Commentary on Job, part 4

The next part of the commentary on Job concerning the permission that God grants to Satan:

It is said that God gives permission or leave to the evil one, because without this it is impossible for them to do anything or to harm anyone in spirit or body. It is said that Satan comes with the angels before the Lord because there is no place either visible or invisible where he can hide from Him and the God’s providential knowledge. Now although he cannot ascend to this exalted place where the angels and the cherubim and seraphim are, wherever he is, he cannot hide from the divine vision.

He is said to come, tarry and remain “before the Lord.” Perhaps the Lord will permit Satan to inflict these trials on this man so that through these trials Satan will be able to cause him to fall and to drive him away from piety. Satan wanted to destroy the blessed man through trials but he could not because he was not allowed by God to do so. The omniscient one knew the secrets of the evil one. He allowed him to inflict trials on Job so that struggle of the champion would be shown.  And when the adversary knew that God permitted him to test Job, he tested him first through external possessions, through the perishing of his sons and daughters, and then through various and shameful bodily tortures. And you should understand all this  (the coming of the angels before the Lord, and Satan with them, and God’s speaking with Satan, and what follows) in the following way: the contriver of evil takes different forms according to our understanding.

Commentary on Job, part 3

The commentary jumps from Job 1:1 to 1:6, where the angels and Satan convene before the Lord.

“And that man Job was true,…”
 Because no deceit could be found in him.
 “pious,…”
 For it is possible to be “righteous and blameless,” as many of the pagans are, but not pious.
 “and it came to pass on this day that the angels of God came before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.” (1:6)
 God is invisible by nature, without quality or quantity, and is not enclosed in a place, but is beside all things, and is close to all the saints, as He must tend to them and to the unholy in accordance to their merit. And He commands the saints with an ineffable voice, that is, through an understanding to serve His will, as the angels and humans like the prophets and apostles did and do.  

The commentary on Job, part 2

The summer is here and so there's more time to work on the projects that give us delight. Here is the next segment of the medieval Armenian commentary on Job by Stepanos of Siunik:

That suffices concerning the numbering of generations and of times. Now concerning the composition of the account of his suffering, some say that the prophet Moses wrote the history of Job, and others that Solomon wrote it, and others say it is by Ezra, who transmitted to the people all of the Old Testament after the captivity, including Job. But it seems to me that it was Solomon, since the text is proverbial, like all of the compositions of Solomon. Others say that is was Jeremiah perhaps who wrote it, but I do not find that Moses or Jeremiah or Ezra employ this style. But it is really not important whether any of them wrote it or someone else, for divinely inspired men wrote these narratives. For if not, why did the Apostle mention his suffering when he says, “You have heard of the endurance of Job and you have seen the purpose of the Lord”? (James 5:11) And Ezekiel, in prophesying, mentioned him with Noah and Daniel: “When I inflict such evils upon a nation, even if Job and Noah and Daniel were in its midst, they would save only their own lives.” (Ezekiel 14:14) But they claim that Job’s tomb is now in Arabia, and the place where he lies suffers from tribulations.

An Armenian Commentary on the Book of Job

A short commentary on the book of Job is ascribed to Stepanos of Siunik, an 8th century Armenian biblical commentator. My translation of Stepanos' commentary on the Gospels is due to appear in print shortly. I've now moved on to the Job commentary. I offer here the first sentence of my translation of the commentary.

"There was a man in the land of Ausit by the name of Job" (1:1)

The blessed hero was a descendant of Abraham, third or fourth in line from Esau, alive in the time of Moses, for although Moses was fifth in line from Jacob, because of his longevity, Job survived into the time of Moses, perhaps even to the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt.