Chapter I.
There was a man in the land of Uz, named Job. And that man was blameless and upright, and feared God and shunned evil. And he had seven sons and three daughters. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household. This man was the greatest of all the people of the East. And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day. And the senders called their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had gone around, Job would send and consecrate them: rising in the morning, etc. Huz and Buz were the sons of Nachor, the brother of Abraham, the sons of Melcha, the sister of Sara, from whose lineage Job descended. Not as some falsely suspect, that he was from the offspring of Esau (Jerome, Questions on Genesis). For Eliphaz was born to Esau's wife Ada, and he reigned in Theman, from which he was also called a Themanite. Theman, Idumaea, Seir Daroma, Zebora, were regions of Esau. But Job, a great man, lived in the land of Huz, which means counselor. And Elkanah, which means possession of God, was the father of the most holy Prophet Samuel. He was called a man of one purpose: for he was not easily moved or shaken by various things, but remained steadfast and unshaken. And for this reason, he dwelled on the fruitful mountain of Ephraim. In the high contemplation of virtues, so that the sublimeness of his mind would not be brought down by the agitations of vices that lay beneath and surrounded, nor would its unity be broken. Therefore, this great and outstanding man Job is said to have lived on the land of Huz, which means counselor. For it was not the earth of his flesh that overcame his soul, but he did everything according to the counsel of his ruling mind. Hence, he himself says: I have made a covenant with my eyes, not to even think about a virgin. Therefore, they once made this plan and agreement with each other, his inner and outer self: that the earth, that is, his flesh, by obeying, would become a counselor to the spirit, so that wickedness would not rule over it. And because the man, according to divine testimony, was simple, dwelling in a house: he was supported by these four virtues, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance.
He offered a burnt offering for each one. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So Job did all the days. But on a certain day when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan was also present among them. And the Lord said to him: Where do you come from? And he, answering, said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it. And the Lord said to him: Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil? Then Satan replied, 'Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.' And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.' And Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Then one day, while his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said: The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and took everything, and they killed the servants with the sword. I alone escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said: Fire from God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I alone escaped to tell you. But while he was speaking, another person came and said: The Chaldeans made three raiding parties, and they attacked the camels and took them; they also struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another person came in and said: Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, when suddenly a strong wind blew in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, causing it to collapse on them. They are all dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you. For his sons, whom he governed in such a way that he sought divine mercy through constant sacrifices not so much for present crimes as for hidden sins in their hearts, which can also escape human notice. However, the privilege of offering sacrifices belonged especially to firstborns or kings, on account of their exceptional wisdom or noble lineage. And since we have said that Job is a foreshadowing of Christ, let us now see what the land of Uz signifies in Christ. We understand this earth, assuming true human from Mary, which, therefore, is called the counselor, because through the assumption of the Son of God, the hidden treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge dwell in it; which he has so inseparably connected to himself that he himself is one in the Trinity, the Son of God. However, the seven sons seem to signify the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit; and the three daughters seem to signify the law, prophecy, and the Gospel to us. The sheep represent the people of Christ, who, because of their innocence, have shed the filth of sin in baptism. The camels, on the other hand, symbolize the depravity of the Gentiles, who come to Christ burdened with the weight of their crimes and twisted desires. The oxen represent the clean animals, that is, the Jewish people. And the donkeys, the unclean animals, represent the Gentile nations. Therefore, as Isaiah says: The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, that is, both the birth of Christ in the flesh and the recognition of the Jews on the one hand, and the Gentiles on the other. And in the manger of the Lord's altar, it signifies that clean animals have approached through baptism. Perhaps it refers to this passage in the Gospel: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. In the yoke, the Jews; in the donkey, to whom the burden belongs more, the Gentiles, as we have said above, are signified. Christ is called great among all the Orientals, according to this: Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. But the number of animals is seven thousand and three hundred, and it is consecrated in five hundred. For seven, according to the authority of the Scriptures, signifies a certain fullness of sacred mystery: as there, seven spirits, seven candlesticks, seven Churches. But in three thousand: soul and body and spirit, or the triform knowledge of doctrine, can be understood in the holy Scriptures, or the sacrament of the blessed Trinity: because every multitude of believers, walking the path of three days, desires to reach the perfection of eternity. However, five hundred, arising from five multiplied by fifty-five, signify that after the weaknesses of a slippery age have been completed, they have passed into a perfect man; and by fifty times ten they reach fifty times ten more, thus ascending to five hundred. Similarly, the entire Church, which symbolizes the pillar and foundation of the truth of Christ: in it our senses receive either purification or forgiveness of sins: because in this number not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the coming of the Holy Spirit is declared. The sons of God, either angels or saints, are to be understood, who are called sons of God by the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Among these, the devil is said to stand: because by permission of God he often dares to tempt the saints. How great is the brotherly harmony of Job's children! But because we have shown that Job is a type of Christ: we say that these seven graces are symbolically represented by them, who partake in the spiritual banquet of the sacraments, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels: as if they were three sisters, they are satisfied by the feast of divine eloquence and understanding. However, the ruin of Job's house, which crushed his children, represents the persecution or cruelty against the Church by ancient rulers and kingdoms. But the fact that he alone remained to report indicates the rarity of the persecutors themselves. The Sabaeans are interpreted as captives, and the Chaldeans as if they were demons. Namely, these captive demons attack the Church. They not only drive away the Lord's flocks wherever they can, but they also consume them with their own fire, which they claim is from heaven, through heresies or the wickedness of superstition. The presence of kings also shakes the house of Christ, confirmed by the four Gospels, like violent winds shaking a building, so that the aforementioned seven sons and three daughters, along with the house itself, perish.
Then Job arose, and rent his garments, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshipped, and said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. And Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. He humbled himself, taking on the form of a servant from the form of God. He came forth naked from his mother's womb, having been untouched by the stain of original sin. As a human, he said, 'The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away.' The Father has given the good ones an inheritance and separated the evildoers from the kingdom of his Son.
In all these things, Job did not sin with his lips, nor did he speak anything foolish against God. This is what he said: because the wisdom of the Father could not speak foolishly, nor could the spotless Lamb commit sin.