Scott, thanks for visiting The Stones Call! Yes, we can easily miss the importance of some of the women in Scripture due to them being only minimally referenced. But the more we study them, the more we learn about them, and the more we find they can teach us. Thank you so much for your encouraging comments.

Yvonne, thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you – there is such depth and breadth to the Bible! Every time I read Scripture it seems I learn something new! God’s Word is such a gift to us and what treasures it continually reveals to us!

Chip, thank you so much for visiting The Stone Call. I really appreciated reading your comments. They are reflective of the many insightful and informative comments made in the discussions and debates I was privy to in one of my OT seminary classes that focused on the Book of Job. I do agree with your point that while Job and his wife have both shared in the loss of everything, it is Job and his righteousness that is the primary focus of the spiritual battle and she has been caught up in the spiritual duel taking place. And to a degree his companions were also caught up in this duel. For as we read the companions’ discourse with Job it is clear that their beliefs around God and their reward and retribution theology had been seriously challenged by why and how a God good could allow an innocent man like Job to experience such suffering. So now they are being forced to wrestle with trying to understand how they can explain, and fit, Job’s suffering into their reward and retribution theology. It is interesting how, despite Job’s insistence he is innocent, the companions determinedly insist that the only possible explanation is that their just God would not punish an innocent person. Therefore, Job must have sinned and should repent. This explanation is what allows the companions to stubbornly hold onto their theology around divine justice. Yet, a possible interpretation of Mrs. Job’s comment that we talked about in class is one that suggests her theology was also being tested through these trials. The idea being, that because she was his wife she would likely know him best and be certain of his righteousness. Yet, here he was undergoing such suffering. As a result, this thought has led some scholars to look at her comment from a different perspective. They suggest that her assurance of Job’s innocence is a lens through which people should consider her comment. That in this light, perhaps she is the first of the group, who because she knew Job as being righteous was beginning to realize that the only possible alternative or explanation was that their theology needed to evolve, morphing and adapting to the idea that a good God does allow innocent men and women to suffer. It is also interesting to note – that in God’s speeches in the epilogue, Chapter 42:7, He angrily rebuked the companions for their incorrect assumptions about Him, yet He does not direct any such rebuke or wrath towards Mrs. Job. At any rate, these are some interesting interpretations of Mrs. Job and her single comment – which have given me much food for thought because they are in such contrast to the traditionally held interpretations that view her as a harpy who was encouraging her husband to curse God and die. I am delighted that you too will continue to ponder this – I am glad you are joining me in this reflection!

Paul, thank you so much for your comments. I really appreciate reading your observations. I think the perspective you held of her is one most of us held because that is traditionally how she has been viewed. Yet, now scholars are considering her through such difference lens that there is such encouragement to see her from different angles. You ask an interesting question about what her story was like after Job’s story drops off. There are a number of interpretations about that as well. In the epilogue, Job 42:12-15, it states that Job once more became extremely prosperous, he had “seven sons and three daughters”, and describes the 3 girls and reveals their names. So some scholars think Job’s wife had 10 more children to replace the 10 they lost and as his wife she would have benefitted from Job’s renewed health and prosperity, yet others’ interpretation has led them to believe these verses suggest he had a second wife. So lots of discussion on around that interpretation! Thanks again for your comments and for visiting The Stones Call.

Jasmin, I totally agree with your comment that that her suffering was generally not considered, as the focus was primarily directed towards Job and his suffering. And I agree that as we seek to understand the book, Job’s wife, and her comment it is safe to assume that as a mother she suffered mightily due everything that she and Job had lost, including the loss of all her 10 children. As mothers we can empathize with what she must have been feeling and experiencing. She too needed to grieve and process how her faith and theology would adjust to how a God would allow a good man and his family to suffer. Thanks for commenting and visiting The Stones Call. I really appreciate it!

Angela, thanks for reading and commenting on the post. I am delighted that the post has you thinking about Job’s wife. Since taking an OT course that focused on the Book of Job as one of my seminary course in the spring, I have been thinking a lot about her too. I have been reflecting on, and considering, the diverse ways scholars and theologians have interpreted her, her comment and her role in the narrative as a whole. And while we may not all agree on which interpretation we ascribe to, it leads to great reflection and discussion. Thanks for joining the discussion and visiting The Stones Call.

Hello Martin, thanks for mentioning this resource by Seow. I just looked at it and really appreciate you drawing attention to it. In the OT seminary class that I took last spring that focused on The Book of Job, the professor raised this fascinating point you have referenced in your comments – that the Septuagint has Mrs. Job making a bigger contribution to the narrative. Also, some ancient texts, like the Testament of Job, had a greater focus on Mrs. Job as well. Your comments are really a case in point about how we should diligently research and study a variety of texts and resources so that we can obtain the fullest, richest picture and interpretation of Scripture. Thanks again. And thanks for visiting The Stones Call.

Hello Nona, thank you so much for visiting The Stones Call and for your thoughtful comments. I agree with your comment that one of primary purposes of the Book of Job is to, “lend insight to humanity’s relationship with God and God’s relationship with humanity” and creation. I also agree that this narrative “gives creative life to humanity’s ancient and present day yearning to understand how and why God orchestrates or negotiates humanity and the world they live in.” Job does seek a God of righteousness and justice that fits with his idea of rewards and retribution theology, and he and his companions seek to understand why a good God allows good people to suffer, but discovers that God is beyond his finite, human capacity to understand.

