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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Job 2

Job 2: boils, Job's wife, and seven days of silence

General context

A second day comes when the sons of God present themselves before the Lord and Satan among them. The Lord again asks where Satan has come from and again describes Job as perfect and upright, adding that Job still holds fast his integrity although Satan moved the Lord against him to destroy him without cause. Satan answers, Skin for skin, claiming a man will give all he has for his life, and that if the Lord touches Job's bone and flesh he will curse him to his face. The Lord puts Job in Satan's hand but commands that his life be saved. Satan strikes Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. Job scrapes himself with a potsherd and sits among the ashes. His wife asks whether he still retains his integrity and tells him to curse God and die. Job answers that she speaks as one of the foolish women and asks whether they should receive good from God and not evil; the narrator says Job did not sin with his lips. Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, hear of the evil and come by appointment to mourn with him and comfort him. Seeing him from afar they do not recognize him; they weep, tear their mantles and sprinkle dust on their heads. They sit with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and none speaks a word, because they see his grief is very great.

Cited passages: Job 2:1, Job 2:2, Job 2:3, Job 2:4, Job 2:5, Job 2:6, Job 2:7, Job 2:8, Job 2:9, Job 2:10, Job 2:11, Job 2:12, Job 2:13

Job 2 (KJV)

1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

2And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

3And 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? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

4And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

6And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

7So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

9Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

12And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

13So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

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Historical context

The chapter repeats the heavenly scene of chapter 1 with the same question and the same description of Job. The Lord's words in verse 3 state that the earlier destruction was without cause and that Satan moved the Lord against Job; this is the Lord's statement in the dialogue, not a narrator's summary. Satan's proverb, Skin for skin, is his claim about human nature, and the text does not explain it further. The illness is described as sore boils covering the whole body; nothing more specific is stated. Job's wife is unnamed and speaks once; the text does not say what she has lost beyond what chapter 1 reports for the household. Job calls her words those of the foolish women, and the narrator records no further exchange between them. The three friends are identified only by name and place designation, Temanite, Shuhite, Naamathite, with no other background. The narrator states their purpose as coming to mourn with him and to comfort him. Their silence of seven days is explained by the narrator: they saw that his grief was very great. No fourth friend appears here.

Cited passages: Job 2:1, Job 2:3, Job 2:4, Job 2:7, Job 2:9, Job 2:10, Job 2:11, Job 2:13

Literary context

The chapter mirrors chapter 1 closely: the same court scene, the same opening question, the same commendation of Job, and a second permission with a new limit, but save his life. The escalation moves from possessions and children to Job's own body. The Lord's added clause, still he holdeth fast his integrity, is picked up by Job's wife, Dost thou still retain thine integrity, so the word passes from heaven to the ash heap. Her command, curse God, and die, is the outcome Satan predicted in verse 5 and in 1.11, and Job's refusal again answers it. The narrator's verdict here, did not Job sin with his lips, is confined to speech, where 1.22 said he sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. The chapter ends in silence: three named men sit for seven days and no one speaks, which sets up the outburst of chapter 3. The narrator withholds any report of what Job or the friends think during those days.

Cited passages: Job 2:2, Job 2:3, Job 2:5, Job 2:6, Job 2:9, Job 2:10, Job 2:11, Job 2:13, Job 1:11, Job 1:22

Key moments

  1. Satan returns (Job 2:1). Satan again comes among the sons of God before the Lord.
  2. Skin for skin (Job 2:4). Satan claims a man will give all he has for his life.
  3. Sore boils (Job 2:7). Satan strikes Job with boils from foot to crown.
  4. Job's wife speaks (Job 2:9). Job's wife asks if he still keeps his integrity and tells him to curse God and die.
  5. Good and evil from God (Job 2:10). Job asks whether they should receive good and not evil, and does not sin with his lips.
  6. Three friends arrive (Job 2:11). Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar come to mourn with Job and comfort him.
  7. Seven days of silence (Job 2:13). The friends sit with Job seven days and nights without a word.

For reflection

Job's wife and Satan both expect Job to curse God; the friends say nothing for seven days. What does the text let a reader see about which response Job most needed in that week?

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