Bible Commentaries
Job 42

Introduction

Job Chapter 42

Job 42:1 "Then Job answered the LORD, and said,"

Job 42:2 "I know that thou canst do every [thing], and [that] no thought can be withholden from thee." Job recognized the magnificence of God. God has all power, as well as all wisdom and understanding. God reads the heart of man, even before he speaks his words. God knows that Job had a clean heart. Job knew that nothing he might think, or do, could ever be hidden from God. Job had never denied that God was all powerful, but it was brought even more clearly to his attention in the last few chapters, as the LORD spoke to him.

Job 42:3 "Who [is] he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not." The truth is that no one has this kind of knowledge, until the Lord God Almighty chooses for us to know it. He teaches us by His blessed Holy Spirit. Job did not understand what was going on. His only failure was that he insisted on knowing. Job wanted to confess to God his total dependence upon Him. The things of God are too wonderful for mortal man to know and understand.

Job 42:4 "Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me." This was the beginning of Job’s confession to God that he knew very little of the ways of God. Job wanted to speak to God and explain his foolishness.

Job 42:5 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee." Job had been taught of others of God, but this voice of God coming from the whirlwind had given him a brand new awareness of who God is. Hearing from others is not like hearing for ourselves. Job had been in the very presence of God, and was greatly humbled by the experience.

Job 42:6 "Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes." This was the same ash heap that Job had been sitting in from the beginning of his troubles. Now, he hated that he had not trusted God, that all was well with his soul. He had listened to too much that his so-called friends had said, and knew it wasn’t true that he worked himself up to the position to question what God was doing with him. God is the potter, and we are the clay. Job was clay in the hands of the LORD. The clay can not tell the potter what to do with it. Job realized that now. He abhorred himself for not having more faith than he had.

Job 42:7 "And it was [so], that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me [the thing that is] right, as my servant Job [hath]." This was about the last thing these friends wanted to hear, but they fully deserved every word. They had judged Job without any evidence to convict him. We must notice in this verse above, that God approved of the things that Job had said, but did not approve of the things the others had said. He spoke to the three friends, here, and not to Elihu, because He had already reprimanded Elihu, and because Elihu was a young man and, probably, knew no better. These old counselors should have known better. God was very angry with Job’s friends.

Job 42:8 "Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you [after your] folly, in that ye have not spoken of me [the thing which is] right, like my servant Job." The number "seven" means spiritually complete. After all of the hard things they had said to Job, now they must go back to him and ask him to pray for their forgiveness, or they would feel the wrath of God upon them. The time of Job was before the time of the priests, so Job would receive their offerings for their sins for them. They had not spoken for God with all of their accusations of Job. They must, now, humble themselves before the very man they tried to humiliate and destroy.

Job 42:9 "So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite [and] Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job." Their only chance of being forgiven was for Job to accept them and pray to God for them. God had already accepted Job. They knew they must go, since God had commanded them to. This had to be one of the hardest things they had ever done.

Job 42:10 "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before." Job was completely restored when he prayed for his friends to be forgiven. Job had been a rich man before this all began, but now God had restored him double for his faithfulness.

Job 42:11 "Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold." Now that things had turned around for Job, all his relatives and friends came to celebrate with him. They all brought presents to Job such as gold, and money. They had not even sympathized with Job during his trouble, but now, they had much sympathy for his punishment he endured without a cause.

Job 42:12 "So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses." These are twice as many animals, as he had before all of his trouble came to him.

Job 42:13 "He had also seven sons and three daughters." This was exactly the same number of sons and daughters Job had before his trouble. The worst loss that Job had felt was his children.

Job 42:14 "And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch." The name "Jemima" means dove, or fair as the day. "Kezia" was the same as cassia, a very rare spice. "Keren-happuch" means born of paint. This had to be the names of his three daughters.

Job 42:15 "And in all the land were no women found [so] fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren." These daughters of Job were extremely beautiful. In the Orient, this is thought to be a great blessing from God. Job made no difference between them and their brothers. He gave the daughters inheritance, as well as his sons. The sons’ names were not given for some reason.

Job 42:16 "After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, [even] four generations." Job had been spoken of by Elihu as an elderly man. If you add 140 years to the life of an elderly man he would be unusually old. He was thought to have been 70 years old when his calamities came. This would make him live to be 210 years old. The four generations would work out about right for that length of time, also.

Job 42:17 "So Job died, [being] old and full of days." Job went the way of all men. His flesh died and returned to the earth from whence it came.

