And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.

“Mutual understanding, the greatest good, was profound within Job's family. They were accustomed to have meals together, to hold a common banquet—a custom, to be sure, that significantly contributes to establishing a profitable mutual understanding. Do you perceive, dear brothers, the joy of the banquet mixed with security? Do you observe this brotherly table? Do you see that harmoniously united group? Profound affection is the source of all this.”

“HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent, and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all. When it is said, sent and sanctified them, it is openly shewn what strictness he practised with those when present, for whom when absent he was not wanting in concern. But this circumstance demands our discreet consideration, that, when the days of feasting were past, he has recourse to the purification of a holocaust for each day severally; for the holy man knew that there can scarcely be feasting without offence; he knew that the revelry of feasts must be cleansed away by much purification of sacrifices, and whatever stains the sons had contracted in their own persons at their feasts, the father wiped out by the offering of a sacrifice; for there are certain evils which it is either scarcely possible, or it may be said wholly impossible, to banish from feasting. Thus almost always voluptuousness is the accompaniment of entertainments; for when the body is relaxed in the delight of refreshment, the heart yields itself to the admission of an empty joy. Whence it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Almost always talkativeness is an attendant upon feasts, and when the belly is replenished, the tongue is unloosed; whence the rich man in hell is well described as thirsting for water, in these words, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. He is first said to have fared sumptuously every day, and then it is recorded that he craved a drop of water upon his tongue; for as we have said, because at feasts talking is wont to give itself full vent, the fault is indicated by the punishment, in that he, whom the Truth had said fared sumptuously every day, was described as most on fire in his tongue. They that attune the harmony of stringed instruments arrange it with such exceeding skill, that frequently, when one chord is touched, a very different one, placed with many lying between, is made to vibrate, and when this last is sounded, the former, which is attempered to the same tune, rings without the others being struck. According to which Holy Scripture very often so deals with the several virtues, and vices too, that while by express mention it conveys one thing, it does by its silence bring before us another, for nothing is recorded against the rich man relating to talkativeness, but while the punishment is described as in the tongue, we are shewn, which among others was his greatest offence in his feasting. But whereas the seven brethren are described as making feasts, each one in his day, and whereas, when the days of feasting were over, Job is related to have offered seven sacrifices; the account plainly indicates that, in offering a sacrifice on the eighth day, the blessed Job was celebrating the mystery of the Resurrection. For the day, which is now named 'The Lord's day,' is the third from the death of our Redeemer, but in the order of creation it is the eighth, which is also the first in the work of creation, but because, on coming round again, it follows the seventh, it is properly reckoned the eighth; whereas then it is said that he offered sacrifices on the eighth day, it is shewn that he was full of the Spirit of sevenfold grace, and served the Lord for the hope of resurrection. Hence that Psalm is entitled 'for the Octave,' wherein joy for the resurrection is proclaimed, but, that the sons of blessed Job had been forearmed by the discipline of such perfect training, that they neither offended by word nor deed at their feasts, is plainly shewn, in that it is subjoined, For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. For he had taught them to be perfect in deed and in word, about whose thought alone the father entertained fears. Now that we should not judge rashly of other men's hearts, we perceive in the words of this Saint, who does not say, 'that they have cursed God in their hearts,' but it may be that they have cursed God in their hearts. Whence it is well said by Paul, Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; for whoever deviates from the right line in thought, sins in darkness; we then should be the more backward boldly to condemn the hearts of others, in proportion as we know that we cannot by our own sight throw light into the darkness of another man's thought. But here we should consider with discrimination, with what severity that father was likely to correct the deeds of his children, who set himself with so much solicitude to purify their hearts. What do those rulers of the Faithful say to this, who know nothing even of the very overt acts of their disciples? What are they thinking of in excuse for themselves, who mind not in those committed to them even the wounds of evil actions? But that his perseverance too in this holy work may be demonstrated, it is well added, Thus did Job all the days; for it is written, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. In the sacrifice then, the holiness of his conduct is shewn, and in the entire number of the days of the sacrifice, perseverance in that holy conduct. These particulars we have gone through cursorily in following out the history. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. 'The days of feasting are gone,' when the ministrations of preaching are brought to an end; and when the feasts were ended, Job offered an holocaust for his sons, in that our Redeemer besought the Father in behalf of the Apostles, when they returned from preaching. Now it is rightly said, that he 'sent and sanctified,' in that when He bestowed the Holy Spirit Which proceeds from Himself, upon the hearts of His disciples, He cleansed them from whatsoever might be in them of offence, and it is rightly delivered that he rose up early to offer sacrifices; forasmuch as through this His offering up the prayer of His Intercessions in our behalf, he dispelled the night of error, and illumined the darkness of man's mind; that the soul might not be polluted in secret by any defilements of sin contracted from the very grace of preaching; that it might never attribute to itself aught that it does; that it might not, by attributing them to itself, lose all the things it had done. Hence it is well added, For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and blessed God in their hearts. For this blessing God, which means cursing, is the taking glory to one's self from a gift of His hand. Hence the Lord did well to wash the feet of the holy Apostles after their preaching, doubtless with this view, that He might shew plainly, both that very frequently in doing good the dust of sin is contracted, and that the steps of the speakers are often defiled by the same means whereby the hearts of their hearers are purified. For it often happens that some in giving words of exhortation, however poorly, are inwardly lifted up, because they are the channel, by which the grace of purification comes down; and while by the word they wash away the deeds of other men, they as it were contract the dust of an ill thought from a good course. What then was it to wash the disciples' feet after their preaching, but after the gloriousness of preaching to wipe off the dust of our thoughts, and to cleanse the heart's goings from inward pride? Nor does it hinder the universal knowledge which our Mediator has, that it is said, It may be; for knowing all things, but in His mode of speech taking upon Him our ignorance, and, in taking the same, giving us a lesson, He sometimes speaks as it were with our doubts; as where He says, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh shall He find faith on the earth? When the feasting then was over, Job offered a sacrifice for his sons, saying, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their heart; in that our Saviour, after He had cleansed His preachers from the evils that beset them even in the midst of the good things which they had done, kept them from temptations. Thus did Job continually. Job does not cease 'to offer sacrifice continually,' in that our Redeemer offers a holocaust for us without ceasing, Who without intermission exhibits to the Father His Incarnation in our behalf. For His very Incarnation is itself the offering for our purification, and while He shews Himself as Man, He is the Intercession that washes out man's misdeeds, and in the mystery of His Humanity He offers a perpetual Sacrifice, even because those things too are eternal which He purifies. MORAL INTERPRETATION. But what is there that we do, in this life, without some stain of defilement, howsoever slight? For sometimes by the very good things we do we draw near to the worse part, since while they beget much in the mind, they at the same time engender a certain security, and when the mind enjoys security, it unlooses itself in sloth; and sometimes they defile us with some self-elation, and set us so much the lower with God, as they make us bigger in our own eyes. Hence it is well added, And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them. For, when the round of the days of feasting is gone about, to send to his sons and to sanctify them, is after the perception of the virtues to direct the inward intention, and to purify all that we do with the exact sifting of a reexamination, lest things be counted good which are evil, or at least such as are truly good be thought enough when they are imperfect. For thus it very often happens that the mind is taken in, so that it is deceived either in the quality of what is evil or the quantity of what is good. But these senses of the virtues are much better ascertained by prayers than by examinings. For the things which we endeavour to search out more completely in ourselves, we oftener obtain a true insight into by praying than by investigating. For when the mind is lifted up on high by the kind of machine of compunction, all that may have been presented to it concerning itself, it surveys the more surely by passing judgment upon it beneath its feet. Hence it is well subjoined, And rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings, according to the number of them all. For we rise up early in the morning, when being penetrated with the light of compunction we leave the night of our human state, and open the eyes of the mind to the beams of the true light, and we offer a burnt offering for each son, when we offer up the sacrifice of prayer for each virtue, lest wisdom may uplift; or understanding, while it runs nimbly, deviate from the right path; or counsel, while it multiplies itself, grow into confusion; that fortitude, while it gives confidence, may not lead to precipitation, lest knowledge, while it knows and yet has no love, may