JOATHAM (jo'a-ttarn), (Gr. 'Ioni0a/A, ee-o-ah' tham). JOTHAM, son of Uzziali (Matt. i:9).
JOB (jOb)..
I. (Heb. 71`,yobe, returning), the third named of the sons of Issachar (Gen. xivi:13), called Jashub (Num. xxvi:24; Chron.
II. (Heb. 711:, ee-yobe', persecuted), an Ara bian patriarch and the hero of the book which bears his name, mentioned elsewhere only in Ezek. xiv :14. 20; Jas. v :It. The various questions relat ing to his history are met in the consideration of the poem itself.
1. Contents of the Book. In the land of Uz, belonging to the northern part of Arabia Deserta lived an honest, pious man, called Job.
(1) Job's Affliction. For his sincere and per fect devotedness, God had amply blessed him with worldly property and children ; but on Satan ob taining leave to tempt hint, he suddenly lost the good fortune of his life. Ultimately he is smitten with a severe and painful disease; but though his wife moves him to forsake God. he still continues true and stanch to the Lord. Three friends, Eli phaz, Bildad and Zophar, hear of his calamities, and come to console him. His distressed state excites their heartfelt compassion; but the view which they take of its origin prevents them from at once assisting him, and they remain silent, though they are sensible that by so doing they further wound his feelings. Seven days thus pass, until Job, suspecting the cause of their conduct, becomes discomposed and breaks silence. His first observa tions are based on the assertion—not, indeed, broadly expressed—that God acts harshly and ar bitrarily in inflicting calamity on men.
(2) Discussion. This causes a discussion be tween him and his friends, which is divided into three main parts, each with subdivisions, and em braces the speeches of the three friends of Job, and his answers; the last part, however, consists of only two subdivisions, the third friend, Zophar, having nothing to rejoin. By this silence the author of the book generally designates the defeat of Job's friends, who are defending a common cause. Taking a general view of the argument which they urge against him. they may be con sidered as asserting the following positions: (a) No man being free from sin, we need not wonder that we are liable to calamities, for which we must account by a reference, not to God, but to ourselves. From the misery of the distressed,
others are enabled to infer their guilt ; and they must take this view in order to vindicate Divine justice.
(b) The distress of a man proves not only that he has sinned, but shows also the degree and measure of his sin; and thus, from the extent of calamity sustained, may be inferred the extent of sins committed; and from this the measure of impending misfortune.
(e) A distressed man may recover his former happiness, and even attain to greater fortune than he ever enjoyed before, if he takes a %yarning from his afflictions, repents of his sins, reforms his life, and raises himself to a higher degree of moral rectitude. Impatience and irreverent expostulation with God serve but to prolong and increase punishment, for, by accusing God of in justice, a fresh sin is added to former transgres sions.
(d) Though the wicked man is capable of pros perity, still it is never lasting. The most awful retribution soon overtakes 111111; and his transient felicity must itself be considered as punishment, since it renders him heedless, and makes him feel misfortune more keenly.
(3) Job's Answer. In opposition to them, Job maintains: (a) The most upright man may be highly unfor tunate--more so than the inevitable faults and shortcomings of 'human nature would seem to imply. There is a savage cruelty, deserving the severities of the Divine resentment, in inferring the guilt of a man from his distresses. In distributing good and evil, God regards neither merit nor guilt, but acts according to his sovereign pleasure. His omnipotence is apparent in every part of the cre ation ; but his justice cannot be seen in the gov ernment of the world ; the afflictions of the right eous, as well as the prosperity of the wicked, are evidence against it. There are innumerable cases, and Job considers his own to be one of them, in which a sufferer has a right to justify himself before God, and to repine at his decrees. Of this supposed right Job freely avails himself, and maintains it against his friends.