The experience experienced by Israel during the years of the Exile and the Restoration could not fail to have an impact on its religious consciousness. If until now the prevailing idea was that evil is always punished and good is rewarded, now it becomes clear that this scheme is simplified. Why does the innocent suffer? Where is the justice of God, of which the old teachers spoke, if there is no recompense for the person after death? These questions are raised in the Book of Job, one of the most significant books of the Old Testament. The mystery of the fate after death had not yet been revealed to Israel. This, on the one hand, protected him from otherworldly spiritualism, but on the other hand, it limited the horizon and posed to him the problem of the meaning and meaning of earthly sorrows especially acutely. The author of the book used an ancient legend, which was probably brought to Judea from Babylon (Mesopotamian texts contain similar plots). According to this legend, the ancient righteous man was tempted by disasters, but he did not murmur and thus regained God's favor and His mercy. But having set forth this story in prose, the divinely inspired biblical author introduced into it a conversation between Job and his friends, written in verse. In it, Job protested passionately against the simplistic theological concepts of sin and punishment, calling on God Himself to explain to him the meaning of his torment. A real "storm of doubt" rises in his soul (John Chrysostom). At the end of the drama, God appears to Job, but does not give a direct answer. However, this very phenomenon brings peace and enlightenment to the soul of the sufferer. The mystery is revealed where man meets God.

The book is believed to have been written during the Second Temple era, when Israel was deeply disillusioned by unfulfilled hopes. The author did not want to polemicize with the teachers of the Law, so he chose a foreigner as a hero. Job knows nothing about the Law, he is a resident of Idumea, a confessor of the one God. The time of his life belongs to the pre-Mosaic era.

The Book of Job drew inspiration from M. V. Lomonosov, J. W. Goethe, J. Byron. It served as a starting point for the philosophical reflections of S. Kierkegaard, L. Shestov, C. Jung. A new translation of the Book of Job was made by S. Averintsev[108].

PROLOGUE

1. The Righteousness of Job (Job 1:1-5)

1 And there was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and this man was blameless, just, and God-fearing, and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 And he had estates: seven thousand flocks, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred asses, and a great many servants; and this man was more famous than all the sons of the East. 4 His sons gathered together, making feasts, each in his own house, on his own day, and sent and invited his three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the circle of the feasting days was finished, Job sent for them, and sanctified them, and rising up early in the morning, offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts." This is what Job did in all such days.

2. Doubting Job's Righteousness (Job 1:6-12)

6 And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' And Satan answered the Lord, and said, I have walked on the earth, and have gone round it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou paid attention unto my servant Job? for there is none like him on earth: a man blameless, just, God-fearing, and shunning evil. 9 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Is it for nothing that Job fears God? 10 Hast thou not enclosed him round about, and his house, and all that he has? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his flocks are spread over the earth; 11 but stretch out thy hand, and touch all that he has, and shall he bless thee? 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand; only do not stretch out your hand against him. And Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

This is one of the first direct references to Satan in the Bible. Literally, this word means "adversary". He is depicted standing among angels and is represented not so much as the devil in the Christian sense of the word, but as an "angel-accuser". This episode was used by Goethe in Faust. Job is called the "servant" or "servant" of Yahweh, which is a reference to the image of the Servant in Isaiah II. Satan questions the unselfishness of Job's faith.

3. Job's Afflictions and His Endurance (Job 1:13-22; 2:1-10)

13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother. 14 And behold, a messenger came to Job, and said, 15 The oxen were ploughing, and the asses were grazing beside them, when the Shebeans fell upon them, and took them, and smote the youths with the edge of the sword. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 16 And he was saying, as another came, and said, The fire of God fell from heaven, and scorched the sheep and the young men, and devoured them. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 17 And he was saying, when another came, and said, The Chaldeans encamped in three companies, and rushed upon the camels, and took them, and smote the youths with the edge of the sword. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 18 And this one spoke, and another came, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters have eaten, and drunk wine, in the house of their firstborn brother; 19 And behold, a great wind came out of the wilderness, and swept over the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon the youths, and they died; and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 20 Then Job arose, and tore his outer garment, and shaved his head, and fell to the ground, and bowed down, 21 and said, 'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked and I will return.' The Lord gave, and the Lord took away; blessed be the name of the Lord! 22 In all these things Job did not sin, nor did he say anything foolish about God.