Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network – Biblical Studies
Episode: Barry G. Webb, "Job: Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary" (Lexham Academic, 2023)
Date: January 10, 2026
Host: Michael Morales
Guest: Barry G. Webb, Senior Research Fellow Emeritus in Old Testament, Moore Theological College, Australia

Episode Overview

This episode explores Barry G. Webb’s new commentary on the Book of Job, as part of Lexham Academic’s Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary series. Webb discusses his approach to Job’s complex themes—creation, wisdom, undeserved suffering, justice, and God's character—highlighting the book’s unique contribution to biblical theology and its resonance for Christian living today. Personal insights, preaching strategies, and reflections on suffering, both Job’s and Webb’s own, are central.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Barry Webb’s Background and Motivation

• Introduction to Barry Webb and his career:
  • Married, three children, six grandchildren
  • Thirty years teaching Old Testament at Moore Theological College
• How he came to write on Job:
  • “I have never published anything on the Book of Job apart from this book, but been thinking about it for a long time.” (02:36)
  • Commissioned about a decade ago to write the commentary

2. The Main Message of Job

• Central Message:
  • “Be wise. Don't let undeserved suffering turn you against God as Satan hopes it will. There are good reasons to believe God is sovereign, merciful and just. And the outcome if you endure will be vindication and blessing.” (03:50, Barry Webb)
• Christian Preacher’s Challenge:
  • Frame Job’s message within the context of the Christian gospel while letting the book “speak with its own voice.” (04:34)

3. Writing Process and Personal Struggles

• Duration:
  • About ten years, “on and off while I was doing lots of other things.” (04:59)
• Personal health challenge:
  • Diagnosis of aggressive blood cancer shortly after beginning the commentary
  • “As I was writing on Job, I was going through a difficult period of my life.” (05:15)
• Challenge of Job’s complexity:
  • “It's very hard to reduce it to a single theme. And I guess the complexity of it was the main challenge to me.” (06:08)

4. Preaching Through the Book of Job

• Sermon Series Structure:
  • Seven to ten sermons; people “start to weary of it after that” (07:19)
  • Job is structured for sampling major sections rather than exhaustive, linear exegesis
• Key suggested sermons:
  • Chapters 1–2: Introduction and Job’s opening situation
  • Job’s speech: His initial response (08:10)
  • The three friends: Highlighting main arguments and Job’s replies
  • Chapter 28: A poem on wisdom, critical turning point (08:55)
  • God’s speeches & Job’s repentance: Job’s response to God and restoration
  • Job’s final blessedness (11:29)
• Expository versus topical preaching:
  • Job suits a thematic approach, but the “journey” with Job is important
  • “I'd like people to journey with Job and experience the struggle that he goes through.” (11:51)
  • Key themes include God, creation, repentance, divine justice, redemption, mediation, Satan, suffering, and comfort.

5. Relating Job to Christian Theology

• Job in the New Testament:
  • James 5:11 references Job’s endurance (12:12)
• Suffering Without Answers:
  • “The Book of Job is about undeserved suffering. … When God seems silent, how do you remain wise in those circumstances?” (12:44)
• Job’s Friends vs. Job’s Approach:
  • Friends talk about God; Job talks to God
  • “Job knows in the end, if there is an answer, it's got to come from God … and eventually God answers him, but he doesn't answer him in the way Job was demanding.” (14:05)
• Vindication and Endurance:
  • “By his endurance, [Job] proves that Satan is a liar. And he brings glory to God in Job's own suffering as a battleground between good and evil…” (16:29)
  • Job’s suffering isn’t redemptive like Christ’s, but his endurance is a “real and significant” victory over Satan
• Parallel to Christian Experience:
  • “Every time we endure for Christ, we continue to look to him, despite what our friends say, what Satan whispers in our ears, that's a victory over Satan. … We are sharing in Christ’s victory over Satan.” (17:20)

6. Reflections on Future Projects

• Other Writing Projects:
  • Began a commentary on Deuteronomy but had to stop due to health (18:27)
  • Job commentary likely his final major work

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the message of Job (03:50):
  • “Be wise. Don't let undeserved suffering turn you against God as Satan hopes it will. There are good reasons to believe God is sovereign, merciful and just. And the outcome if you endure will be vindication and blessing.”
• On friends and suffering (12:44):
  • “The difference between Job and his friends is … the friends talk about God, but Job keeps talking to God.”
• On enduring faith (16:29–17:20):
  • “By his endurance, [Job] proves that Satan is a liar. … Every time we endure for Christ, we continue to look to him, despite what our friends say, what Satan whispers in our ears, that's a victory over Satan.”
• On preaching Job (07:19–11:51):
  • “I’d like people to journey with Job and experience the struggle that he goes through.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:36] – How Webb came to write on Job
• [03:38] – The main message of the Book of Job
• [04:59] – Writing process and personal struggles
• [07:15] – Preaching through Job: suggested series structure
• [12:12] – Relating Job to the New Testament and Christian Theology
• [16:29] – The enduring faith of Job as spiritual victory
• [18:27] – Reflections on future writing projects

Tone and Language

The episode maintains a thoughtful, reflective, and deeply pastoral tone. Webb offers practical wisdom for preachers and students, while drawing both from his scholarly expertise and his personal journey of suffering and faith—mirroring the themes of Job itself. The conversation is collegial, respectful, and honest about the book’s challenges, both theological and existential.

For anyone interested in biblical studies, preaching, or grappling with the problem of suffering, this episode offers profound insight, encouragement, and practical counsel through the lens of one of the Bible’s deepest books.