Job's Daughters

The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

Job 42:14-15

The fascinating thing about this account is that the whole Scripture seems to focus now on the daughters of Job instead of the sons. In chapter 1 it was the sons who were in the forefront. They had a birthday party every year, and they invited their sisters to come and share with them, but here, at the end of the book, it is the daughters of Job. Being the father of four beautiful daughters myself, I know how Job must have felt about them. He was proud of these daughters. In fact, he gave them an inheritance among their brothers, which was unheard of in the culture of that day.

For anyone who is deciding on a name for a baby girl, here are some excellent suggestions: Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch. The names are significant, and here are their meanings:

• Jemimah means dove. Throughout the Scriptures, and even in our culture today, the dove is the symbol of peace.

• Keziah is another spelling of the word cassia, and, you recall, when the wise men brought their gifts to the infant Jesus, they brought gifts of cassia, aloes, and myrrh, all of which were fragrances and incenses that were expensive, rare, and beautiful. Cassia, therefore, is incense or a fragrance. That is the symbolism behind the name.

• Keren-Happuch literally means the horn of adornment and is a reference, therefore, to the outward beauty that comes from an inward character.

Daughters who represent peace, fragrance, and beauty are the fruits of Job's trials. Surely, as the text says, there were none so fair in all the land as these. The New Testament, in Romans 5, tells us that suffering produces fruit for all those who persevere as the evidence of God's love. Suffering, Paul says, produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4). Character produces hope, hope that you are becoming the kind of person you want to be, and hope does not disappoint us, Paul says (Romans 5:5). It leaves us confident and sure of our God and of the power and resources of the spiritual life. That is the message we have at the close of this book.

Lord, thank You that out of my own brokenness You bring beauty, peace, and a fragrant life that is pleasing to You.