Job 1:1a A Man Was - Initial Podcast - 11/1/2025

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Transcript

Welcome to the InAllWisdom Podcast,
A daily podcast dedicated to wisdom for life.
I am Jim Donnelly, your host.
Today’s podcast is from Job chapter one.
“A Man Was” is the title. 
Stay tuned for this episode about wisdom for life.
 
I have completed a commentary on
The book of Ecclesiastes, all 222 verses.
My book title is:
Ecclesiastes Amplified: A Collection of Wise Words 
We have set the publication date for 2026.
 
In the meantime, I am working on 
the book of Job, 
all forty-two chapters, all 1070 verses.
My book title prompts 
a different approach to understanding
the book of Job: 
My book title is: 
Job True Story–Well Written, Well Spoken
Subtitled: A Story About Our Mighty God Who Has Chosen Not to Distance Himself from Human Suffering 
 
Job is forty-two chapters long. A daily podcast will allow me to read through the entire book of Job every six weeks. 
I am beginning this method of reading and commenting today: November 1st, 2025.  
So, each podcast will start with a reading from a chapter in the book of Job. 
I am taking this trek through Job for you and with you. Because most people on planet Earth have never heard the true story of Job. 
Reading a chapter a day will help them. 
It will also help many of you who know the book of Job but have never read it all. 
When reading along in the book of Job, it is often very hard to figure out who is speaking, and harder still sometimes, to understand what they said.
Last, for each month of this podcast, I will choose a different version of the English Bible from which to read. 
This method will help all of us to better understand what has been written for us. 
Today’s podcast is from Job chapter one.
“A Man Was” is the title.

Allow me first to read Job chapter one. It is 22 verses long. 
This month, November, I am reading from The Legacy Standard Bible. 
The Book of Job, Chapter One
 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. 
 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 
 3 His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the sons of the east. 
 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 
 5 Now it happened when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and set them apart as holy. And he would rise up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. 
 
6 Now it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them. 
 7 And Yahweh said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 
 8 Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” 
 9 And Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Does Job fear God without cause? 
 10 “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 
 11 “But send forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” 
 12 Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand, only do not send forth your hand toward him.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh. 


 13 Now it happened that on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn, 
 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 
 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them. They also struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 
 16 While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the young men and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 
 17 While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans set up three companies and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 
 18 While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn, 
 19 and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and touched the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 



 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 
 21 And he said, 
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, 
And naked I shall return there. 
Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. 
Blessed be the name of Yahweh.” 
 22 Through all this Job did not sin, nor did he give offense to God. 
Legacy Standard Bible (Job 1:1–22). (2022). Three Sixteen Publishing.

The title of today’s podcast is:
A man was”- Job 1:1a

1 אִ֛ישׁ הָיָ֥ה
 ʾīš hayā 
“A man was” is an unexpected way to begin the book of Job. D.A. Garrett comments: It is somewhat surprising that the book begins with the abrupt [A man was] אִישׁ הָיָה (ʾîš hāyâ). 

Elmer B. Smick comments on “A man was”: “It does not seem to connect to any earlier event. ” 
So, if that is the case, then readers seem to be left on their own with no reference point to guide them. Or is that a false start?

What if the beginning words of the book of Job: “A man was”  intentionally connect to the earliest recorded event in the history of mankind: “In the beginning God …” (Genesis 1:1).

L. Wilson writes: “At the outset, the writer hints at what it means to be human before God. In an atypical Hebrew word order (commonly used for emphasis), the word “man” is at the beginning of the first verse (lit. “A man there was in the land of Uz”). This suggests that the book will teach us not only about God but also about humanity. ” 

That is what I think.

I am persuaded that the very first Hebrew words of Job, translated “A man was,” profoundly guide the readers’ mind to the earliest recorded event of history, ““In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth … And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:1, 27). 