swell the mind; lest piety, while it bends itself out of the right line, may become distorted; and lest fear, while it is unduly alarmed, may plunge one into the pit of despair. When then we pour out our prayers to the Lord in behalf of each several virtue, that it be free from alloy, what else do we but according to the number of our sons offer a burnt offering for each? for an holocaust is rendered 'the whole burnt.' Therefore to pay a 'holocaust' is to light up the whole soul with the fire of compunction, that the heart may burn on the altar of love, and consume the defilements of our thoughts, like the sins of our own offspring. But none know how to do this saving those, who, before their thoughts proceed to deeds, restrain with anxious circumspection the inward motions of their hearts. None know how to do this saving they who have learnt to fortify their soul with a manly guard. Hence Ishbosheth is rightly said to have perished by a sudden death, whom holy Scripture at the same time testifies to have had not a man for his doorkeeper but a woman, in these words; And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon; and they came thither into the midst of the house:, and the portress of the house was fallen asleep, winnowing wheat. And they came privily into the house fetching ears of wheat, and they smote him in the groin. The portress winnows the wheat, when the wardkeeping of the mind distinguishes and separates the virtues from the vices; but if she falls asleep, she lets in conspirators to her master's destruction, in that when the cautiousness of discernment is at an end, a way is set open for evil spirits to slay the soul. They enter in and carry off the ears, in that they at once bear off the germs of good thoughts; and they smite in the groin, in that they cut off the virtue of the soul by the delights of the flesh. For to smite in the groin is to pierce the life of the mind with the delights of the flesh. But this Ishbosheth would never have perished by such a death, if he had not set a woman at the entrance to his house, i.e. set an easy guard at the way of access to the mind. For a strong and manly activity should be set over the doors of the heart, such as is never surprised by sleep of neglect, and never deceived by the errors of ignorance; and hence he is rightly named Ishbosheth, who is exposed by a female guard to the swords of his enemies, for Ishbosheth is rendered 'a man of confusion.' And he is 'a man of confusion,' who is not provided with a strong guard over his mind, in that while he reckons himself to be practising virtues, vices stealing in kill him unawares. The entrance to the mind then must be fortified with the whole sum of virtue, lest at any time enemies with insidious intent penetrate into it by the opening of heedless thought. Hence Solomon says, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. It is meet then that we form a most careful estimate of the virtues that we practise, beginning with the original intent, lest the acts which they put forth, even though they be right, may proceed from a bad origin: and hence it is rightly subjoined in this place; For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Our sons curse God in their hearts, when our righteous deeds proceed from unrighteous thoughts; when they put forth good things in public, but in secret devise mischief. Thus they curse God, when our minds reckon that they get from themselves that which they are. They curse God when they can understand that it is from Him that they have received their powers, and yet seek their own praise for His gifts. But be it known that our old enemy proceeds against our good actions in three ways, with this view, namely, that the thing which is done aright before the eyes of men, may be spoiled in the sight of the Judge within. For sometimes in a good work he pollutes the intention, that all that follows in the doing may come forth impure and unclean, because it is hereby made to rise troubled from its source. But sometimes he has no power to spoil the intention of a good deed, but he presents himself in the action itself as it were in the pathway; that whereas the person goes forth the more secure in the purpose of his heart, evil being secretly there laid, he may as it were be slain from ambush. And sometimes he neither corrupts the intention, nor overthrows it in the way, but he ensnares the good deed at the end of the action; and in proportion as he feigns himself to have gone further off, whether from the house of the heart or from the path of the deed, with the greater craftiness he watches to catch the end of the good action; and the more he has put a man off his guard by seeming to retire, so much the more incurably does he at times pierce him with an unexpected wound. For he defiles the intention in a good work, in that when he sees men's hearts ready to be deceived, he presents to their ambition the breath of passing applause, that wherein they do aright, they may swerve by crookedness in the intention to make the lowest things their aim; and hence under the image of Judaea, it is well said by the Prophet of every soul that is caught in the snare of mal-intention, Her adversaries are the chief. As though it were said in plain words, 'when a good work is taken in hand with no good intent, the spirits that are against us have dominion over her from the commencement of the conception, and the more completely possess themselves of her, even that they hold her under their power by the very beginning.' But when they are unable to corrupt the intention, they conceal snares which they set in the way, that the heart, lifting itself up in that which is done well, may be impelled from one side to do evil; so that what at the outset it had set before itself in one way, it may go through in act far otherwise than it had begun. For often whilst human praise falls to the lot of a good deed, it alters the mind of the doer, and though not sought after, yet when offered it pleases; and whereas the mind of the well-doer is melted by the delight thereof, it is set loose from all vigorousness of the inward intention. Often when our sense of justice has begun to act aright, anger joins it from the side; and whereas it troubles the mind out of measure, by the quickness of our sense of uprightness, it wounds all the healthiness of our inward tranquillity. It often happens that sadness, attaching itself from the side, as it were, becomes the attendant of seriousness of mind, and that every deed which the mind commences with a good intention, this quality overcasts with a veil of sadness, and we are sometimes the slower in driving it away even in that it waits as it were in solemn attendance on the depressed mind. Often immoderate joy attaches itself to a good deed, and while it calls upon the mind for more mirth than is meet, it discards all the weight of gravity from our good action. For because the Psalmist had seen that even those that set out well are met by snares on the way, being filled with the prophetic spirit, he rightly delivered it; In this way that I walked they hid a snare for me. Which Jeremiah well and subtilly insinuates, who, while busied with telling of outward events, points out what things were done inwardly in ourselves, There came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them. For those shave their beard, who remove from them confidence in their own powers. They rend their clothes, that spare not themselves in tearing in pieces outward appearance. They come to offer up in the house of the Lord frankincense and gifts, who engage to set forth prayer in union with works in sacrifice to God. But if in the very path of holy devotion they skill not to keep a wary eye on every side, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah goes forth to meet them; in that assuredly every evil spirit, after the example of its chief, even Satan, begotten in the erring principle of pride, presents itself as a snare to deceive, And it is likewise well said concerning him; weeping all along as he went; forasmuch as in order that he may cut off devout souls by smiting them, he hides himself as it were under the guise of virtue, and whereas he feigns to agree with those that really mourn, being thus with greater security admitted to the interior of the heart, he destroys whatsoever of virtue is there hidden within. And most often he engages to guide to higher things; and hence he is related to have said, Come unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; and while he promises greater things he robs us even of the very little that we have; and hence it is rightly said, And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them. So then he slays in the midst of the city the men that are come to offer gifts to God, in that those souls which are devoted to works of God, unless they watch over themselves with great circumspection, lose their life on the very way, through the enemy intercepting them unawares, as they go bearing the sacrifice of devotion; and from the hands of this enemy there is no escape, unless they speedily hasten back to repentance. Hence it is fitly added there, But ten men were found among them, that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he slew them not. For the treasure in the field is hope in repentance, which, in that it is not discernible, is kept buried closely in the earth of the heart. They then that had treasures in the field were saved, in that they who after the fault of their unwariness return to the lamentation of repentance, do not likewise perish when taken captive. But when our old adversary neither deals a blow at the outset of the intention, nor intercepts us in the path of the execution, he sets the more mischievous snares at the end, which he so much the more wickedly besets, as he sees that it is all that is left to him to make a prey of. Now the Prophet had seen these snares set at the end of his course, when he said, They will mark my heel. For because the end of the body is in the heel, what is signified thereby but the end of an action? Whether then it be evil spirits, or all wicked men that follow in the steps of their pride, they 'mark the heel' when they aim at spoiling the end of a good action; and hence it is said to that serpent, it shall mark thy head, and thou shalt mark his heel. For to mark the serpent's head is to keep an eye upon the beginnings of his suggestions, and with the hand of needful consideration wholly to eradicate them from the avenues of the heart; yet when he is caught at the commencement, he busies himself to smite the heel, in that though he does not strike the intention with his suggestion at the first, he strives to ensnare at the end. Now if the heart be once corrupted in the intention, the middle and the end of the action that follows is held in secure possession by the cunning adversary, since he sees that that whole tree bears fruit to himself, which he has poisoned at the root with his baleful tooth. Therefore because we have to watch with the greatest care, that the mind even in the service of good works be not polluted by a wicked intention, it is rightly