Some with chariots, some with horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God: they have wavered and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright (antithetical parallelism, Psalm 19:89).

The law of the Lord is perfect, it strengthens the soul; the revelation of the Lord is true, it makes the simple wise. The commandments of the Lord are righteous, they rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, endures forever (synthetic parallelism, Psalm 18:8-10).

The Book of Job

This book takes its name from the protagonist of Job. Job lived in patriarchal times, long before the prophet Moses, not far from the Holy Land. He was a very rich, large and happy man. But wealth did not make him proud or selfish. On the contrary, all who knew Job loved his kindness, wisdom, and compassion for the poor. Many came to him for advice and considered it an honor to visit him. The devil was jealous of Job's virtuous life and wanted to take revenge on him. The Lord, in order to reveal to everyone the great patience and virtues of Job, did not prevent the devil from causing him grief. And the devil in a very short time brought many misfortunes upon Job. Job lost everything he had, his family, great wealth, and even his health. Having fallen ill with severe leprosy, he no longer dared to live in the company of healthy people and was forced to settle far beyond the boundaries of his city-village. Here his friends began to visit him. Job poured out his grief before them, trying to find an explanation for the misfortunes that had befallen him. No one could help or console him. However, Job was far from grumbling against God. Suffering physically and mentally, he surprised his friends with his boundless patience when he said: "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked and I will return." The Lord gave, and the Lord took away; [as it pleased the Lord, so it was done;] blessed be the name of the Lord... Shall we receive good from God, and not receive evil? (Job 1:21; 2:10). Job's suffering probably lasted for about a year. God, having shown everyone Job's great faith, decided to shame the devil and returned to Job what the devil had taken from him. Miraculously, Job recovered from an incurable leprosy, quickly became rich again, and started a new family. After this, Job lived for many years, enjoying even greater honor and love. He died at the age of one hundred and forty, having seen the descendants of the fourth generation. Job's life took place in the country of Uz, which is supposed to have been located east of the Jordan and south of Damascus, in ancient Bassan. This country received its name from Uz, the son of Abraham, a descendant of Simon (see Gen. 10:2223). Job was an Aramitite, and his friends mentioned in his book were Edomites and were also descendants of Abraham.

It is assumed that the original writer of the book of Job was Job himself, which he expressed in verse 2324 of chapter 19. The very content of the book suggests that it could only have been written by a local person, a participant in the events described. This original narrative was later reworked into a fictional poem by a divinely inspired Hebrew writer. Otherwise, it could not be included in the list of sacred books. The Book of Job is written in pure Hebrew. Later, the Jews found the original record of Job during the conquest of Bassan and copied it into a collection, like the "Book of the Righteous" mentioned in the Book of Joshua (see Joshua 10:13). It is possible that King Solomon processed it in its present form, because the book of Job bears many similarities with the other books of Solomon, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Job is mentioned in several books of the Holy Scriptures as a great righteous man. Thus, for example, in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, Job is placed on a par with the patriarch Noah and the prophet Daniel (see Ezekiel 14:1420). The Apostle James cites Job as an example of patience: Behold, we bless those who have endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and have seen the end of it from the Lord, for the Lord is very merciful and compassionate (James 5:11). During his illness, Job made an important prediction about the Redeemer and about the coming resurrection of the dead: "But I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will raise up this decaying skin of mine from the dust at the last day, and I will see God in my flesh. I will see Him myself; my eyes, and not the eyes of another, will see Him (Job 19:2527).

The purpose of the Book of Job is to show that earthly happiness does not always correspond to a virtuous life of a person. Sometimes misfortunes are sent to the righteous for greater confirmation in good, for the shame of the devil's slanders and the glorification of God's truth. In short, the book of Job touches on the deep and difficult to understand theme of the relationship between righteousness and reward, evil and punishment. In addition, the book of Job has very high literary merit.

