Tents of Shem: How long did Ayob suffer?

Job 7:3 so am I allotted months of futility. And nights of trouble have been appointed to me.

Scripture is silent at first glance on the duration of Ayob’s duration of suffering, but scriptures are not in vacuum & hence needs to be looked closely with the help of the Ruach. The whole creation cannot accuse Yahuah of bringing suffering to mankind as there is no suffering greater than He Himself bore in the person of Yahusha.

Ayob records that he is allotted months of futility and nights of trouble but doesn’t mention for how long. So, let’s see this closely to understand the time that Ayob suffered

Firstly, lets see how may sons and daughters Ayob had?

Job 1:2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

Job 1:4 And his sons went and had a feast in the house of each on his day and sent and invited their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Ayob had 7 sons and 3 daughters, scripture records that his sons (note sons house is where the feast was and not daughters house) went and had a feast on the house of each on his day and invited their 3 sisters to eat and drink with them.

What was this feasting in each of the 7 son’s house?

Some teach that Ayob’s sons were immoral and were all the time feasting, this is incorrect as the feasting was either the 7 days of Unleavened bread celebration or the 7 days of Sukkot celebration, as these are the only feasts with 7 days celebration. How do we know this? Scriptures show us this.

The proof of the text that this was Yahuah’s feast as the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahuah. While traditionalists would like us to believe this was an event which took place in heaven, this is incorrect as Satan has no access to Yahuah’s throne. This was Satan coming among the sons of Elohim who came to present their offerings to Yahuah on the feast day and it was in a corporate form of worship which Ayob abstained from as it was not done in the land and it was done with a mingled seed.

Job 1:6 And the day came to be that the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before יהוה, and Satan also came among them.

Job 1:5 And it came to be, when the days of feasting had gone round/naqaph H5362, that Iyoḇ would send and set them apart, and he would rise early in the morning and offer ascending offerings – the number of them all – for Iyoḇ said, “It might be that my sons have sinned and cursed/barak H1288 Elohim in their hearts.” This Iyoḇ did continually / kol H3605 yom H3117

Firstly, in the verse above we need to see 3 things:

1. The word naqaph H5362 which means circle, round, compass

2. Ayob offered ascending offerings for each of his sons as per Torah (notice the words ‘’It might be that my sons have sinned and cursed Elohim in their hearts’’)

Why would Ayob be afraid that his sons may have sinned and cursed Elohim in their hearts?

The Abary word ‘barak’ translated as ‘curse’ is the same word translated as ‘bless’ and it is used both positively and negatively. The context it is used in here is ‘not following Yahuah’s order/commands in the way it should be & doing what is right in ones own eyes. The same can be understood when Ayob’s wife told him to let go of his integrity in not following Elohim’s commands in the way it should be so as to die and be delivered from the severe pain, he was in. Its like saying "Just be carnal and die", while this may sound funny, thats exactly what Yahudites are doing today in foreign lands ie. following an evil dabar.

Job 2:9 And his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse/barak H1288 Elohim and die!”

3. This Ayob did continually. The word continually is an incorrect translation as the Abary words here are ‘kol yom’ where kol means ‘all’ and yom means ‘day/s’’. Hence it should be correctly translated as ‘This Ayob did all of the days’ All of the days are related to the 7 feast days and here we now can understand the word ‘naqaph’ which means Ayob did this for his sons in compassing of Yahuah’s feasts.

In one of my previous studies on my blog, I have covered on the land & time Ayob lived in and the note can be found in the link below:

Tents of Shem: Ayob the man of the east or Yasharal? (dsouzashodan72.blogspot.com)

We need to understand that Ayob lived during the time when each man was doing what was right in his own eyes i.e., at the time of the judges. Now let’s understand which feast this was, was it the feast of the Unleavened bread or Sukkot?

This couldn’t be the feast of Sukkot as Sukkot is celebrated in booths, here the feasting was done in the house and the house fell on Ayob’s sons and they died.

