Job 1:20
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Job's immediate response isn't just emotional grief; it's a deliberate, physical act of worship. The tearing of his clothes and shaving his head, ancient signs of profound mourning, become the backdrop for him falling to the ground in adoration, not defiance. This shows that even in the face of unimaginable loss, his first instinct isn't to curse God, but to acknowledge His sovereignty.
Job had just received news that all his property and livestock had been destroyed. When the final messenger arrived with the devastating report that all ten of his children had died in a violent storm, Job’s reaction shifted from passive receiving of news to active grieving and worship. Instead of cursing God as Satan predicted, Job performed traditional acts of mourning – tearing his robe and shaving his head – before falling to the ground in worship.
Understand the original words
qāraʿ · Hebrew Verb
An outward manifestation of grief, mourning, or extreme distress. In the ancient Near East, tearing one's garment was a culturally recognized act signaling deep emotional anguish or repentance.
gālaḥ · Hebrew Verb
A ritual act of mourning or humiliation. Shaving the head was a common practice in the ancient world to express profound sorrow, shame, or submission to God in times of crisis.
šāḥâ · Hebrew Verb
The act of prostrating oneself or showing supreme reverence and honor to God. It acknowledges God's worthiness, sovereignty, and rightful claim to glory, regardless of the worshiper's circumstances.
After King David's infant son died, he stopped mourning, washed, anointed himself, and went to worship the Lord, showing a similar posture of submission to God's will amidst profound grief.
Lamentations 3:28-29This passage speaks to the profound humility and quiet endurance expected when one suffers under God's hand, reflecting Job's internal posture of worship despite his outward signs of mourning.
Matthew 26:39Jesus, facing immense suffering, prayed 'not as I will, but as you will,' demonstrating a perfect submission to the Father's will that echoes Job's worship in the face of devastating loss.
Genesis 37:34Jacob tore his robes and mourned for Joseph, showing that rending garments was a traditional and understood expression of deep grief, which Job also participates in before worshipping.
bensonJob 1:20: "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,"
Job 1:20 . Then Job arose — From his seat whereon he had been sitting in a disconsolate posture; and rent his mantle — In token of his deep sense of, and just sorrow for, the heavy hand of God upon him, and his humiliation of himself under that hand: see Genesis 37:34 ; and shaved his head — Caused the hair of his head to be shaved or cut off, which was then a usual ceremony in m…
clarkeJob 1:20: "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,"
Rent his mantle - Tearing the garments, shaving or pulling off the hair of the head, throwing dust or ashes on the head, and fitting on the ground, were acts by which immoderate grief was expressed. Job must have felt the bitterness of anguish when he was told that, in addition to the loss of all his property, he was deprived of his ten children by a violent death. Had he not fel…
Job's immediate response isn't just emotional grief; it's a deliberate, physical act of worship. The tearing of his clothes and shaving his head, ancient signs of profound mourning, become the backdrop for him falling to the ground in adoration, not defiance. This shows that even in the face of unimaginable loss, his first instinct isn't to curse God, but to acknowledge His sovereignty.
Job had just received news that all his property and livestock had been destroyed. When the final messenger arrived with the devastating report that all ten of his children had died in a violent storm, Job’s reaction shifted from passive receiving of news to active grieving and worship. Instead of cursing God as Satan predicted, Job performed traditional acts of mourning – tearing his robe and shaving his head – before falling to the ground in worship.
Job had just received news that all his property and livestock had been destroyed. When the final messenger arrived with the devastating report that all ten of his children had died in a violent storm, Job’s reaction shifted from passive receiving of news to active grieving and worship. Instead of cursing God as Satan predicted, Job performed traditional acts of mourning – tearing his robe and shaving his head – before falling to the ground in worship.
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"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped." — Job's immediate response isn't just emotional grief; it's a deliberate, physical act of worship. The tearing of his clothes and shaving his head, ancient signs of profound mourning, become the backdr…