You make an interesting observation about how in the epilogue because there was no mention of a new wife one could conclude that Job’s wife of the prologue is now the mother of the 10 new children. Scholars such as David A. J. Clines in his commentary on Job, would agree with your observation. Cline writes, “His wife is not referred to (though it must be she who is the mother of his new family of ten children)…” (page 1235). Whereas some scholars, such as Robert Alter and Tremper Longman III in their commentaries on Job, do not mention or discuss his second wife at all. In contrast, the Septuagint (42:and other <a href="http://ancient texts“>resources suggest that the second wife was a new wife:

“In the Biblical narrative, the role played by Job’s wife is limited to a short and penetrating conversation with her husband. The apocryphal Divrei Iyov, however, devotes a great deal of attention to this character. According to the latter work, Job had two wives, the first of whom was named Uzit (in Greek transliteration: Sitidos), after the land of Uz where Job and his wife lived, and who, according to the appendix to the Septuagint, was an Arab woman. Job’s second wife, Dinah daughter of Jacob, bore him his sons and daughters when the Lord blessed him, at the end of the book of Job”(page 1)

However, I tend to agree with your and Cline’s interpretation that the woman in the prologue and epilogue is one and the same, and therefore Job just had the one wife. And I do agree with your comment that the narrative has a creative stretch because it is challenging to imagine that she could have had 20 children and watched the two sets of 10 children grow to adulthood. Cline writes, “Job’s restoration does not come about overnight. The children have yet to be born to him over the course of a decade or more…” (page 1235). In addition, as you mention in the narrative Job lived to 140 years, 20 years more than Moses.

It is interesting that you raise that the question “Why does God permit Job to suffer?” is not answered by God in the epilogue and that the prologue and epilogue offer more interesting questions and theological reflections than answers. We talked about this in my seminary class and there was the sense that although God did not specifically answer why Job, an innocent man, had to suffer – God did offer an answer of another kind. Robert Alter in his commentary, “The Wisdom Books”, writes, “Job has been led to see the multifarious character of God’s vast creation, its unfathomable fusion of beauty and cruelty, and through this he has come to understand the incommensurablity between his human notions of right and wrong and the structure of reality” (page 177). Cline in his commentary writes, “But now [God] allows that Job has been right in asserting that the principle of retribution does not operate. Job had thought it should, though it did not; Yahweh had intended that it should not, and of course it did not” (page 1241) So while we may not get an exact answer for why a good God allows good people to suffer, Job and his companions do gain insights and wisdom. And Job learns that may he rest in the knowledge that while in humans in their finite human capacity, may never fully be understand the majesty and mystery of God – he can trust that God, in His omnipotence, knows exactly why things unfold as they do.

I really appreciate your comment regarding how “suffering and tragedy are born out of God’s handiwork: blessings and curses” and that the responsibility for suffering is shared by humanity and God. For there is no doubt that much of our suffering is caused by our own actions and sin, while other suffering can occur with no apparent human causation or reason. But the call is for us to determine how we will respond – will we take responsibility for the suffering we cause, will we hold onto our faith in the midst of loss and suffering that comes unexpectedly, and will we accept that blessings are gifts from God and not necessarily a sign of reward?

Finally, I really appreciate your concluding comments regarding how, “as people transformed by the partial and fragmentary revelation of God, we need to consistently seek to answer to these questions: How do we respond to the suffering of others? What do we do now to overcome the suffering and injustice that we encounter with God in this world?” It is a great call to action and for us to step into the suffering and injustice around us. That while we may not understand the why of things – we can respond with courageous faith and obey God’s call to love, care for, and support others who are suffering and/or experiencing injustice.

Nona, thank you so much for your thoughtful and insightful comments and for joining the discussion on the Book of Job and its rich offerings and teachings. Yes, thanks be to God!

Thank you Robert. I always appreciate your encouraging and insightful comments! I had not really reflected on Job’s wife either, it is just that when I recently took an OT class in my seminary program, that focused on the Book of Job, she was raised and discussed. The class discussion was stimulating because there was such a spread of opinion about the best way to interpret her, her one statement, and her role in the narrative. So since then, I have been thinking a lot about her and doing some additional research to learn more. Yes, one view or interpretation does suggest that because she believed in Job’s innocence her words were the catalyst to get Job to think about and adapt his theology, but there are many others who hold to the more traditional interpretations and continue to see her as an uncaring shrew. Thanks for joining in the conversation about her and I am so glad that the article gave you some food for thought.

Thank you so much for visiting The Stones Call and for your kind comments. I must apologize that it has taken me so long to reply. But I have just arrived home after been away for two weeks visiting my son who is living in the U.K. as he studies and completes his doctorate. So I am just now getting back on social media and catching up! I am delighted that you enjoyed the post and found it both educational and interesting. I am currently enrolled in a seminary program and have always loved to learn and research a topic, so I deeply enjoy doing it for my blog posts as well. I have been researching another woman from Scripture and plan to post that article just before Christmas. So keep a look out for that one too. Would love to hear your thoughts about it. Thanks again. Blessings.