Job 42

42:1-6 Job understood the message of God’s speeches: I know that you can do anything. Nothing is too hard for God (Gen 18:14; Jer 32:17; Matt 19:26) and nothing can stop his plan (Job 23:13; Isa 14:27; 46:10). Job realized how unlike God he was.

42:5 now I have seen you: Up to this point, Job had not seen God (see 23:8); now, like Isaiah, he had been in God’s presence and was overwhelmed by God’s holiness (Isa 6:1).

42:7 Eliphaz the Temanite was the spokesman for the friends, which probably indicates his seniority. Eliphaz had falsely implied that his advice originated in prophetic visions (4:12-16); now God did speak to him, but not to affirm his message. • Unlike his three friends (cp. 13:7-10), Job had spoken accurately about God. Job’s blunt questions were better suited to arriving at the truth about God than the friends’ superficial orthodox doctrine.

42:8-9 The Lord made Job the mediator that Job had hoped to find for himself (9:33; 16:19-21; 19:25) and that Elihu desired to be (32:1–37:24). • go to my servant Job: God wanted Job’s friends to be reconciled with Job before they presented their offerings (Matt 5:23-24). • My servant Job will pray for you; he had also prayed for his children (1:5; cp. Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 5:16). • When the Lord accepted Job’s prayer, it ironically fulfilled Eliphaz’s promise (Job 22:26-30).

42:10 Job’s fortunes probably included his health (42:16-17). God created humans in order to bless them, not curse them.

42:11 Although Job was restored, he still needed to be consoled and comforted for the loss of his children. Following Job’s own earlier practice (4:4; 16:5), his family and former friends took up where the three other friends left off (2:11; cp. 2 Cor 7:6). • The gift of money was not so much charity to provide a financial basis for Job’s restored fortune as it was to honor and seek the favor of an influential man (e.g., Prov 18:16), and perhaps even to assuage disfavor (e.g., Gen 32:20; 33:10; 43:11; 1 Sam 25:27). • A gold ring was worn in a woman’s nose (Gen 24:47; Prov 11:22; Isa 3:21) or on the ears of either men or women (Gen 35:4; Exod 32:2-3; Judg 8:24).

42:12 When God blessed Job, it ironically fulfilled Bildad’s promise (8:7).

42:14 The beautiful names of Job’s new daughters spoke of Job’s renewed and pleasant good fortunes. • Jemimah means “dove” (see Song 2:14). • Keziah means “cassia” or “cinnamon flower” (see Ps 45:8). • Keren-happuch means “horn of antimony,” which refers to a lustrous container for cosmetics.

42:15 their father put them into his will: Daughters normally inherited only when there were no male heirs (Num 27; 36). Perhaps Job’s unusual action expressed his superabundant prosperity; only a wealthy man could afford to pass some of his wealth to the families into which his daughters would marry.

42:16 140 years was twice the normal life span (Ps 90:10). If the analogy of double restoration holds (Job 42:10), Job might have been 70 already and then lived another 140 years. A life span of 210 years would not be out of keeping with the patriarchal setting of the book (see Gen 25:7; 35:28; 47:28; 50:26; Deut 34:7; Josh 24:29). • living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren: Job’s blessing extended to watching his multigenerational family grow (Gen 50:23; Ps 128:6).

42:17 Like Abraham and Isaac, who also died at a ripe old age (Gen 25:8; 35:29), Job lived a long, full life, fulfilling Eliphaz’s promise (Job 5:26), which was based on God’s general promise (Deut 6:2; Ps 91:16). • At the end of the book, the Greek Old Testament adds a note declaring that Job will rise from the dead at the resurrection. It goes on to provide information about where and when Job and his descendants lived.