The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. The book of job was also found among the dead sea scrolls. Elihu, isaiah, hezekiah, jeremiah, and ezra have also been suggested as possible. In addition, were clearly told that elihu is young job 32. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. When we concluded our readings on the book of job in the bible meditator, we wondered about the messages of elihu, the young man who listened to the debate between job and his friends. 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. Job is wrong to accuse god of injustice, as god is greater than human beings, and nor are the. Pdf elihus contribution to the thought of the book of job robert. Jewish tradition attributes the book to moses, and other authors have been suggested job, elihu, solomon, isaiah, hezekiah, and baruch, jeremiahs scribe.
The revised version, as well as many other of the more accurate translations, renders verse 23, if there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him. Elihu was one of job s friendsnot one of the three who had come to comfort job at the beginning of the book, but one who arrives later and offers the last and longest single speech to job. He is said to have descended from guz who may be from the line of abraham genesis 22. The babylonian talmud claims, moses wrote his own book, and the passages about balaam and job baba bathra, 14b, 15a. We dont know by whom, but the story dates back to short after the noah flood when people still got really really old. Ancient scribes didnt usually sign writings in the ancient world. Neil simon wrote gods favorite which is a modern retelling of the book of job. Jobs answer to his own suffering is that he is the victim of fate, until his friend elihu finally convinces him otherwise. All that can be said with certainty is that the author was a loyal hebrew who was not. Job lived after the whole troubles some period another 140 yrs.
The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. Before we begin a conceptual analysis of this holy book it will be helpful to clarify four things. Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. Commentary on the book of job chapter thirtytwo by wm w wells. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. Unlike today, ancient people didnt listen to a story and think. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Typology study on elihu blessed hope baptist church. Copeland this study guide is from the executable outlines series, a collection of sermon outlines and bible study lessons by mark a. The book of job asks us to look beyond blame, accept ambiguity and uncertainty, and trust god for what we cannot see or control. And then he takes it upon himself to spend about five chaptersan eighth of the entire bookspouting off his thoughts. The book, in its present form, loosely divides into five parts.
Who wrote the book of job and how did they know about the conversation between god and satan. In the book of job of the bible why is elihu not guilty. Elihu concluded that the friends had condemned job without finding an answer for him and elihu was angered against job for justifying himself rather than god job 32. Trying to say that one of the characters in the book wrote one of the chapters is as ridiculous as saying that princess leia wrote attack of the clones. If the author of the book of job is in fact job, then the inclusion of elihus discourses may have been especially pertinent to job because of the close affinity of elihus thoughts and sentiments to jobs own thinking, prior to this his change. He isnt mentioned as one of jobs friends, but apparently he was there listening in on their conversation, because he knows all about it when he chimes in. Elihu tells job that he too is one of gods sons 33.
Weve just written essays on the book of job, and ive been looking at whether or not the text answers questions of suffering. In the book of job of the bible why is elihu not guilty before god. Seeing that jobs three friends remained silent, unable to answer him, elihu takes their place. The book of job is not only the finest expression of the hebrew poetic genius. According to albert barnes, lightfoot and others believed that the book of job was written by elihu. Elihu is the fourth friend who spoke to job in chapters 32 37. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as found in the bible and the quran. Elihu gives several speeches that carry with them many elements of biblical wisdom, but the final wisdom to be found in this great book comes not from jobs friends or from elihu, but from god himself. Job himself, who could have best recalled his own words.
