Satan, appearing again before God, obtains further leave to test Job, 1-6. He smites him with sore boils, 7, 8. Job reproves his wife, who moved him to curse God, 9, 10. His three friends condole with him in silence, 11-13.
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where did you come from?" And Satan answered the LORD and said, "From searching around on the earth and from walking up and down upon it." 3 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, an upright and a just man, one who fears God, and shuns evil? And still he holds firmly to his integrity, although you moved me against him to destroy him without cause." 4 And Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin, even all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But put forth your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face." 6 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but save his life."
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with it and sat down among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die." 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, they did not know him. And they raised their voice and wept, and they each rent his mantle and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 Thus they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Job, Chapter 2[➚]
John Gill's Chapter Summary:
This chapter gives an account of a second trial of Job's constancy and integrity, the time and occasion of it (verses 1-3); the motion made for it by Satan, which being granted, he smote him from head to foot with sore boils, which he endured very patiently (verses 4-8); during which sad affliction he is urged by his wife to give up his integrity, which he bravely resisted (verses 9-10); and the chapter is concluded with an account of a visit from three of Job's friends, and of their conduct and behavior toward him (verses 11-13).
[v.1] - "sons of God" - See the note for Job 1:6.
[v.2] - "From searching about on the earth" - See the note for Job 1:7.
[v.3a] - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "How well it is for us that neither men nor devils are to be our judges, for perhaps they would destroy us, right or wrong; but our judgment proceeds from the Lord, whose judgment never errs nor is biased."
[v.3b] - "an upright and a just man" - See the note for Job 1:1.
[v.3c] - "And still he holds firmly to his integrity" - "Constancy crowns integrity." —Matthew Henry
[v.5] - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "Nothing is more likely to ruffle the thoughts and put the mind into disorder than acute pain and distemper of body. The Apostle Paul himself had much ado to bear a thorn in the flesh, nor could he have borne it without special grace from Christ (2nd Corinthians 12:8-9)."
[v.7] - "sore boils" - This could be referring to black leprosy, or as termed by the Greeks, elephantiasis, from its rendering the skin like that of the elephant, scabrous, dark colored, and furrowed all over with tubercles. This loathsome and most afflictive disease is accompanied with most intolerable itching (hence Job scraping himself in verse 8). (Sourced from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.)
[v.10a] - From John Calvin's sermons on Job: "We must be well assured of the goodness and love of God, and we must trust continually to his grace, not doubting at all but that he will proceed to love us still, notwithstanding that he deal roughly with us."
[v.10b] - "In all this Job did not sin with his lips" - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "Thus Job still held fast his integrity, and Satan's design against him was defeated. Grace got the upper hand and he took care that the root of bitterness might not spring up to trouble him (Hebrews 12:15)."
[v.10c] - Reference, Philippians 1:29; 1st Peter 4:12.
[v.11a] - Job's three friends came initially to comfort him, but eventually they were proved to be miserable comforters (Job 16:2; see also, Job 6:21-27, 13:4).
[v.11b] - According to the Septuagint, Eliphaz and Zophar were kings of their respective countries, and Bildad was a sovereign of his country.