Job 1:3 (ASV)

Passage

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

Nearby Context

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil.

Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

Job 1:4 And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "substance", "seven", "thousand", "three", "camels", and "five". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "substance", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And there were born unto him seven..." into verse 4's "And his sons went and held a...", so "sheep" and "substance" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "substance" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.