Job Chapter 2 — Job's Integrity and Physical Suffering
Job faces a second test affecting his physical health and remains faithful to God despite his suffering. His three friends arrive to offer sympathy and sit with him in silence.
1Again, on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
2The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
3The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause.”
4Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
5But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.”
6The LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
8He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.”
10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”
11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
12When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
13So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Job 2:10
“But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?'”
This verse highlights Job's steadfast refusal to blame God or renounce his faith despite extreme physical pain.
Job 2:13
“So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.”
This demonstrates a profound act of ancient mourning and the depth of sympathy Job's friends initially showed.
Chapter Summary
The narrative returns to the heavenly council where Satan argues that Job only remains faithful because his physical health is intact. God permits Satan to strike Job's body but commands him to spare Job's life. Consequently, Job is afflicted with painful sores from his head to his feet, leading him to sit among ashes and scrape his skin with a potsherd. When his wife suggests he renounce God and die, Job rebukes her, asking if they should only accept good from God and not adversity. News of Job's tragedy reaches his three friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—who travel from their respective homes to comfort him. Upon seeing Job's unrecognizable state, they weep, tear their robes, and sit on the ground with him in silence for seven days and seven nights, acknowledging the overwhelming nature of his grief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Job was struck with painful sores covering his entire body, from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He was in such distress that he sat among ashes and used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his skin.
Witnessing his extreme suffering, Job's wife asked if he still maintained his integrity and encouraged him to 'Renounce God, and die.' Job responded by calling her words foolish and affirming that one should accept both good and trouble from God.
The three friends were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment to meet and travel together to sympathize with Job and comfort him in his loss and illness.
Study Note
The seven days of silence observed by Job's friends corresponds to the traditional Jewish mourning period known as Shiva.
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