Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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 ...
• 1. The first test 1:6-22
  These verses reveal that angels ("sons of God,"v. 6), including Satan, periodically report to God on their activities. Satan was doing then what he still does today, namely, "seeking whom he may devour"(1 Pet. 5:8).25Satan's ...
• 3. The wish that he could die then 3:20-26
  Much of Job's suffering was intellectual. He asked, "Why?"frequently in this soliloquy (vv. 11, 12, 20, 23) and in the dialogue that follows (7:20, 21; 9:29; 13:24; 21:4; 24:1)."My groaning comes at the sight of my food"(v. 2...
• 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 greatness of God 9:1-12
  Job began his response to Bildad by acknowledging that much of what his friends had said was true (v. 2). Many of Job's speeches began with sarcasm or irony. He then turned to a question that Eliphaz had raised earlier (4:17)...
• The arbitrary actions of God 9:13-24
  Rahab (v. 13) was a name ancient Near Easterners used to describe a mythical sea monster that was symbolic of evil. Such a monster, also called Leviathan (7:12), was a major character in the creation legends of several ancien...
• 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 ...
• Job's repudiation of his friends 12:1-13:19
  Verse 2 is irony; his companions were not as wise as they thought. Job pointed out that much of what they had said about God was common knowledge (cf. 5:9-10; 8:13-19; 11:7-9). Nonetheless their conclusion, that the basis of ...
• Job's presentation of his case to God 13:20-28
  As in his replies to Eliphaz (7:12-21) and Bildad (9:28-33; 10:2-19), Job also addressed God in this reply to Zophar (13:20-14:22).Job asked God to stop afflicting him and to stop terrifying him (13:20-21). He also requested ...
• Job's despair ch. 14
  In this melancholic lament Job bewailed the brevity of life (vv. 1-6), the finality of death (vv. 7-17), and the absence of hope (vv. 18-22)."Born of woman"(v. 1) reflects man's frailty since woman who bears him is frail. Ver...
• The fate of the wicked 15:17-35
  Perhaps Eliphaz wanted to scare Job into repenting with these words. As before, Eliphaz's authority was his own observations (v. 17; cf. 4:8). To this he added the wisdom of their ancestors (vv. 18-19; cf. 8:8). Probably vers...
• Job's confidence in God 19:23-29
  "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
• 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...
• Elihu's first response to Job ch. 33
  This whole speech is an attempt to explain to Job why God was not responding to him. Elihu was very wordy, which he admitted in 32:18. In summary, he told Job that God was not silent, as Job had charged, but that He was speak...
• Job's position of indifference 35:1-3
  Job had said that living a righteous life does not benefit a person since God does not consistently bless the righteous and punish the wicked in this life (9:30-31; cf. 34:9; 35:3). Elihu thought this assertion was hardly a s...
• G. The Cycle of Speeches between Job and God chs. 38:1-42:6
  Finally God spoke to Job and gave revelation that Job had been demanding for so long (cf. 13:22; 31:35). There was now no need for the middle-man that Job had requested who could mediate between them (cf. 9:33; 16:19). Yahweh...
• A. Jeremiah's sorrows 3:1-18
  3:1 Jeremiah claimed to have seen much affliction because Yahweh had struck Jerusalem in His anger (cf. Job 9:34; 21:9; Ps. 89:32; Isa. 10:5)."The two preceding poems ended with sorrowful complaint. This third poem begins wit...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The End Of The Lord'
  "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 2. I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee. 3. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood ...