Job's Fortitude and the Sympathy of His Friends

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Their own clothing and having covered themselves with dust. They sat with him seven days and seven nights (Job 2:13). In this, two things are taught by what has been set forth: the courage of the blessed one—while others were discouraged due to the immeasurable nature of what had happened to him—and the sympathy of the friends, who not only arrived, but having seen, did not recognize him because of his sickness, which had also altered his facial features; and having cried out with a great voice, they wept, each tearing his own clothing and scattering dust, which altogether, as it is said, demonstrates both the courage of the holy one and the sympathy of these.

For he remained unbending, which anyone would have marveled at, and through these, Job, not being provoked to anger for a short time because of the suffering overwhelming the others, which is what usually happens to men. And it is sympathetic that they should participate with him seven days and seven nights. Therefore, one should not be stingy with patience toward the weak and helpless ones who are being led by such things.

"And none of them spoke. For they saw that the wound was terrible and exceedingly great" (Job 2:13). Those who had come for consolation were silenced by the magnitude of what had happened. And it is fitting that they previously used sympathy; for he especially loves to endure in those being comforted. For there was nothing useful to them even for healing, the suffering exceeding the help of medical treatment. And it is likely that, having a certain opinion of him as a wise man, they chose a respectful silence, not daring to bring forward a word before him.

"After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day, saying:" (Job 3:1). The wise man is not a babbler, nor does he bring forth by his tongue what is not possible to become. He curses not the day, which is a chronological interval, but the things happening in it. For by custom, in the Scripture, the things happening are called the day. This the Psalmist teaches, saying: "In a evil day the Lord will deliver him" (Psalm 91:3), not calling the evil day a chronological interval, but the evil things happening in them; and what is said by Paul: "for the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16), refers to the mind. Thus, one might say the day is good for some because of what happens, and bad for others. For to the peoples of Israel, unexpectedly...

