Job 2

The Hebrew word for “Accuser” is satan. But many scholars insist this guy isn’t “The Satan” remarkably enough because the writer always calls him “the satan,” as in “the prosecutor.” He shows up in the story as a member of God’s heavenly council of top spirit beings—angels who work for God and report to him.

People in ancient times often expressed deep grief by cutting off their hair, wearing torn clothes, and sprinkling themselves in a spray of dust or ashes. But sitting in a pile of ashes takes grief to new and creative heights.

Teman was a major city in Edom, in what is now the country of Jordan. Teman is named after Esau’s grandson. The writer may have intended readers to conclude that all three men lived near each other. But that’s uncertain.

Shuah’s location is unknown.  But Shuah was the name of one of the six sons Abraham had with his concubine, a secondary wife, Keturah (Genesis 25:1; 1 Chronicles 1:31). Guesses place this town as far north as the Euphrates River on Turkey’s southern border, and as far south as Sheba, a town in Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. But maintaining friendship from hundreds of miles away was close to impossible in ancient times. So it looks like the writer thought of all four men as neighbors from nearby towns.

Naamah’s location is unknown.