Book Of Job Sparknotes

The book of Job commences with a prologue that displays a righteous man named Job. In addition, the prologue also describes an ethereal congregation of angels and God; among the angels gathers Satan. Satan challenges God that if He allows him to afflict Job that Job will curse God. God allows for Satan to afflict Job, and in one day all of Job’s children die and his wealth is depleted. Job, nevertheless, does not curse God. Once again, the angels congregate before God, and Satan challenges that Job did not curse God because He spared Job himself. God then allows for illness and boils do afflict Job, nevertheless Job continues to abstain from cursing God. The prose section of the book is put on hold when three of Job’s friends Eliphaz, Bildad,

There are three cycles of speeches in Job. In the first cycle, Eliphaz responds to Job’s curses by emphasizing to Job God’s holiness and sovereignty, and man’s inability to please God. Surely Job must have sinned to deserve a just punishment from God. Job responds that God’s punishment outweighs the magnitude of his wrongdoings. Bildad then responds and reinforces Eliphaz’s assertion that Job is receiving just punishment for his sins from God and encourages Job to plead with the Almighty and He will restore Job to a prosperous and rightful future. Job then concedes that a mortal cannot be righteous before God, however, Job reaffirms his blamelessness and despises his own life. Zophar, then speaks and rebukes Job’s attitude of guiltlessness, and asserts that Job is actually more deserving of punishment than he actually received. Job, concludes the first cycle of speeches by demanding an opportunity to defend himself before God. There are two additional cycles that repeat a similar pattern of Job’s three friends asserting that Job is in the wrong and Job defending