Page "Book of Job" Paragraph 37

God's speech also emphasizes his sovereignty in creating and maintaining the world.

The thrust is not merely that God has experiences that Job does not, but that God is king over the world and is not necessarily subject to questions from his creatures, including men.

The point of these speeches is to proclaim the absolute freedom of God over His creation.

God is not in need of the approval of his creation.

It is only the reader of the book who learns of God's conversations with Satan ; Job himself remains unaware of the reason or source of his sufferings.

The traditional interpretation is that, humbled by God's chastising, Job turns speechless, giving up and repenting his previous requests of justice.

However, another interpretation is that Job's silence is defiant, and that what he gives up is not his belief that justice be done, but his confidence that God will behave justly.