Job 1:18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the first-born,

Job 1:19 and see, a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead. And I alone have escaped to inform you!”

After this event there was another day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahuah, this would have been the last day of the feast of Unleavened bread which was a high day, when Satan again came among the sons of Elohim and took permission to afflict him

Job 2:1 Again the day came to be that the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before יהוה, and Satan also came among them to present himself before יהוה.

Post this Ayob’s friends came to him and sat with him for 7 days and 7 nights and they didn’t speak a word with him seeing his pain was great.

Job 2:11 And three of the friends of Iyoḇ heard of all this evil that came on him, and each one came from his own place – Eliphaz the Těmanite, and Bildaḏ the Shuḥite, and Tsophar the Na‛amathite – and they met together to come to sympathise with him and to comfort him.

Job 2:12 And they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and did not recognise him, and they lifted their voices and wept. And each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward the heavens.

Job 2:13 Then they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that the pain was very great.

Then there is no time that can be calculated until we come to the end of Yahuah’s conversation with Ayob, when Yahuah tells Eliphaz the Těmanite to take seven bulls and seven rams as ascending offerings for themselves through the face of Ayob.

Job 42:7 And it came to be, after יהוה had spoken these words to Iyoḇ, that יהוה said to Eliphaz the Těmanite, “My wrath has burned against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as did My servant Iyoḇ.

Job 42:8 And now, take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Iyoḇ, and offer up an ascending offering for yourselves. And let My servant Iyoḇ pray for you – for I accept him – lest I punish you; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as did My servant Iyoḇ.”

Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Těmanite and Bildaḏ the Shuḥite, Tsophar the Na‛amathite went and did as יהוה commanded them. And יהוה accepted the face of Iyoḇ.

We don’t find seven bulls and seven rams ascending offerings anywhere in Torah during Unleavened bread feast. The Torah portion says that two bulls, one ram and seven lambs a year old without blemish must be offered for 7 days

Num 28:16 ‘And in the first month, on the fourteenth day, is the Passover of יהוה,

Num 28:17 and on the fifteenth day of this month is a festival. For seven days unleavened bread is eaten.

Num 28:18 ‘On the first day is a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work.

Num 28:19 And you shall bring near an offering made by fire as an ascending offering to יהוה: two young bulls and one ram, and seven lambs a year old, perfect one they are for you,

Num 28:20 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil. Prepare three-tenths of an ěphah for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram.

Num 28:21 Prepare one-tenth of an ěphah for each of the seven lambs,

Num 28:22 and one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

Num 28:23 Prepare these besides the ascending offering of the morning, which is for a continual ascending offering.

Num 28:24 According to these you are to prepare the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet fragrance to יהוה. It is prepared besides the continual ascending offering and its drink offering

Ezekiel records during the 7 days of Unleavened bread seven bulls and seven rams with one goat for a sin offering to be offered daily

Eze 45:21 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the new moon, you have the Pěsaḥ, a festival of seven days, unleavened bread is eaten.

Eze 45:22 “And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

Eze 45:23 “And during the seven days of the festival he prepares an ascending offering to יהוה, seven bulls and seven rams, perfect ones, daily for seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

Why does the Torah portion and Ezekiel differ on the number of sacrifices to be offered during Unleavened bread & how do we reconcile these?

While Ezekiel prescribes seven bulls and seven rams as burnt offerings on each day of Passover, the Torah ordains only two bulls and one ram, but seven lambs also, for the sacrifice (Num. 28:19;22).

The Torah portion shows when Yasharal had their tabernacle set up in their wilderness journey when they camped, the Torah sacrifices needed were established as a rehearsal through the wilderness journey until they came into the Promised land which continued. These were regular sacrifices during Unleavened bread festival.

However, Ezekiel prophesied of the restored temple after the captivity which required the cleansing sacrifices to restore the temple back to its former esteem of following Yahuah’s commands in the way it should be

Eze 45:20 20. w’ken ta`aseh b’shib’`ah bachodesh me’ish shogeh umipethi w’kipar’tem ‘eth-habayith

Our translation says Eze45:20 Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for each man who goes astray, and for the simple. And you shall make atonement for the house.

