Chapter Overview
Summary
Job 42 closes the book with Job's-final-confession (vv. 1–6: 'I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you'), the divine-rebuke of-the-three-friends (vv. 7–9: 'you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has'), and the DOUBLE-RESTORATION of-Job's-fortunes (vv. 10–17). Critically, the LXX adds a UNIQUE 5-VERSE EPILOGUE (42:17a–e) absent-from-MT — identifying-Job as Jobab of Edom (Gen 36:33) and tracing-his-genealogy. This LXX-plus is a major-LXX-Job feature.
Notable Variants
42:5 'now my eye sees you' resurrection-vision anticipation; 42:7 'you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has' — divine-vindication of Job's protest; 42:10 'the LORD restored the fortunes of Job' — restoration-theology; 42:17a–e LXX-EPILOGUE-PLUS identifying Job as Jobab of Edom (absent from MT).
Structural Notes
MT Job 42 = LXX Job 42 + LXX-PLUS-EPILOGUE (vv. 17a–e). 17 verses (MT) + 5 LXX-additional verses.
Then Job answered YHWH and said:
'Then Job answered the LORD and said' tracks MT.
I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
'I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted' tracks MT. NO-PURPOSE-CAN-BE-THWARTED — divine-sovereignty confession. Daniel 4:35 echoes.
Who is this who obscures counsel without knowledge? I spoke of things I did not understand — things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know' tracks MT. JOB-QUOTES-GOD'S-OWN-WORDS (38:2) back-to-himself in confession. Job acknowledges his prior-discourse was beyond-his-knowledge.
Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will teach me.
'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me' tracks MT.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.
'I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you' tracks MT. NOW-MY-EYE-SEES-YOU. The pivot-from-secondhand-knowledge to-direct-experience. 1 John 3:2 ('we shall see him as he is') and Matthew 5:8 ('the pure in heart … shall see God') Christologically extend. 1 Corinthians 13:12 ('now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face') extends to-eschatological-vision.
Therefore I yield, and I am changed concerning dust and ashes.
'Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes' tracks MT. DUST-AND-ASHES repentance. Job's-final-posture. The Hebrew 'm'astty' is ambiguous — can mean 'I despise myself' or 'I retract' or 'I am comforted concerning [my speech].' The LXX renders ephaulisa emauton 'I count myself as nothing.'
After YHWH had spoken these words to Job, YHWH said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My anger burns against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.
'After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has' tracks MT. DIVINE-VINDICATION OF JOB. The friends' theology — even-defending-God — is-rebuked. Job's-honest-protest is-vindicated. The book's-final-theological-bombshell: God prefers Job's-honest-questioning to-the-friends'-defensive-orthodoxy.
Now take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you — for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.
'Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has' tracks MT. JOB-AS-INTERCESSOR. Job whom-the-friends-condemned now-prays-for-them. James 5:16's 'the prayer of a righteous person has great power' extends. Christologically — Christ as the-greater-Job interceding-for-his-accusers (Luke 23:34 'Father, forgive them').
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as YHWH had told them. And YHWH accepted Job.
'So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer' tracks MT.
And YHWH restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends. And YHWH gave Job twice as much as he had before.
'And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before' tracks MT. RESTORED-FORTUNES — only-after-Job's-intercession-for-friends. The book's-ethical-key: restoration-comes through forgiving-and-praying-for the-accusers. Matthew 5:44 ('love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you') Christologically-extends.
Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him and ate bread with him in his house. They showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the disaster that YHWH had brought upon him. Each one gave him a qesitah and a gold ring.
'Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold' tracks MT. RECONCILIATION-MEAL — table-fellowship restored.
And YHWH blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
'And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys' tracks MT. DOUBLED-PROSPERITY — exact-double of 1:3's totals.
He also had seven sons and three daughters born to him.
'He had also seven sons and three daughters' tracks MT. SAME-CHILDREN-COUNT not-doubled — though some-tradition argues the dead-children are still-Job's-children awaiting-resurrection-reunion (so the total is-doubled across-this-life-and-the-next).
He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
'And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch' tracks MT. DAUGHTERS-NAMED. Unique-OT honor — daughters' names recorded but not-the-sons'. Jemimah ('dove'), Keziah ('cinnamon'), Keren-happuch ('horn-of-eye-paint').
No women in all the land were as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance alongside their brothers.
'And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers' tracks MT. DAUGHTERS-INHERIT-WITH-BROTHERS — striking-departure from-typical-ancient-Near-Eastern inheritance-practice (cf. Numbers 27 daughters of Zelophehad). Galatians 3:28 ('there is neither … male nor female') Christologically extends.
After this Job lived one hundred and forty years and saw his children and his grandchildren — four generations.
'And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations' tracks MT. 140-YEARS — likely the-doubled-second-half-of-life. FOUR-GENERATIONS witnessed.
And Job died, old and full of days.
Masoretic (WLC)
וַיָּמָת אִיּוֹב זָקֵן וּשְׂבַע יָמִים
And Job died, an old man and full of days
Septuagint (LXX)
καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν Ιωβ πρεσβύτερος καὶ πλήρης ἡμερῶν γέγραπται δὲ αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀναστήσεσθαι μεθ᾽ ὧν ὁ κύριος ἀνίστησιν οὗτος ἑρμηνεύεται ἐκ τῆς Συριακῆς βίβλου ἐν μὲν γῇ κατοικῶν τῇ Αυσίτιδι ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁρίοις τῆς Ιδουμαίας καὶ Ἀραβίας προϋπῆρχεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὄνομα Ιωβαβ
And Job died, an old man and full of days. And it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up. This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausitis on the borders of Idumea and Arabia. Previously his name was Jobab
MAJOR LXX EPILOGUE-PLUS. The MT ends-here with the brief-death-notice. The LXX adds a SUBSTANTIAL 5-VERSE EPILOGUE (vv. 17a–e in modern numbering) identifying Job-with-Jobab of Genesis 36:33 (an early-Edomite king), tracing-his-Edomite-genealogy, naming-his-three-friends with regional-affiliations, and crucially-importantly — affirming HIS RESURRECTION ('it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up').
RESURRECTION-AFFIRMATION. The LXX-Job-epilogue's 'he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up' (palin anastēsesthai meth' hōn ho kyrios anistēsin) is one of the LXX's most-explicit resurrection-statements. The verse anchors Job's-personal-resurrection-hope (cf. 19:25–27) within a-broader-class of-resurrected-righteous. The Greek anistēmi vocabulary is the-NT-resurrection-verb (Acts 2:24, Rom 6:5, etc.). The LXX-Job epilogue thus provides the Hebrew-Bible's-clearest-explicit anticipation of the resurrection-of-the-righteous — which the NT then-fulfills.
JOBAB IDENTIFICATION. Genesis 36:33 names 'Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah' as one of the kings of Edom 'who reigned before any king reigned over the Israelites.' The LXX identifies this Jobab with-Job, providing-Job a historical-Edomite-royal-pedigree. This identification is followed by-Josephus, Philo, Testament-of-Job, and-some-Christian-Fathers (e.g., Aristeas, Jerome — initially).