Job 1:21 (KJV)

What does Job 1:21 mean?

Job 1:21 describes Job’s response to devastating losses. He recognizes that he entered life without possessions and will leave without them. He speaks of the LORD as the one who gave and took away, and he praises the LORD’s name.

Job speaks after receiving news that his possessions and children have been lost. His words about returning naked picture death as a departure from the world with nothing. “Return thither” uses the image of his mother’s womb to describe the place from which his life began.

The Hebrew behind Job 1:21

• “LORD” — יְהוָה (YHWH): This is God’s personal name in Hebrew. The KJV’s capital letters distinguish this name from the ordinary title “Lord.”
• “blessed” — בָּרַךְ (barakh): This word can mean to bless or praise. Here Job uses it in speaking honorably of the LORD’s name.
• “name” — שֵׁם (shem): This means a name, but it can also stand for the person who bears it. Job’s blessing of the LORD’s name is an expression of praise directed to the LORD.

Why Job 1:21 matters

• Job’s words come alongside visible grief, not in place of it. Just before speaking, he tears his clothing and shaves his head, actions that express mourning.
• Job speaks of both giving and taking in relation to the LORD. His statement addresses the losses in terms of his relationship with God, even though the preceding story has also described attacks carried out by the adversary.
• The next verse describes Job’s response favorably: “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” That comment tells the reader how the narrator regards Job’s words at this point in the story.