said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. As if it were said in plain words, that is no good work which is performed outwardly, unless the sacrifice of innocency be inwardly offered for it upon the altar of the heart in the presence of God. The stream of our work then is to be looked through, all we can, if it flows out pure from the well-spring of thought. With all care must the eye of the heart be guarded from the dust of wickedness, lest that which in action it shews upright to man, be within set awry by the fault of a crooked intention. We must take heed, then, that our good works be not too few, take heed too that they be not unexamined, lest by doing too few works we be found barren, or by leaving them unexamined we be found foolish; for each several virtue is not really such, if it be not blended with other virtues; and hence it is well said to Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, of good scent, with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight. And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, well tempered together, and pure. For we make a perfume compounded of spices, when we yield a smell upon the altar of good works with the multitude of our virtues; and this is 'tempered together and pure,' in that the more we join virtue to virtue, the purer is the incense of good works we set forth. Hence it is well added, And thou shalt beat them all very small, and put of it before the Tabernacle of the Testimony. We 'beat all the spices very small,' when we pound our good deeds as it were in the mortar of the heart, by an inward sifting, and go over them minutely, to see if they be really and truly good: and thus to reduce the spices to a powder, is to rub fine our virtues by consideration, and to call them back to the utmost exactitude of a secret reviewal; and observe that it is said of that powder, and thou shalt put of it before the Tabernacle of the Testimony: for this reason, in that our good works are then truly pleasing in the sight of our Judge, when the mind bruises them small by a more particular reexamination, and as it were makes a powder of the spices, that the good that is done be not coarse and hard, lest if the close hand of reexamination do not bruise it fine, it scatter not from itself the more refined odour. For it is hence that the virtue of the Spouse is commended by the voice of the Bridegroom, where it is said, Who is this, that cometh out of the wilderness like a rod of smoke of the perfume of myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? For holy Church rises up like a rod of smoke from spices, in that by the virtues of her life she duly advances to the uprightness of inward incense, nor lets herself run out into dissipated thought, but restrains herself in the recesses of the heart in the rod of severity: and while she never ceases to reconsider and go over anew the things that she does, she has in the deed myrrh and frankincense, but in the thought she has powder. Hence it is that it is said again to Moses of those who offer a victim, And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. For we strip the skin of the victim, when we remove from the eyes of the mind the overcast of virtue; and we 'cut it in his pieces,' when we minutely dissect its interior, and contemplate it piecemeal. We must therefore be careful, that when we overcome our evil habits, we are not overthrown by our good ones running riot, lest they chance to run out loosely, lest being unheeded they be taken captive, lest from error they forsake the path, lest broken down by weariness they lose the meed of past labours. For the mind ought in all things to keep a wary eye about it, aye and in this very forethought of circumspection to be persevering; and hence it is rightly added, Thus did Job all the days. For vain is the good that we do, if it be given over before the end of life, in that it is vain too for him to run fast, who fails before he reaches the goal. For it is hence that it is said of the reprobate, Woe unto you that have lost patience. Hence Truth says to His elect, Ye are they that have continued with Me in My temptations. Hence Joseph, who is described to have remained righteous among his brethren until the very end, is the only one related to have had 'a coat reaching to the ancles.' For what is a coat that reaches to the ancles but action finished? For it is as if the extended coat covered the ancle of the body, when well doing covers us in God's sight even to the end of life. Hence it is that it is enjoined by Moses to offer upon the altar the tail of the sacrifice, namely, that every good action that we begin we may also complete with perseverance to the end. Therefore what is begun well is to be done every day, that whereas evil is driven away by our opposition, the very victory that goodness gains may be held fast in the hand of constancy. These things then we have delivered under a threefold sense, that by setting a variety of viands before the delicate sense of the soul, we may offer it something to choose by preference. But this we most earnestly entreat, that he that lifts up his mind to the spiritual signification, do not desist from his reverence for the history.”

“"Job would sanctify them," that is, Job purified them through the waters of cleansing and through the sacrifices that he offered for them. And since the righteous man had full confidence in the fact that his children were free from manifest sins, thanks to the education and instruction which he had given them, he offered sacrifices for their secret sins and thoughts by saying, "It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts."”

“Now it would come about when the cycle of the feasting days would be over When the days of the feasting would be over, Job would act in this manner; upon every termination of the seven days on which the days of feasting rotated, he would send and summon them (ויקדשם) ; i.e., he would prepare them and summon them, as in (Num. 11:18). “Prepare yourselves for tommorow.” and offer up... early in the morning The meaning is that he would offer up burnt-offerings early. Therefore, Scripture wrote in the future tense, that he was wont to do so always at the end of every seven days. the number of all of them The sons and the daughters. and blasphemed Heb. וברכו, lit. will do. A euphemism [used in] referring to the Most High. So would Job do Heb. יעשה, lit. will do. He would always do in this manner. When Scripture writes about a constant occurrence, sometimes it writes in the past tense, and sometimes in the future tense.”

“"There was a man in the land of Hus," etc. Because, as has been said, the whole intention of this book is ordered to showing how human affairs are governed by divine providence, there is set forth first, as it were the foundation of the whole disputation, a certain history in which the manifold affliction of a certain just man is recounted: for this is the very thing which seems most of all to exclude divine providence from human affairs. First, therefore, the person of this man is described, both as to sex, when it is said "there was a man" (for this sex is found more robust for enduring troubles), and as to homeland, when it is said "in the land of Hus," which is in the regions of the east, and as to name, when it is said "by the name of Job"; and these two seem to be set down in order to suggest that what is being related is not a parable but an actual event. And lest anyone should believe that the adversities afterward brought upon him befell him on account of this man's sins, his virtue is consequently described, by which he is shown to be immune from sins. For it must be known that a man sins in three ways: there are certain sins by which one sins against one's neighbor, such as murders, adulteries, thefts, and the like; certain by which one sins against God, such as perjury, sacrilege, blasphemy, and the like; certain by which each one sins against himself, according to the word of the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 6:18, "he who fornicates sins against his own body." Now one sins against one's neighbor in two ways, secretly through guile and openly through force; but this man did not circumvent his neighbor through guile, whence it is said, "and that man was simple," for simplicity is properly opposed to guile; he did no violence to anyone, for there follows "and upright," for uprightness properly pertains to justice, which consists in equality, according to Isaiah 26:7, "the path of the just is straight, the way of the just is right for walking." That he did not sin against God is openly shown by what is added, "and fearing God," in which reverence toward God is designated. That he did not sin against himself either is shown by what is added, "and departing from evil," because he held evil in hatred for its own sake, not only on account of harm to his neighbor or offense to God. Having thus described both the person and the virtue of this man, his prosperity is consequently shown, so that the following adversity may be judged the more grievous from the preceding prosperity, and at the same time to show that by God's first intention good things are always granted to the just, not only spiritual goods but temporal ones as well; but that the just are sometimes oppressed by adversities happens on account of some special cause: whence also from the beginning man was so constituted that he would be subject to no disturbances if he had remained in innocence. Now the beginning of temporal prosperity, after the good standing of one's own person, consists in persons joined to one, and especially in one's children, who are in a certain way something of their parents. Therefore his prosperity is first described as to the fruitfulness of offspring, when it is said, "and there were born to him seven sons and three daughters." Fittingly a greater number of males than females is set down, because parents are wont to be more fond of sons than of daughters, both because that which is more perfect is more desirable — for males are compared to females as the perfect to the imperfect — and because parents are usually more assisted in the conduct of affairs by sons than by daughters. Then his prosperity is shown as to abundance of riches, and especially in animals: for around the beginning of the human race, on account of the scarcity of men, the possession of fields was not so valuable as that of animals, and especially in the regions of the east, in which even to this day there are few inhabitants in proportion to the breadth of the region. Among the animals, first are set down those which serve most for the food and clothing of the person, namely sheep, whence it is said, "and his possession was seven thousand sheep"; second are set down those which serve most for bearing burdens, namely camels, and this is what is added, "and three thousand camels"; third are set down those which serve for the tilling of fields, and this is what is added, "also five hundred yoke of oxen"; fourth are set down the animals which men use for conveyance, whence there follows "and five hundred she-asses," from which mules are