And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
Job's story ends with a household, not an argument. Why does a book about suffering close by naming three daughters and handing them a share of the estate?
Names that record the trial
The text names the three daughters and leaves the sons unnamed. One writer finds the fruit of Job's trials in each name.
Samuel RidoutThe names of the daughters are given, no doubt with divine meaning. Jemima, "a dove"; Keziah, "cassia"; Keren-happuch, "a horn of paint," or adornment. These are the fruit of Job's trials. The dove suggests the gentleness and love of the bird of sorrow. Cassia tells of the fragrance that has come from his bruising. The horn of cosmetic speaks of the "beauty for ashes" that is now his. Love, fragrance, beauty — these come out of our sorrows. Truly there are no daughters so fair as these.
Daughters given a portion
One writer weighs where and when this happened. He reads the naming of the daughters as a mark of God's own mind.
William KellyI also find it instructive that the daughters are singled out by name. This was a place, and a time long before ours, where men were everything and women were only playthings or upper slaves. That was not God's mind, even for those who feared Him outside the privileges and government of Israel.
The arithmetic that does not add up
Everything else Job owned came back doubled. The children did not — and one writer treats that gap as the point rather than an oversight.
F. B. HoleWas it a mistake? Not at all. It was a gracious hint to Job which his faith no doubt knew how to read. Suppose God had given him fourteen sons and six daughters. The conclusion would then have been that his first children were lost to him for good, just like his old sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys. Instead God gave him only seven sons and three daughters again. In effect God was telling him that the first family was not lost for good. His prayers and intercessions had been heard. There is a resurrection world where he and they will meet again.
Not everyone accepts that reading. One writer holds that the second family is simply a new one, and that "this does not mean, as some suppose, that they were not new sons and daughters, but that the restoration is that in resurrection. Such a view is untenable. The sons and daughters were born to him."
Blessing that waited for a changed man
This scene of beauty and inheritance opened only after Job prayed for his friends.
F. B. HoleGod blessed Job richly. He restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. He did this when Job had prayed for his friends — and not till then. … Yet God held back that tide of blessing. It rolled in on Job again only after he had been changed deeply in spirit and character. At last God brought him near, and he acted as a priest in a way that reflected God's goodness and kindness. Then everything outward changed.
Grace, not reward
The final scene could be misread as payment for endurance. One writer traces it instead to God's own faithfulness.
William KellyYet Jehovah does not allow His saint to go without a proof of His interest and of His blessing. … He did not forget the man who had passed through such a storm of trial. That man had held to Him when He seemed to be against His servant. … But Job only held fast to God because God held fast to Job. That was the real root of the matter. It is grace after all that gives and keeps integrity.
Summary
- Sorrow. The daughters' names carry the fruit of the trial. Dove, cassia and adornment speak of love, fragrance and beauty coming out of bruising.
- Beauty. The last picture in the book is not Job's loss but his daughters, unmatched in all the land.
- Inheritance. The daughters are named and given a share with their brothers. That was God's mind for those who feared Him.
- Arithmetic. Flocks came back doubled; children did not. One writer reads that as God's quiet assurance that the first ten children were not lost but waiting in resurrection.
- Grace. The blessing came only after Job prayed for his friends and was changed within. It shows that God held Job; Job did not earn God.