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Greek

ἑαυτοῦ στολὴν καὶ καταπασάμενοι γῆν. παρεκάθισαν αὐτῷ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας καὶ ἑπτὰ νύκτας." δύο ἐν τούτῳ παιδεύει τὰ ἐκτεθέντα, τήν τ' ἀνδρείαν τοῦ μακαρίου –ἄλλων δυσφόρως ἐνεγκόντων διὰ τὴν ἀμετρίαν τῶν συμβεβηκότων–καὶ τὴν τῶν φίλων συμπάθειαν, οἳ οὐ μόνον παρεγένοντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεασάμενοι οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν διὰ τὴν νόσον αὐτόν, ταύτης καὶ τοὺς χαρακτῆρας αὐτοῦ τῆς μορφῆς ἀλλοιωσάσης, καὶ βοήσαντες μετὰ μεγάλης φω νῆς ἔκλαυσαν διαρρήξαντές τε καὶ τὴν στολὴν ἕκαστος καὶ κατεπάσαντο σποδόν, ἅπερ ἅπαντα, ὡς εἴρηται, καὶ τὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ ἁγίου δείκνυσιν καὶ τὸ τούτων συμπαθές. ἀκαμπὴς γὰρ ἔμεινεν, ὃ καὶ θαυμάσειεν ἄν τις, καὶ διὰ τούτων ὁ Ἰὼβ μὴ ἐρεθιζόμενος εἰς ὀλιγωρίαν ἐκ τοῦ τὸ πάθος τοὺς ἄλλους καταπλήττεσθαι, ὅπερ εἴωθεν ἀνθρώποις συμβαίνειν. συμπαθὲς δὲ καὶ τὸ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας καὶ ἑπτὰ νύκτας αὐτῶι προσμεῖναι. ὅθεν οὐκ ὀλιγωρητέον τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ἀβοηθήτους καρτερίας διὰ τούτων ἐπὶ 54 συμπαθὲς ἀγομένους. "καὶ οὐθεὶς αὐτῶν ἐλάλησεν. ἑώρων γὰρ τὴν πληγὴν δεινὴν οὖσαν καὶ μεγάλην σφόδρα." οἱ διὰ παράκλησιν ἐλθόντες τῷ μεγέθει τῶν συμβεβηκότων ἀπεσιώπησαν. εἰκότως δὲ πρότερον ἐχρῶντο τῆι συμπαθείᾳ· φιλεῖ γὰρ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἀνύειν ἐν τοῖς παρακαλουμένοις. οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ πρὸς θεραπείαν ἦν τι αὐτοῖς πόριμον, καὶ τὴν κατὰ ἰατρείαν ἐπικουρίαν ὑπερβαίνοντος τοῦ πάθους. εἰκὸς δὲ ὅτι ἅτε διάλημψιν ἔχοντες περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς σοφοῦ καὶ αἰδοῖ σιωπᾶν ᾑροῦντο, πρὸ αὐτοῦ μὴ τολμῶντες προενέγκασθαι λόγον. "μετὰ τοῦτο ἤνοιξεν Ἰὼβ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ κατηράσατο τὴν ἡμέραν αὐτοῦ λέγων·" ὁ σοφὸς οὐκ ἔστιν ματαιολόγος οὐδὲ προφέρει διὰ γλώττης ἃ μὴ οἷά τέ ἐστιν γενέσθαι. καταρᾶται δὲ οὐ τὴν ἡμέραν, ὅ ἐστι διάστημα χρονικόν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐν αὐτῆι συμβάντα. δι' ἔθους γὰρ τῇ γραφῇ τὰ συμβαίνοντα ἡμέραν καλεῖν. τοῦτο ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς παιδεύει λέγων· "ἐν ἡμέραι πονηρᾶι ῥύσεται αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος", πονηρὰν ἡμέραν οὐ τὴν χρονικὴν διάστασιν λέγων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐν αὐταῖς πονηρὰ συμβάντα· καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον δὲ παρὰ Παύλῳ· "ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσ̣ιν", τῆς αὐ55 τῆς διανοίας. οὕτω τις τοῖσδε μὲν ἀγαθὴν εἶναι λέγοι τὴν ἡμέραν διὰ τὰ συμβαίνοντα, τοῖσδε δὲ κακήν. τοῖς γὰρ λαοῖς Ἰσδραὴλ ἀπροσδοκήτως διαβᾶσιν τὴν 16 ἐρυθρὰν θάλατταν καλὴ ἡμέρα εἴη, τοῖς δὲ Αἰγυπτίοις κακή· "ἔδυσαν" γὰρ "ὡσεὶ μόλιβος ἐν ὕδατι σφοδρῶι". "ἀπόλοιτο ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ἧι ἐγεννήθην καὶ ἡ νὺξ ἐν ᾗ εἶπαν· ἰδοὺ ἄρσεν. ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη εἴη σκότος καὶ μὴ ἀναζητήσαι αὐτὴν ὁ κύριος ἄνωθεν μηδὲ ἔλθοι εἰς αὐτὴν φέγγος, ἐκλάβοι δὲ αὐτὴν σκότος καὶ σκιὰ θανάτου." ἄξιον θεωρῆσαι εἰ κατὰ τὸν σοφώτατον Ἰὼβ καὶ τὴν τούτου ἀνδρείαν ὑπάρχει καταρᾶσθαί τε τῇ ἡμέραι ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθη καὶ νυκτὶ ἐν ᾗ εἶπαν· ἰδοὺ ἄρσεν, ὅπως τε αὐτὴ σκότος ᾖ καίτοι πάσης νυκτὸς οὕτως οὔσης–"ἐκάλεσεν" γάρ φησιν "τὸ φῶς ἡμέραν καὶ τὸ σκότος ἐκάλεσεν νύκτα"–, τί τέ ἐστιν ὃ εὔχεται μὴ ἀναζητηθῆναι ἄνωθεν τὴν ἡμέραν ὑπὸ κυρίου μηδὲ ἐλθεῖν εἰς ταύτην φθέγγος, ἐκλαβεῖν τε αὐτὴν σκότος καὶ σκιὰν θανάτου. τούτων ἔνια οὐδὲ πέφυκεν γίνεσθαι· περὶ γὰρ τῆς παρελθούσης ἡμέρας καὶ μηκέτι ὑπόστασιν ἐχούσης τοιαῦτα ἀρᾶσθαι εὐκτικῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴη σοφοῦ. εἰ δὲ καὶ οἱ φιλίστορες ἐμμένοιεν τῇ 56 τοῦ ῥητοῦ ἀποδόσει, ὑπεκλύουσι τὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ ἁγίου, ἣν ὁ διάβολος ὑπεκλῦσαι οὐ δεδύνηται, το σαύτην αὐτὸν ἔχειν ὀλιγωρίαν ὑποτιθέμενοι, ἣν εἴπερ εἶχεν οὐδ' ἂν οὐδ' οὕτως καταισχυνθεὶς ὁ διάβολος ἐπὶ τῆι ἀνδρείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐτύγχανεν οὐδ' ὁ κύριος ἔλεγεν πρὸς αὐτόν· "οἴει δέ με ἄλλως σοι κεχρηματικέναι ἢ ἵνα ἀναφανῇς δίκαιος;" οὐκοῦν, ἐπειδὴ τὰ τοῦ ῥητοῦ χώραν εὔλογον οὐκ ἔχει καὶ πρέπουσαν τῶι ἁγίωι, κατὰ νόμους ἀλληγορίας θεωρητέον τὰ προκείμενα. πρὶν δὲ ταύτης ἄρξασθαι, ἀκόλουθον προειπεῖν τινα συντελοῦντα πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον· ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ ἀθάνατος ὑπάρχουσα καὶ οὐ μόνον ἑτέρας οὐσίας παρὰ τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ θειοτέρας, τούτωι συνεπλάκη κατὰ διαφόρους λόγους, ἢ τῆς ἀξίας αὐτῆς τῆς κατὰ ῥοπὴν ἰδίαν καὶ πόθον πρὸς τὰ σώματα κοινωνίαν πρὸς αὐτὰ ἐργασαμένης, ἢ διὰ τὸ χρήσιμον τῶν ὠφελίας δεομένων τούτῳ συναφθείσης. οὐδὲ γὰρ συνεσπάρη τῷ σώματι κατὰ τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας αὐτῆς τὸ μέγεθος τῷ μὴ οἷόν τε εἶναι ἐκ σωματικοῦ σπέρματος ἀσώματον οὐσίαν ὑποστῆναι· οὐδ' αὖ ὑστέ57 ρα τοῦ σώματος πλάττεται προηγουμένη τυγχάνουσα· οὐδὲ γὰρ μετὰ τὸ "καταπαῦσαι τὸν θεὸν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ" ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος τινὰ ὑφίστησιν· "τί" γάρ φησιν "τὸ γεγονός, αὐτὸ τὸ

About this text

Didymus the Blind on Job.

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