Servants or Children?

Abstract

In traditional interpretations, all of Job’s children died in the fourth disaster (Job 1:19). However, the narrator does not depict the death of Job’s children but rather the loss of his property in Job 1:19 because his servants (נְעָרִים) are proclaimed dead in this incident. This study discusses the meaning of the word נַעַר, analyses the literary structure of Job 1:13–19 and compares the stories of Job and Abraham. The study reveals that the narrator of the book of Job demonstrates a shift in Job’s family from a typical family that fears Yhwh to an ideal family desired by Yhwh. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2022/v35n2a9

Keywords

• Job 1:19
• נְעָרִים
• Servants
• Children
• Literary Structure
• Ideal Family