Tremper Longman, in his book How To Read Exodus, has a chapter title: Does It Matter Whether The Sea Parted? This is what he says: 

“Establishing a track record. The book of Exodus is a work of theological history. However, theological intentions do not mitigate its historical purpose. The book intends to teach us about God and his relationship with us by describing how he acted in history.
In the exodus, God acted to rescue his people from an impossible situation. Pharaoh and his chariot troops had cornered the unarmed Israelite people with their backs literally against the water. They could not go forward, backward, or sideways. There was absolutely no possible route of escape available to them. However, in response to their prayers, God opened up a way through the Sea. Thus, they escaped. Further, the Egyptians followed, and God used the same act to both rescue his people and judge their enemies.
The story thus teaches us a great deal about God. He is the Savior and the Judge.
Yet, if the event described by the story did not happen, it would teach us nothing about God. The story has no power apart from the event. If God did not actually rescue, why would we think of him as a Savior? If he did not actually judge, why would we think of him as a Judge?
The account of the exodus establishes a track record for God. He is more than words. He acts on his words. Such a past action elicits present confidence and hope for the future after the event. If God could do such a marvelous act to save his people in the past, he could certainly do so in the present. This, after all, is how the Exodus tradition is used in later Scripture. ”
 

Apparently, the whole point of such an abrupt beginning is to let all readers of the book of Job know from the very start that “A man was” because God created him.

“A man was” … “And he died” form the bookends of Job. The writer tightly joined the first and last sentences of Job in order to teach humanity that something went wrong within Creation.  

The book of Job exhibits this unique structure: "A man was" are the first words of the first sentence; “And he died” are the first words of the last sentence of the book of Job (see, 1:1;42:17). That arrangement of words provides a framework for the story of Job. A choice made by the writer, designed to give readers a more complete understanding of the fate of humanity.  

“And he died” triggered the minds of the early readers and hearers of the book of Job, who already knew the writings of Moses. Allowing them to ponder further the beginning of the Story of Man recorded in Genesis: “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created… So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died…. So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died…So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died…So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died…So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died…So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died…So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him…So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died…So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died…And Noah was 500 years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (see, LSB, Genesis 5:1-32). 

The main point is: knowing the historical events written by Moses helps you understand the book of Job better.


We have come to the end of today’s InAllWisdom Podcast. A daily podcast dedicated to wisdom for life.



Thank you for listening!



Please join me again for another interesting episode of Wisdom for Life.



Until he comes on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory,

may

       “Yahweh bless you, and keep you;

        Yahweh make His face shine on you,

       And be gracious to you;

       Yahweh lift up His face on you,

       And give you peace.’” 



Legacy Standard Bible (Nu 6:24–27). (2022). Three Sixteen Publishing.

[1] “It is somewhat surprising that the book begins with the abrupt אִישׁ הָיָה (ʾîš hāyâ). Many Old Testament narratives begin with a conjunction (see Josh 1:1; Judg 1:1; 1 Sam 1:1; 2 Sam 1:1; 1 Kgs 1:1; 2 Kgs 1:1). One might think that this is because all these books are part of a single work, the Former Prophets (or “Deuteronomistic History”), but in fact, Ruth 1:1 also begins with a conjunction, as does Ezra 1:1. To be sure, not every narrative book begins this way (1 and 2 Chr), but it is common enough to get our attention. Why start a narrative with a conjunction? And why, by contrast, does Job begin אִישׁ הָיָה (“there was a man”) and not וַיְהִי אִישׁ (wayhî ʾîš)?The conjunction beginning most biblical narrative books is best explained by their function in the canon: they tell of the ongoing story of Israel, and each conjunction at the beginning of a book implies that it is in continuity with what came before.” Garrett, D. A. (2024).  (D. Lamb & T. Longman III, Eds.; pp. 58–59). Lexham Academic. 

[1] The idiom אִישׁ הָיָה (ʾîš hāyâ, “there lived a man”) indicates that the story has no connection with any earlier event. It is the Hebrew way to begin a totally independent narrative (Dhorme,). Smick, E. B. (2010). Job. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 Chronicles–Job (Revised Edition) (Vol. 4, p. 713). Zondervan. 

[1] “At the outset, the writer hints at what it means to be human before God. In an atypical Hebrew word order (commonly used for emphasis), the word “man” is at the beginning of the first verse (lit. “A man there was in the land of Uz”). This suggests that the book will teach us not only about God but also about humanity.” His location (Uz) and his name is given Job Wilson, L. (2015).  (J. G. McConville & C. Bartholomew, Eds.; pp. 28–29). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 

[1] Longman, T., III. (2009). How to Read Exodus (pp. 86–87). IVP Academic.