God-Fearing for Naught? Job’s Portrayal in the Prologue of The Book of Job as God-fearing Even without the Repercussions of an Afterlife

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Recommended: Literary form and structure of the book of job

The Book of Job tells the story of Job, a righteous man, who has everything thing in his life taken away and then is given the opportunity to question God directly about this injustice. The depiction of Job in the prologue (1:1-2:10) of Job illustrates that Job is righteous in spite of a lack of afterlife belief because he fears God and wishes to live the best life possible. Job’s story is not a breaking of the covenant between God and man, but rather an example of the covenant’s true purpose to provide choice in how one reacts to a situation.

The book of Job tells the story of Job. This section of Job, the prologue from 1:1-2:10, was a section that was probably added onto the core story at another date (Coogan 1504). Scholars disagree on which parts exactly were added, but this section was almost positively added on later. One of the first things we learn about Job is the fact he is not an Israelite. “There was a man in the land of Uz,” opens the first verse of the first chapter. Job is thus an outsider in Israelite culture, but he can be righteous without being an Israelite, an insider. This is important because it speaks to the universal aspect of God. Next we learn about Job’s great wealth, so great “that this man was the greatest of all people in the East” (1:3). This great wealth separates him again from the average man. This sets up for someone who is vey different from the expected. One of the last defining features of Job is his family. He has seven sons and three daughters. This is significant because Job has therefore more sons than daughters, which is in Israelite society would be favored. Also both of his children are in groups of holy numbers. Three is the number for holiness and the number seven is...

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...ear of a punishment in the afterlife, but rather an understanding that sense God controls everything, you are at his whim and if he decides to destroy your life, than it shall be so. However, it illustrates another aspect of the relationship with God as well. God may not always be kind and loving towards his creation, but he will not take away humans choice on how to react to the situation. The true meaning of the covenant is thus illustrated through Job and Satan thereof illustrates the lack of one.

Works Cited

Berlin, Adele, Marc Zvi. Brettler, and Michael A. Fishbane. "Job." The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. 1501-1505. Print.

Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Standard Version with the Apocrypha : An Ecumenical Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

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