Глава 2

1–5. The second appearance of angels and Satan before the face of God and the new slander of the devil. 6–3. Job's illness and his removal from the city. 9–10. The wife's speech and Job's response to it. 11–13. Arrival of friends. Job 2:1. There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. Job 2:2. And the Lord said to Satan: Where did you come from? And Satan answered the Lord and said: Job 2:3. And the Lord said to Satan: Have you paid attention to my servant Job? for there is no one like him on earth: a blameless, just, God-fearing man who shuns evil, and is still firm in his integrity; and you stirred Me up against him in order to destroy him innocently. Compared to the Lord’s first response to Job (Job 1.8), the second contains a small addition: “until now he is firm in his integrity.” It was made in order to expose the devil for slandering Job (Job 1.9–11). He lost everything, but remained faithful to God, whereas, according to Satan, he should have cursed the Lord (Job 1.9–11). Job 2:4. And Satan answered the Lord and said: Skin for skin, and for his life a man will give all that he has; Job 2:5. But stretch out Your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, will he bless You? The custom of ancient barter trade to receive for the sold goods not in coins, money, but an object corresponding to its value created a saying among nomads who acquired the things they needed for animal skins: “skin for skin,” i.e., equal for equal, without any self-interest. Using this proverb, the devil says that the patience shown by Job cannot be called selfless, and therefore there is no reason to praise him (v. 3). Knowing that blasphemy threatens death (Job 2.9), Job, with the help of patience, saved his life - the greatest good for man. He lost little in comparison with her - property and children; Calculatingly, he patiently gave in, gave it up, but in exchange he took more for himself - life. And only taking away this latter can cause a curse on his part. Job 2:7. And Satan went away from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with fierce leprosy from the sole of his foot to the very top of his head. Judging by the manifestations of the disease noted in the book itself (Job 7:4–6, 13:14, 28, 16:14–16, 17:1, 18:13, 19:17, 19–20, 23:17, 30:10, 17–19, 27–30), Job was stricken with leprosy. This disease begins with the appearance of purulent acne shaped like nests on the body. With further development, the disease covers the entire surface of the body and eats away at it so that all members seem to be lagging behind. The legs and legs become swollen and covered with growths that resemble growths on the skin of an elephant, hence its name “elephanthiasis” - elephantiasis. The face becomes puffy and shiny; gaze – motionless and gloomy; voice is weak. Possessed by severe pain, deprived of sleep, or rather, tormented by nightmares, the patient does not find peace either day or night. Job 2:8. And he took himself a tile to scrape himself with it, and sat down in the ashes [outside the village]. Struck by an unclean (Lev. 13:3, 11, etc.) and, perhaps, a contagious disease (see Explanatory Bible, 1 vol., p. 448, v. 33–34), Job had to retire “outside the village” (addition LXX, consistent with Lev. 13.46; Num. 5.2–3; 2 Kings 7.3 ), where he sat down in ashes, according to the Slavic text, “to rot.” They try to reconcile the disagreement between the texts observed in the present case by the consideration that, according to the custom existing in the East, sewage and various kinds of waste subject to rotting that were carried out of the city were gradually burned, resulting in ash, which turned into a solid mass from the rains. By its origin, at its core, ashes were, indeed, pus. Job 2:9. And his wife said to him: You are still firm in your integrity! The wife’s speech, instilled in her, according to John Chrysostom, by the devil, represents a new test of Job’s patience in the sense that, depicting (according to the LXX translation) his complete helplessness, it disturbs spiritual wounds that have not had time to heal, and suggests a tempting thought that has not yet arisen in the sufferer’s mind to say one blasphemous word and be freed forever from a terrible illness. The outcome indicated by his wife is the only possible one for Job: no matter how much he blesses God, he will still die; piety is useless. Job 2:10. But he said to her: you speak like one of the madmen: will we really accept good from God, but not accept evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Struck by disasters, but not yet knowing their true cause, a person has no reason to renounce God. Only one foolish person can do this (Eccl. 7.14). Job 2:11. And Job's three friends heard about all these misfortunes that had befallen him, and each of them went from their place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shebahite, and Zophar the Naamite, and they came together to go and mourn with him and console him. According to Gen. 36.4, “Eliphaz” is one of the ancient Edomite proper names, and Teman is one of the regions of Idumea (Gen. 36.34; Jer. 49.20; Eze 25.13; Am 1.12), famous for the wisdom of its inhabitants (Jer. 49.7; Bar. 3:22–23). "Bildad the Shebhaite" - Suhit. The area with the name Shuah remains unknown; some, Gesenius, Wiener, identify it with the Σακκαία mentioned by Ptolemy, which lay in the eastern part of Vatanea (ancient Bashan). In Gen. 25.2, the name Shuah is given to one of Abraham's sons from Keturah, who was sent with his brothers to the east. "Zophar the Naamite"; Naama is the name of the city that was given to the tribe of Judah during the division of the promised land (Joshua 15.41) and that lay by the Mediterranean Sea; but whether Zophar came from here is difficult to say. Job 2:12. And raising their eyes from afar, they did not recognize him; and they lifted up their voice and wept; And every man tore his outer garment, and threw the dust over their heads toward heaven. In the sick Job, stricken with leprosy, abandoned by everyone and sitting on the ashes, it was difficult, especially from a distance, to recognize the former healthy man, surrounded by a large family and a rich man. Words of consolation (v. 11) are replaced by deep sadness, expressed in the sprinkling of ashes on the head (1 Samuel 4.12). Job 2:13. And they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights; and no one said a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. The seven-day (seven is the number of completeness) silence testifies to the strength of the friends’ sadness (Ezek 3.15). You might be interested in: