The Arguments of Job, March 25, 26.

Introduction.

If you are anything like me, you may have wondered from time to time about the precise nature of the argument between Job and his three friends.

Everyone in the book speaks a lot about the greatness of God,

but in all the back and forth, what was the nub of the issue exactly?

Job was a very wealthy man and a series of disasters came upon him. That is clear enough.

His three friends thought that he should take responsibility in some way, but for what exactly?

This Job refused to do, but what was he refusing to do exactly?

Was it simply a matter of did-to, did not? What were their arguments revolving around exactly?

This has bothered me for some time, and so the last time through the book of Job, I tried to

summarize the flow of the argument as I went, leaving out the portions where everyone agreed about

the greatness of God.

A bit of background. My take is that Job was the second king of Edom. The land of Us was in Edom,

Lamentations 421, Eliphaz was the Pemonite, and Teaman was the capital city of Edom, Jeremiah 497.

In addition to this, the name of the second king in Edom, given elsewhere, is remarkably similar to the name of Job. I take it that Jobab was a variation on the name of Job. Quote, Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel. Bela, the son of Bayor, in the name of his city, was Dinaba. And when Beela was dead, Jobab, the son of Zara of Basra,

reigned in his stead. And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Pemonites, reigned in his

stead. First Chronicles 1.43 through 45. Notice that the kingship here did not descend from father

to son, which indicates, perhaps, that it was granted to the most powerful and influential

man. Job certainly would have been a contender for that position. But even if Job wasn't the

king, he was a very wealthy man, and his fortunes and the fortunes of Edom would have been all

tied up together. What happened to Job mattered to everyone else. However, I do believe that he

was the king, and disaster came down upon his head.

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