The English translators of the Hebrew relied on the Septuagent where names of God are consistently changed representing one God. The ben Elohim (sons of mother El Shaddai - ben meaning son) are translated into English as "angels" and Satan has been substituted to accomodate what Catholic Christians attribute to the Roman idea of the Devil. He rules the Earth and is able to create storms, conflict between people, motivate theft anf pillage.

The windstorm that destroyed the house and Job's children in Chapter 1 is attributed to the ben Elohim. Job will not accept this counsel of his gnostic first wife and believe the el has cursed him. He attributes both life and death to YHWH Chapter 1: 21 and 2: 9 - 10. The word YHWH is not used till Moses Exodus 6: 2. The original text of Job was writen long before Moses - Job was a grandson of Abraham. Abraham worshipped God by the Chaldean name El Shaddai.

El Shaddai was Celestrial and Holy and could not do calamity on the Earth according to Jobs uncle Elihu - father of Teman.

Job, Teman and Jacob worshipped God as Aloah - as the scripture records Aloah is the God of Jacob in Psalms. Job's second wife is Dinah daughter of Jacob.

Job denies that El the god of the Earth is responsible for the death of his children and future. Job upholds the celestial Aloah will appear terrestial upon Cursed Earth to vindicate him chapter 19. Elihu in his final debate tries to extole El as creator of the Earth and its mortal curse. The conclusion is (Chapter 38) where YHWH speaks from the violent windstorm the Chaldeans attributed to El the god of the Earth and identifies He created all things even the monstors of the land and sea and gave them their nature and provided for the wild herds of the mountains etc. This vindicates Jobs claim. One God is over all and YHWH congratulates Job for his consistent stand against the counsel of his gnostic counsellors in Chapter 42: 7 - 16.

science THEORISES..a big bang...[the bible reveals..a beginning...its basiclly the same thing...but what is this..'creation'..of the mater-ial realm..set to achieve...[why is it so?]

there are..in the true realms..[heaven the place of light and love..and hell..the dark place..of averice/hate fear envey greed..etc]but these are places of passions...but there comes a time../when spirt's..rebell the surities[predicabilities]..of the heavens or the hells]...

there comes a time..when spirits...need to have the knowing/surity..of a choice..[a free-will choice..to chose to love sin..or love love...recall that satan rebelled god...

how the suns of god..were living amoung men/.beasts..etc...do not these indicate,..that in the spirit realm...there are some spirits just too headstrong..[or confused]..or bored or curious..to accept the perfect/eternal..of spiritual being..in the ever-dark or ever-light realms

this realm..for all its insanity...is yet a sure place../where we are able to chose...using freewill...how we wish to continue eternity...

..we are realising things about ourselves here..[in this realm]..mainly that we have a choice...to speak or do..to remain silent..or speak...to sin or not..help/hinder

see this realm..is like a prison planet...we all got..equally..a life sentance...somes life-sentance expires..even before they are born...others think this realm..is all there is and seek to spend eternity in this prison...

but in the end..we all get to the end of our..life term...[we all get parroled]..and return either to the light..or reject the light..and dwell in darkness...think of this as getting a gift..[an ability to briefly explore mortality/materiality/freewill...

we are eternal spirits..having an incarnate mortal/freewill holyday..or a prison life sentance../encased in a fleshy prison...

a place where we can learn to sort the wheat from the tares..[to know good from vile]...where we can elect to return to the true realms as a sheep or a goat

satan is god..of this realm...[one needs only look at the vile to know this...but there is also extreem good...this is the only place the two extreems can freely mix...

there is none..without sin in this prison...

we asked for freewill..and are getting it...satan is only the warder...thinking up todays enter-taint-meant/lessons/challanges/teachings...

extreen vile..allows us/others to do extreem good...
but its our..[freewill]..choice

I really am out of my depth here, and will
have to do much more reading. I realize that my
understanding of The Book of Job was far too
simplistic

Dear Philo,

Reading your posts it is obvious you have devoted a serious amount of time to a study of the history and context of Job.

My problem is I look upon Job as a fable, a magnificent one but a construct none the less. It has some very important things to say about the relationship between God and humanity although I happily acknowledge it is a midrashic creation from disparate oral contributions.

I think a Shakespearian work like Antony and Cleopatra or MacBeth can be digested and valued as a literary work without grasping the dynastic history of Egyptian royalty or Scottish kings and I would hope the same holds for Job.

I fear that by properly assimilating your posts I will lose that sense of literary magic I get from Job. This is not a criticism of your efforts more an acknowledging of a personal frailty.

On a more personal note which chapter would you, as an aficionado deem the most poetic in Job? I think Job in chapter 28 and God in 39 would have to be up there.

Dear foxy,

I hardly think you are out of you depth, maybe burdened with a few understandable preconceptions that’s all.

The only reading you need to do is the Book of Job with an open mind. Could I recommend www.biblegateway.com in the New International Version setting. They even have a spoken word option if you are that way inclined. It will take you less than half and hour to consume the lot. Drink it in.

It is quite possible you will form an entirely different take than the one I have offered but that is all to the good.

If you have the time to manage it I would love to hear your thoughts.

csteele,
I have spent many years researching Job from the meaning of the original script from which we have translated Job. Writing a commentary and poetry to match how I see the expresson of the text. It is my favourite OT book as it explores the age old question of meaning of living in a world of death and decay and our relationship to eternal spirituality. It refutes many of the concepts commonly held about gnosticism, God, calamity (evil) and mortal life. The NIV is not the best translation as it often interprets text rather than translate. I prefer the RSV though I read in Literal translations with the accompanyment of a Hebrew Lexicon. My translation I have left the names of God / gods in the original meaning

I love its poetry and have written a 20 minute scripr for stage presentation, and put it on in Church 35 years ago using young actors.