A great introductory commentary to the book of Job.

As part of the For Everyone series, the commentary divides the text into sections, with each section featuring the author's translation of the Biblical text, some sort of opening illustration, and then an explanation of the text in its socio-historical context with relevant applications to our own time.

The author is able to bring his own experience as one watching the chronic suffering of his own wife to bear on the discussion and the commentary is richer for it. Of all the OT For Everyone commentaries I have read I find this to be Goldingay's best, providing excellent, clear, and appropriate comments and doing a fantastic job at pulling out exactly what Job and his associates are saying, why they are saying it, and what's at stake throughout. He stays true to the purpose of the For Everyone series and in so doing does not get lost in attempts to figure out whether certain parts were added later or re-organized in transmission, for instance, and keeps the focus of the comments on God's speech about how it relates to Job and not to biology, astronomy, etc. Even though the book of Job will always be mysterious and there will always be more than can be gained from it, Goldingay does well at helping the reader come to a basic understanding of what is going on, what's at stake, and why what the book of Job says and how remains quite important after all of these years.

Very highly recommended commentary for the book of Job.

**--book received as part of early review program ( )

Job is a man of faith. He has a loving family, a thriving farm, and the respect of his community. One day, Satan declares that the only reason Job is happy and faithful is because God protects him and brings him prosperity. He says that if that protection was gone, Job would no longer have faith in God. Satan proposes an experiment: remove all the prosperity, all the riches, and his family and let us see his true faith. The only rule: Satan can do whatever we wants to Job, but he cannot kill him. John Goldingay’s Job for Everyone is pleasant explication of this metaphoric and heavy tale.

This book is not an exegesis or a catechism or a dense work of theology, but rather a learned man’s introspective look at the life of Job. While Goldingay is a Biblical scholar, his attempt to make the book of Job more accessible works well. It’s a commentary, so you get a chunk of the text, then the author’s explanations and reflection after each one. He ties events in Job’s tale to stories from his own life (probably not as severe, though, as plagues, boils, and the destruction of his family). What emerges is a useful and complex understanding of Job’s story. If you’re reading the Bible and looking for a companion piece for this section, then this book should work very well. ( )