Charles Ellicott Commentary Job 42:17

"So Job died, being old and full of days. Book I" — Job 42:17 (ASV)

So Job died, being old and full of days. —Such is the conclusion of this mysterious book, which deals with the greatest problems that can engage the human mind. It shows us the way in which the ancients solved them and the help God granted them, apart from His covenant revelation and before the dawning of the Gospel light. And the great lesson of the history is the way in which the malice of Satan is foiled. He had insinuated that all service of God was self-serving and done for personal gain.

Job had clearly shown that he was capable of loving God even under the most severe afflictions. The outcome that was eventually brought about was no contradiction of this fact, since it was entirely hidden from Job until long after his trial had ended and therefore could have had no influence on his patience and faith.

It is remarkable that Job is only twice mentioned in Scripture, once in the Old Testament and once in the New. Ezekiel was acquainted with Job’s history (Ezekiel 14:14, 20), and James (James 5:11) refers to him as a familiar standard of patience. It is evident, however, that the Book of Job was well known, from the many instances in the Psalms and elsewhere in which we find traces of the influence produced by familiarity with its language.