Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• D. Moses' blessing of the tribes ch. 33
  After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
• Scope
  It is also difficult to determine how much time the events narrated in the book cover.The first chapter tells about Job's life before his trial, and the last chapter reveals what happened after it until Job's death. The chapt...
• Message
  What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
• Outline
  I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
• I. PROLOGUE chs. 1--2
  The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
• 2. The second test 2:1-10
  Satan again claimed that Job served God only because God had made it advantageous for Job to do so. Job still had his own life. Satan insinuated that Job had been willing to part with his own children and his animals (wealth)...
• A. Job's Personal Lament ch. 3
  The poetic body to the book begins with a soliloquy in which Job cursed the day of his birth. This introductory soliloquy corresponds to another one Job gave at the end of his dialogue with his three friends (chs. 29-31), esp...
• B. The First Cycle of Speeches between Job and His Three Friends chs. 4-14
  The two soliloquies of Job (chs. 3 and 29-31) enclose three cycles of dialogue between Job and his three friends. Each cycle consists of speeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in that order interspersed with Job's reply to e...
• The unfairness of God 9:25-35
  In short, Job believed it was useless for him to try to prove himself upright since God seemed determined to punish him.The Book of Job uses legal terms and metaphors extensively in the sections that deal with Job's disputes ...
• 1. Job's discourse on God's wisdom ch. 28
  Because the speech in this chapter is more soliloquy than dialogue some scholars have concluded that someone other than Job spoke it: Zophar, Bildad, or God. One writer argued for its being a speech by none of the characters,...
• 2. Job's defense of his innocence ch. 29-31
  Job gave a soliloquy before his dialogue with his three friends began (ch. 3). Now he concluded that dialogue with another soliloquy (chs. 29-31). In this one, Job longed for his past state of blessedness (ch. 29), lamented h...
• Job's past blessedness ch. 29
  "Chapter 29 is another classic example of Semitic rhetoric with all the elements of good symmetrical style. . . . The pattern is as follows:"Blessing, vv. 2-6Honor, vv. 7-11Job's benevolence, vv. 12-17Blessing, vv. 18-20Honor...
• Job's present misery ch. 30
  "Chapter 29 speaks of what the Lord gave to Job and chapter 30 speaks of what the Lord took away (cf. 1:21)."123He was presently without respect (vv. 1-15), disregarded (vv. 16-23), and despondent (vv. 24-31). He had formerly...
• Elihu's reasons for speaking 32:6-22
  Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...