Chapter 1

1:1, 8, 22; 2:3 - According to these verses Job was perfect, upright, and sinless. Yet many other verses in the Bible say that such a person has never existed.

* All humans that have had righteousness have it for periods of time.  Besides Jesus Christ, there has never been a perfectly righteous individual.  Therefore, when the scriptures speak of a "righteous" or "sinless" person, they are referring to his current state of being.

1:6, 2:1 - Here we are told that "the sons of God came to present themselves to the Lord." Why then does the New Testament claim that Jesus was God's only son?

* This Hebrew word for "sons" is also interpreted "rebels" and "robbers."  These "rebels" were fallen angels that were created by God as His angels.

1:7, 2:2 - God asks where Satan has been lately (apparently God didn't know), and Satan answered saying, "From walking to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down on it." This verse inspired Mark Twain's delightful "Letters From the Earth.".

* Simply because God asks Satan about his whereabouts, this doesn't mean that God didn't know where he had been.

1:12 - God gives Satan power over all that Job possesses.

* This is correct.  God also tells him not to "lay a hand on his person."

1:19 - God (or Satan) sends a wind that kills Job's sons and daughters.

* This is correct.  If Job's sons and daughters were righteous like him, then they left Earth at a young age only to enter a better place.

Chapter 2

2:3-7 - God and Satan play a little game with Job. God allows Satan to torment Job, just to see how he will react.

* God lets Satan tempt Job for many reasons.  Job proved that he loved God by trusting in Him through his trials.  Job also grew in many areas of his life.

2:9-10 - Job's wife rightly says that if Job is to keep his integrity, then he should curse God (for paying vicious games with Satan) and die. Job replies that she if talking like a "foolish woman."

* Job's wife did not behave in a righteous manner.  Job was correct.

Chapter 3

3:1-3, 11 - Because of God's cruel wager with Satan, Job curses the day he was born.

* Job was under some tremendous stress and experiencing some suffering.

Chapter 6

6:6 - Job asks the important question: "Is there any taste in the white of an egg?"

* This is correct.  He also says, "Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?"

Chapter 7

7:7-9 - These verses say that death is final and that there is no afterlife. But this contradicts many other Bible verses.

* Job is simply referring to his earthly life.  In verse 9, he admits that after he dies, he will not live again on Earth.

* See "Special Questions" for more on this.

7:19 - "Till I swallow down my spittle." Yuck.

* Even to this day, this is a proverbial statement that exists among the Arabs.  It simply means, "Ease my sufferings, just for a moment, so I can swallow my spit, then I will complain some more."

Chapter 9

9:6 - The earth rests upon pillars and doesn't move (unless God gets angry or something).

* The word "pillars" is used figuratively.  This Hebrew word for "pillars" can also mean "platform" or "foundation."

9:17, 22-24 - Job complains that God "multiplies his [Job's] wounds without cause, ... destroys the perfect and the wicked, ... will laugh at the trial of the innocent, ... and covereth the faces of the judges." No attempt is made to deny the truth of these accusations.

* In Job's sufferings, he was not always happy.  However, his suffering was not without cause.  God did have a plan for him and God was there to help him through it.

Chapter 10

10:3 - Job asks God an excellent question: "Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands?" God doesn't answer.

* Job is telling God about his trials and frustration.

Chapter 11

11:7 - "Canst thou by searching find out God?" It seems that for once the Bible agrees with reason and answers no to this question. But Paul disagrees in Rom.1:20

* Job 11:7 reads, "Can you search out the deep things of God?  Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?"  Romans 1:20 reads, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."  These passages do not contradict each other.  Job is talking about believers discovering the "deep things of God" and the "limits of the Almighty."  Paul is talking about unbelievers and how they are without excuse for not believing in God because they can see His "invisible attributes" by His creation.

Chapter 12

12:6 - Job says that God rewards evildoers with wealth and happiness. But the Psalms (34:21) say that they will be desolate.

* Job is describing some wicked people that hadn't faced God's judgment, yet.  Job never said that they would be able to escape God's judgment forever.

* David is describing the judgment that God will enact on wicked people.  This Hebrew word for "desolate" also means "punished."

Chapter 14

14:4 - Speaking of births, Job says: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Not one." So according to the Bible, women are dirty (sinful), giving birth is dirty (sinful), and the newborn baby is dirty (sinful).

* According to the Bible, all humans are born with imputed sin that they inherited from Adam and Eve.  This is called a sinful nature.  See Romans chapter 5.

Chapter 19

19:17 - Job says "my breath is strange to my wife." Mine too.

* Job had some bad breath.  Perhaps this was from his ailments or from his fasting.

Chapter 20

20:7 - Job says that humans perish at death like their own dung. Well, one might fault him for his choice of words, but the idea seems sound enough.

* This is correct.

Chapter 21

21:7 - Job complains the wicked live long and prosper, contrary to several Bible verses which say the opposite.

* Sometimes the wicked live long and prosper and sometimes they don't.  Different Bible writers had different experiences, so they wrote different things.  However, no Bible writer ever wrote something like, "Under all circumstances, no matter what, wicked people never live long and prosper."  These statements are not made in this way because David and Solomon, for instance, were referring to some people they knew and saw.  Their context was their experience.  Therefore, these passages about wicked people harmonize.

