Job 2:1

The Adversary’s Attack on Job’s Person

1 {And then} one day the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.

Job 2:1 Meaning and Commentary

Job 2:1

Again, there was a day, when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord
When good men, professors of religion, met together by agreement to worship the Lord; the Targum calls them companies of angels, interpreting the words of them, and of their standing before the Lord, as most interpreters do; how long this time of their meeting was from the former cannot be said, probably but a few days, a week or fortnight at most; the Targum says, it was on the day of the great judgment, and which, as in ( Job 1:6 ) ; was at the beginning of the year; so that according to this, and other Jewish writers, there was a whole year between this and the former meeting, and so between the first and second trial of Job; but this is not likely, since Satan would never give him so much breathing time; nor can it be thought that Job's friends should stay so long before they paid him a visit, which was not till after this day:

and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord;
being either obliged to it upon a summons to appear before God, and give an account of what he had been doing on the earth, and especially to Job; or rather he came willingly, seeking an opportunity to continue his charge against Job, and to accuse him afresh, and get his commission enlarged to do him more mischief, which he could not do without a fresh grant.

Job 2:1 In-Context

1 {And then} one day the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.

2 So Yahweh {asked} Satan, "From where have you come?" And Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

3 So Yahweh {asked} Satan, "Have you {considered} my servant Job? Indeed, there is no one like him on the earth--a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil. And still he persists in his blamelessness {even though} you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing."

4 Then Satan answered him and said, "Skin for skin! All that {that} man has he will give for his life.

5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, [and see] {whether} he will {curse} you to your face."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it came to be," or "and it happened"
• [b]. Or "the heavenly beings," or "the angels"
• [c]. Hebrew "the accuser," or "the adversary"