Learning From Job's Daughters

In the beginning, Job had seven sons and three daughters. Job’s daughters had a close relationship with each other and their brothers and enjoyed spending time together.

Job’s Sons and Daughters

The sons would hold feasts in their respective houses and invite their sisters to come eat and drink with them. Then, once the feast was over, their father would send for them and consecrate them, offering burnt offerings for each of them. For Job wanted to make sure that his children weren’t sinning or cursing God in their hearts.

One day while the sons and daughters were celebrating at the house of the oldest son, Satan sent a great wind to sweep across the wilderness and destroy the house that they were in. The roof and walls collapsed and fell upon the siblings, killing them all.

The Bible tells us Job was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil. He did everything in his power to ensure that his children followed in his footsteps. Nevertheless, God allowed Satan to kill all the sons and daughters in one fell swoop.

We have no reason to believe that the daughters of Job were living a disobedient life, but we can take note of exactly what the Bible tells us about them. Job 1:4 tells us the sons and daughters spent much time partying. Verse 12, lets us know that the last thing they did was party.

Job’s New Daughters

Satan took away Job’s wealth and destroyed his family, allowing the seven sons and three daughters to die. Job suffered debilitating health for an extended period of time, while his friends turned against him and his wife encouraged him to curse God and die.

But Job remained faithful to God, and in the end, God rewarded him by blessing the later days of his life more than the beginning.

God restored Job’s wealth and health and gave him seven more sons and three more daughters. And though the original sons and daughters and the new sons were all unnamed, the Bible provides names of the new daughters.

Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-happuch were said to be the most beautiful women throughout the land. Jemimah means “fair as the day”. Keziah was a much prized spice. And Keren-happuch refers to a horn of paint which produced a dye used by women on their eyelids to create a look of beauty.

The last mention of the girls is that their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. While the daughters of Zelophehad had opened the door for women to inherit property, this was only in the event there was no son. So for Job to bestow them this way, was significant. Perhaps he wanted to assure that they were cared for so they needn’t seek husbands outside the faith.

What Can We Learn From Job’s Daughters?

The Bible tells us little about Job’s original daughters other than they enjoyed parties with their brothers. Though there’s certainly nothing wrong with having fun, wouldn’t you hope that at the end of your days, more could be said about you than just that you feasted and celebrated?

The Bible tells us the names of Job’s new daughters and each of them were known for their beauty. While it may have been primarily their physical beauty, let us hope that they were beautiful inside as well as out.

The daughters had no idea what their futures held. Neither do we. May we live with intention, as if each day might be our last. May we be known for our inner beauty rather than our frolicking lifestyle.