Book of Job Facts for Kids

Old Testament Books of the Old Agreement common to all Christians and Jews)

Additional Books (common to Catholics and Orthodox)

Georgian Orthodox

The Book of Job (Hebrew: איוב) is an important book in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It's like a long poem or story that teaches us about faith and suffering. It's the 18th book in the Old Testament.

Who Was Job?
Satan's Challenge to God
Job's First Big Test
Satan's Second Challenge
Job's Sickness and Faith
Job's Friends and Their Ideas
God Speaks to Job
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Who Was Job?

The story begins in a land called Uz, where a man named Job lived. Job was a very good person who truly respected God and avoided doing anything wrong. He was also very rich, owning thousands of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys. He had a big family with seven sons and three daughters. Job was known as the greatest and wealthiest man in his region. He always made sure his family was pure and would offer sacrifices to God for them, just in case they had done something wrong.

Satan's Challenge to God

One day, Satan and the angels of God were with God. God spoke about Job, saying how good and loyal Job was. Satan disagreed. He told God that Job was only good because God had blessed him with so much. Satan believed that if Job lost everything, he would stop believing in God. God allowed Satan to test Job, but with one rule: Satan could not kill Job.

Job's First Big Test

Satan quickly began his test. First, all of Job's animals were stolen or killed. The people who worked for Job and were with the animals were also killed. Then, the worst news came: all of Job's sons and daughters died when the house they were in collapsed. This was a terrible loss for Job. Even after losing everything he had, Job did not say anything bad about God. He remained faithful, showing that Satan was wrong.

Satan's Second Challenge

Satan met with God again. God again praised Job for his strong faith, even after all the terrible things that happened. Satan argued that Job would still turn against God if he suffered physically. So, God allowed Satan to make Job sick, but still, Satan was not allowed to kill him. This was the last time Satan is mentioned in the Book of Job.

Job's Sickness and Faith

Satan then caused painful sores to appear all over Job's body. Job was in terrible pain. His wife told him to give up on God and die. But Job told her that was a foolish idea. Even though he had lost his family, his wealth, and was now suffering from a terrible illness, Job still did not do anything wrong against God. He did not curse God. Satan's plan to make Job lose his faith had failed.

Job's Friends and Their Ideas

When Job's friends heard about his suffering, they came to comfort him. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Much of the Book of Job is about the long conversations between Job and his friends. At first, they were there to support him. But as time went on, his friends started to believe that Job must have done something wrong for all these bad things to happen to him. They thought God was punishing him. Job kept saying he was innocent, but he also started to wonder why God was allowing him to suffer so much.

God Speaks to Job

Finally, God spoke to Job and his three friends. God reminded Job that humans cannot fully understand God's plans or how He created the world. God was upset with Job's friends for saying things about Him that were not true. Job then prayed for his friends, and God answered his prayer. Because Job remained faithful and did not curse God, God blessed him even more than before. Job received twice as much wealth as he had lost, and he had more children.