Job 1:6

Satan’s Accusation of Job ¹ 

1:6 Now the day came when ²  the sons of God ³  came to present themselves before ⁴  the Lord – and Satan ⁵  also arrived among them.

Isaiah 6:1-2

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ⁶  I saw the sovereign master ⁷  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs ⁸  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ⁹  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Luke 1:19

1:19 The ¹⁰  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands ¹¹  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring ¹²  you this good news.

Hebrews 1:14

1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those ¹³  who will inherit salvation?

[1:6]  ¹ sn The text draws the curtain of heaven aside for the reader to understand the background of this drama. God extols the virtue of Job, but Satan challenges the reasons for it. He receives permission to try to dislodge Job from his integrity. In short, God is using Job to prove Satan’s theory wrong.

[1:6]  ² tn The beginning Hebrew expression “and there was – the day” indicates that “there came a day when” or more simply “the day came when.” It emphasizes the particular day. The succeeding clause is then introduced with a preterite with the with vav (ו) consecutive (see E. Dhorme, Job, 5).

[1:6]  ³ sn The “sons of God” in the OT is generally taken to refer to angels. They are not actually “sons” of Elohim; the idiom is a poetic way of describing their nature and relationship to God. The phrase indicates their supernatural nature, and their submission to God as the sovereign Lord. It may be classified as a genitive that expresses how individuals belong to a certain class or type, i.e., the supernatural (GKC 418 §128.v). In the pagan literature, especially of Ugarit, “the sons of God” refers to the lesser gods or deities of the pantheon. See H. W. Robinson, “The Council of Yahweh,” JTS 45 (1943): 151-57; G. Cooke, “The Sons of (the) God(s),” ZAW 76 (1964): 22-47; M. Tsevat, “God and the Gods in the Assembly,” HUCA 40-41 (1969/70): 123-37.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn The preposition עַל (’al) in this construction after a verb of standing or going means “before” (GKC 383 §119.cc).

[1:6]  ⁵ sn The word means “adversary” or with the article “the adversary” – here the superhuman adversary or Satan. The word with the article means that the meaning of the word should receive prominence. A denominative verb meaning “to act as adversary” occurs. Satan is the great accuser of the saints (see Zech 3 where “Satan was standing there to ‘satanize’ Joshua the priest”; and see Rev 12 which identifies him with the Serpent in Genesis). He came among the angels at this time because he is one of them and has access among them. Even though fallen, Satan has yet to be cast down completely (see Rev 12).

[6:1]  ⁶ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[6:2]  ⁸ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ⁹ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”

[1:19]  ¹² tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”

[1:14]  ¹³ tn Grk “sent for service for the sake of those.”