto‘where ishe?’ iseternallife
inheaven. WithoutChrist, the answerisaneternity in“outerdarkness”where thereis“weepingandgnashingof teeth”
(Matthew 25:30).
Job’sthirdquestion, found inverse 14, is“If a man dies, will he live again?”Once again, the answerisfoundinChrist.
We doindeed live againif we are inHim. “Whenthe perishable hasbeenclothedwiththe imperishable, andthe mortal
withimmortality, thenthe sayingthatiswrittenwill come true:‘Deathhasbeenswallowed upinvictory.’ ‘Where,O
death, isyour victory?Where, Odeath, isyoursting?’”(1 Corinthians 15:54-55).
Practical Application:The Book of Jobremindsusthat there isa "cosmic conflict"goingonthe behind the scenes that
we usually know nothingabout. Oftenwe wonderwhy Godallowssomething, andwe question ordoubtGod's
goodness, withoutseeingthe full picture. The Bookof Jobteachesusto trust God underall circumstances. We must
trust God, not only WHEN we do not understand, butBECAUSEwe do notunderstand. The psalmisttellsus, “AsforGod,
His way isperfect”(Psalm18:30). If God’swaysare “perfect,”thenwe can trust thatwhateverHe does—andwhatever
He allows—isalsoperfect. Thismaynotseempossibletous, but ourmindsare notGod’s mind. Itis true that we can’t
expecttounderstand Hismindperfectly, asHe remindsus, “For mythoughtsare not yourthoughts, neitherare your
waysmy ways, saysthe LORD. For as the heavens are higherthanthe earth, soare my wayshigherthanyour waysand
my thoughtsthanyour thoughts”(Isaiah55:8-9). Nevertheless, ourresponsibility toGodis to obey Him, totrust Himand
to submittoHis will, whetherwe understand itornot.
RecommendedResource:Job, HolmanOldTestamentCommentary bySteven Lawson.
Job, New International Commentary onthe OldTestamentbyJohnHartley
Job:
- Poetry
- Standsamongstthe book of oldthe OldTestament.Itformsa part of the ‘Wisdom’ material (Proverbs,
Ecclessiastes),butinformandtheme itis unique.