The correct translation should be w'ken/And thus ta'aseh/you shall do b'shibah/in the seven/shibah (there is no word yom to be translated as day) ba chodesh/in the month me’ish/for each man shogeh/going astray umipethi/ and for the simple. w’kipar’tem/And you shall make atonement for eth-habayith/alaph tau the house.

Putting together Ezekiel 45:20 : And thus you shall do in the seven in the month for each man going astray and for the simple. And you shall make atonement for alaph tau the house.

Ezekiel is prophesying of the atonement made both for the congregation as well as the house in their order which we will see in 3 view points a bit later. It refers to the sacrifices offered by a mistaken congregation

Num 15:22 ‘And when you sin by mistake, and do not do all these commands which יהוה has spoken to Mosheh,

Num 15:23 all that יהוה has commanded you by the hand of Mosheh, from the day יהוה gave command and onward throughout your generations,

Num 15:24 then it shall be, if it is done by mistake, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet fragrance to יהוה, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the right-ruling, and one male goat as a sin offering.

Num 15:25 ‘Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was by mistake. And they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to יהוה, and their sin offering before יהוה, for their mistake.

Num 15:26 ‘And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl and the stranger who sojourns in their midst, because all the people did it by mistake.

According to the Talmud, the seventh does not allude to a day, but to the idea that this offering should be brought if seven of the twelve tribes commit a sin based on an erroneous court ruling, even if most of Yasharal were not guilty of that offense. (In other words, where this sacrifice is concerned, a majority of the tribes is considered a majority, not just a majority of the entire population).

While I don't believe Talmud as they add to the dabar, what the text actually shows us that the congregation equals to a tribe, if any of the tribe or all of them sin then the atonement is for 7 days for them and the house. Ezekiel defines this in Ezekiel 45:20

While the Torah portion ordains two bulls, one ram & seven lambs for the feast of Unleavened bread which is for 7 days, Ezekiel is in no way saying the Torah portion is abolished but is showing the additional sacrifices needed as sin offering in sanctifying the tribes who were in error and hence in captivity, now returning back to the true way of Yahuah.

Remember, Ezekiel was in captivity when he saw the visions of the new house

Eze 1:1 And it came to be in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was among the exiles by the River Keḇar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of Elohim.

Eze 1:2 On the fifth of the month, in the fifth year of Sovereign Yehoyaḵin’s exile,

Eze 1:3 the word of יהוה came expressly to Yeḥezqĕl the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Keḇar. And the hand of יהוה came upon him there.

Hence both Ezekiel's vision needs to be reconciled with the Torah portion. The congregation in the wilderness was not in captivity, they were all 12 tribes together. Here in the present situation, 10 tribes of Yasharal were lost and dispersed already among the gentiles and only tribe of Yahudah and Binyamin were faithful to Yahuah. And now they too had transgressed for which they were sent into the Babylonian captivity. Hence, when they were now coming back into the land of their fathers they had to also go through a cleansing of erroneous sins made by mistake, committed by them which we read in Number 15:22-26. Ezekiel is silent on the Torah portion of the offering of the two bulls, one ram & seven lambs for the feast of Unleavened bread 7 days because he was only speaking of the offerings to be offered due to error of Yahuah's people.

Eze 43:25 ‘Prepare a goat for a sin offering daily for seven days, and prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, perfect ones.

Eze 43:26 ‘For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and ordain it.

Eze 43:27 ‘And when these days are completed it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests make your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I shall accept you,’ declares the Master יהוה.”

There could be 3 difference of opinions here:

1. The cleansing had to be done before Pesach as done by King Hiqiyahu, as stated in 1Ch 29:20-24 based on Eze 43:25-27

2Ch 29:20 And Sovereign Ḥizqiyahu rose up early, and gathered the heads of the city, and went up to the House of יהוה.

