Family worship. I. SHOULD PRECEDE THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY . Job rose up early in the morning. II. SHOULD BE PERFORMED IN THE ASSEMBLED HOUSEHOLD . Job gathered all his sons to his devotions. III. SHOULD BE CELEBRATED AFTER DUE PREPARATION . Job sanctified his sons by the customary ablutions. IV. SHOULD BE INSPIRED BY FAITH IN THE ATONING SACRIFICE . Job offered up burnt offerings. V. SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY ... read more
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about - Dr. Good renders this, “as the days of such banquets returned.” But this is not the idea intended. It is, when the banquets had gone round as in a circle through all the families, “then” Job sent and sanctified them. It was not from an anticipation that they “would” do wrong, but it was from the apprehension that they “might” have sinned. The word rendered “were gone about” (נקף nâqaph) means properly to join together, and then... read more
Job 1:5. When the days of their feasting were gone about When each of them had had his turn, and there was some considerable interval before their next feasting-time; or, as the Hebrew כי הקופו ימי , chi hikkipu jemee, may be rendered, As the days went about, Job sent and sanctified them Exhorted and commanded them to sanctify themselves, not merely by changing or washing their clothes, (Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:14,) and performing other ablutions, and acts of ceremonial purification... read more
1:1-2:13 SATAN TESTS JOBFrom prosperity to ruin (1:1-22)A popular belief in ancient times was that prosperity and well-being were proofs of godliness, but poverty and suffering were proofs of ungodliness. They were signs that God was either rewarding or punishing a person, according to whether that person’s life was good or bad. The book of Job contradicts this belief. Yet the prosperous and contented Job was indeed a godly person who was blameless in all that he did. He was concerned also for... read more
were gone about = came round. offered = offered up. App-43 . Showing that, from Genesis 4:0 onward, the institution was observed. sinned. Hebrew. chata'. App-44 . cursed. One of the eighteen emendations of the Sopherim ( App-33 ), by which the primitive Hebrew text, kalal = to curse, was changed to barak = to bless, as in Job 1:11 with Job 2:5 , Job 2:9 . Translated "cursed" in Authorized Version, and "renounced" in Revised Version, in spite of barak (blessed) standing in the printed... read more
Job 1:5. When the days of their feasting were gone about— As the days of their feasting went about. By sanctifying them is meant, his preparing them, by lustrations and other ritual ceremonies, to perform divine service with him, and to render God propitious to them; see Exo 19:10 and 1Sa 16:5 where to sanctify, or cleanse, is used for the care of approaching to sacred rites, washed and clean. The Hebrew word כרךֶ barek, signifies, to bless; but it here implies, to renounce, or bid adieu to,... read more
5. when the days of their feasting were gone about—that is, at the end of all the birthdays collectively, when the banquets had gone round through all the families. Job . . . sanctified—by offering up as many expiatory burnt offerings as he had sons ( :-). This was done "in the morning" (Genesis 22:3; Leviticus 6:12). Jesus also began devotions early (Mark 1:35). The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times, was offered (literally, "caused to ascend," referring to the smoke ascending... read more
A. Job’s Character 1:1-5Uz (Job 1:1) was probably southeast of the Dead Sea (cf. Job 1:3; Job 1:14; Job 1:19; Job 42:12). [Note: See Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, s.v. "Uz," by G. Frederick Owen.] Some scholars place it in Bashan south of Damascus, but the writer of Lamentations (probably Jeremiah) associated the land of Uz with Edom (Lamentations 4:21). References to customs, geography, and natural history elsewhere in the book support this general location (cf. Jeremiah... read more
The PrologueJob 1, 2, which form the Prologue to the book, describe (a) the prosperity and piety of Job; (b) a scene in heaven in which the Satan questions the motives of his piety; and (c) his subsequent trials, which are permitted by God in order to test and confirm His servant’s righteousness, and to show to angels and men that a man may serve God for His own sake and not from self-interest. So far from being dependent on outside conditions the true servant of God will endure the severest... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Job 1:5
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about ; rather, when the days of the feasting had come round ; i.e. whenever one of the birthdays had arrived in due course, and the feasting had taken place. That Job sent and sanctified them. In the old world, outside the Mosaic Law, the father of the family was the priest, to whom alone it belonged to bless, purify, and offer sacrifice. Job, after each birthday-feast, sent, it would seem, for his sons, and purified them by the... read more