Job 42 Questions

1. What did Job say to the LORD in answer?

2. God reads the ________ of man?

3. God teaches us by his blessed ________ ________.

4. Job wants to confess his total dependence upon ________.

5. The things of God are too wonderful for _______ _______ to know and understand.

6. Which verse is the beginning of Job’s confession?

7. How had Job known God before?

8. What was different now?

9. How did being in the presence of God effect Job?

10. Quote Job 42:6.

11. Job was _______ in the hands of God.

12. What does God say to Eliphaz and Job’s other friends in Job 42:7?

13. What did they have to do to make things right with God?

14. Who must pray for them for God to forgive them?

15. What did God say about what Job had said?

16. What does the number "seven" mean?

17. How do we know that Job was before the time of the priests?

18. What did the friends do about what God had told them?

19. What was their only chance to be forgiven?

20. When was Job completely restored?

21. What did his friends and family do after he was restored?

22. How many animals did God give Job back?

23. How many children did God give Job?

24. Quote Job 2: 15.

25. How long did Job live?

Verses 1-6

Job 42:1-6

Job 42

JOB’S REPENTANCE AND THE EPILOGUE

"Then Job answered Jehovah, and said, I know that thou canst do all things,

And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.

Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?

Therefore have I uttered things which I understood not,

Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;

But now mine eye seeth thee.

Wherefore I abhor myself,

And repent in dust and ashes."

"I know that thou canst do all things ... etc." (Job 42:2). "Job acknowledges that God can achieve all that he plans, and that He plans, knowing that he can do all things." Van Selms elaborated this somewhat, writing, "I sense, from the examples you have cited, the behemoth and the leviathan, that you are able to realize all your plans for your creation, however far these may go beyond human conception. You have reasons for what you do, of which we are totally ignorant"

"Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge" (Job 42:3). "In this Job repeats the question which God had asked in Job 38:2, admitting that he spoke out of limited knowledge, too confidently of things too wonderful for him to understand." In our interpretation of Job 38:2, we applied the words to the speech of Elihu; but we do not believe that Job’s accepting the application of the words to himself in this verse is a contradiction of that which we alleged earlier. As a matter of fact, all of the speakers in the Book of Job fall under the same blanket indictment, but Job is to be blamed far less than any of the others. Job’s knowledge of God has been greatly expanded; and he has a new appreciation of the extent, complexity and marvelous wonder of God’s creation.

"Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak" (Job 42:4). Earlier, Job had been unwilling to speak (Job 40:4-5); but now, in the light of his greater understanding, he is willing to respond to God’s invitation. "He can now accept the fact that God and his government of man’s life, and even his distribution of rewards and retributions, are ultimately beyond man’s power to comprehend." Job’s willingness to speak should not be interpreted as evidence that he then understand all about God. He didn’t; nor, in this life, would he ever do so.

"I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:5). This must not be understood as a contradiction of the great truth that "No man may see God." What Job referred to here was God’s revelation to him in the form of a voice out of the whirlwind. Van Selms’ comment on this was, "(My knowledge) was based on hear-say; but now I have been confronted by yourself, although you wrapped yourself in a thunder-cloud as in a garment; and in that form of concealment you did appear to me."

"But now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:5). This cannot mean that Job then knew more about God. Perhaps, he knew even less; but he had found an utterly new conception of God, not as some kind of an impersonal law, but God as a Person, a Person infinitely concerned with human affairs, a Person who would even speak to Job! that being the most wonderful and most incredible thing in the whole book. It revealed a love of God for man as nothing else could possibly have done.

"Now that thou hast revealed thyself unto me, my spiritual eyes are opened; and I begin to see thee in thy true might, thy true greatness, and thy true inscrutableness. I now recognize the distance that separates us." The same realization came to Job in this marvelous experience that was expressed by the Psalmist: "He (God) remembereth that we are dust" (Psalms 103:14). God, of course, holds this remembrance of men continually; and happy indeed is the man who himself finds the grace also to remember it. This grace was given to Job, as revealed in the following verse.

"Wherefore, I abhor myself" (Job 42:6 a). The underlined word here is not in the text, having been supplied by the translators; and, as indicated in the margin, "I loathe my words" is also a legitimate rendition. "Godly hatred of one’s own defilement is the natural accompaniment of a believer’s confrontation with the Holy God."

"And repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6 b). Of what did Job repent? "Certainly, he did not repent of such sins as his friends had alleged against him; and neither is it enough to say that Job repented of his pride. Repentance here is the mood of a man who realizes his creaturehood and that God is eternally God."