generated, upon which the ancients especially used to ride. Under these four kinds of animals are comprised all the others which serve the same uses — for instance, under sheep, everything necessary for food and clothing, and so for the rest. And because men possessing many riches need a multitude of servants to govern them, fittingly there is added, "and a very great household." Consequently his prosperity is set down as to honor and fame, which was spread far and wide, and this is what is said, "and that man was great among all the people of the East," that is, honored and famous. For the greater commendation of Job himself, the discipline of his household is consequently described, which was free from those vices which opulence is wont to beget. For very often abundance of riches gives rise to discord, whence it is read in Genesis that Abraham and Lot could not dwell together, in order to avoid the quarreling that arose from the abundance of their possessions. Frequently, too, men possessing many things, since they love immoderately what they possess, use them the more tenaciously; whence it is said, Ecclesiastes 6:1-2, "there is another evil which I have seen under the sun, and indeed a frequent one among men: a man to whom God has given riches and substance and honor, and nothing is lacking to his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him the power to eat of it." From these evils, then, the house of blessed Job was free: for there was concord in it, and joyful and fair frugality, which is signified when it is said, "and his sons went and held feasts, each in his house on his day." And this charity and concord was not only among the brothers but extended even to the sisters, who are frequently despised by brothers on account of the pride which opulence very much begets, whence it is added, "and sending, they called their three sisters to eat and drink wine with them." At the same time there is also designated in this the security that was had concerning the chastity of the daughters; for otherwise they were not to be led about but kept enclosed, according to the word of the wise man, Ecclesiasticus 26:13, "over a daughter who does not turn herself away, keep firm watch, lest, an occasion found, she abuse herself." As frugality and concord flourished in the house of Job, so in Job himself there flourished a holy solicitude for purity, which riches frequently overwhelm or even diminish, according to Deuteronomy, "the beloved grew fat and kicked," and afterward there follows, "he forsook God his maker," etc. And indeed he was so solicitous for his own purity that he was wholly removed from those things which could defile him: for it was said above that he was "fearing God and departing from evil." But he was also most solicitous concerning the purity of his sons; he permitted them, to be sure, to hold feasts, indulging their age — for certain things are tolerated in the young which are reprehensible in persons of weight. And because at feasts men can scarcely, or never, avoid giving offense either through inept mirth or through disorderly talkativeness or even through immoderate use of food, to the sons whom he did not restrain from feasting he offered the remedy of purification, whence it is said, "and when the days of the feast had gone round in a circle, Job sent to them and sanctified them." Now the days of the feast are said to go round in a circle because, since there were seven sons and each one held a feast on his day, through all the days of the week in sequence they completed feasts of this kind; afterward, as it were circularly or in a circle, just as through the days of the week so also through the feasts, they returned to the beginning. Now it is to be noted that although Job indulged his sons in holding feasts, yet he, preserving his own gravity, did not mingle himself with their feasts: whence it is said that "he sent to them," not that he himself went to them. The manner of the sanctification by which he sanctified them through a messenger can be understood in two ways: either because he had them instructed with wholesome admonitions, so that if they had done anything wrong at the feasts they might amend it, or else they had some rite of expiation by which sins of this kind were expiated, just as sacrifices too were given even before the Law, as well as the offering of first fruits and of tithes. Now at feasts men sometimes incur not only impurity in the ways aforesaid, but are even plunged into graver sins, even to the contempt of God, when reason is absorbed by wantonness and drawn away from divine reverence, as it is said in Exodus, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play," that is, to fornicate or to sacrifice to idols. Job, therefore, not only came to the aid of his sons against light offenses by sanctifying them, but also strove to apply a remedy against graver offenses by which God might be appeased toward them, whence there follows, "and rising at dawn he offered holocausts for each one." In these words the perfection of his devotion is shown, both as to time, because he rose at dawn, according to the word of the Psalm, "in the morning I will stand before you," etc.; and as to the manner of the offering, because he offered holocausts, which were wholly burned up in honor of God, no part being left for the use of the one offering or of the one for whom it was offered, as was the case in peace offerings and sin offerings — for a holocaust is so called as being, as it were, wholly burnt; and as to the number, because he offered holocausts for each of his sons individually, for individual sins are to be expiated by fitting satisfactions. He then adds the cause of the offering of the holocausts, saying, "for he said" — namely Job in his heart, not indeed being certain of his sons' sins but in doubt — "lest perhaps my sons have sinned," namely in deed or in word, "and have blessed God in their hearts." This can be understood in two ways. In one way, that the whole be understood conjointly: for although to bless God is a good thing, yet to bless God on account of the fact that one has sinned signifies a will resting content in sins, and in this respect it is blamed, as it is said in Zechariah against certain people: "feed the flock of slaughter, which those who possessed them killed and did not grieve, and sold them saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich." In another way, that it be understood disjunctively, so that by what is said, "have blessed," is understood "have cursed": for the crime of blasphemy is so horrible that pious mouths shrink from naming it by its own name, but signify it by its opposite. And fittingly holocausts are offered for the sin of blasphemy, because those things which are committed against God are to be purged by divine honoring. Now it is wont to happen that divine worship is devoutly performed by some if it is rare, but when it has become frequent it comes into disdain, which is the sin of acedia, when someone, that is, grows sad over spiritual labor. To this vice Job was not subject, for it is added, "so did Job all the days," as one preserving a devotion persevering in divine worship. "Now on a certain day, when the sons," etc. After the prosperity of blessed Job has been enumerated, his adversity is set down, and first the cause of it is introduced. And lest anyone should think that the adversities of the just proceed apart from divine providence, and through this suppose that human affairs are not subject to providence, it is set forth beforehand how God has care of human affairs and dispenses them. This is proposed symbolically and under a figure, according to the custom of sacred Scripture, which describes spiritual things under the figures of bodily things, as is clear in Isaiah 6:1, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up," and in the beginning of Ezekiel and in many other places. And although spiritual things are set forth under the figures of bodily things, nevertheless those things which are intended concerning spiritual matters through sensible figures do not pertain to the mystical sense but to the literal sense, because the literal sense is that which is first intended through the words, whether properly spoken or figuratively. Now it must be known that divine providence governs things in such an order that it dispenses the lower through the higher: for bodies subject to generation and corruption are subjected to the motion of the heavenly bodies, and likewise the lower rational spirits united to mortal bodies, namely souls, are administered through the higher incorporeal spirits. Now ecclesiastical tradition holds this, that among the incorporeal spirits there are certain good ones who, preserving the purity in which they were created, enjoy the divine glory, never departing from the will of God: and these spirits are sometimes called Angels in the Scriptures, that is, messengers, because they announce divine things to men, and sometimes they are called sons of God insofar as they are assimilated to God through participation in glory. But there are certain evil spirits, not by nature or by creation, since God is the author of every nature, nor can the highest good be the cause of anything but good things, but they are evil through their own fault; spirits of this kind are called Demons in the Scriptures, and the first of them is called the Devil, as it were falling downward, or also Satan, that is, adversary. Both kinds of spirits, then, move men to do certain things, the good ones indeed to good things, the evil ones to evil things. And just as men are moved by God through the aforesaid spirits, so also the things that are done through men are said in the Scriptures to be referred, through the mediation of these same spirits, to the divine examination. To show, therefore, that both the good and the evil things which men do are subject to the divine judgment, it is said, "now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them." Now it must be known that the Angels, who are here called sons of God, are said to stand before the Lord in two ways: in one way inasmuch as God is beheld by them, as it is written in Daniel, "thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him"; in another way inasmuch as the Angels themselves and their acts are beheld by God — for those who stand before some lord both behold him and are beheld by him. In the first way, then, to stand before does not befit the Angels except the blessed ones who enjoy the divine vision, nor all of these, but only those among them who exist as the higher ones, who enjoy the divine vision more intimately and who do not go out to exterior ministries, according to the opinion of Dionysius: whence in the aforesaid authority of Daniel those who stand before are also distinguished from those who minister. In the second way, however, to stand before befits not only all the good Angels but also the evil ones, and even men, because whatever is done through them is subjected to the divine sight and examination, and on this account it is said that "when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them." And although the