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Job Frontispiece, Donald Jackson, 2006. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota.

Hand-ground ink and pigments, casein and watercolor, shell gold and gold leaf on gum ammoniac/acrylic medium - calfskin vellum.

Scribes:  poetry, Brian Simpson; text, Susan Leiper.

In this illumination we see a portrayal of Job’s world at the beginning of the narrative.   Reading the depiction from left to right, this world of riches and well-being descends into chaos as messengers announce to Job each misfortune that has befallen him.  The slender bars of gold and silver, meager as they are, represent God’s presence.   
The quotation on the opposite page is Job’s response, “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not receive the bad?”