The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away [Commentary on Job 1:21]

By St. Basil the Great

and said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

Verse 20-21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away: blessed be the name of the LORD. It is certain that, even if the principles of God’s dispensation escape us, we are still able to perceive the result of the dispensation of the all-wise and loving God, although it is difficult. Indeed, He knows how to arrange what is profitable for each, and why the limits of our lives are unequal. For there is some reason, incomprehensible to men, why some are taken away from here sooner, while others are left longer to suffer in this sorrowful life. Therefore, we must thank His love for mankind for everything and not complain, remembering that great and glorious cry which the great ascetic Job uttered when he learned that ten of his children had perished in a short moment at one meal. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it happened.

Let us make this miracle ours. An equal reward from the righteous Judge for those who show equal feats. We did not lose a child (Basil consoled Nectarius with this letter, who had lost his son), but returned him to the Giver. And his life did not fade away, but changed for the better. It was not the earth that hid our beloved, but heaven received him. Let us wait a little and be together with the beloved. For although he completed the path [of this life] more quickly, we will all pass it, and the same refuge awaits everyone. [Messages]

By St. John Chrysostom

and said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

And the great lamp of piety says: The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it was done, blessed be the name of the Lord. O noble soul! His very words became an arrow for the devil; arrows flew from his lips against the evil spirits; one exclamation threw the ranks of the opponents into confusion. Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. This is the apostolic voice, courageously resounding long before the times of the apostles: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return, as the apostle says: We brought nothing into the world; it is clear that we can carry nothing out of it (1 Tim. 6:7). The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.

[About the righteous and blessed Job. Word 3]

By St. Gregory the Dialogist

and he said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord

Historical meaning

But let us listen to what he says who has lost all his property, who has lost his children, who has torn his clothes, shaved his head and fallen to the ground:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither

Oh, how high, guided by inner prudence, stood that man who lay on the ground with his clothes torn! Since, by the judgment of God, he had lost everything, then, strengthening himself in patience, he remembered the time when he did not possess any of what he had lost, and, seeing that he once did not have this, he lessened the grief of deprivation. Great consolation can be found in the loss of things, in remembering the time when we did not have what was lost. We rightly call the earth our mother, since she gave birth to us all. Therefore it is written: “The yoke is heavy on the sons of Adam from the day they came out of their mother’s womb until the day they return to the mother of all” (Sir. 40:1). Blessed Job, in order to mourn with patience for what he had lost, carefully considers how he came here. And he adds, skillfully strengthening patience, remembering how he will return there, and says: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked will I return thither.” As if he had said: “Naked did the earth bring me here, naked will the earth receive me from hence. What then is the matter that I have lost the property which I should have lost?”

But since true consolation is increased not only by the contemplation of creation, but also by the consideration of the justice of the Creator, he adds:

The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it was done.

The holy man lost everything during the temptation of the adversary, but knowing that Satan would not have had the power to tempt him if the Lord had not given him, he does not say: “The Lord gave, the devil has taken away,” but: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.” Perhaps he should have been grieved that the Creator allowed the enemy to take everything from him. But since He Who gave does not take away, but returns His own, we lose nothing of our own. Why then, when we receive from God what we use in this life, do we grieve so much when the Judge Himself deprives us of what we have generously borrowed? Therefore, the creditor is always right, who is not bound by a certain time of return, and when he wishes, he deprives of what he has given. Therefore it is added: “As it pleased the Lord, so it was done.” When in this life we do not want what we suffer from, it is necessary to incline the desire of our will to Him Who cannot wish anything unjust. Of course, when we do not like something, we find great consolation in the fact that He Who pleases only what is just arranges it for us. And if we know that the Lord pleases what is just, then we have suffered nothing that is displeasing to the Lord. Whatever we suffer is just, and it is most unjust if we grumble during just suffering.

We have already heard how the courageous orator, resisting the enemy, accepted his fate; now let us hear how, at the end of his speech, he blessed the Judge. He says: “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” Thus, all the righteousness that he tried, he concluded with the blessing of the Lord. Seeing this, the enemy would be ashamed of his defeat by the conqueror, since he, while still in bliss, rebelliously came out against the Creator Himself, to whom man, even in misfortune, sings a hymn of glory. Note that our enemy strikes us with as many arrows as he strikes with temptations. And indeed, we stand daily in battle, and daily withstand the arrows of his temptations. But we also throw arrows against him if, struck by torments, we respond humbly. Thus blessed Job, stricken with the loss of his property and the death of his sons, turns the multitude of sorrows into praise of the Creator, and says: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as God wills, so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He crushes the pride of the enemy with humility, and with patience he smites his mercilessness. We do not believe that our warrior accepted wounds and did not strike back. Job hurled as many arrows into the enemy’s chest as he uttered words of patience, praising God; and he struck much harder than he himself had endured. Defeated, he lost all that was earthly, but, enduring sorrow with humility, he increased the heavenly.

