The Book of Job (dʒoʊb; ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars generally agree that it was written between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE. It addresses theodicy, why God permits evil in the world, through the experiences of the eponymous protagonist. Job is a wealthy and God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family; God, having asked Satan (haśśāṭān) for his opinion of Job's piety, decides to take away Job's wealth, family, and material comforts, following Satan's accusation that if Job were rendered penniless and without his family, he would turn away from God.
The Book of Job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the Elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the book's underlying editorial unity.
in two scenes, the first on Earth, the second in Heaven
seen by some scholars as a bridge between the prologue and the dialogues and by others as the beginning of the dialogues and three cycles of dialogues between Job and his three friends – the third cycle is not complete, the expected speech of Zophar being replaced by the wisdom poem of chapter 28
Three monologues:
with Job's responses
– Job's restoration
In chapter 1, the prologue on Earth introduces Job as a righteous man, blessed with wealth, sons, and daughters, who lives in the land of Uz. The scene then shifts to Heaven, where God asks Satan (haśśāṭān) for his opinion of Job's piety. Satan accuses Job of being pious only because God has materially blessed him; if God were to take away everything that Job has, then he would surely curse God.