Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The text highlights that Job only arose and performed these outward signs of grief after hearing about the death of his children. This subtle detail points to how devastating this particular loss was, even to someone who had already endured the destruction of his wealth, and underscores that his worship wasn't a detached response but deeply integrated with profound human sorrow.
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job had just received devastating news, one messenger after another, detailing the complete destruction of his wealth and, most recently, the violent death of all ten of his children. In response to this final, crushing blow, Job rose from his posture of stunned silence, tore his outer robe, shaved his head—traditional signs of profound mourning—then fell to the ground, not in despair, but in worship. This act immediately precedes his famous declaration, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord," showing his submission to God's sovereignty even in the face of unimaginable loss.
Job just lost everything: his wealth, his servants, and now, all ten of his children. How does he react? Not with curses, but with deep, physical expressions of sorrow and worship.
The text describes Job's immediate physical response to the devastating news:
These actions weren't just emotional outbursts; they were deliberate, culturally understood expressions of his overwhelming sorrow. Yet, woven through this raw grief is an astonishing act: worship.
Satan believed Job's faithfulness was conditional, tied to his blessings. Job's response here proves the devil spectacularly wrong.
The greatest shock isn't just Job's grief, but his worship. Satan had predicted that Job would curse God when stripped of everything (Job 1:11). Instead, Job does the opposite. This moment is crucial because:
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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.
Reuben tears his clothes in grief upon learning of Joseph's presumed death, showing a similar outward expression of sorrow for the loss of a child.
2 Samuel 12:20After his infant son dies, David stops mourning, washes, anoints himself, and worships, mirroring Job's transition from grief to worship.
Jeremiah 41:5Men mourn and rend their garments and shave their heads after the murder of Gedaliah, indicating these were culturally recognized signs of deep mourning.
Matthew 26:65The high priest tears his robes when Jesus claims divinity, showing a parallel act of rending garments, though in a different context of outrage rather than grief.
1 Peter 4:12This passage encourages believers not to be surprised by fiery trials, suggesting that extreme suffering, like Job's, is not outside the scope of God's permissive will.
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…
The text highlights that Job only arose and performed these outward signs of grief after hearing about the death of his children. This subtle detail points to how devastating this particular loss was, even to someone who had already endured the destruction of his wealth, and underscores that his worship wasn't a detached response but deeply integrated with profound human sorrow.
Job had just received devastating news, one messenger after another, detailing the complete destruction of his wealth and, most recently, the violent death of all ten of his children. In response to this final, crushing blow, Job rose from his posture of stunned silence, tore his outer robe, shaved his head—traditional signs of profound mourning—then fell to the ground, not in despair, but in worship. This act immediately precedes his famous declaration, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord," showing his submission to God's sovereignty even in the face of unimaginable loss.
Job had just received devastating news, one messenger after another, detailing the complete destruction of his wealth and, most recently, the violent death of all ten of his children. In response to this final, crushing blow, Job rose from his posture of stunned silence, tore his outer robe, shaved his head—traditional signs of profound mourning—then fell to the ground, not in despair, but in worship. This act immediately precedes his famous declaration, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord," showing his submission to God's sovereignty even in the face of unimaginable loss.
"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped." — The text highlights that Job only arose and performed these outward signs of grief after hearing about the death of his children. This subtle detail points to how devastating this particular loss w…
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Last reviewed October 2026