Job

Job is the book the Bible devotes to the hardest question: why do good people suffer? The story begins with an upright, prosperous man who loses, within days, his children, his property and his health. Three friends arrive, sit in silence for seven days — the best thing they do — and then start explaining the suffering with theories the text eventually rejects. Job insists on speaking directly to God, refusing easy answers. When God finally responds, he does not explain the cause: he asks questions about the world, creation and the limits of human knowledge. The book does not solve the problem of suffering, but it refuses two easy exits: blaming the victim and pretending everything is fine.