Suffering in the Book of Job : a Christian interpretation

Abstract

This dissertation is about one of the main Wisdom books of the Old Testament canon of the Christian Church: the book of Job. Through this dissertation, I wish to offer a reflection on the theme of suffering in the light of the book of Job. The method I used for my thesis is bibliographical research. In order to understand better the message of the book of Job and the issue it deals with, scholarly studies and commentaries on the book are used. This thesis considers the way the author of the book of Job discusses suffering. Job was a righteous man but he suffered: he lost his children, wealth and even his own strength. He was not honored by his friends who read his suffering as the result of his sin. Job laments with his friends and with God and considered his suffering as unjust and unmerited. In chapter 38, God manifests himself to Job and criticizes the opinions of Job and his friends. At the end of the story God restores Job to his former state. The narrative of Job reveals that suffering does not prove sinfulness on the part of those who suffer. Christians perceived suffering as part of God’s mysterious plan for the individual, and interpreted Job’s suffering as a trial. Through his dolorous passion and death, Christ attributes to suffering a valuable meaning: for the believer suffering becomes a means of redemption.