Medica Sacra: A Commentary on the Most Remarkable Diseases Mentioned in the Holy Scriptures

JOB’S disease is rendered remarkable by some uncommon circumstances and consequences; such as the dignity of the man, the sudden change of his condition, his extraordinary adversity, his incredible patience under them, his restoration to a much happier state than he had ever before enjoyed, and lastly the singular nature of the illness with which he was seized.

His habitation was in the land of Uz, which, according to the learned Friderick Spanheim, was situated in the northern part ofArabia deserta, towards the Euphrates and Mesopotamia. He was a very illustrious man, the most opulent of all the Orientals, very happy in sons and daughters, of a most upright life and exemplary piety. Now it is related that God, in order to try his integrity and constancy, permitted Satan to afflict him by all means which he could devise, except the taking away of his life. “In pursuance of this permission, Satan brought the most dreadful calamities on him; for all his oxen and asses were driven away by the Sabeans; his sheep and servants were consumed by fire from heaven; his camels were carried off; his sons and daughters were crush’d to death by the falling in of the house upon them in a violent storm of wind; and soon after he himself was afflicted with scabs and foul ulcers all over his body; so that he sate down among the ashes, and scraped himself with a potsherd.” Thus from a very rich man he became extremely poor, and from the heighth of prosperity he sunk into the depth of misery. And yet all these evils did not give the least shock to his firmness of mind, nor to his piety towards God: wherefore the Lord, moved by his prayers, put an end to all his calamities; gave him twice as much wealth as he had lost, and made him more prosperous than he had ever been before.