Job 19:17—How could Job have children here when they were all killed earlier?

Problem: In Job 1:2, 18–19 (cf. 8:4) all of Job’s children were killed in a great windstorm. Yet here he speaks of his breath being “repulsive to the children of my own body.”

Solution: The term “children” can mean “grandchildren” or even his “blood relatives.” With seven sons and three daughters, including their own families (cf. 1:2, 18), Job undoubtedly had many grandchildren. Job lived 140 more years after his sickness (Job 42:16). So, in his long life, he had many years to have many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.