“In the land of Uz there was a blameless and upright man named Job, who feared God and avoided evil.” (Job 1:1) With these words the Bible introduces one of its most memorable characters.

“In the popular imagination Job is an icon, emblematic of the sufferer who endures the unendurable without complaint. Yet what many generations have tended to remember about Job is only one aspect of the story. The ‘patience of Job’ has become a cliché that obscures the much more complex character who appears in the biblical book. Although the book of Job begins with such a description of Job the pious, patiently enduring calamity that the initial images serve as a foil for the contrasting representation of Job that follows: Job the rebel, who debunks the piety of his friends and boldly accuses God of injustice. In contrast to the majority of Jewish and Christian interpreters over the centuries, who often seem somewhat embarrassed by by Job’s unrestrained blasphemies, many twentieth-century readers, readling from a century of unparalleled horror, have been drawn to Job’s anger of moral outrage against a God who could permit such atrocities. The attempt to claim Job as the patron saint of religious rebellion, however, also encounters embarrassment, for that the end of the book, after God’s speech from the whirlwind, Job withdraws his words against God. Neither the character nor the book of Job yield to an easy appropriation. To the reader who is willing to forgo simplistic answers, however, the book offers a challenging exploration of religious issues of fundamental importance: the motivation for piety, the meaning of suffering, the nature of God, the place of justice in the world, and the relationship of order and chaos in God’s design of creation.” (Carol A. Newsom, “The Book of Job” in Old Testament Survey (Abingdon Press, Nashville | 2005))

The prologue (chaps. 1–2) provides the setting for Job’s testing. When challenged by the satan’s questioning of Job’s sincerity, the Lord gives leave for a series of catastrophes to afflict Job. Three friends come to console him. Job breaks out in complaint (chap. 3), and a cycle of speeches begins. Job’s friends insist that his plight can only be a punishment for personal wrongdoing and an invitation from God to repent. Job rejects their inadequate explanation and challenges God to respond (chaps. 3–31). A young bystander, Elihu, now delivers four speeches in support of the views of the three friends (chaps. 32–37). In response to Job’s plea that he be allowed to see God and hear directly the reason for his suffering, the Lord answers (38:1–42:6), not by explaining divine justice, but by cataloging the wonders of creation. Job is apparently content with this, and, in an epilogue (42:7–17), the Lord restores Job’s fortune.

The first readings this week are taken from the Book of Job, so it seemed good to me, here at the start of the week, to provide an introduction to one of the most intriguing books in all of Sacred Scripture. Take a few minutes to watch this easy to understand video overview of the Book of Job.