וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וַיָּבֹאוּ בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל־יְהוָה וַיָּבוֹא גַם־הַשָּׂטָן בְּתֹכָם לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל־יְהוָה׃   2:1

Job 2:1   And the day happened when the sons of God came to present themselves to the Lord,

and the adversary also came among them to present himself to the Lord.

This is a later “day,” some time after the first “day” described in Job 1:6.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־הַשָּׂטָן אֵי מִזֶּה תָּבֹא וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר מִשֻּׁט בָּאָרֶץ וּמֵהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּהּ׃   2:2

Job 2:2   And the Lord said to the adversary, "From this, where would you be coming?"  And the

adversary answered the Lord and said, "From roaming about on the earth and traversing on it."

This verse is nearly the same as Job 1:7.  The difference is the addition of the word I translate as this.  The addition

must show that something had transpired since the first time.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־הַשָּׂטָן הֲשַׂמְתָּ לִבְּךָ אֶל־עַבְדִּי אִיּוֹב כִּי אֵין כָּמֹהוּ בָּאָרֶץ אִישׁ תָּם וְיָשָׁר יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים   2:3 וְסָר מֵרָע וְעֹדֶנּוּ מַחֲזִיק בְּתֻמָּתוֹ וַתְּסִיתֵנִי בוֹ לְבַלְּעוֹ חִנָּם׃

Job 2:3   And the Lord said to the adversary, "Had you set your heart on My servant, Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man wholesome and upright, revering God and turning aside from

evil, with his still being strong in his integrity, as you instigated Me against him to eat him up without cause?"

This is the Lord speaking.  ... this is the Lord speaking?  It certainly doesn’t sound like the omnipotent omniscient

Creator of the universe.  It sounds like a human assigning blame for something he shouldn’t have done.  I am

very unhappy about this.  This apparently casual exchange makes me cringe.  I have to ask, why is the Lord doing

this?  What does He have to prove?  Like the story of Genesis 3, this sounds like a fairy tale for a child’s ears.

וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר עוֹר בְּעַד־עוֹר וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לָאִישׁ יִתֵּן בְּעַד נַפְשׁוֹ׃   2:4

Job 2:4   And the adversary answered the Lord and said, "Skin may be on behalf of skin, but all that is a man's he would give for his life."

אוּלָם שְׁלַח־נָא יָדְךָ וְגַע אֶל־עַצְמוֹ וְאֶל־בְּשָׂרוֹ אִם־לֹא אֶל־פָּנֶיךָ יְבָרֲכֶךָּ׃   2:5

Job 2:5   "But now send forth Your 'hand' and strike at his bone and at his flesh; surely to Your face he will blaspheme You."

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־הַשָּׂטָן הִנּוֹ בְיָדֶךָ אַךְ אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ שְׁמֹר׃   2:6

Job 2:6   And the Lord said to the adversary, "Behold, he is in your hand; just preserve his life.

For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why the Lord wanted to spare Job’s life?  After thinking about it for a few

moments, I realized that Job had to stay alive so he could demonstrate to the adversary his incredible integrity.

I believe there’s also another reason, but I’ll keep that to myself for a while.

וַיֵּצֵא הַשָּׂטָן מֵאֵת פְּנֵי יְהוָה וַיַּךְ אֶת־אִיֹּוב בִּשְׁחִין רָע מִכַּף רַגְלֹו (עַד) [וְעַד] קָדְקֳדֹו׃   2:7

Job 2:7   Then the adversary went forth from the presence of the Lord and he struck Job with an

evil inflammation from the sole of his foot up to the top of his head.

וַיִּקַּח־לוֹ חֶרֶשׂ לְהִתְגָּרֵד בּוֹ וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בְּתוֹךְ־הָאֵפֶר׃   2:8

Job 2:8   And he took for himself a shard to scratch himself with it, as he sat in the midst of the

ashes.

וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ עֹדְךָ מַחֲזִיק בְּתֻמָּתֶךָ בָּרֵךְ אֱלֹהִים וָמֻת׃   2:9

Job 2:9   And his wife said to him, "You are still holding fast to your integrity.  Blaspheme God and

die."

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ כְּדַבֵּר אַחַת הַנְּבָלוֹת תְּדַבֵּרִי גַּם אֶת־הַטּוֹב נְקַבֵּל מֵאֵת הָאֱלֹהִים וְאֶת־הָרָע לֹא נְקַבֵּל   2:10 בְּכָל־זֹאת לֹא־חָטָא אִיּוֹב בִּשְׂפָתָיו׃

Job 2:10   And he said to her, "You would speak like the speech of one of the foolish?  Shouldwe

receive from He Who is God the good and not also receive the bad?"  With all this, Job did not sin

with his lips.

וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת רֵעֵי אִיּוֹב אֵת כָּל־הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת הַבָּאָה עָלָיו וַיָּבֹאוּ אִישׁ מִמְּקֹמוֹ אֱלִיפַז הַתֵּימָנִי   2:11 וּבִלְדַּד הַשּׁוּחִי וְצוֹפַר הַנַּעֲמָתִי וַיִּוָּעֲדוּ יַחְדָּו לָבוֹא לָנוּד־לוֹ וּלְנַחֲמוֹ׃

Job 2:11   Then three friends of Job heard all this evil that had come upon him and they came,

each from his place, Eliphaz, the Temanite, and Bildad, the Shuhite, and Zophar, the Naamathite,

and they arranged to meet together to come to show compassion for him and to comfort him.

I began to question whether Job was Jewish after translating this verse.  These three friends of his certainly

weren’t.  The name Eliphaz is mentioned in Genesis Chapter 36, but I wonder if they are the same person.  Little

is known about Bildad, whose name is not mentioned in the bible.  All there is is a questionable reference to a tribe

named Shuah in Genesis and 1Chronicles.  Nothing is known of Zophar.  At a later chapter I will offer my

conjecture as to whom they might represent.  You’ll eventually understand that I see the book of Job as an

allegory and a metaphor.

וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶם מֵרָחֹוק וְלֹא הִכִּירֻהוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ קֹולָם וַיִּבְכּוּ וַיִּקְרְעוּ אִישׁ מְעִלֹו וַיִּזְרְקוּ עָפָר    2:12               עַל־רָאשֵׁיהֶם הַשָּׁמָיְמָה׃

Job 2:12   And they raised their eyes from afar and they did not recognize him, and they lifted up

their voice and wept, and they rent each his robe, and scattered dust over their heads to the

heavens.

וַיֵּשְׁבוּ אִתֹּו לָאָרֶץ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים וְשִׁבְעַת לֵילֹות וְאֵין־דֹּבֵר אֵלָיו דָּבָר כִּי רָאוּ כִּי־גָדַל הַכְּאֵב מְאֹד׃   2:13

Job 2:13   And they remained with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and none was speaking to him a word, for they saw that the pain was very great.

 

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