The book of Job tells the story of Job, a righteous man, from whom everything in his life was taken away and who then had the opportunity to question God directly on this injustice. The depiction of Job in the prologue (1:1-2:10) of Job illustrates that Job is righteous despite a lack of belief in the afterlife because he fears God and wants to live the best life possible. The story of Job is not a breaking of the covenant between God and man, but rather an example of the true purpose of the covenant, which is to allow each person to choose how to respond to a situation. The book of Job tells the story of Job. This section of Job, the prologue from 1:1 to 2:10, was a section that was probably added to the main story at another date (Coogan 1504). Scholars disagree on the exact parts that were added, but this section was almost positively added later. One of the first things we learn about Job is the fact that he is not an Israelite. “There was a man in the land of Uz,” opens the first verse of the first chapter. Job is therefore an outsider in Israelite culture, but he can be righteous without being an Israelite, an insider. This is important because it testifies to the universal aspect of God. Next, we learn of Job's great wealth, so great “that this man was the greatest of all the peoples of the East” (1:3). This great wealth once again separates him from the average man. This sets up a very different person than expected. One of Job's final defining characteristics is his family. He has seven sons and three daughters. This is significant because Job therefore has more sons than daughters, which would be favored in Israelite society. Additionally, both of his children belong to sacred number groups. Three is the number of holiness and the number seven is...... middle of paper ......ear of punishment in the afterlife, but rather an understanding that God is in control of everything, you You are at his whim and if he decides to destroy your life, that will be it. However, it also illustrates another aspect of relationship with God. God may not always be kind and loving towards his creation, but he will not take away the choice from humans to respond to the situation. The true meaning of the covenant is thus illustrated through Job and Satan illustrates the absence of it. Works cited Berlin, Adèle, Marc Zvi. Brettler and Michael A. Fishbane. "Job." The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. 1501-1505. Print. Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom and Pheme Perkins. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Standard Version with Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.