“For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?”
For what then is the portion of God from above, and the inheritance of the Almighty from the heights, establishing the theological foundation for Job's moral commitments: the recognition that God's judgment will determine ultimate distribution of reward and punishment. The question form suggests Job appealing to the assumption that God does maintain moral order. The references to portion and inheritance suggest that God determines who receives blessing and who receives condemnation. The verse establishes that Job's morality is grounded in expectation of divine judgment.
Church Fathers on Job 31:2
For what portion would God have in me from above, and what inheritance would the Almighty have from on high? As though he said in plain words; ‘If I defile, my mind in thought, I can never be the ‘inheritance’ of Him, Who is the Author of purity.’ For the rest are no good things at all, if to the eyes of the secret Judge they be not approved by the testimony of chastity. For all the virtues lift themselves up in the sight of the Creator by reciprocal aid, that because one…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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