Ancient "Summary" Evil 2026

Wickedness Designed to Rule the World

Bringing Hell to Earth

The Story of Iyov

Will Iyov (KJV: Job) Sell His Soul?

The Patriarch Iyov (KJV: Iyov) (at least some scholars call him that) is one of the more interesting characters of the Bible. We meet him in the Book of Genesis in this one verse:

And the sons of Yisshakar; Tola, and Pu’ah, and Yov, and Shimron. (Genesis 46:13 Cepher)

This one verse says little more than the fact that he is one of four sons is Issachar. The verse does not credential him or even suggest that he is anything of note. Some scholars suggest that the Iyov of Genesis is not the same Iyov that was written up in the book bearing his name. They point out that Iyov lived in the land of Uz (Heb. עוּץ "wooded") near the Arabian desert, arguing that this location was far from where the Israelites actually settled at the time. Unfortunately for these scholars, the location of Uz is still open to a lot of question. What we do know from reading the first few verses of the book bearing his name is that:

THERE was a man in the land of Uts, whose name was Iyov; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared Elohiym, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. (Job 1:1-3 Cepher)

When you see this much livestock, you realize that Iyov could not have lived near the edge of the Arabian desert. Instead, he had to live in a place where he had a plenteous water supply if he was going to keep seven thousand sheep and five hundred yoke of oxen watered, let alone the three thousand camels. He would have to live in a location that would support watering lots of livestock. Also, people do not keep 500 yoke of oxen if they are not raising crops. Since irrigation is not invented yet, the land Iyov lived on had plenty of water at their disposal.

Iyov's wealth also made him a target, especially for Satan, who clearly resented his wealth and what it represented. It was the promise that if a man lived a righteous life, that Yahuah would bless him. In fact, Iyov was concerned that someone in his family had sinned and took precautions to deal with the matter, even if he did not know about the specific sin.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Iyov sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered ascending smoke offerings according to the number of them all: for Iyov said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed Elohiym in their hearts. Thus did Iyov continually. (Job 1:5 Cepher)

Iyov understood that keeping his wealth came at a price. But what he would have to learn is that godliness is NOT a function of how righteous you are. It is a function of whether Yahuah lives in your heart. It is for this reason that Yahuah allowed Satan to test him. On the next page, we will read about how Iyov was tested.

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