Job Chapter 1

At a Glance

  • Job 1 introduces us to a man whose life embodies integrity, prosperity, and devotion.
  • The pivotal moment comes when God permits Satan to test Job, “touch all that he hath,” while preserving his life.
  • Job is often dated to a broad range, possibly from the patriarchal era of the patriarchs to post-exilic times, and its precise dating remains debated.
  • - Righteousness under Pressure: Job’s initial integrity is tested, challenging the assumption that virtue always correlates with external blessing.
  • - The Mystery of Suffering: The narrative opens the question of why bad things happen to good people.

Job 1 introduces us to a man whose life embodies integrity, prosperity, and devotion. The chapter opens by presenting Job as “perfect and upright,” a man who fears God and shuns evil, with a large family and vast possessions. This establishes Job as the archetype of blameless piety in the ancient Near Eastern imagination. Job’s devout practice—offering burnt offerings for his children “according to the number of them all” out of fear they might have sinned—sets a pattern of proactive spiritual stewardship. The scene shifts dramatically to a heavenly council, where the Sons of God present themselves before the LORD, and Satan appears among them. The Lord commends Job’s integrity, but Satan challenges the honesty of his devotion, insinuating that Job’s piety is transactional—a hedge of blessing that prompts fidelity only because of prosperity.

The pivotal moment comes when God permits Satan to test Job, “touch all that he hath,” while preserving his life. This introduces the central test of the book: theodicy under suffering. The chapter closes with a day in which Job’s oxen and donkeys are seized, his servants are slain, and a great wind collapses the house of his eldest son, resulting in the death of Job’s children. The frame of the narrative is established: righteousness tested through loss, with a faithful response expected. The theological stakes are laid bare—will piety survive disaster, and can innocent suffering be reconciled with divine justice? Job 1 sets the stage for a dialogic exploration of suffering, providence, and human fidelity that will unfold across the entire book.

Job is often dated to a broad range, possibly from the patriarchal era of the patriarchs to post-exilic times, and its precise dating remains debated. The book belongs to the wisdom literature genre, characterized by rhetorical questions, reflective poetry, proverbs, and discussions about the nature of suffering, justice, and piety. The opening prose frame introduces the main characters and the cosmic dynamics at play, preparing readers for the wisdom debates that will unfold in the later poetic dialogues.

Positioned at the beginning of the book, Job 1 performs essential narrative function: it establishes Job’s exemplary character, the severity of the test he will endure, and the theological question at the heart of the book—how a just God relates to human suffering. It also introduces the reader to the motif of “the accuser” (Satan) and the divine permission that frames the mystery of suffering. The stark contrast between Job’s prosperity and the catastrophe that follows invites readers to grapple with the mystery of faith under trial, which remains a central concern of wisdom literature.

- Righteousness under Pressure: Job’s initial integrity is tested, challenging the assumption that virtue always correlates with external blessing.

- The Mystery of Suffering: The narrative opens the question of why bad things happen to good people.

- The Sovereignty and Mystery of God: God’s permission of the test raises questions about divine governance and ultimate purposes.

- Intercessory Piety: Job’s regular offerings for his children show a priestly, intercessory posture even before suffering begins.

- The Cosmic Perspective: The heavenly audience and the dialogue about Job reveal a larger cosmic frame in which human life unfolds.

Job 1 speaks powerfully to contemporary readers who wrestle with pain, hardship, and the seeming disconnect between virtue and success. It validates the reality that faithful people may experience profound loss and suffering, challenging simplistic cause-and-effect assumptions about morality and prosperity. The chapter invites readers to cultivate a posture of reverent honesty before God, recognizing humanity’s limited understanding while holding fast to trust in divine goodness. It also underscores the importance of intercession and family faith—the practices of naming, confessing, and seeking God for the welfare of others. In counseling, pastoral care, or personal devotional life, Job 1 encourages compassionate honesty about pain, while resisting the urge to offer glib explanations. The chapter also prompts reflection on the sources of our security—wealth, family, health—and invites a reorientation toward God as the deepest foundation of worth and meaning.

Key Themes

Righteousness under Pressure: Job’s initial integrity is tested, challenging the assumption that virtue always correlates with external blessing.The Mystery of Suffering: The narrative opens the question of why bad things happen to good people.The Sovereignty and Mystery of God: God’s permission of the test raises questions about divine governance and ultimate purposes.Intercessory Piety: Job’s regular offerings for his children show a priestly, intercessory posture even before suffering begins.

Chapter Text

1

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

2

And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

4

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

5

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

6

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9

Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

13

And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

14

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

15

And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

16

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

17

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

18

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

19

And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

20

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

21

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

22

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

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