Mystical meaning

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked shall I return thither

The mother of the Redeemer according to the flesh was the synagogue, from which He came forth to us visibly bodily. But she kept Him veiled in the veil of her Scriptures, while she refused to open the eyes of her mind to a spiritual understanding of Him. Since she refused to see God hidden in the flesh of a human body, she despised looking upon Him, considering Him naked, deprived of His Godhead. But “naked came He out of His mother’s womb”: for He who came out of the synagogue in the flesh came visibly to the Gentiles. This is well represented by the garment which Joseph left behind when he fled (cf. Gen. 39:12). For when the woman wanted to make ill use of him in adultery, he left his garment and fled from the house; so when the synagogue believed that the Lord was a mere man, she wanted to bind Him as if with an adulterous embrace, but He left the veil of the letter over her eyes, and revealed Himself visibly to the nations, who could know the power of His Godhead. Therefore the Apostle Paul said, “To this day, when Moses is read, a veil is over their hearts” (2 Cor. 3:15), because the adulterous woman held on to her garment, and let him go naked whom she had badly held. He who came out of the synagogue and appeared visibly to the faith of the Gentiles, came out of his mother’s womb naked. But did He leave her altogether? And how are we to understand what the prophet said, “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved” (Is. 10:22; Rom. 9:27)? Or, “Until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25)? There will be a time when He will appear visibly even in the synagogue. At the end of the world there will undoubtedly be a time when He will become known as God to the remnant of His people. Therefore it is said, “Naked, I will return thither.” Naked is returned to the womb of his mother, when at the end of this world He who during his earthly life was despised as a man, will appear as God before the nations in the eyes of the synagogue.

The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it was done: blessed be the name of the Lord

Our Redeemer, as true God, together with the Father gives all things; and as true man, receives from the Father as all things. He could say of Judea, when she believed in the mystery of His coming incarnation: “God gave.” And He could say of Judea, when she despised the presence of His expected incarnation: “God has taken away.” There is a giving, certainly, when through some she believed in the future; but having cast out the Savior, she is deservedly given over to her blindness, since she disdained to honor what some believed.

He taught those who believed in Him to bless the Lord when they were in sorrow: “As it seemed good to the Lord, so it was done: blessed be the name of the Lord.” This is confirmed by the Gospel (Matt. 26:26), where it is said that when the sufferings drew near, He, taking bread, gave thanks. Thus, He gave thanks Who was subjected to another’s injustice. And He Who, having no guilt worthy of punishment, when beaten, humbly blessed, clearly shows what everyone should do who is under the blows of his own guilt, and when He Himself calmly bears the blows of another’s guilt, He shows what one who is subjected to punishment should do.

Moral meaning

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return

As if the soul, caught in temptation and weakness, said: “Naked grace through faith gave birth to me before, naked shall the same grace save me at my departure.” There is great consolation for the tempted soul, when, under the attack of vices, it sees itself as if stripped of virtues, and has recourse to the sole hope of mercy; and thereby does not allow itself to be stripped, because it humbly considers itself stripped of virtues. So that if anyone in temptation is stripped of some virtue, but acknowledges his own weakness, then he is only better clothed by humility itself; and he lies much more firmly than he stood before, who does not ascribe to himself anything of what he has, forgetting about divine help. Therefore he humbly acknowledges the hand of the Comforter and Judge, saying:

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away

Thus grows the one who has been taught by temptations, who recognizes the generosity of the Giver in the grace received, and in the deprivation of strength, the power of the Taker. But this spiritual strength does not disappear completely, but is weakened by temptation; the troubled soul trembles, thinking that it has been deprived of it, and thanks to this, having forever humbled itself, it never loses it.

As it pleased the Lord, so it happened: blessed be the name of the Lord

From the fact that we are troubled by internal temptation, it follows that we must have recourse to the justice of the Creator; and precisely for this reason our heart will give greater praise to its Helper, because after temptation it more surely recognizes the impotence of its weakness. [Morals on the Book of Job]

By St. Philaret (Drozdov)

and he said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

In misfortune, Job gives us an example of humility and patience in enduring the most severe sufferings. Having lost his property, having been deprived of his children (Job 1:19), insulted by the reproaches of those who should most share in the sorrows (Job 22:5), he does not reveal impatience in a single word.

