Job Chapter 2

אי מזה תבוא — איה מקום שתוכל לומר מזה אני בא:

מחזיק — אוחז כמו (שמות ד׳:ד׳) וישלח ידו ויחזק בו מחזיק באזני כלב (משלי כ״ו:י״ז):

ותסיתני בו — הסיתני לבולעו כל לשון הסתה אינו אלא לשון המשכה שממשיך את האדם לעצתו:

עור בעד עור — אבר בפני אבר כן דרך בני אדם כשרואה החרב באה על ראשו מגין בזרועו לפניו וכ"ש כל אשר לאיש בממון יתן:

בעד נפשו — בפני נפשו להגין לפי שזה יודע בנפשו שנתחייב לפיכך אינו מצטער על ממונו:

אולם — אבל:

אם לא — תראה בו מיד שעל פניך יברכך:

אך את נפשו שמור — שלא תצא מכאן אמרו חכמים קשה היה צערו של שטן יותר משל איוב כאומר לחבירו שבור חבית זו ושמור יינה:

להתגרד בו — בדלי"ת כתוב ולשון משנה היא גורדו ומעמידו על גלדו אבל גורר ברי"ש אינו אלא לשון סחיבה כמו גורר אדם מטה וספסל:

מחזיק — אוחז:

ומת — לשון צווי כמו ומת בהר (דברים לב):

גם — לא די שבראנו אלא גם את הטוב נקבל ואת הרע לא נקבל בתמיה:

בשפתיו — אבל בלבו חטא:

רעי איוב — אוהביו:

לנוד — כמו מי ינוד לך (ישעיהו נ״א:י״ט) לא תנודו לו (ירמיהו ט״ו:ה׳):

ולא הכירוהו — כי נשתנו פניו מחמת הייסורין:

השמימה — כלומר למעל' מראשיה' (הרבה) והוא היה להם מנהג אבל:

לארץ — על הארץ לצער בצערו:

The scene returns to Heaven where once again the Sons of God are in attendance before the Lord. However this time Satan too is in attendance before the Lord. This is because Job is now to be tried with diseases and bodily afflictions—evils of the third class. The harm visited upon Job so far has been in the shape of elemental disasters or acts of aggression, both of which are beyond the victim's control. However, the diseases and bodily afflictions about to be inflicted upon him are usually the result of the victim's own self-indulgence. A righteous person is not protected from elemental disasters or acts of aggression by the direct action of his righteousness on Nature, for righteousness is not a 'natural' cause but a 'providential' one. He is protected from such evils by Providence, which acts by virtue of his righteousness. As it says in the Book of Psalms: and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come close to you. You will look at it with your eyes, seeing the recompense of the wicked. For you are one for whom 'The Lord is my refuge'; You have made the Most High your habitation. No evil will befall you, nor any calamity come close to your home. For He has charged His angels to guard you wherever you go; to carry you on their hands, lest you strike your foot on a stone (Psalms 91:5-12). However, a righteous person's immunity from the harm caused by over-indulgence is a natural consequence of his righteous lifestyle. In his case, righteousness is a 'natural' cause, for as a result of it he exercises self-restraint. As it says: The righteous man eats for his soul's satisfaction (Proverbs 13:25). Therefore, by virtue of his nature, Job should be immune from these diseases and bodily afflictions. When Satan destroyed all of Job's possessions, all that was required of God was that He suspend His Providential protection of them; the rest could be left to Satan, the agency of destruction, who would then be free to act. However, in order for Job to suffer diseases and bodily afflictions, a Providential act would be required. It would not be enough for God to remove His protection from Job and leave him to the mercies of the destructive forces of Satan, for his righteous life-style would still afford him a natural protection from physical decay. This further affliction cannot be brought about just by the removal of Providential protection but will require a Providential act to counter Job's natural immunity. Therefore Satan, the agent of extinction and decay, is here 'in attendance before the Lord', for he is unable alone to bring this last disaster upon Job. This time God's direct participation is needed.

God rebukes Satan for having maligned Job without cause — Job had stood the test; his worship of God had indeed been out of love and without any expectation of reward, and so the calamities inflicted upon his possessions and children had been totally unwarranted.

Satan, however, is unrepentant and unconvinced — He demands a further test, this time one whose torment Job himself must bear. He argues that all that has been shown so far is that Job was not particularly sensitive to the loss of his possessions and children. ' A skin for a skin! ' cries Satan. Job's own body has not been touched and it is only for fear that it might be that he has not yet complained against God. For it is well known that a man will always give up an outer 'skin' to save another more precious to him.

Man is a negotiator by nature and so will give everything he has to save his life. No matter how much is taken away from him, so long as he still lives, man always has something left that he will try to protect and for which he will bargain.

However, were You to stretch out Your hand and touch his person, his very flesh; not just skin-deep but so severely that he becomes convinced that his condition is terminal, then he would surely curse You to Your face and damn Governance.

God agrees to this second test adding the rider that Job was not actually to die. The Talmudic Sages observed, in irony, that Satan's frustration at this rider was even greater than all the pain suffered by Job. It was as though he had been told to 'break the cask but to save the wine' (TB Baba Batra 16a).

After losing all his possessions and children, Job had still blessed God — But he now just remains silent. This time, he could not bring himself to do so. His wife taunts him: Are you still resolved to be perfect? Bless God once more again and you'll be dead!

Job rebukes her for this but does not bless God again; nor does he curse Him. He asks rhetorically: Besides, can we receive good from God without receiving bad?. At first sight, this appears to be a noble reply and this is how most commentators interpret it. But closer examination shows that in his mind Job was already turning to heresy. This follows from his use of the word 'besides'. Job believed that in reality good is always touched with bad. Furthermore, from what he subsequently says in the debate, it is clear that he thought that the bad in the world outweighs the good. Consequently, he does not believe God can grant only good. Whoever wants good must also accept an amount of bad. For example, a person, who consumes large quantities of wine and rich foods because he likes their taste, must not complain that it makes him drunk or gives him indigestion. Just the opposite, in exchange for the pleasure it gives him, one who enjoys the taste of wine and good food must be prepared to endure the inevitable and greater discomfort that follows their consumption. The hangover and upset stomach are the price that must be paid for enjoying the food and drink. Likewise, if we want to receive good from God, namely existence and life, we must of necessity also accept bad; a bad that is greater than the good. So great in fact, that it can be argued that overall what we get in our short lives is principally and mainly bad with just a little good thrown in. When he comes into existence, man is burdened with a host of troubles, worries and uncertainties that crowd his short span. This is the essence of his patrimony. Thus, Job reveals that in his mind he was already leaning towards the heresy that God's creation of man was to his detriment, for the bad outweighs the good in the world (TB Eruvin 13b). To criticize God's motives and to impute that He created man for his own harm is a root from which springs gall and wormwood (Deuteronomy 29:18), and this is the foundation of all the bitter things that he subsequently expounds in the debate. But since at this point, even though this idea was already in his mind, he only hints at it by his use of the word 'besides', the book relates that despite everything, Job did not sin with his lips. For he had not yet actually uttered it. Hence, the Talmudic Sages said that though Job did not sin with his lips, he did sin in his heart (TB Baba Batra 16a).

Hearing of the calamities that had befallen him, Job's three friends, Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah and Zophar of Naamah traveled from afar to mourn his losses and to comfort him.