"Curse God and Die": The Ambiguous Words of Job's Wife

Job's wife does not play a starring role in the biblical story. But she does get to voice one zinger.

After all the calamity that Job has endured in the opening chapters – loss of oxen, sheep, camels, sons and daughters, and finally, body sores, it is Job's wife who speaks aloud one obvious response to this calamity: Curse God. Then, she disappears.

So, how are we to understand her words?

Let's back up for a second and provide her entire statement:

"Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9, NRSVUE)

Ambiguity abounds in this single line. Does Job's wife doubt his response or affirm it? It depends on whether her first phrase is a question or a statement. A question might be elaborated as, "After all these losses, do you continue to hold to your integrity though there is no purpose or value in doing so?" A statement would say, "You still persist in your integrity." Either is possible in Hebrew.

And ambiguity continues in her next statement. If one takes the first phrase as a slightly sarcastic question, then the words "Curse God and die!" echo the words of The Accuser (Job 1:11 and 2:5), who predicts that Job will curse God in light of all his losses. Job's wife seems to be on the side of The Accuser. However, the Hebrew word for "curse" here is literally the word "bless." So, she may be telling him to continue to bless God, even if he dies. In this account, she's subverting The Accuser's words.

As you might imagine, the Christian tradition has typically chosen to interpret Job's wife as a negative figure and her statement as an alignment with The Accuser, which is seen as Satan. Medieval Christian theological works on Job often compared Job and his wife to Adam and Eve. This comparison to Eve, of course, presents Job's wife as a temptress to interpreters like Gregory the Great.

We might consider the way Job responds to his wife's statement. He did not see her words as ones of understanding and compassion. In fact, he calls her a "foolish woman." Read the whole story in Job 2.

Commentary Recommendation

If I had to recommend one commentary on Job, it would be Samuel E. Balentine's commentary in the Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary series published in 2006. It's a large volume at 750 pages, but Job is a lengthy book.

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