Elihu was one of jobs friendsnot one of the three who had come to comfort job at the beginning of the book, but one who arrives later and offers the last and longest single speech to job. Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. These verses are the heart of the theological message of the book of job. Not only do they incur the indignation of job and his other friend elihu, but god himself rebukes them, saying to eliphaz, i am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has. Jobs three friends eliphas the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite were gulity before god because of what they said to job. The authenticity of the elihu speeches in job 3237 29 allotted to elihu in comparison to the four chapters assigned to eliphaz, the three to bildad, and the two to zophar, b the placement of the elihu speeches in the book, and c the reaction the speeches have drawn from critical circles on the question of authenticity. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as. Elihu wrote all of jobs book, yet pride in his work. Before the character and role of elihu in the book of job can be considered, the question regarding whether or not the elihu speeches are an original part of the book of job must be addressed. Elihu, the fourth friend who spoke toward the end of the story. Elihu, the forgotten prophet of job the book of job is one of the most important of the entire bible, and is a prerequisite to all discussions of christian theology, particularly theodicy. First, the name elihu is a variant spelling of the name elijah, and elihus actions in the book of job suggest a strong connection to the great prophet. In job 3237 elihu offers a response to job that lifts up the lord, condemns jobs three friends, and rightly confronts job.
In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil. Book of job overview insight for living ministries. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. Elihu is identified only as the son of barakel the buzite, of the family of ram job 32. God ignored elihu in the final analysis, as god was making clear what. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. In the following general summary of the arguments employed by elihus. At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering.
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. The lengthy, detailed conversations recorded in this book suggest they may have been written by an eyewitness to all that transpires. In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of jobs friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly. The book of job does not specifically name its author. Since elihu offered wise counsel to job, if the book was written by one of his counselors, elihu is the best choice. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Some of the hebrew prophets attempted to deal with this question insofar as it affected the nation as a whole, but the writer of the book of job deals with it on an individual basis.
Other than his long speech, elihu is never mentioned. Several suggestions have been put forth as plausible authors. Introduction the book of job is widely regarded as one of the great written masterpieces of history, equally impressive for the depth of the issues it wrestles with and the great literary quality it displays. If you were to fit it chronologically, it should be place in the early chapters of genesis. Literary and theological function of the elihu speeches in the book of job ph. Jobs counsel reaches a higher level with some deep insights by elihu. Evidence that elihu prepared job for god the bible meditator. Elihu, in the hebrew bible, a comforter of job, the biblical prototype of undeserved. Then the book closes with the birth of more sons and daughters and jobs rise to a position of even greater wealth and prominence.
We are continuing our study in the book of job and today, you know, i spent more time studying the book of job this year than any other time in my life. Ancient jewish tradition credits the authorship of the book of job in the hebrew bible to moses. The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. Put simply, many scholars believe that the elihu speeches as we have them now were not part of the original book of job. The most likely candidates are job, elihu, moses and solomon. 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. But this claim is rejected by many modern scholars and instead they suggest that elihu, solomon, and ezra could be the authors of the book. The role and character of elihu in the book of job the. Elihu by arthur davis on 28 march 2010 10 comments. Some scholars point to seemingly different features of the elihu speeches job 3237 to argue that he was a later. When the debate between job and his friends is brought to a close, elihu for the first time makes his appearance, and delivers his opinion on the points at issue job 3237 37. If moses was the author, the date would be around 1440 b.
An introduction to the book of job faithlife sermons. The book of job introduction the book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. With large parts of job being the arguments of his friends which are afterwards being repudiated by god himself, and job repen. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. Stedman believes that there are four reasons that elihu is an integral part in the book of job. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The author of the book of job incorporated the folk book into his work in a manner still showing traces of the component parts.
Job lived out his additional years as a happy, contented man. The goal is to demonstrate how tthe author of job utilized certain key themes in developing the purpose and message of the book. The book of job 4 author and date of writing who wrote the book, and when. The work is grouped with proverbs and ecclesiastes as a product of the wisdom movement, even though it contains what might be called an antiwisdom strain in that the hero.
As a whole, the book appears to have been written as a direct challenge to the timehonored doctrine that people are rewarded or punished according to their merits. In job 32 elihu focuses his response on rebuking jobs three. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Curtis, why were the elihu speeches added to the book of job. Theorists just eat this stuff up because it helps them decide what was written down when.