things that are administered through good or evil Angels are continually subjected to the divine sight and examination, and thus the sons of God are always standing before him and Satan is always present among them, it is nevertheless said "on a certain day," according to the custom of Scripture, which sometimes designates through time those things which are above time, from certain things which are said to occur in time; just as at the beginning of Genesis it is said that God said certain things on the first or second day, although his speaking is eternal, on account of the fact that the things said by him came to be in time. So too now, because the deed which is now intended took place at a determined time, the administrators of this deed are said to have stood before the Lord on a certain day, although they never cease to stand before the Lord. It must also be considered that the things done through good Angels are referred to the divine judgment otherwise than those done through evil ones. For the good Angels intend that what they do be referred to God, and therefore it is said that the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, as it were subjecting all things to the divine judgment by their own motion and intention; but the evil Angels do not intend to refer what they do to God, but, though they are unwilling, it happens to them that whatever they do is subjected to the divine judgment, and therefore it is not said of Satan that he came to stand before the Lord, but only that he "was present among them." Now it is said "among them" both on account of the equality of nature, and to suggest that evil things are not from a principal intention but come upon good things as it were incidentally. There is, moreover, a difference between the things done through good Angels and evil ones: for the good Angels do nothing except what they are moved to by divine command and will, for in all things they follow the divine will; but the evil ones by their own will are at discord with God, whence the things they themselves do exist as alien from God as regards their intention. And because we are not accustomed to ask about the things which we ourselves do, but about the things which happen apart from us, therefore it is not said that the Lord asked anything of the sons of God, but only of Satan, and this is what is added, "to whom the Lord said: whence do you come?" And it is to be noted that the Lord does not say to him, "what are you doing?" or "where are you?" but "whence do you come?" Because the very deeds which are procured through the Demons sometimes proceed from the divine will, in that through them either the wicked are punished or the good are exercised; but the intention of the Demons is always evil and alien from God, and therefore it is asked of Satan, "whence do you come?" because his intention, from which his whole action proceeds, is alien from God. Now it must be known that "to say" is taken in two ways, for sometimes it is referred to the concept of the heart, sometimes to the signification by which such a concept is expressed to another. According to the first way, then, the speaking of God is eternal and is nothing other than begetting the Son, who is his Word. In the second way, however, God says certain things temporally, yet in various manners according to what is fitting to those to whom he speaks: for to men having bodily senses God has sometimes spoken with a bodily sound formed in some created subject, as the voice sounded at the Baptism and at the Transfiguration of Christ, "this is my beloved son"; sometimes, however, through an imaginative vision, as is read many times in the prophets; sometimes through an intelligible expression, and in this way it must be understood that God said something to Satan, inasmuch as he causes him to understand that the things he himself does are beheld by God. Just as, then, God's speaking to Satan is his affording him knowledge, so Satan's answering God is not indeed his conveying knowledge of some thing to God, but his considering that all his own doings are open to the divine sight, and according to this manner it is said, "who answering said: I have gone about the earth and walked through it." Through this, then, that the Lord says to Satan, "whence do you come?" God examines the intention and acts of the Devil; and through this, that Satan answers, "I have gone about the earth and walked through it," as it were rendering to God an account of his own acts, so that from both it may be shown that all things which are done through Satan are subject to divine providence. Now through his going about, Satan's craftiness is shown, in exploring whom he may be able to deceive, according to 1 Peter 5, "your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about, seeking whom he may devour." Fittingly, moreover, craftiness is designated through going about, just as simple justice is designated through the straight: for the straight is that whose middle does not depart from its extremes; because, therefore, the action of the just man does not disagree with its principle, which is the will, and its intended end, uprightness is fittingly ascribed to the just; but it is characteristic of the crafty to pretend one thing and intend another, and thus what they display from their work departs from the extremes, since it agrees neither with their will nor with their end: whence the crafty are rightly said to go about, on account of which it is written, "the wicked walk about in a circle." Now it must be known that although the Devil applies the pursuit of his craftiness toward all, both good and evil, yet he attains the effect of his craftiness only in the evil, who are rightly called earth; for since man is composed of a spiritual nature and earthly flesh, the evil of man consists in this, that, having abandoned the spiritual goods to which he is ordered according to his rational mind, he clings to earthly goods, which befit him according to his earthly flesh: and therefore the evil, inasmuch as they follow their earthly nature, are rightly called earth. This earth, then, Satan not only goes about but also walks through, because in them he completes the effect of his malice: for in the walking through, the completion of his process is designated, just as, on the contrary, it is said of just men that God walks in them, whence the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 6:16 introduces, "I will dwell in them and walk among them." Something else too can be understood from this. For there is a threefold condition of living beings: some are above the earth, that is, in heaven, as the Angels and all the blessed; some are on the earth, as men living in mortal flesh; some are under the earth, as the Demons and all the damned. The first, then, Satan neither goes about nor walks through, because in the heavenly citizens there can be no malice, just as no evil of nature is found in the heavenly bodies; those who are in Hell he walks through but does not go about, because he holds them wholly subjected to his malice, nor is it necessary for him to use any craftiness to deceive them; but those who are on the earth he goes about and walks through, because he strives both to deceive them by craftiness and to draw some of them to his malice — these being the ones most designated by the earth, as has been said. And that by the earth earthly men are designated is shown quite openly by the fact that the Lord, though Job dwells on the earth, seems to separate him from the earth. For when Satan had said, "I have gone about the earth and walked through it," there is added, "and the Lord said to him: have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth?" For it would seem to be asked in vain whether he had considered Job, who was asserting that he had gone about and walked through the earth, unless he understood his servant Job to be apart from the earth. And he clearly shows in what respect he is separated from the earth by saying, "my servant Job." For man is constituted as it were midway between God and earthly things, for by his mind he cleaves to God, but by his flesh he is joined to earthly things; and every mean between two things recedes the more from one extreme the more it approaches the other: man, therefore, the more he cleaves to God, the more distant he is from the earth. Now this is what it is to be a servant of God, to cleave to God in mind, for a servant is one who is not for his own sake: but he who cleaves to God in mind orders himself into God as it were a servant of love, not of fear. And it is to be noted that earthly affections in some way, though at a distance, imitate the spiritual affections by which the mind is joined to God, but can in no way arrive at their likeness: for earthly love falls short of the love of God, and consequently every affection does, for the principle of any affection whatsoever is love. Whence fittingly, after he had said, "have you considered my servant Job," there is added, "that there is none like him on the earth," because nothing among earthly things can be equal to spiritual things. Although it can also be understood otherwise: for in each saint there is some pre-eminence of virtue as regards some special use, on account of which it is sung of each individual confessor in the Church, "there has not been found one like unto him who kept the law of the Most High," except that in Christ all things existed according to most perfect excellence; and according to this manner it can be understood that no one among the inhabitants of the earth was like Job, inasmuch as Job excelled as regards some particular exercise of virtue. Now in what respect Job was a servant of God and none like him on the earth, he shows when he adds, "a simple man, and upright, and fearing God, and departing from evil," which, since they have been expounded above, may for the present be set aside. Now it must be considered that God orders the life of the just not only to their own good but also renders it conspicuous to others; but those who behold it are not affected toward it in the same way: for the good, having it as an example, profit from it, but the evil, if they are not corrected so as to become good by its example, fall short upon beholding the life of the saints, either being tormented by envy or striving to pervert it by false judgments, according to the word of the Apostle, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, "we are the good odor of Christ unto God, both in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing: to some indeed the odor of death unto death, but to others the odor of life unto life." Thus, then, God wills the life of the saints to be considered not only by the elect unto the advancement of salvation, but also by the wicked unto the increase of their damnation, because from the life of the saints the reprehensible perversity of the impious is shown, according to what is said in Wisdom 4:16, "the just, dead, condemns the impious living." And therefore the Lord says to Satan, "have you considered my servant Job," etc., as if to say: you indeed go about and walk through the earth, but my servant Job