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JoashAid to Bible Understanding
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for imprisonment.—1 Ki. 22:26, 27; 2 Chron. 18:25, 26.
7. Shortened form of Jehoash, king of Judah and son of Ahaziah. (2 Ki. 11:2, 3, 21) Joash as an alternate spelling for Jehoash occurs many times in the Masoretic Hebrew text, as pointed out in footnotes of the New World Translation, 1955 edition.—2 Ki. 12:19, 20; 1 Chron. 3:11; 2 Chron. 24:1, 2; see JEHOASH No. 1.
8. Shortened form of Jehoash, king of Israel, son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu. (2 Ki. 14:1, 8, 9) This alternate spelling (Joash) often occurs in the Masoretic text.—2 Ki. 13:9, 12, 13; 2 Chron. 25:17, 18, 21; NW, 1955 ed., ftns.; Hos. 1:1; Amos 1:1; see JEHOASH No. 2.
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JobAid to Bible Understanding
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JOB
Job [object of hostility].
A man living in the land of Uz, in what is now Arabia. (Job 1:1) God said concerning Job: “There is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad.” (Job 1:8) This would indicate that Job lived in Uz at about the time that his distant cousins, the twelve tribes of Israel, were in slavery down in the land of Egypt. By then Joseph the son of Jacob (Israel) had died after he had endured much unjust suffering, but had kept his blamelessness toward Jehovah God. Moses had not yet risen up as Jehovah’s prophet to lead the twelve tribes of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. Between Joseph’s death (1657 B.C.E.) and Moses’ birth (1593 B.C.E.) would be a period of sixty-four years. There is no record of anyone between Joseph and Moses with integrity like Job’s. It was likely during this period that the conversations involving Job took place between Jehovah and Satan.—Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7.
TIME OF JOB’S TRIAL
Moses is generally credited with writing the account of Job’s experiences. He could have known about Job when he spent forty years in Midian and may have heard of Job’s final outcome and death when Israel was near Uz toward the end of its wilderness journey. If Moses completed the book of Job about the time of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land in 1473 B.C.E. (probably not long after Job’s death), this would place the time of Job’s trial about 1613 B.C.E., for Job lived 140 years after his trial was over.—Job 42:16, 17.
A MAN OF WEALTH AND HONOR
Job was apparently a relative of Abraham through Uz, the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor. (Gen. 22:20, 21) Though not an Israelite, Job was a worshiper of Jehovah. He was “the greatest of all the Orientals,” possessing great wealth. His family consisted of his wife, seven sons and three daughters. (Job 1:1-3) He conscientiously performed duties as a priest for his family, offering sacrifices to God in their behalf.—Job 1:4, 5.
Job was a man of honor, having servants, being a figure of importance in the gate of the city, even aged men and princes giving him respect. (Job 29:5-11) He sat as an impartial judge, executing justice as a champion of the widow and was like a father to the fatherless boy, the afflicted and those who had no help. (29:12-17) He kept himself clean from immorality, greedy materialism and idolatry, and was generous to the poor and needy.—31:9-28.
JOB’S INTEGRITY
Then Jehovah, with confidence in Job’s integrity, which was challenged by Satan, and knowing His own ability to recover and reward Job, permitted Satan to test Job’s integrity to the limit, but not allowing Satan to kill Job. After Satan, through various means, took away first Job’s livestock and servants, then his children (Job 1:13-19), Job never charged God with folly or wrongdoing. Neither did he turn away from God, even when pressure was brought upon him by his own wife and by others. (1:20-22; 2:9, 10) He spoke the truth about God. (42:8) He accepted reproof for being too anxious to declare himself righteous and neglecting to vindicate God (32:2), and he acknowledged his sins to God.—42:1-6.
AN EXAMPLE FOR CHRISTIANS
Jehovah loved Job. At the end of his faithful course under test God constituted Job a priest for his three companions who had contended with him and God restored Job to his former status. He again had a fine family (evidently by the same wife) and double the wealth be had previously possessed. All his relatives and former associates returned to pay respect to him and to bring him gifts. (Job 42:7-15) He lived to see his sons and his grandsons to four generations.—Job 42:16.
Through the prophet Ezekiel, God pointed to Job as an example of righteousness. (Ezek. 14:14, 20) His patient endurance of suffering is set before Christians as a pattern, and his happy outcome is pointed to as magnifying Jehovah’s affection and mercy. (Jas. 5:11) The account of his trialsome experience gives great comfort and strength to Christians, and many Bible principles are highlighted and illuminated by the book bearing his name.—See JOB, BOOK OF.
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Job, Book ofAid to Bible Understanding
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JOB, BOOK OF
Written by Moses, according to both Jewish and early Christian scholars. Its poetry, language and style indicate that it was originally written in Hebrew, and in its prose portions it has many similarities to the Pentateuch, which tend to point to Moses as the writer. During his forty-year stay in Midian Moses would have had access to the facts about Job’s trial and he could learn of the outcome of Job’s life when Israel came near Uz on the way to the Promised Land, in 1473 B.C.E.
ARRANGEMENT
The book of Job is unique in that it consists largely of a debate between a true servant of Jehovah God and three others claiming to serve God, but who erred in doctrine in their attempts to correct Job. Job, they mistakenly thought, was being punished by God for some grievous hidden sin. Thus, arguing on this basis, they actually became Job’s persecutors. (Job 19:1-5, 22) The debate consists of a series of three rounds of speeches, in which all four speakers participate, except that Zophar does not speak in the last round, having been silenced by Job’s argument. Thereafter all are corrected by Jehovah’s spokesman Elihu and finally by God himself.
It is clear, therefore, that one has to bear in mind when reading or quoting from the book that the arguments presented by Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar are erroneous. At times these three companions of Job state true facts, but in a setting and with an application that is wrong. Satan used this tactic against Jesus Christ when he “took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him upon the battlement of the temple and said to him: ‘If you are a son of God, hurl yourself down; for it is written, “He will give his angels a charge concerning you, and they will carry you on their hands, that you may at no time strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him: ‘Again it is written, “You must not put Jehovah your God to the test.”’”—Matt. 4:5-7.
The companions of Job said that God punishes the wicked. This is true. (2 Pet. 2:9) But they concluded that all suffering one undergoes is a result of sins on that one’s part—that God is thereby administering punishment to him. Suffering, they said, is an evidence that an individual has specially sinned. They spoke untruthfully concerning God. (Job 42:7) They slandered Him. As they presented God, he was lacking in mercy. Their claim was that God has no delight in the integrity-keeping man and that he has no trust in His servants, even in angels. This denies the many Scriptural statements revealing Jehovah’s love for his intelligent servants. An example of God’s
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