Here in Job 42:5-6, we have, "The supreme lesson of the book. No new theoretical knowledge of God and his ways has been given to Job; but he has come face to face with God, and that is enough"!

As we come to the end of Job, we are amazed that no answer whatever has been provided for the overriding question regarding the reason behind human suffering. "God is not so much concerned with strengthening man’s faith by giving him answers to his questions, as he is with encouraging the kind of faith that does not demand answers." As the great Apostle to the Gentiles stated it, "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." (2 Corinthians 3:19). The person who waits till he knows the answers to all his questions will never even begin to serve God.

"Job is a titanic figure of sinful man, standing at midpoint between the Garden of Eden and the New Testament." God’s manifesting such concern for Job, his unworthy creature, is a pledge of God’s love for all men, and a symbol of that eventual revelation to all mankind in Jesus Christ. He ranks along with Moses, Abraham, Melchizedek, and Jethro the priest of Midian as one of the great monotheists of the Old Testament.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:1-6. We should not lose sight of the thoughts expressed at Job 38:3 and Job 40:7. This book as a whole is inspired of God and Job was the human instrument through whom the document was given to man. However, in conducting the great drama, it was necessary for Job to take the role of an uninspired man and do his best to meet the inquiries put to him like a man, or from a human standpoint. This whole paragraph must be considered in the light of these comments. Full acknowledgment was made of the great power and wisdom of God. Uninspired man had exposed his ignorance by pretending to contend with the Lord. Hear, I beseech thee, etc., was a confession that man ought to let God speak while man hears and accepts the teaching. Eye seeth thee could not be literal in view of Exodus 33:20, but refers to the arguments that had been made from the works of God in creation. By having the eyes turned to those things they would actually see the evidence of God’s existence. In view of such a forceful situation, the arrogance of man would call for a practical reformation. Job acted as a representative of such a man by making the humble acknowledgment and by prostrating himself in dust and ashes.

Verse 7

Job 42:7

Job 42:7

THE EPILOGUE

"And it was so, that, after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."

What a shock such a declaration from God himself, speaking out of the whirlwind, must have been to Job’s three friends. That God completely ignored both Satan and Elihu is significant. That omission of any reference whatever to either Satan or Elihu, indicates the defeat and vanquishing of Satan and the strong implication that Elihu was, of all four instruments of Satan in their attack against Job, the most evil and the most offensive to God. It is extremely important that, when the friends were instructed on how they might be forgiven, Elihu was left out of it altogether.

Note here that only Eliphaz was called by name. This was probably due to the fact that he was the first to speak in each cycle of speeches; and that, from this, it is usually concluded that he was the oldest of the three.

"As my servant Job hath" (Job 42:7). This divine sanction of what Job had said about God should not be understood as an endorsement of everything that Job said. It should be applied to the principle issue in the argument, "Whether or not God always rewarded every man according to his conduct in this life, and that he did so at once, or immediately." The three friends had adopted the false theory that one could indeed measure the righteousness of a person by the degree of his prosperity, which was essentially the proposition espoused by the devil himself, with the variation that the only reason prosperous men served God was that of assuring the continuation of their prosperity. On the basis of that false view, the three friends insisted that Job was a reprobate sinner. This Job vehemently denied, pointing out that the wicked often prospered; and it is primarily of that basic truth that God spoke in this verse.

"My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends" (Job 42:8). God’s anger was due to the consent of the three in becoming instruments of Satan in their efforts to force Job to renounce his integrity. If we may judge from the exceedingly large sacrifices that God required of each of them, God must have considered their sin to have been of the very greatest dimensions.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:7. The comments in the preceding paragraph are verified by this verse. God expressly said that Job had spoken the right words while the three friends had not, but instead they had kindled the wrath of God against themselves.

Verse 8

Job 42:8

Job 42:8

SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS REQUIRED OF THE THREE

"Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the James 5:16 at is right, as my servant Job hath."

It is significant here that, "Ezekiel required as burnt-offerings for the entire nation of Israel (Ezekiel 45:22-25) seven bullocks and seven rams, whereas the expiatory sacrifices required by the Law for individuals were much smaller (Leviticus 4).” The fact that the speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were subjected here to blanket condemnation was the basis upon which we greatly reduced the comments that could have been made on each of their speeches. The fact of their being evil greatly reduced their importance.

