And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
What does Job 1:8 mean?
Job's afflictions began from the malice of Satan, by the Lord's permission, for wise and holy purposes.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Job 1:6-9 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Job 1:8
" The margin is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Schultens remarks on this, that it means more than merely to observe or to look at - since it is abundantly manifest from the following verses that Satan "had" attentively considered Job, and had been desirous of injuring him. It means, according to him, to set himself against Job, to fix the heart on him with an intention to injure him, and yahweh means to ask whether Satan had done this. But it seems more probable that the phrase means to consider "attentively," and that God means to ask him whether he had carefully observed him.
Context in Job 1
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Job 1 belongs to the opening movement of the book, especially the section often described as prologue in heaven and on earth. Job probes innocent suffering, failed consolation, contested theology, the limits of human explanation, and the mystery of divine wisdom. Read this chapter with the wider themes of suffering, wisdom, and justice in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Bible verses about suffering and trials
Key passages on grief, endurance, lament, divine mystery, and the Christian claim that suffering is neither final nor meaningless.
Verses on the fear of the Lord, wise speech, practical judgment, teachability, and the difference between biblical wisdom and mere cleverness.
Bible verses about justice and mercy
Key texts on public righteousness, neighbor-love, social ethics, compassion, and the prophetic refusal to separate worship from justice.