Commentary - Job 42:10-17

Bird's-eye view

The final section of Job is not an epilogue tacked on to make everyone feel better. It is the necessary and logical conclusion to the entire affair. God does not simply vindicate Himself in the whirlwind; He vindicates His servant Job on the earth. This is a restoration that is as tangible and dusty as the ash heap Job had been sitting on. The book of Job is a profound exploration of God's sovereignty over suffering, and this conclusion demonstrates that God's sovereignty is not a cold, abstract doctrine. It is a warm and restorative reality. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, and the Lord gives back again, often in overflowing measure. This passage shows us the end of the Lord, that He is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. The restoration of Job is a type, a foreshadowing of the final resurrection and restoration of all things in Christ. God's good purposes, which were always at work even in the midst of unspeakable calamity, are here brought out into the open for all to see.

We see a twofold movement here. First, Job's own heart is set right; he prays for his friends, demonstrating that his repentance was genuine. He has moved from defending his own righteousness to interceding for the unrighteous. Second, God's response is to restore and double all that Job had lost. This is not a simple transaction, but rather the manifestation of God's covenant faithfulness. The blessings are not merely material; they are familial and generational, pointing to the long-term nature of God's grace. The passage concludes with Job dying as a patriarch, full of days, a picture of a life well-lived and a death well-faced, all under the sovereign hand of a good God.

Outline

Context In Job

This passage is the capstone of the entire book. After forty-one chapters of intense debate, profound suffering, and divine revelation, we arrive at the resolution. Job has been humbled by God's appearance in the whirlwind (Job 38-41) and has repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:1-6). God has rebuked Job's three friends for their foolish counsel and has instructed them to offer sacrifices, with Job acting as their intercessor (Job 42:7-9). Our text flows directly from this reconciliation. It is crucial to see that the restoration does not begin until Job has obeyed God and prayed for the very men who had tormented him. This demonstrates that the central issue was always Job's relationship with God, not his circumstances. The final verses are not just a "happy ending"; they are the theological and narrative culmination of everything that has come before, demonstrating that God's justice and mercy are two sides of the same coin.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 10 And Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and Yahweh increased all that Job had twofold.

The turning point is right here. The Hebrew says Yahweh "turned the turning" of Job, a phrase that indicates a complete reversal and restoration. But notice the timing. It happens "when he prayed for his friends." This is not incidental. Job's restoration is tied directly to his obedience and his gracious intercession. He had spent the bulk of the book defending himself, but now he is in the business of pleading for others. This is the posture of a man who has truly met with God. He has ceased to be the plaintiff in his own case and has become the priest for his misguided friends. True repentance bears fruit, and that fruit is often a profound love for others, even those who have wronged you. And what is God's response? He doesn't just restore; He doubles. This is not prosperity gospel nonsense. This is covenantal abundance. God is not a cosmic vending machine, but He is a generous Father who delights to bless His children. The doubling is a sign of His overwhelming grace, a tangible statement that His favor is lavish and free.

v. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the calamity that Yahweh had brought on him. And each one gave him one qesitah, and each a ring of gold.

Community is restored along with fortune. Where were these people when Job was on the ash heap? We are not told, but their return signifies Job's full acceptance back into the life of his society. They eat bread with him, a fundamental sign of fellowship and peace. Notice the honesty of the text. They comfort him for "all the calamity that Yahweh had brought on him." There is no sugarcoating here. The author, under the inspiration of the Spirit, does not flinch from naming God as the ultimate source of Job's trials. This is a robust view of sovereignty. God is not the author of sin, but He is the author of the story, and the story included this calamity for His own wise and good purposes. The gifts they bring, a piece of money and a gold ring, are more than charity. They are tokens of honor, a way of reseeding his estate and acknowledging his rightful place as a leader in the community.

v. 12 And Yahweh blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.

Here we see the doubling made explicit. The numbers of livestock are precisely twice what he had at the beginning (Job 1:3). This is a calculated, deliberate act of blessing by God. The blessing is not abstract; it is countable. This is how God often works in Scripture. His grace has tangible effects in the world. While we are not promised this kind of material doubling in the New Covenant, the principle remains. God's restoration is always greater than the loss. The glory of the new heavens and the new earth will so far outstrip the glories of Eden that Eden will seem like a faint shadow. Job's latter days were better than his beginning, and this is a promise for all who are in Christ. Our own latter end, in the resurrection, will be immeasurably greater than anything we have known here.

v. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.

Some might stumble here and ask why the children were not doubled. But to think this way is to miss the point and to view children as mere possessions. Job's first ten children were not annihilated; they were in Sheol, awaiting the resurrection. In the final accounting, Job will have twenty children, ten who went before him and ten who were given to him in the restoration. This new family is not a replacement but an addition. It is a profound statement of faith in the life to come. God gives him the same number of children, seven sons and three daughters, restoring the perfect pattern of his original family. This is a picture of resurrection life breaking into the present.

v. 14 And he named the first Jemimah and the second Keziah and the third Keren-happuch.

The names of the daughters are significant. Jemimah means "dove," Keziah was a type of cinnamon or cassia, a fragrant spice, and Keren-happuch means "horn of antimony," a cosmetic used to beautify the eyes. These names all speak of beauty, peace, and preciousness. After so much ugliness, boils, dust, ashes, and decay, God brings forth exquisite beauty. Job is not just given daughters; he is given daughters whose very names are a testimony to the grace and goodness of God.

v. 15 Now in all the land no women were found so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.

Two remarkable things are stated here. First, their beauty was renowned. This is a sign of God's favor. In the Old Testament, physical beauty was often seen as a reflection of divine blessing. Second, and more radically for the time, Job gives them an inheritance alongside their brothers. This was highly unusual in the ancient world, where property typically passed through the male line. Job, having learned deep lessons about the ways of God, acts with a generosity and justice that goes beyond the cultural norms. He is reflecting the heart of his heavenly Father, who in Christ makes no distinction between male and female, but makes us all co-heirs of the promised inheritance.

v. 16 And after this, Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

The blessing is extended through time. Job's life is doubled as well. If he was around 70 when his trial began (a traditional view), he lives to be 210. But the blessing is not just a long life; it is a fruitful one. He sees his children and his children's children, down to the fourth generation. This is the great covenantal promise of the Old Testament: to be a patriarch of a sprawling, godly line. God's faithfulness is not for one generation only. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Job enters into this same kind of generational blessing.

v. 17 Then Job died, an old man and full of days.

This is the classic biblical description of a good death. It echoes the deaths of the patriarchs like Abraham (Gen. 25:8) and David (1 Chron. 29:28). "Full of days" means satisfied. He had lived a complete life. He had seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, and he was ready to go. After all the turmoil, after all the wrestling with God, he dies in peace. This is the end for which God was working all along. The trial was severe, but the result was a man purified, a family restored, and a God glorified. And this is the end God has for all His people. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom, but the end of that road is to be with the Lord, satisfied and full of days forevermore.