[Selected passages from the Sacred History of the Old and New Testaments with edifying reflections]

By Rev. Macarius the Great

and said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

And if you wish to learn the truth of perfect love for the Lord from the holy, God-inspired Scriptures; then look how Job stripped himself, so to speak, of everything he had – children, property, cattle, slaves and other possessions, and how he, having stripped himself of everything, fled and saved himself, even leaving his very tunic and throwing it to Satan, not uttering a word of blasphemy, nor murmuring before the Lord with his heart or lips, but on the contrary, blessing the Lord, saying: “The Lord gave, the Lord took away: as it pleased the Lord, so it was: blessed be the name of the Lord.” He was considered to have acquired much, but when the Lord tested him, it turned out that Job had acquired nothing except the one God.

[Collection of manuscripts of type II. Conversation 5]

By Venerable Anastasius of Sinai

and said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

No one who has acquired wealth through [robbery] in war, bloodshed, theft, perjury, plunder, and through [other] untruths can say that he has been enriched by God, but [such wealth] is from the evil one. Only those who have acquired [wealth] from righteous and sinless income can say with Job: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.” [Questions and Answers]

By Blessed Augustine

and he said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

Verse 20-21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Those who had lost their earthly riches in the desolation [of Rome], if they had had them as [the apostle] teaches, who himself is poor outwardly, but rich within, – in other words, if they had enjoyed the world as if they did not enjoy it – could have said, like Job, who had been sorely afflicted, but not broken: Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Like the good servant, Job esteemed the will of the Lord as his greatest possession, and by following it he enriched his soul; he was not saddened by the parting with wealth while still alive, which he would soon have to leave behind when he died. But weak souls, although it cannot be said of them that they place earthly riches above Christ, are nevertheless drawn to them with a certain passion: having lost them, they learned how much they sinned in loving them. And their sorrows are from themselves, as in the words of the apostle quoted above: the love of money is a root of all evil: to which some, while they coveted it, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10). It was necessary that those who had rejected the instructions of the word for so long should learn this by experience. For when the apostle says: But they that will be rich fall into temptation (1 Tim. 6:9) and further, he does not reproach the possession of riches, but the desire for them. In another place he says: Charge those who are rich in this present world not to be high-minded, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who richly gives us all things to enjoy; that they do good, be rich in good works, be generous and willing to share, laying up for themselves treasure, a good foundation against the future, that they may lay hold on eternal life (1 Tim. 6:17-19). Those who did this with their wealth were consoled for their small losses by great gains, enjoying them much more than those with whom they easily parted, than if they had grieved over the loss of what they were afraid to lose. For only that could be lost on earth which it would be shameful to take with you. Our Lord teaches: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:19-21). Those who listened to this instruction in the time of trial showed how rightly they were instructed not to reject the most faithful Teacher and the most reliable and powerful Guardian of their riches. After all, if many rejoiced that their riches were in a place that the enemy did not discover, then how much greater was the joy of those who, according to God’s instruction, went with their riches to a place where no enemy can enter! [About the city of God]

By Lopukhin A.P.

and he said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

Verse 20-22 Then Job arose and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell to the ground and worshipped, and said, Naked came I from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away: blessed be the name of the LORD! In all this Job did not sin, nor did he utter anything foolish concerning God. Having patiently endured the loss of his property, Job could not help but express deep emotion (“he arose,” cf. Jonah 3:6) and sorrow (“he tore his clothes,” cf. 2 Sam. 1:11, 3:31; “he shaved his head,” cf. Isaiah 15:2-3) at the news of the death of his children. But it not only does not turn into despair and murmuring, but is united with deep submission to the will of God, expressed both in action (“bowed down”) and in the words: “naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return” there (shammah). Having nothing, Job is ready to return “there”, i.e., according to the context, “to the womb of the mother”, not the mother in the literal sense (Jonah 3:4), but to the depths of mother earth. She is called “mother” (Sir. 40:1), as the beginning, the all-producing, the giving birth, even to man in view of his creation from the earth. In accordance with this, the Hebrew word “eretz” (land) is feminine, and individual countries, lands, bear feminine names: Palestine is the name of the “virgin of Israel” (Amos 5:2), Phoenicia – “the virgin, the daughter of Sidon” (Isaiah 23:12), Idumea – “the daughter of Edom” (Lam. 4:21), Chaldea – “the virgin, the daughter of Babylon” (Isaiah 47:1, 5), etc. The source of Job’s humility and patience is the awareness that He Who gave him all the blessings is also free to take them away (v. 21). [Explanatory Bible]