Servants or Children? Meaning of נְעָרִים in Job 1:19

Abstract

In traditional interpretations, all of Job's children died in the fourth disaster (Job 1:19). However, the narrator does not depict the death of Job's children but rather the loss of his property in Job 1:19 because his servants (נְעָרִים ) are proclaimed dead in this incident. This study discusses the meaning of the word נַעַר, analyses the literary structure of Job 1:13-19 and compares the stories of Job and Abraham. The study reveals that the narrator of the book of Job demonstrates a shift in Job's family from a typical family that fears Yhwh to an ideal family desired by Yhwh.