"My servant Job shall pray for you" (Job 42:8). This was an order that God gave to Job and not merely an optional privilege. This intercession for them by Job was an additional condition of their being forgiven.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:8-9. These people were all living under the Patriarchal Dispensation in which the animal sacrifices composed God’s religious headquarters. The three friends had sinned by their speeches while Job had not. Therefore, not only did they need to offer a sacrifice and Job did not, but they had to do so in the presence of Job, who acted as a priest.

Verse 9

Job 42:9

Job 42:9

"So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as Jehovah commanded them: and Jehovah accepted Job."

From this, it is evident that it was actually Job’s intercessory prayer that constituted the principal element in the procurement of their forgiveness. The value of a truly righteous man’s prayers upon behalf of others appears here as a glorious achievement. "The prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). "Job is thus a type of Christ, not merely in his undeserved sufferings, but also in his mediatorial intercession for his friends.” Kelly also noted that, "Job here stands as a prefiguration of the Christian man in his acceptance of divine grace, and earlier, he had illustrated the deep need of all mankind for justification.”

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:8-9. These people were all living under the Patriarchal Dispensation in which the animal sacrifices composed God’s religious headquarters. The three friends had sinned by their speeches while Job had not. Therefore, not only did they need to offer a sacrifice and Job did not, but they had to do so in the presence of Job, who acted as a priest.

Verse 10

Job 42:10

Job 42:10

THE TURNING OF JOB’S CAPTIVITY

"And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends: and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before."

The "turning of Job’s captivity," is an idiomatic expression having nothing whatever to do with one’s having been in prison or in captivity. The RSV should be followed here. It reads: "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends." Some have criticized the epilogue as "spoiling the whole book," seeing in it nothing but a reaffirmation of the evil doctrine that everyone gets exactly what he deserves in this life. Does not Job wind up getting twice as much as he ever had before? Such a viewpoint misses the whole point of the Book of Job.

"And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job ... and gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10). Why did God do this? Let it be remembered that Satan had challenged Job’s integrity; and Job successfully withstood every test, proving that he served God for his own sake, not merely for the prosperity that resulted; and, after Job had turned back Satan’s evil charge, it would not have been right for God to have left Job in perpetual suffering and poverty. God increased Job’s wealth, not because Job was His loyal servant, but because he was wealthy when the test started. Furthermore the vast increase of Job’s riches is here said to have taken place, "When he prayed for his friends."

As we have meditated upon the Book of Job, striving to unlock the mysteries that are undoubtedly in it, a thought has come to us again and again, although we have sought a similar view in vain among the authors and scholars we have consulted. That thought is simply this: Job’s life, although not perfect in the infinite sense, nevertheless established the principle that the mortal flesh of man was not in itself incompatible with the truth that a sinless life could indeed be lived in it. And that, in some unknown way, might have been a contribution to the Eternal Truth that The Man, even the Christ, did indeed live a sinless life in mortal flesh.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:10. Captivity is from SHEBIYTH and Strong defines it, "figuratively, a former state of prosperity." It means that after Job had officiated in the offerings for his friends, and when he had prayed for them the Lord accepted the service. God next remembered Job and reversed his condition by restoring his "former state of prosperity." He did not stop at merely restoring what he had in the way of health and happiness, but doubled the riches that he once possessed.

Verse 11

Job 42:11

Job 42:11

"Then there came unto him, all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold."

"Concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him" (Job 42:11). One thing that is absolutely clear in the Book of Job is the fact that it was Satan, not Jehovah, who slaughtered Job’s children, impoverished him, and reduced him to the utmost suffering and disease; yet here, it is stated that, "Jehovah had brought" all these things upon him. Here we have enunciated the Biblical premise that God indeed "does" that which he allows to happen. Thus Job was by no means in error when he spoke of the terrible things that God had done to him. There is another principle somewhat akin to this, namely, that whatever a man commands another to do, it is also true that he himself does it.

"Every man gave him a piece of money ... gold ring ...etc." (Job 42:11). These things were not what increased Job’s wealth, "For these gifts were tokens of love and esteem, rather than gifts to alleviate his poverty.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:11. This verse exhibits one of the commonest weaknesses of many people. When a person is in sore need of help his so-called friends often desert him. Then if he becomes more fortunate they will pretend to be in full sympathy with him and offer great congratulations for his better estate. Job did not show any bitterness over the situation but entertained his guests in his own home. The gifts mentioned were according to the custom of the times. See comments at Genesis 32:13; 1 Samuel 10:27.

Verse 12

Job 42:12

Job 42:12

"So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses."

A check with the prologue will indicate that all of these endowments are exactly twice what Job at first possessed.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 42:12. See my comments at Job 42:10.