Psalm

It is no exaggeration to say that for a Christian, the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament. The Psalter is a book of prayers for all occasions: in sorrow, in a sense of hopelessness or fear, in disasters, in tears of repentance and in joy after receiving consolation, in the need of thanksgiving and for offering pure praise to the Creator. St. Ambrose of Milan writes: "In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the Psalms it breathes predominantly." The Psalter received its name from the Greek word psalo, which means "to play the strings". King David was the first to accompany the singing of the divinely inspired prayers composed by him by playing a musical instrument called the "psalter", similar to a harp. The Hebrews call the Book of Psalms Tehillim, which means "praise." The Psalter, composed over the course of eight centuries from Moses (1500 B.C.) to Ezra and Nehemiah (400 B.C.), contains 150 psalms. King David laid the foundation for this book, compiling the largest number of psalms (more than 80). In addition to David's, the Psalter includes the following psalms: one of Moses (Psalm 89), three of Solomon (Psalms 71; 126; 131), twelve of Asaph the Seer and his descendants of the Asaphites; Haman is one (Psalm 87), Epham is one (Psalm 88), and the sons of Korah are eleven. The rest of the psalms belong to unknown writers. The Psalms are composed according to the rules of Hebrew poetry and often attain amazing beauty and power. Often at the beginning of the psalms there are inscriptions that indicate their content: for example, "prayer" (a psalm of supplication), "praise" (a psalm of praise), "teaching" (an edifying psalm). Or on the method of writing: "pillar", i.e. epigrammatic. Other inscriptions indicate the method of performance, for example: "psalm", i.e. with the accompaniment of the psalter on a musical instrument; "song", i.e. vocal performance by voice; "on string instruments"; "on the eight-string"; "about the winepress" or in the Russian Bible "on the Gath tool", i.e. on the zither; "on changeable", i.e. with the change of instruments. Above some of the psalms are inscribed the words of the song on the model of which this psalm is to be sung, something like "similar" in the evening and morning services.

The content of the Psalms is closely related to the life of King David. David was born a thousand years before the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and was the youngest son of a poor shepherd with many children Jesse. When King David became king in Jerusalem after Saul's death, he became the most prominent king who had ever ruled Israel. He combined many valuable qualities of a good king: love for the people, justice, wisdom, courage and, most importantly, a strong faith in God. Often David himself presided over religious holidays, offering sacrifices to God for the Jewish people and singing psalms.

With their poetic beauty and depth of religious feeling, David's psalms inspired many subsequent psalm compilers to imitate. Therefore, although not all the Psalms were written by David, the name that is often given to the Book of Psalms is still true: "The Psalter of King David."

The Book of Proverbs

The main author of the book of Proverbs was Solomon, the son of David, who reigned in Israel a thousand years before Christ. So Solomon can be called the main writer of the Book of Proverbs, like David of the Psalms. When Solomon, at the beginning of his reign, offered up his prayers and burnt offerings to God (sacrifices that were burned), God appeared to him at night and said: "Ask what I shall give thee" (2 Chron. 1:7). Solomon asked God only for wisdom. To govern the people of God. And God said to Solomon, "Because you asked this, and did not ask for yourself a long life, did not ask for riches... but he asked for reason... Behold, I will do according to thy word: behold, I give thee a heart of wisdom and understanding, so that there was none like thee before thee, and after thee there shall not arise one like thee. and what thou hast not asked for, I give thee, and riches and glory, so that there shall be none like unto thee... all your days. (1 Kings 3:1113). And, indeed, Solomon was famous for his wisdom, so that people from distant lands came to hear him. Many of Solomon's sayings were included in the Book of Proverbs. In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Proverbs is called Mishle Shelomo, in the Seventy Interpreters of Paremia, in the Slavonic Bible the Proverbs of Solomon. The Holy Fathers call it Panaretos Sophia, "The Wisdom of All Virtue." The book of Proverbs was written in the form of poetic parallelism. The book of Proverbs is full of practical instructions on how to wisely build one's life on the fear of God, on truth, honesty, work, and abstinence. These instructions are extremely truthful and accurate. They have a lot of imagery, liveliness, sharpness of mind.

The teaching of the Book of Proverbs about the hypostatic Wisdom of God prepared the ground in the Jewish people for faith in the Only-begotten Son of God.

The Book of Ecclesiastes