Job 1:3 (DRB)

Passage

And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.

Nearby Context

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.

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

Job 1:3 And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.

Job 1:4 And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.

Job 1:5 And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early, offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "possession", "seven", "thousand", "three", "camels", and "five". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "possession", 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 to him seven..." into verse 4's "And his sons went and made a...", so "sheep" and "possession" 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 "possession" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.