Jób; Job

The immense popularity and recognition--even amongst non-Christians--of the book of Job is far from surprising, considering the central themes are universal to every individual that has ever walked on the face of the earth. Indeed, the Gentile ethnicity of Job amongst the Hebrew Prophets makes the universality of this book all the more striking. The sudden loss of joy and certain security, to be replaced with agony and the `dark night of the soul, is certainly identifiable--to a greater or lesser extent--to all men. Suffering is certainly the human condition that acts as a uniting bond to our ancestors and future descendents.

For this reason--it can be argued-the book of Job stands out from other Biblical books in that it can never be impacted or `updated` by modern scholarship to the same degree. The central topic: the relationship between man, God and suffering is essentially timeless, and that is why it is the `Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture provides such a fascinating insight for the modern reader into the book of Job.

Relying upon the Church Fathers, with especially voluminous contributions from Gregory the Great, Chrysostom, Ephrem the Syrian and Hesychius of Jerusalem, this Commentary progresses through the chapters and verses of Job and allows the ancient scholars to dissect and explain the text in their own manner. Other minor yet relevant sources from this era are used in abundance and one is able sense a genuine `feel for how the earliest of Christians approached this difficult book. Obviously, this differs from most commentaries which are usually authored by one scholar who discusses the text in a steady flow, whereas the reader of this will find a shaky flow and often lack of coherence. Certainly, this is no flaw in a work of this kind, as it permits the reader to compare different fragments of wisdom from various classial authorities on a small number of verses, as well as to stay focussed on the essential points of the text and not be distracted by the mundane tangents that abound too often in commentaries.

Overall, this is an invaluable commentary for anyone who wishes to approach the book of Job, whether in a scholarly fashion or whether to deeper their knowledge of this poignant section of Scripture.