Analytical Essay: The Book Of Job

Why do the righteous suffer? The book of Job covers this and much more. On the surface, the story of Job appears to be a story full of woes and sorrow, however it is a book filled with themes of God’s sovereignty and the meaning of true faith. The story of Job, helps us understand why the righteous suffer by showing a “behind the scenes” look into the workings of God by showing his sovereignty though his conversations with Satan. Job’s author is technically unknown, however, it is commonly believed among most biblical scholars to have been written by Job himself around 2000-1800 B.C. and takes place in the land of Uz (located northeast of Palestine and between the Damascus and Euphrates River). The book of Job is centered around these eight specific characters: Job, his wife, God,

Each of these characters has a distinct personality and role within the story of Job. The first character met in the book of Job, is Job himself. Job is described as a “blameless and upright man… who feared God” (Job 1:1). Job is a wealthy man, who has 7 sons and 3 daughters. Job is seen as the priest of the family and “was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3). The second character introduced in Job is God. God is shown as confident in his creation and the reader is able to see how God’s foreknowledge is but into play within the story of Job. God is shown having conversations with Satan and in the end with Job himself responding to Jobs complaining. The third character introduced is Job’s wife. Job’s wife first speaks in Job 2:9. She is afflicted by the pain and loss she has endured and the pain she sees her husband in and tells her husband to “Curse God and die!” . The fourth character introduced in Job is Satan. Satan is the antagonist of this and every story. Satan is seen as try to cause Job by continually asking God to further the reaches of his ability to affect Job and his loved ones to try to make him lose faith. The fifth character