2Ch 29:21 And they brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the reign, for the set-apart place, and for Yehuḏah. And he said to the priests, the sons of Aharon, to offer them on the altar of יהוה.

2Ch 29:22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. And they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.

2Ch 29:23 And they brought out the male goats of the sin offering before the sovereign and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them,

2Ch 29:24 and the priests slaughtered them, and with their blood made a sin offering on the altar, to make an atonement for all Yisra’ĕl, for the sovereign said that the burnt offering and the sin offering is for all Yisra’ĕl.

Firstly why was there a need for king Ḥizqiyahu to do this? Its because the people had transgressed under the previous wicked kings including his father. He did the cleansing of the reign, set-apart place & people just before the Pesach(Passover). We can read how he observed Pesach in 2Chr 30

Hence, the first view point is of cleansing of the reign, the congregation and the house should be done in the first 7 days of the new month/chodesh.

2. The second viewpoint is that the cleansing of the congregation and house should be done as stated by Ezekiel during the 7 days of Unleavened bread with the regular sacrifices of the Unleavened bread. The first viewpoint is correct based on Eze 43:27 where Yahuah would accept Yasharal's burnt offerings and their peace offerings on the altar only on the 8th day after the completion of the cleansing and not during the 7 days of the feast of Unleavened bread.

Moreover, Ezekiel speaks of cleansing of the set apart place to be done on the first of the month on the first day. Hence, if the cleansing of the set-apart place is done on the first of the first month i.e., Abib then why does Ezekiel say to offer 7 bulls, 7 rams & 7 goats as sin offering during the festival of Pesach? This is where the third view comes into picture.

Eze 45:18 ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “In the first month, on the first of the month, you are to take a young bull, a perfect one, and shall cleanse the set-apart place.

Eze 45:19 “And the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the House, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard.

Eze45:20 Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for each man who goes astray,

3. The third viewpoint is based on Eze 45:21-24 where Ezekiel clearly says, 'sin offering.'

Eze 45:21 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you have the Passover, a festival of seven days, unleavened bread is eaten.

Eze 45:22 “And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

Eze 45:23 “And during the seven days of the festival he prepares a burnt offering to יהוה, seven bulls and seven rams, perfect ones, daily for seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

Eze 45:24 “And he prepares a grain offering of one ĕphah for each bull and one ĕphah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ĕphah.

Ezekiel further states the same to be done during Sukkoth.

Eze 45:25 “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the festival, he prepares like these seven days, as the sin offering, as the burnt offering, as the grain offering, and as the oil.

The third view point is very clear and stated in Eze 45:22 And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

The sin offering was only for the prince/king and the people in error which he confirms in Eze 45:20 and not the set-apart place. The cleansing of the set-apart place had to be done as stated by him in the first month Abib, the first day of the month. Hence, the second view point is erroneous because the text says that the set-apart place needs to be cleansed so that the sacrifices made on the altar during the feast of unleavened bread would be acceptable to Yahuah, while the congregation can be cleansed during the 7 days of the feast itself with the 7 bulls, seven rams and seven goats, while still offering the two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish sacrifices of Unleavened bread as written in Torah

Eze 45:18 ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “In the first month, on the first of the month, you are to take a young bull, a perfect one, and shall cleanse the set-apart place.

View point 1 is also correct but needs to be understood as to why Ḥizqiyahu cleansed the reign, the set-apart place and the congregation of Yahudah before Pesach. Yahudah under his reign was in the Promised land and not in captivity whereas Ezekiel was in captivity. Those in captivity, Nehemiah, Ezra, Zerubbabel, the priests etc. went ahead of the people to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah records the celebration of the feast of Sukkoth but none of these sacrifices are mentioned in his book. But it is understood that they would have performed the cleansing of the temple, while the people actually would be cleansed during the feast of Unleavened bread as and when they came back from the captivity in batches.

The book of Ezekiel was written much before Nehemiah and Ezra.

Ezekiel 45:20 And thus you shall do in the seven in the month for each man going astray and for the simple. And you shall make atonement for alaph tau the house.

