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Job (Biblical book)
From A Storehouse of Knowledge
Job is a book of the Old Testament. It is grouped with the wisdom books, and tells the story of a pious, wealthy man who is tested by having every kind of misfortune befall him, to see if he is only righteous because of his privileged standing in life.
An outline of Job is as follows:
- Chapters 1 & 2 explain how Job came to be tested, and how his so-called friends came to be talking to him.
- Chapters 3 to 37 record the conversation between Job and his three friends.
- Chapters 38 to 42:6 record what God said to Job.
- Job 42:7 to the end (Job 42:17) explains that God rebukes Job's friends, that Job prays for his friends, and what happened to Job afterwards.
Of these four sections the first and fourth are in the form of narrative while the second and third are in the form of poetry.
The Book of Job is something of an oddity, in that it has little connection to the other books of the Old Testament. None of the people mentioned in it are Jewish, and it takes place in the Land of Uz, the location of which is unclear. Also, Satan's relationship with God is depicted very differently from elsewhere: Satan has the role of a somewhat mischievous being who converses on relatively cordial terms with God (somewhat similar to Loki in Norse mythology).
There are various theories about the authorship of the Book of Job. Some ascribe it to Moses, others to Job himself, and others think that there is no way of knowing who the author was.
| Books of the Bible | |
| Old Testament | |
| Pentateuch (Torah) | Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy |
| History | Joshua • Judges • Ruth • I Samuel • II Samuel • I Kings • II Kings • I Chronicles • II Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther |
| Wisdom Literature | Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon |
| Major Prophets | Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel |
| Minor Prophets | Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi |
| New Testament | |
| The Gospels | According to Matthew • According to Mark • According to Luke • According to John |
| History | Acts of the Apostles |
| Pauline Epistles | Romans • I Corinthians • II Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • I Thessalonians • II Thessalonians • I Timothy • II Timothy • Titus • Philemon |
| General Epistles | Hebrews • James • I Peter • II Peter • I John • II John • III John • Jude |
| Prophecy | The Revelation to John |