you can only consider and marvel at his virtue. Now it is the custom of perverse men, of whom Satan is the prince and here bears their person, that, since they cannot reprove the life of the saints, they slander them as not acting from a right intention, according to Ecclesiasticus 11:33, "turning good things into evil he lies in wait, and upon the elect he will impose a stain." And this appears from what is added, "to whom Satan answering said: does Job fear God in vain?" As if to say: I cannot deny that he does good things, but he does not do this from a right intention out of love for you and of honesty, but on account of the temporal things he has obtained from you. And therefore he says, "does Job fear God in vain?" For we are said to do something in vain when we cannot attain what we intend by it; but Job serves you on account of the temporal things he has obtained from you, whence it is not in vain that in serving you he fears you. And that he has obtained temporal prosperity he shows as to two things. First as to immunity from evils, namely that he had been preserved by God from every adversity, and this is what he says, "have you not hedged him," that is, protected him as a rampart or a wall protects, "and his house," as to his offspring and household, "and all his substance," as to his possessions; and he adds "round about," so that a perfect immunity may be shown, because that which is hedged round about can suffer assault from no side. Second he shows his prosperity as to the multiplication of goods, and this is what he says, "you have blessed the works of his hands." And indeed, since God makes all things by speaking, for God to bless is to give goodness to things: God, then, blesses someone's works when he brings them to a good end so that they attain their due end. And because certain goods come to a man apart from his own work and intention, on this account he adds, "and his possession has increased in the land." Thus, then, Satan slanders the deeds of blessed Job as though he did them from an intention of earthly advantage; whence it is manifest that the good things we do are not referred to earthly prosperity as to a reward, otherwise it would not be a perverse intention if someone were to serve God on account of temporal prosperity; and likewise, on the contrary, temporal adversity is not the proper punishment of sins, a question which will occupy nearly the whole book. Now Satan wishes to show that Job had served God on account of the earthly prosperity he had obtained, by the opposite proof: for if, temporal prosperity ceasing, Job should cease to fear God, it would become manifest that he feared God on account of the temporal prosperity he enjoyed; and therefore he adds, "but stretch forth your hand a little and touch all that he possesses," namely by taking it away, "unless he shall bless you to your face," that is, shall openly curse you — understand: "let evil befall me." And it is to be noted that even the hearts of the truly just are sometimes moved by great adversity, but the falsely just are disturbed by even slight adversity, as having no root of virtue. Satan, then, wishes to suggest that Job was not truly just but only in pretense, and therefore he says that if he were touched even a little by adversity he would murmur against God, which is to blaspheme God. And he pointedly says, "unless he shall bless you to your face," to signify that even in prosperity he was in a certain way blaspheming God in his heart, in that he preferred temporal things to love of him, but with prosperity removed he would blaspheme even to his face, that is, openly. This too — "unless he shall bless you to your face" — can be understood otherwise, so that "blessing" be taken properly, and the sense be: if you touch him a little by taking away his earthly prosperity, let this befall me, unless it become manifest that he had before blessed you not in his true heart but to the face, that is, for the appearance of men. And because, as has been said, the Lord wills the virtue of the saints to be known to all, both good and evil, it pleased him that, just as all had beheld his good deeds, so also his right intention should be made manifest to all: and therefore he willed to deprive Job of earthly prosperity, so that, with him persevering in the fear of God, it might become manifest that he feared God from a right intention and not on account of temporal things. But it must be known that God punishes the wicked both through good Angels and through evil ones, but he never brings adversity upon the good except through evil ones: and therefore he willed that adversity be brought upon blessed Job through no one but Satan, and on this account it is added, "the Lord therefore said to Satan: behold, all that he has is in your hand," that is, I hand it over to your power, "only put not forth your hand upon him." From which it is clearly given to understand that Satan can harm just men not as much as he wishes but as much as he is permitted. It must also be considered that the Lord did not command Satan to offend Job but only gave him power to do so, because the will to harm is present in every evil person from himself, but the power is only from God. It is clear, then, from what has been said, that this was the cause of blessed Job's adversity, that his virtue might be made manifest to all, whence it is also said of Tobias that the Lord permitted temptation to befall him for this reason, that an example of his patience might be given to posterity, as also of holy Job. It must be guarded against, however, that one should believe the Lord to have been induced by the words of Satan to permit Job to be afflicted, but he ordained this by an eternal disposition to manifest the virtue of Job against all the slanders of the wicked: and therefore the slander is set first and the divine permission follows. "And Satan went forth from the face of the Lord," etc. The cause of blessed Job's adversity having been set down, it is consequently shown how this adversity came upon him. And because it was all brought about through Satan, therefore it is said of him first, "and Satan went forth from the face of the Lord," as it were to use the power permitted to him. And it is pointedly said that "he went forth from the face of the Lord," for Satan, insofar as the power of harming someone is permitted to him, is before the face of the Lord, because this comes about by the reasonable will of God; but while he carries out the power permitted to him he goes forth from the face of the Lord, because he departs from the intention of the one permitting it — which appears in the case at hand: for it was permitted to him by God that he might be able to harm Job in order to manifest his virtue, but Satan did not afflict him for this reason, but in order to provoke him to impatience and blasphemy. At the same time it manifestly appears here to be true what we said above, that Satan was present among the sons of God standing before him according as some are said to stand before God insofar as they are subjected to the divine judgment and examination, not according as those are said to stand before God who see God: whence here too it is not said that Satan cast God from his own face, but that "he went forth from the face of the Lord," as it were departing from the intention of his providence, though not able to escape the order of providence. Now it must be considered that in the narrating of the adversity, an order contrary to that in which the prosperity was narrated is observed. For in the narrating of the prosperity, he proceeded from the greater things to the lesser, beginning from the person of Job himself, and after this he set down the offspring and then the animals, first the sheep and thereafter the rest: and this reasonably, because the perpetuity which cannot be preserved in the person is sought in the offspring, for whose sustenance possessions are needed. But in the adversity it is proposed the other way around: for first is narrated the loss of substance, second the oppression of the offspring, third the affliction of his own person, and this toward the increase of the adversity, for one who is oppressed by a greater adversity does not feel a lesser one, but the greater is felt after the lesser. And therefore, so that Job might feel his own affliction from each of the adversities in turn and thus be moved more to impatience, Satan began to afflict Job with the lesser adversity and proceeded gradually to the greater ones. It must also be considered that the mind of man is more disturbed by things which come suddenly, for adversities thought of beforehand are more easily borne; and therefore, so that Job might be more disturbed, at the time of greatest joy, when adversity could least be thought of, Satan brought adversity upon him, so that even from the very joy then present the adversity might appear the graver — for contraries placed next to one another shine forth the more. And therefore it is said, "now on a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine" — which is set down especially as an indication of joy, according to Ecclesiasticus 31:35, "wine was created from the beginning for joy, not for drunkenness" — "in the house of their firstborn brother," which is also set down for the greater solemnity: for it is probable that a more solemn feast was celebrated in the house of the firstborn; "a messenger came to Job who said: the oxen were plowing," so that from the memory of the fruit the loss might appear the more unbearable; "and the she-asses were feeding beside them," which is also set down for the increase of grief, as he might consider that the enemies came upon them at the time when they could seize the most all at once; "and the Sabeans rushed in," namely enemies coming from far off, from whom what they had seized could not easily be recovered; "and took away everything," lest, if they had left anything, it might at least suffice for necessary use and for propagation; "and slew the servants with the sword," which was the more grievous to the just man; "and I alone escaped to tell you," as if to say: this happened by divine disposition so that I alone might escape, that you might have a messenger of so great a loss, as though God intended to afflict you with grief. Now this adversity having been announced, at once another is announced, lest, if some interval should occur, he might in the meantime return to himself and prepare himself for patience, and thus more easily sustain what followed; and on this account there is added, "and while he was yet speaking, another came and said: the fire of God" — that is, sent from God — "fell from heaven," so that it might be impressed, as it were, upon his mind that he was suffering persecution not only from men but also from God, and thus be more easily provoked against God; "and consumed the sheep and the servants that were touched by it," as though this were brought about by divine power, that immediately at the touch of the fire all things should be consumed, which is above the natural power of fire; "and I alone escaped to tell you." There follows: "but while he was yet