''And you shall make atonement for alaph tau the house'' should be understood in the order as first, followed by cleansing of the congregation in error during the actual feast of Unleavened bread as per the third view point.

Now coming back to Ayob

Job 42:7 And it came to be, after יהוה had spoken these words to Iyoḇ, that יהוה said to Eliphaz the Tĕmanite, “My wrath has burned against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as did My servant Iyoḇ.

Job 42:8 And now, take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Iyoḇ, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And let My servant Iyoḇ pray for you – for I accept him – lest I punish you; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as did My servant Iyoḇ.”

Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Tĕmanite and Bildaḏ the Shuḥite, Tsophar the Naʽamathite went and did as יהוה commanded them. And יהוה accepted the face of Iyoḇ.

When Yahuah tells Eliphaz the Temanite to take seven bulls and rams and go to His servant Ayob, it was a sin offering to be offered during the feast of Unleavened bread through Ayob (there was no cleansing of the temple or altar or reign here) for them, for they misrepresented Yahuah to Ayob in trying to cause him to barakh Yahuah in the way they followed. Remember the word 'barakh' we discussed earlier in this study which can be used positively as well as negatively. The negative sense is to walk astray from the commandments of Yahuah in doing what is right in one's own eyes.

We see Ayob doing the same thing (offering sacrifices) for his sons on each of the day of the feast.

Job 1:5 And it came to be, when the days of feasting were compassing that Iyoḇ would send and set them apart, and he would rise early in the morning and offer ascending offerings – the number of them all –

While Ayob lived much earlier than Ezekiel, the Torah of offerings during Unleavened bread already existed as stated in the Torah portion (Numbers 15:22-26) & Ayob understood Torah well, that's why he was commended by Yahuah as being blameless. It is evident that Ayob wouldn't have sacrificed these in Edom, would he?

Num 28:24 According to these you are to prepare the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days (the 7 lambs), as a sweet fragrance to יהוה. It is prepared besides the continual ascending offering and its drink offering.

Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Tĕmanite and Bildaḏ the Shuḥite, Tsophar the Naʽamathite went and did as יהוה commanded them. And יהוה accepted the face of Iyoḇ.

Yahuah accepted the face of Ayob has to be understood that it was he who pleaded for the errors of misrepresentation to be wiped off for his friends, while he himself would have offered these sacrifices in Yasharal through Levites. Scriptures don't give a detailed explanation of all events. We must understand that since he was righteous and didn't indulge in corporate worship in foreign land and was termed as blameless by Yahuah, shows us all this which we must understand between the lines.

We saw the suffering of Ayob began just after the feast of Unleavened bread and would have ended just before the feast of Unleavened bread or in the release of the Shemitah, if the next year fell in the release of the Shemitah. From Abib to the Abib of the new Shemitah is evident in scripture.

Jam5:11 Behold, we count them blessed which endured. You have heard of the endurance of Ayob (Job) and have seen the latter half/acharith of the Adon, that Yahuah is full of compassion, and kindness.

Ayob fell into the latter half of the resurrection power of Mashiyach and experienced the compassion and kindness of Yahuah.

The comparison with Ezekiel text is to understand what scripture says, Yahuah turned the captivity of Ayob, the same word shebiyth has the root word 'shibah' which means 7

Job 42:10 And יהוה turned/shub H7725 the alaph tau H853 captivity/shebiyth H7622 of Iyoḇ when he prayed for his friends. And יהוה gave Iyoḇ twice as much as he had before.

Deu 15:1 AT the end of every seven years you shall make a release.

The pattern of the release is 7 years, while we can't say whether Ayob suffered for 7 years when Yahuah turned back his captivity, it is possible that he could have been released from his pain in one year if that year fell in the release or whichever year the year of release was.

Mar 13:20 And except that YAHUAH had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he has chosen, he has shortened the days.

For details on the release you may read my study on this blog on the Shemita cycle here:

https://dsouzashodan72.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-shemittah-cycle.html

Or watch my video here on Shemittah cycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erbe4ybe6h4

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