Job 42:14

Job 42:14, in plain English

The narrator takes time to name Job's daughters—Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-happuch—the only named daughters in the entire book of Job. Their names have meanings: dove, cassia, and horn of cosmetics.

Why it's here

In a male-centered narrative, naming the daughters is unusual and significant. These names are beautiful and carry suggestions of beauty and care. The writer is telling you these aren't just statistics—they're individuals the author cares enough about to name.

Who's speaking

The narrator

Where it sits in the story

Naming someone means they matter. In ancient literature, when a character gets a name, they become real and memorable. Job's daughters are honored this way, which raises their status and tells you something about how God honors wholeness in Job's restored life.

The scholarly reading

Job names his three daughters with names of poetic and symbolic significance, marking them as individuals with particular identities.

Language and setting

The daughters' names are Jemimah ('dove,' symbolizing innocence and peace), Keziah ('cassia,' an aromatic spice used in sacred anointing), and Keren-happuch ('horn of cosmetics,' signifying beauty and adornment). That the text specifies the daughters' names is itself remarkable in patriarchal literature—the sons remain unnamed while the daughters receive distinctive appellations. Medieval Jewish commentary sometimes interpreted these names symbolically as representing restoration of Job's spiritual faculties. The emphasis on naming suggests that these are not merely biological replacements but genuine persons with distinct identities.

Voice

The narrator, recording Job's naming of his daughters.

Significance

The specific naming of the daughters elevates them beyond typical patriarchal conventions and may prefigure New Testament attitudes toward women's individuality and dignity, though tradition has frequently spiritualized these names rather than attending to their literal significance.

12So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

13And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

14He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch.

15No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.

16After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

Read all of Job 42 — Job sees God and everything changes. Not the answers he wanted, but something better — the presence of the One who holds all answers.