Books of the Old Testament
The Psalms
- Kethuveem or The (Other) Writings
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Five Migilloth,
Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles
from
The Names and Order of the Books of the Old Testament
by E.W. Bullinger
We come now to the third and last
division of the Old Testament, called Kethuveem;
or The Writings, i.e., the other writings;
and by the Greeks the Hagiographa or sacred
writings. The Lord’s name for this division was The
Psalms, using the figure of Synecdoche by
putting a part for the whole; i.e., calling the whole
division by the name of one (its first) book, The
Psalms. (Luke 24:44).
The Book of
Job
"Ey-yov" - An Oppressed One
The meaning of the name of Job furnishes the key to the
book. It is from the verb Ah-yav, to be an enemy to.
The first occurrence is Genesis 22:17, and its meaning is
seen in Exodus 23:22. The feminine noun evah
is the word “enmity” in Genesis 3:15.
Job’s name is a participle pass., and hence means one
on whom the enemy seeks to put forth his power, an
oppressed one.
We see the enmity recorded in the book seeking to bring
Job to ruin, but at the close we see what the Holy Spirit
by James calls attention to as “the end of the Lord”
(James 5:11). This is the great lesson.
When the enemy sought man’s ruin in Paradise, “the
end of the Lord" was announced in the promise of Him
who should deliver and bless.
When he provoked David to number the people, “the
end of the Lord” was to provide the site for the
Altar and the Temple.
When he sifted the Apostles to get rid of the wheat,
“the end of the Lord” overruled his efforts to
the getting rid of the chaff.
When he wounded the heel of Christ on Calvary, the work
was accomplished which ensures the destruction of his
power.
Though he be the willing agent in “the destruction
of the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:5), “the end of
the Lord” uses it for the saving of the Spirit.
When he sends an angel to buffet God’s saint (2
Corinthians 12), “the end of the Lord” is to
use it as “ a thorn for the flesh”, and to
overrule it for spiritual blessing.
Satan appears among “the sons of God”, i.e.,
the angels, as the Adversary, but “the
end of the Lord” is to send “a mighty angel”
to lay hold of him and cast him into the bottomless pit.
Whenever he comes forth against a feeble saint, he meets
the mighty God.
This is “the end of the Lord”, and this is the
lesson of the book of Job. Satan was allowed to bring all
his forces to bear upon Job to compass his ruin, but
“the end of the Lord” was to bring Job out of
all his troubles, and to give a blessing twice as great
as he enjoyed before.
So it will be not only with the individual saint, but
with Israel. “The Jew’s enemy” has ever
said, according to his first words, “I will pursue”,
etc. (Exodus 15:9), and has done his utmost to destroy
the nation; but when the day shall come for Israel to
learn the lesson which Job learnt, and “repent in
dust and ashes”, Israel too will find out what
“the end of the Lord” means, and find the
“double” blessing, “as the seed which the
Lord hath blessed”. See the whole of Isaiah 61.
Three, the number of Divine perfection, is
stamped upon the book in a remarkable manner.
It consists of three parts: (1) The Introduction; (2) The
Discourses; (3) The Conclusion.
(1) the Introduction comprises three parts: (1)
Personal; (2) The Adversary; and (3) Personal.
(2) The Discourses are comprised in three
divisions: (1) Those of Job with his Friends; (2) with
Elihu; and (3) with Jehovah. Those with the three
friends likewise consist of three courses, and each
course consists of three pairs of speeches. Those with Elihu
and Jehovah also consist each of three parts,
while,
(3) the Conclusion relates Job’s (1)
Vindication; (2) his Restoration; and (3) his Double
blessing. <--
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