איוב, פרק ב׳, פסוק ג׳

After a devastating series of tragedies, God addresses the Satan, highlighting Job's unwavering resilience. Despite losing his children and his entire wealth, Job maintains his righteousness, proving that his loyalty to God is completely unconditional. He holds firmly to his integrity and honesty, refusing to question God's ways even after suffering such severe blows [רש"י, מצודת דוד, אלשיך].

God then confronts the Satan, pointing out that the Satan enticed Him into ruining Job without cause [רש"י, מצודת ציון]. This raises a major theological problem: how could God possibly be manipulated into harming an innocent person?

The primary approach among commentators is that the narrative simply borrows human concepts, framing the dialogue like a conversation between a mortal king and his servant [רמב"ן, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. This human-like phrasing is used so that ordinary people can grasp the story, though [אבן עזרא] warns against the mistaken belief that God can actually be manipulated. In truth, the suffering was never the result of divine persuasion, but was designed strictly as a test. Job's ability to withstand this trial proves that he serves God purely out of love, rather than out of a desire for reward or a fear of punishment [רמב"ן, מלבי"ם]. The suffering was inflicted "for nothing"—meaning there was no underlying sin that warranted punishment, only the necessity of the test itself [מצודת דוד]. Furthermore, God knew from the very beginning that Job would remain righteous. He only permitted the Satan to strike Job to expose the initial accusations as completely baseless, not because He had any doubts about Job's character [אלשיך].

Conversely, another perspective finds the idea of God being incited to act unjustly so deeply troubling that the explanation of human language is insufficient. Instead, this approach reads the entire encounter as an allegory. In this view, the Satan is not a literal being who persuaded God, but rather a symbol of the physical world and the forces of nature. These natural, material elements are the actual causes of the loss and tragedy that befall human beings [תקות אנוש].