21:24 - "His breasts are full of milk."

* This Hebrew word for "breasts" is better translated "bowels" or "pails."  Job is comparing a full and fat person who dies with a thin and hungry person who dies.

Chapter 26

26:11 - Heaven is set upon pillars that tremble when God gets mad.

* This Hebrew word for "pillars" is also translated "foundation" or "platform."

Chapter 29

29:6 - When things were going well for Job he washed his steps with butter and rocks poured out rivers of oil.

* Job is simply mentioning his success and blessings.  Butter and oil were representative of a successful lot.

Chapter 30

30:27 - Poor Job's "bowels boiled." Now that doesn't sound pleasant.

* This is also translated "my heart is in turmoil."

30:29 - Job is the brother of dragons.

* This Hebrew word for "dragons" is also translated "jackals."  Since the jackal is known for its mournful cry, Job is likely comparing his crying to that of a jackal.

Chapter 38

38:4-6 - The earth is set on foundations and it does not move.

* These verses don't tell us that the Earth does not move on its axis or around the Sun.

38:4-7 - When were the stars made?

* The stars were created on the fourth day.

* The "morning stars" were angelic beings that sang as the "sons of God," which are angels, shouted for joy.

38:7 - "All the sons of God ..." But according to Jn.3:18 and 1 Jn.4:19 there is only one son of God -- Jesus.

* These "sons of God" were angels.  This Hebrew word for "sons" can also be translated "subjects."

* There is only one "Son of God" and He is Jesus Christ.  He is uncreated.

38:22 - God has snow and hail all stored up to use later "in time of trouble."

* These elements are in God's control.

38:37 - "Who can stay the bottles of heaven?" Gosh, I don't know. I didn't even know there were any bottles in heaven.

* The "bottles of heaven" are referring to clouds.

Chapter 39

39:9-10 - "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee?" The unicorn referred to here is probably not the single-horned mythical creature, but rather a wild ox that was mistranslated in the KJV. (See Unicorn in Britannica.com.)

* This Hebrew word for unicorn, like the other times "unicorn" is mentioned, is better translated "wild bull."

39:13-16 - As the note in the Harper Collins Study Bible says, "This folk tradition about ostriches does not accord with facts about their nature." Ostriches are not cruel and stupid birds who abandon their eggs to die after laying them, as these verses imply. They are, in fact, careful and attentive parents. The male scoops out a hollow for the eggs, which are incubated by the females during the day and by the darker colored male at night -- an arrangement that helps to conceal them from foes. After the eggs are hatched, they are cared for by the mother for over a month, at which time the chicks can keep up with running adults.

* First, this Hebrew word that has been translated as "ostrich" could mean another bird. In other passages, it is translated as "feathers" and refers to an eagle. Therefore, this passage could refer to a bird that doesn't guard its young (like an eagle).

* If this word is referring to an ostrich, then it is likely referring to a specific ostrich that Job witnessed. Simply because an ostrich, for instance, usually behaves a certain way, it doesn't mean that every ostrich has always and does always act the same way. This could be part of the intrigue as it would make the situation unusual and interesting.

39:17 - As noted above, the bible is wrong about ostriches being cruel and inattentive parents. But if they were, whose fault would it be? Why would God deprive them of the wisdom and understanding needed to do the job right?

* God has given animals and humans a free will. They choose what they will do.

Chapter 40

40:15-24 - Bible believers have identified the behemoth as a hippopotamus, dinosaur, or wildebeest. But my favorite is the note in the Harper Collins Study Bible: "If tail(40:17) is not a euphemism for the sexual organ, Behemoth seems in this respect to resemble a crocodile."

* Here is the description of the behemoth from verses 18-20: "His bones are like beams of bronze, his ribs like bars of iron.  He is the first of the ways of God; only He who made him can bring near His sword.  Surely the mountains yield food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there." 

* Crocodiles don't have bones and ribs that are this strong.  People can wrestle crocodiles and subdue them, so they surely don't fit the description of being subdued "only by He who made them."  Plus, I've rarely heard of crocodiles climbing mountains.  They tend to stay near the water.

Chapter 41

41:14-24 - I guess this fire-breathing monster is supposed to be God.

* This is a description of Leviathan.  See Job 41:1.

Chapter 42

* God can do anything that is consistent with His revealed character in the Bible.  He has chosen to give Himself certain limitations, though.  For instance, He cannot tempt us to do evil and He cannot violate the promises in His Word.

42:5 - Job sees God. Yet in many places the Bible says that no one has every seen God.

* This Hebrew word for "eye" is used figuratively.  Job finally saw and understood God's ways, His power and His sovereignty.

* There is no indication from this verse or the surrounding ones that Job actually saw God the Father's literal spirit. 

* See "Special Questions" for more on this.

42:13-15 - After God (or Satan) kills Job's first set of kids (1:19), he is given an even better set. Praise God.

* After God allows Job to be tested by Satan, He restores him and blesses him with great things.