speaking, another came and said: the Chaldeans," who were fierce and powerful; whence to show their power there is added, "made three troops," so that in this way neither vengeance nor recovery of the loss could be hoped for; concerning which loss there is added, "and fell upon the camels," etc. There follows the oppression of the offspring: "he was yet speaking, and behold another came in and said: while your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother" — so that from this their death might be the sadder, in that Job could be in doubt whether they had been overtaken by death in some state of sin: for he himself, for this reason, sanctified them and offered holocausts for each one, because he feared lest at the feasts they might have incurred some sin. And lest perhaps it might be believed that they had repented and provided for their souls, there is added, "suddenly a violent wind rushed in from the region of the desert and struck the four corners of the house," which is said to show the vehemence of the wind, which, contrary to custom, overturned the whole house at once, so that through this it might be shown to have proceeded from the divine will, and thus he might be more easily moved against God while being afflicted by him whom he had served with a devoted mind. And for the greater heaping up of grief there is added the loss of the slain offspring, when it is said, "and it fell and crushed your children, and they are dead" — namely all of them, lest even in some one of the children escaping there should remain hope of posterity. And this was believed to be the more sorrowful in that, with all the children slain, some one of the servants was able to escape to stir up grief, for there follows, "and I alone escaped to tell you." Now it must be considered that, since all the aforesaid adversity was brought about through Satan, it must be confessed that, God permitting it, Demons can bring about disturbance of the air, stir up winds, and cause fire to fall from heaven. For although corporeal matter does not obey the beck of Angels, neither good nor evil, for the reception of forms, but only the Creator God, nevertheless corporeal nature is naturally disposed to obey spiritual nature as to local motion; an indication of which appears in man, for the limbs are moved only at the command of the will, so as to carry out a work disposed by the will. Whatever things, then, can be brought about by local motion alone, these not only the good spirits but also the evil ones can do by their natural power, unless they are divinely prohibited; but winds and rains and other disturbances of the air of this kind can come about from the mere motion of vapors released from earth and water, whence the natural power of the Demon suffices to procure things of this kind; but sometimes they are prohibited from this by divine power, so that it is not permitted them to do everything they naturally can. Nor is this contrary to what is said in Jeremiah 14:22, "are there any among the idols of the nations that can send rain?" For it is one thing to rain by the natural course, which belongs to God alone, who ordained the natural causes for this; but it is another thing for the natural causes ordained by God for raining to be used artificially at times for rain, or a wind to be produced at times as it were extraordinarily. "Then Job arose," etc. The adversity of blessed Job having been enumerated, there is here treated the patience which he showed in adversity. Now it must be known, for the clarification of what is said here, that concerning bodily goods and concerning the passions of the soul there was a diverse opinion among the ancient philosophers. For the Stoics said that exterior goods are no goods of man at all, and that for their loss no sadness could be in the soul of the wise man; but the opinion of the Peripatetics was that exterior goods are indeed some goods of man, not indeed principal ones, but ordered as it were instrumentally to man's principal good, which is the good of the mind: and on this account they granted that the wise man might be moderately saddened at the loss of exterior goods, in such a way, namely, that reason not be so absorbed by sadness as to decline from rectitude. And this opinion is the truer one and agrees with ecclesiastical doctrine, as is clear through Augustine in the book On the City of God. Following this opinion, then, Job showed sadness indeed in adversity, yet so moderated that it was subject to reason, and therefore it is said that "then Job arose and rent his garment," which among men is wont to be an indication of sadness. Now it is to be noted that he says "then," namely after the death of his sons had been heard, so that he may seem to have grieved more over them than over the loss of his goods. For not to grieve over dead friends seems to be a mark of a hard and unfeeling heart, but it belongs to the virtuous man not to have this grief immoderate, according to the word of the Apostle, 1 Thessalonians 4:13, "we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who sleep, that you not be saddened as also the rest who have no hope"; and this was the case in blessed Job, whence also the state of his mind appeared through an exterior act. For because his reason stood erect, it is fittingly said that "Job arose," although grieving men are more wont to be prostrated; but because he was suffering sadness, yet not one penetrating so as to disturb the innermost parts of reason, he showed a sign of sadness in exterior things as to two things, namely as to those things which are outside the nature of the body, whence it is said, "and he rent his garment," and as to those things which proceed from the nature of the body, whence it is said, "and having shaved his head," which among those who cultivate their hair is wont to be an indication of grief. Whence these two signs of sadness fittingly correspond to the aforementioned adversities, for the rending of the garment corresponds to the loss of goods, the shaving of the head to the loss of the sons. Now the mind stands erect at that time when it humbly submits itself to God: for each thing subsists in a greater height of nobility the more it is subject to that which perfects it, as air when it is subject to light, and matter when it is subject to form; that the mind of blessed Job, then, was not cast down by sadness but persisted in its own rectitude is manifested by this, that he humbly submitted himself to God, for there follows, "and falling upon the ground he worshipped," to show a mark of humility and devotion. And he declared the state of his mind not only by deeds but also by words; for he reasonably showed that, even though he was suffering sadness, he ought not to succumb to sadness. First indeed from the condition of nature, whence it is said, "and he said: naked I came forth from my mother's womb" — namely the earth, which is the common mother of all — "naked shall I return thither," that is, into the earth; and according to this manner it is said in Ecclesiasticus 40:1, "great occupation has been created for men, and a heavy yoke upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their coming forth from their mother's womb until the day of burial in the mother of all." It can also be understood otherwise, so that what is said, "from my mother's womb," be taken literally of the womb of the woman who bore him, but what is said, "naked shall I return thither," be understood such that this word "thither" makes a simple reference — for no one returns a second time into his mother's womb, but he returns into that state which he had in his mother's womb as regards a certain respect, namely as regards this, that he is alien from human converse. Saying this, then, he reasonably shows that on account of the loss of exterior goods a man ought not to be overwhelmed by sadness, because exterior goods are not connatural to him but come to him accidentally, which is clear from this, that man comes into this world without them and departs without them: whence, the accidental goods being taken away, if the substantial remains, a man ought not to be overcome by sadness even though sadness touch him. Second he shows the same thing from the divine operation, saying, "the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away," where first his true judgment concerning divine providence over human affairs is to be considered. For in that he said, "the Lord gave," he confessed that worldly prosperity comes to men not by chance, nor from the fate of the stars, nor from human effort alone, but from divine dispensation; but in that he says, "the Lord has taken away," he confesses also that worldly adversities come upon men by the judgment of divine providence. Now this brings it about that a man has no just complaint against God if he is despoiled of temporal goods, because he who gave freely was able to grant either until the end or for a time: whence, when he takes away temporal things from a man before the end, the man cannot complain. Third he shows the same thing from the good pleasure of the divine will, saying, "as it has pleased the Lord, so has it been done"; now it belongs to friends to will and not will the same thing: whence, if it proceeds from the divine good pleasure that someone be despoiled of temporal goods, if he loves God he ought to conform his own will to the divine will, so that by this consideration sadness may not overwhelm him. These three reasons, then, are set down in their due order: for in the first reason it is set down that temporal goods are extraneous to man, in the second that they are given and taken away from man by God, in the third that this happens according to the good pleasure of the divine will. Whence from the first reason it is concluded that man ought not to be overwhelmed by sadness on account of the loss of temporal goods, from the second that he cannot even complain, from the third that he ought even to rejoice. For it would not be pleasing to God that someone suffer adversity except on account of some good coming from it: whence adversity, although in itself it is bitter and generates sadness, ought nevertheless, from consideration of the benefit on account of which it pleases God, to be a source of joy, just as it is also said of the apostles, "the apostles went rejoicing," etc.; for one also rejoices in reason at the taking of a bitter medicine on account of the hope of health, although he is disturbed in sense. And because joy is the matter of thanksgiving, he therefore concludes this third reason in an act of thanksgiving, saying, "blessed be the name of the Lord." Now the name of the Lord is blessed by men insofar as they have knowledge of his goodness, namely that he dispenses all things well and does nothing unjustly. Thus, then, the innocence of Job is concluded when it is said, "in all these things Job did not sin with his lips," namely by expressing through words an impatient impulse, "nor did he speak anything foolish against God," that is, blasphemous, namely so as to blaspheme concerning divine providence: for folly is opposed to wisdom, which is properly the knowledge of divine things.”

