Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 1:20-21

"Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped; and he said, Naked came I out of my mother`s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah." — Job 1:20-21 (ASV)

After the adversity of blessed Job has been narrated, the text discusses the patience he showed. To understand what is said here, it is important to know that there was a difference of opinion among the ancient philosophers regarding physical goods and the passions of the soul. The Stoics, for instance, said that external goods were not man's goods and that there could be no sorrow for their loss in the soul of a wise man. The opinion of the Peripatetics, however, was that some of man's goods are truly external goods, though these are certainly not the principal ones. Nevertheless, they are like instruments ordered toward the principal good of man, which is the good of the mind. Because of this, they conceded that a wise man is moderately sad in the loss of external goods; meaning, his reason is not so absorbed by sadness that he forsakes righteousness. This opinion is the truer of the two and is in agreement with the teaching of the Church, as is clear from St. Augustine in his book, The City of God.

Job, therefore, followed this latter opinion and truly showed sorrow in adversity; yet this sadness was so moderated that it remained subject to reason. The text continues, Then Job arose, and rent his robe, which is a common indication of sadness among people.

Note, however, that the text says, "Then"—that is, after he heard about the death of his children—so that he seemed more sad over their loss than the loss of his possessions. For it is characteristic of a hard and unfeeling heart not to grieve over dead friends, but it is characteristic of virtuous people not to have this grief in an immoderate way. As St. Paul says, But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). This was true in the case of blessed Job, and so the state of his mind is apparent in his external actions.

Since his reason remained upright, the text fittingly says that Job arose, even though people in grief usually prostrate themselves. For although he suffered grief, it was not a grief that penetrated so deeply as to disturb his inner reason. He showed a sign of his sadness through his external actions in two ways. First, concerning what is outside the body's nature, the text says, he rent his robe. Second, concerning things that proceed from the body's nature, he shaved his head, which, among those who care for their hair, usually indicates grief. These two signs, then, fittingly correspond to the adversities mentioned: the tearing of the robe corresponds to the loss of his possessions, and the cutting of the hair corresponds to the loss of his sons.

The mind, then, stands upright when it is humbly submitted to God. For each thing exists in a higher and more noble state to the extent that it stands firm in what most perfects it—like air when it is subject to light, or matter when it is subject to form. The fact that the mind of blessed Job was not dejected by sadness, but persisted in its righteousness, clearly shows that he humbly subjected himself to God. So the text continues, and he fell on the ground, and worshipped, to show evidence of his devotion and humility.

Job revealed the state of his mind not only by deeds but also by words. He rationally demonstrated that although he suffered sadness, he did not have to yield to it. First, he argued from the condition of nature, as the text says: Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. This "womb" can be understood as the earth, which is the common mother of everything, and "there" as returning to the earth. Sirach speaks in the same vein, saying, Great hardship has been created for man, and a heavy yoke lies on the sons of Adam from the day they come forth from their mother’s womb until the day they return to their burial in the mother of them all .

This can also be interpreted in another way. The expression, "from my mother's womb," can be taken literally as the womb of the mother who bore him. When he next says, naked I shall return there, the term "there" establishes a simple relation. For a man cannot return a second time to his own mother's womb, but he can return to the state he had in his mother's womb in a certain respect: namely, that he is removed from the company of other people.

In saying this, he reasonably shows that a person should not be absorbed with sadness over the loss of external goods, since they are not connatural to him but come to him accidentally. This is evident, since a person comes into this world without them and leaves this world without them. Therefore, when these accidental goods are taken away, as long as the substantial ones remain, a person ought not to be overcome by sadness, although sadness may touch him.

Second, he shows the same thing from the perspective of divine action, saying, The Lord gave; the Lord has taken away. Here, we must first consider his true opinion about divine providence in relation to human affairs. When he says, The Lord gave, he confessed that earthly prosperity does not come to people accidentally—whether by fate, the stars, or as a result of human effort alone—but by divine direction. When he says, however, The Lord has taken away, he also confesses that earthly adversities arise among people by the judgment of divine providence. This leads to the conclusion that a person has no just complaint against God if he should be stripped of his temporal goods, because the One who gave them freely could bestow them either for a lifetime or only temporarily. So when God takes temporal goods away from a person before the end of life, that person cannot complain.

Third, he shows the same thing from the good pleasure of the divine will, saying, As God pleased, so it has been done. For it is a mark of friendship to want and not want the same things. Thus, if it is God's good pleasure that someone should be stripped of temporal goods, then one who loves God ought to conform his will to the divine will, so that he is not absorbed by sadness when considering this.

These three arguments are put in the proper order. The first argument posits that temporal goods are external to man. The second posits that they are a gift given to a person and taken away by God. The third posits that this happens according to the good pleasure of the divine will. From these, one can draw a series of conclusions. From the first argument, a person should not be absorbed by sorrow over the loss of temporal goods; from the second, he cannot even complain; and from the third, he ought even to rejoice.

One ought to rejoice because it would not please God for someone to suffer adversity unless He wished for some good to come to that person from it. So, though adversity is bitter in itself and generates sadness, it should nevertheless be a cause for rejoicing when one considers the purpose for which it pleases God. As is said of the apostles, The apostles went rejoicing because they had suffered contempt for Christ (Acts 5:41). For when taking a bitter medicine, one can rejoice in reason because of the hope for health, even though one suffers physically.

Since joy is the substance of the act of thanksgiving, Job therefore concludes this third argument with an act of thanksgiving, saying, Blessed be the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is truly blessed by people insofar as they have knowledge of His goodness—that is, that He distributes all things well and does nothing unjustly.

The text, therefore, concludes with Job's innocence when it says, In all these things, Job did not sin with his lips—that is, he did not express a movement of impatience in word—nor did he say something stupid against God—that is, blasphemy, meaning he did not blaspheme concerning divine providence. For stupidity is the opposite of wisdom, which is properly the knowledge of divine things.