Job's wife is an unnamed biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Job.
Job's wife is an unnamed biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Job.
Job's wife appears only in chapter 2, when Job is afflicted with sores. She says to him in verse 9, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die" (ESV). The word translated "curse" actually means "bless", but almost all English translations view it as a euphemism. [1]
Job then rebukes his wife in verse 10, and says to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak."
Job's wife is never heard of again, except for passing mentions in 19:17 (when Job says, "My breath is strange to my wife") and 31:10 ("then let my wife grind for another"). In chapter 42, Job gets more children (verse 13) but there is no mention of whether it is with the same wife or a different one.
In the apocryphal Testament of Job , Job's wife occupies a more prominent role and is given the name Sitis. [2] The children born at the end of Job's suffering are to a different wife, who is identified as Dinah, daughter of Jacob. [3]
Job's wife is usually viewed negatively. [4] S. G. De Graaf argues that she ridiculed Job "because he continued to trust in the Lord". [5] Abraham Kuyper even suggests that she is Job's last trial: "Satan knew he could use her as an instrument with which to grieve and torture his victim, and for that reason he permitted her to live." [6] Other commentators point to the fact that she, too, lost her children. Ilana Pardes appeals to 19:17 in saying that "she too, after all, is a victim of these divine tests in addition to being pained by exposure to his afflictions". [7]
Some scholars view Job's wife positively. Pardes says, "Much like Eve, Job’s wife spurs her husband to doubt God’s use of divine powers. In doing so she does him much good, for this turns out to be the royal road to deepening one’s knowledge, to opening one’s eyes." She also notes that Job "comes close to doing what his wife had suggested." [7] Carol A. Newsom calls the words of Job's wife "radical and provocative" and notes the ambiguity in the word "integrity": she could be suggesting that Job's righteousness has not done him much good so far, or she could be suggesting that Job continues in his honesty even to the point of cursing God. Newsom concludes that "Job's wife is the prototypical woman on the margin, whose iconoclastic words provoke defensive condemnation but whose insight serves as an irritant that undermines old complacencies." [8]
Abigail was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death. Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to Palti, son of Laish, when David went into hiding.
The Book of Job, or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars generally agree that it was written between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE. It addresses the problem of evil, providing a theodicy through the experiences of the eponymous protagonist. Job is a wealthy and God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God asks Satan for his opinion of Job's piety. When Satan states that Job would turn away from God if he were rendered penniless, without his family, and materially uncomfortable, God allows him to do so. The rest of the book deals with Job successfully defending himself against his unsympathetic friends, whom God admonishes, and God's sovereignty over nature.
The Song of Songs, also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five megillot ("scrolls") in the Ketuvim ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. It is unique within the Hebrew Bible: it shows no interest in Law or Covenant or the God of Israel, nor does it teach or explore wisdom, like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes—although it does have some affinities to wisdom literature, as the ascription to the 10th-century BCE King of Israel Solomon indicates. Instead, it celebrates sexual love, giving "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proffering invitations to enjoy".
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The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a book written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. It is not part of the Hebrew Bible but is included in the Septuagint. Generally dated to the mid-first century BC, or to the reign of Caligula, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two principal aspects. The first aspect is, in its relation to mankind, wisdom is the perfection of knowledge of the righteous as a gift from God showing itself in action. The second aspect is, in direct relation to God, wisdom is with God from all eternity. It is one of the seven sapiential or wisdom books in the Septuagint, the others being Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job, and Sirach. It is one of the deuterocanonical books, i.e. it is included in the canons of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, but most Protestants consider it part of the Apocrypha.
Hannah is one of the wives of Elkanah mentioned in the First Book of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel.
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Job is the central figure of the Book of Job in the Bible. In Islam, Job is also considered a prophet.
The Angel of the Lord is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible on behalf of the God of Israel.
Pardes is a Kabbalistic theory of Biblical exegesis first advanced by Moses de León, adapting the popular "fourfold" method of medieval Christianity. The term, sometimes also rendered PaRDeS, means "orchard" when taken literally, but is used in this context as a Hebrew acronym formed from the initials of the following four approaches:
Pardes is the subject of a Jewish aggadah ("legend") about four rabbis of the Mishnaic period who visited the pardes, only one of whom succeeded in leaving the pardes unharmed.
The roles of women in Christianity have varied since its founding. Women have played important roles in Christianity especially in marriage and in formal ministry positions within certain Christian denominations, and parachurch organizations. In 2016, it was estimated that 52–53 percent of the world's Christian population aged 20 years and over was female, with this figure falling to 51.6 percent in 2020. The Pew Research Center studied the effects of gender on religiosity throughout the world, finding that Christian women in 53 countries are generally more religious than Christian men, while Christians of both genders in African countries are equally likely to regularly attend services.
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The relationship between Paul the Apostle and women is an important element in the theological debate about Christianity and women because Paul was the first writer to give ecclesiastical directives about the role of women in the Church. However, there are arguments that some of these writings are post-Pauline interpolations.
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The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament both contain narratives, poems, and instructions which describe, encourage, command, condemn, reward, punish and regulate violent actions by God, individuals, groups, governments, and nation-states. Among the violent acts referred to are war, human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, murder, rape, genocide, and criminal punishment. Violence is defined around four main areas: that which damages the environment, dishonest or oppressive speech, and issues of justice and purity. War is a special category of violence that is addressed in four different ways including pacifism, non-resistance, just war and crusade.
The Hebrew Bible contains a number of references to rape and other forms of sexual violence, both in the Law of Moses, its historical narratives and its prophetic poetry.
Capital punishment in the Bible refers to instances in the Bible where death is called for as a punishment and also instances where it is proscribed or prohibited. A case against capital punishment can be made from John 8, where Jesus speaks words that can be construed as condemning the practice. There are however many more Bible verses that command and condone capital punishment, and examples of it being carried out. Sins that were punishable by death include homicide, striking one's parents, kidnapping, cursing one's parents, witchcraft and divination, bestiality, worshiping other gods, violating the Sabbath, child sacrifice, adultery, incest, and male homosexual intercourse.
Job 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE. This chapter belongs to the prologue of the book,comprising Job 1:1–2:13.
Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Job, Testament of". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.