Job 1:1

The context

Job opens in prose, with a setting rather than an argument: a man in the land of Uz, his name, his character, and then his children and his wealth. The prose frame surrounds the long poetic dialogues, and it returns at the end. Verse 1 gives the verdict on Job before any of the disasters arrive.

What it establishes

The verse establishes the premise the whole book depends on: the sufferer is not being punished for conspicuous sin. The terms are moral and religious at once, and the last clause, turning from evil, keeps the description from being merely ceremonial.

What it does not establish

It does not claim sinless perfection. The word rendered blameless means whole or sound in conduct, not without fault; the same book has Job confessing in the presence of God. Nor does the verse explain why he suffered, which is the question the rest of the book takes up.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Job is described as “righteous” and “blameless.” Can these descriptions be taken seriously if the Bible is said to teach the universal sinfulness of mankind?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.