“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about,.... When they had been at each other's houses in turn; when the rotation was ended: something like this is practised by the Chinese, who have their co-fraternities, which they call "the brotherhood of the month"; this consists of thirty, according to the number of days therein, and in a circle they go every day to eat at one another's house by turns; if one man has not convenience to receive the fraternity in his own house, he may provide it at another man's, and there are many public houses very well furnished for this purpose (e): Job's sons probably began at the elder brother's house, and so went on according to their age, and ended with the younger brother; so when they had gone through the circuit, as the word (f) signifies, and the revolution was over, and they had done feasting for that season, or that year: that Job sent and sanctified them; not that he did or could make them holy, by imparting grace, or infusing holiness into them; at most he could only pray for their sanctification, and give them rules, precepts, and instructions about holiness, and exhortations to it; but here it signifies, that being at some distance from them he sent messengers or letters to them to sanctify and prepare themselves for the sacrifices he was about to offer for them; either by some rites and ceremonies, as by washing themselves, and abstinence from their wives, which were sometimes used as preparatory to divine service, Gen 35:2, or by fasting and prayer; or, perhaps, no more is intended by it than an invitation of them to come and attend the solemn sacrifice which he, as the head of the family, would offer for them; so, to sanctify people, is sometimes to invite, to call and gather them to holy service, see Joe 2:15 and so the Targum renders it. "Job sent and invited them:" and rose up early in the morning of the last of the days of feasting; he took the first opportunity, and that as early as he could; which shows the eagerness of his spirit for the glory of God, and the good of his children, losing no time for his devotion to God, and regard for his family; this being also the fittest time for religious worship and service, see Psa 5:3, and was used for sacrifice, Exo 29:39, and offered burnt offering according to the number of them all either of his ten children, or only his seven sons, since they only are next mentioned, and were the masters of the feast: this was before the law of the priesthood was in being, which restrained the offering of sacrifice to those in the office of priests, when, before, every head of a family had a right unto it; and this custom of offering sacrifice was before the law of Moses, it was of divine institution, and in use from the time of the fall of man, Gen 3:21, and was by tradition handed down from one to another, and so Job had it; and which was typical of the sacrifice of Christ, to be offered up in the fulness of time for the expiation of sin; and Job, no doubt, by faith in Christ, offered up those burnt offerings for his sons, and one for each of them, thereby signifying, that everyone stood in need of the whole sacrifice of Christ for the atonement of sin, as every sinner does: for Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned; not merely as in common, or daily sins of infirmity; for Job so full well knew the corruption of human nature, that a day could not pass without sin in thought, word, or deed; but some more notorious or scandalous sin; that, in the midst of their feasting and mirth, they had used some filthy, or frothy, and unsavoury and unbecoming language; had dropped some impure words, or impious jests, or done some actions which would reflect dishonour on God and true religion, and bring an odium on themselves and families: now Job was not certain of this, he had had no instruction or intelligence of it; he only surmised and conjectured it might be so; he was fearful and jealous lest it should: this shows his care and concern, as for the glory of God, so for the spiritual welfare of his children, though they were grown up and gone from him, and is to be considered in favour of his sons; for by this it is evident they were not addicted to any sin, or did not live a vicious course of life; but that they were religious and godly persons; or, otherwise Job would have had no doubt in his mind about their conduct and behaviour: the particular sin he feared they might have been guilty of follows: and cursed God in their hearts; not in the grossest sense of the expression, so as to deny the being of God, and wish there was none, and conceive blasphemy in their hearts, and utter it with their lips; but whereas to bless God is to think and speak well of him, and ascribe that to him which is his due; so to curse him is to think and speak irreverently of him, and not to attribute to him what belongs unto him; and thus Job might fear that his sons, amidst their feasting, might boast of their plenty, and of the increase of their substance, and attribute it to their own diligence and industry, and not to the providence of God, of which he feared they might speak slightingly and unbecomingly, as persons in such circumstances sometimes do, see Deu 32:15. Mr. Broughton renders it, "and little blessed God in their hearts" not blessing him as they should was interpretatively cursing him; the Hebrew word used properly and primarily signifies to bless (g), and then the meaning is, either that his sons had sinned, but took no notice of it, nor were humbled for it, but blessed God, being prosperous and successful, as if they had never sinned at all, see Zac 13:1, Sanctius adds the negative particle "not", as if the meaning was, that they sinned, and did not bless God for their mercies as they should, Deu 8:10, but this is too daring and venturous to make such an addition; though this is favoured by the Targum, as in some copies, which paraphrases it, and have not prayed in the name of the Lord in their hearts: and because the word is used at parting, and taking a farewell of friends, Cocceius thinks it may be so used here, and the sense to be, that they sinned, and took their leave of God, and departed from him; but rather, as the word Elohim is used of strange gods, of false deities, Exo 18:11. Job's fears might be, lest his sons should have been guilty of any idolatrous action, at least of blessing the gods of the Gentiles in their hearts, since feasting sometimes leads to idolatry, Exo 32:6, but the first sense seems best, with which the Septuagint version agrees, "it may be my sons in their mind have thought evil things against the Lord:'' thus did Job continually; or "all those days" (h); that is, after every such circuit and rotation of feasting, or after every feast day kept by them, he offered sacrifices for them; or every year (i), as some interpret the phrase, the feasts, and so the sacrifices, being annual; all this is observed, partly further to describe the piety of Job, his affection for his family, and concern for their spiritual good, and the glory of God, and partly as a leading step to an later event, Job 1:18. (e) Semedo's History of China, par. 1. c. 13. (f) "cum circulssent, vel circulum fecissent", Vatablus; "circulum absolverent", Bolducius. (g) "benedixerint Deo", V. L. Piscator. (h) "cunctis diebus", Pagninus, Montanus; "singulis diebus illis", Junius & Tremellius; "omnibus diebus illis", Piscator, Cocceius. (i) "Singulis annis", Schmidt, Schultens; see 1 Sam. xx. 7.”

“Blessed. For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the Scripture both here and [in] ver. 11, and in the following chapter (ver. 5., and 9.) uses the word bless, to signify its contrary. (Challoner) (3 Kings xxi. 10.) — Thus the Greeks styled the furies Eumenides, “the kind,” out of a horror of their real name. Even those who are the best inclined, can hardly speak of God without some want of respect, (Calmet) in the midst of feasts, where the neglect of saying grace is also too common. (Haydock) — Septuagint, “they have thought evil against God.” Every kind of offence may be included, to which feasting leads. (Menochius)”

“when the days of their feasting were gone about--that is, at the end of all the birthdays collectively, when the banquets had gone round through all the families. cursed God--The same Hebrew word means to "curse," and to "bless"; GESENIUS says, the original sense is to "kneel," and thus it came to mean bending the knee in order to invoke either a blessing or a curse. Cursing is a perversion of blessing, as all sin is of goodness. Sin is a degeneracy, not a generation. It is not, however, likely that Job should fear the possibility of his sons cursing God. The sense "bid farewell to," derived from the blessing customary at parting, seems sufficient (Gen 47:10). Thus UMBREIT translates "may have dismissed God from their hearts"; namely, amid the intoxication of pleasure (Pro 20:1). This act illustrates Job's "fear of God" (Job 1:1).”