We are introduced to a wealthy, righteous man.
Job 1:1-5, A prosperous man
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
The story sets a stage of a wealthy and prosperous man. Job lives in Uz; we are given no genealogy for Job and can only guess at the location. (Hartley suggests that the lack of genealogy for Job is significant -- we are to see Job as Every Man, a representative of all of us.) As for the land of Uz, there is only speculation as to its location. The Hebrew word uz appears seven times in the Old Testament, outside this one verse. There is a man, Uz, son of Aram, grandson of Shem, listed in the Table of Nations, in Genesis 10: 22-23. In Genesis 36: 28, down the list of descendants of Esau/Edom, a man named Uz is a son of a man named Dishan. These names are repeated against in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1, in verses 17 and 42. In addition, in Genesis 22: 20-21, Uz is a son of Abram's brother Nahor. In Jeremiah 25: 15-26, Jeremiah describes the nations all receiving the cup of God's wrath. In verse 20, Uz is mentioned in the midst of the Philistines and Edom, Moab and Ammon. A similar passage by Jeremiah in Lamentations 4: 21 describes "Daughter Edom, you who live in the land of Uz...", linking Uz and Edom as in Genesis 36, above.
Our narrator assures us that Job was a righteous man. He fears God and is concerned about his children, making sacrifices for them. This righteousness is critical for setting of the story and we will be reminded of Job's righteousness. (In Ezekiel 14: 14, Job is given as an example, next of Moses and Daniel, of a righteous man.)
Job's wealthy children take turns hosting each other at their homes, eating and drinking. The imagery is that of happy and healthy family, a story drawn in broad strokes.
Job 1:6-11, The Accuser's challenge
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
A conversation begins in the presence of YHWH. One called The Accuser (Hebrew satan) speaks against Job. YHWH points out the righteousness of Job. The Accuser then asks YHWH a question, accusing Job of merely being comfortably religious. That accusation is that Job is not really righteous.
In other places the same Hebrew word satan is used to simply mean "adversary", such as in 1 Samuel 29: 4 when commanders of the Philistines worry that David will "turn against them" or "be an adversary" to them. Hartley argues that the word has a definite article with it and represents a title.
These views of the supernatural, heavenly realm are important to the story. It is critical that the readers see this scene and that they are aware this scene is hidden to Job and others around him.
Job 1:12, Access to Job
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
God then gives The Accuser permission to test Job. The Accuser is limited by not being allowed to touch Job himself.
Job 1:13-19, Disaster and disaster
One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
And so destruction arrives, in four events, two earthly forces (the Sabeans and Chaldeans) and two heavenly forces (lightning and a mighty wind.) The oxen, sheep and camels are destroyed, along with many servants. Finally, worst of all, Job's seven sons and three daughters are killed. Anything of value to Job is destroyed.
Job 1:20-22, Grief
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Faced with the destruction, Job weeps and grieves but does not curse God or accuse God of evil.
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