Narrating Conversion in Augustine’s Notes on Job

Abstract

This article explores the themes of repentance and conversion in Augustine’s Notes on Job. Despite its fragmentary and often improvisational character, Augustine’s theological vision in the Notes presents Job as an exemplum of ongoing conversion. Though not portrayed as a sinner, Job undergoes spiritual transformation, embodying the human need for continual repentance and deeper understanding of God. This treatment aligns with Augustine’s depiction of other biblical figures, such as St. Paul and the Prodigal Son, whose stories serve as models of conversion. By closely examining the rhetorical and theological function of Job in the Notes, the article suggests that Augustine’s portrayal was meant to guide readers on the path toward salvation. In doing so, it contributes to a broader understanding of how Augustine constructs conversion narratives within his biblical commentaries.

1. Introduction

Saint Augustine worked on several other projects alongside his Confessions (397–400), the spiritual autobiography that details his conversion to Christianity (Augustine 1997). One example is his Sermon 112A on the parable of the Prodigal Son, which was written approximately at the same time (Bruhat 2009, p. 43). There is also a consensus in scholarship that shortly before the year 400, Augustine wrote marginal comments on the Latin version of the Book of Job, translated by Jerome, which he did not finish. These commentaries were later collected and compiled into a separate book, Notes on Job (Adnotationes ad Iob), by Augustine’s followers (Augustine 2016, p. 617). Because of their desultory nature and a writing style that is often hard to understand—as Augustine himself acknowledged—the Notes are not frequently discussed in scholarship (Augustine 2016, p. 621). Manlio Simonetti and Marco Conti in their Ancient Christian Commentary of Scripture: Job (Simonetti et al. 2006) make a mention of this work, stating that the Notes “are far from being a systematic commentary on the different sections of the biblical text. In fact, they appear to be extremely free treatments of passages from Job, where the biblical text is not oscillated and analyzed but is embedded in each treatment…”; the editors did not include it into their collection of commentaries on the Book of Job (Simonetti et al. 2006, p. xxviii). Acknowledging the fact that the Notes lack a polemical target and often clarity, Kenneth B. Steinhauser, however, notices that typically “Augustinian themes” can be traced throughout the work (Steinhauser 1999, p. 8). Building on Steinhauser’s insights, this article explores more deeply the intertwined themes of repentance and conversion in this lesser-studied text.

The themes of repentance and conversion are also central to Augustine’s Confessions as they are in the Notes on Job, and given that the texts were written almost simultaneously, certain parallels emerge in their treatment of these subjects. The approach this article takes aligns with Lewis Ayres’s vision for the necessity of a broader reassessment of the Confessions’ rhetorical purpose; Ayres welcomes an “increasingly sophisticated analysis of Augustine’s ‘communicative purpose’ of the Confessiones, and by growing acceptance that the work is best viewed not as a peculiar form of autobiography, but as a form of protreptic discourse aiming to teach and persuade toward conversion” (Ayres 2009, p. 264). This paper seeks to explore similar interpretive possibilities in Augustine’s Notes on Job. Despite the Notes’ convoluted nature and Augustine’s often “free treatment” of certain passages, his theological vision of Job emerges with surprising clarity. Notably, Augustine does not portray Job as a sinner, which would have aligned neatly with his later anti-Pelagian polemics, as the Notes predate that controversy. Yet Job is not presented as entirely sinless either. I argue that Augustine constructs Job as an exemplum of the human need for repentance and ongoing conversion, positioning him as a relatable and instructive figure for a wide audience. Augustine’s treatment of Job is consistent with his treatment of other notable biblical figures, those of St. Paul and the Prodigal Son, Augustine’s prominent models of conversion, which are also mentioned in the Notes. Through Job, Augustine reaffirms the concept of continual conversion, a spiritual journey toward perfection in the eyes of God. Tracing the characteristically Augustinian themes, those of conversion and repentance, which are central also to the Confessions, allows us to raise the important question about the possible intended communicative purpose of this unfinished work. I propose that the primary question Augustine raises through the image of Job is how this figure can assist in the journey toward salvation. Accordingly, it is plausible to argue that at least one of the intended purposes of the Notes, much like the communicative aim of the Confessions and other uses of biblical exemplars, was to guide readers toward conversion.

Subjects related to conversion and repentance emerge frequently in Augustine’s Notes on Job. Though these themes are well-known and well-studied in Confessions, Augustine’s choice to focus on them while commenting on the Book of Job is unexpected, as Job was considered a model of a righteous man in early Medieval commentaries (see Steinhauser 2001). In the Notes, Augustine does present the image of Job as a righteous man, yet the strong presence of the mentioned themes in his commentary deserves further attention. It is possible that Augustine wrote the Notes in preparation for completing a book with a very specific polemical intention—to defend his doctrine of the necessity of divine grace for salvation that he developed earlier; the vision of Job, a righteous man of the Old Testament, who nonetheless is in need of repentance and God’s grace would allow him to make a claim that everyone is in need of it to be saved. However, the Notes cannot be reduced to a mere exercise in finding the supporting argumentation; first and foremost, they reveal Augustine’s understanding of the Old Testament text and the lessons that can be drawn from it for exegetical purposes. This article, therefore, explores how Augustine constructs a compelling narrative of conversion in his interpretation of the biblical story of Job, presenting the figure as a model for imitation.

To deepen our understanding of Augustine’s engagement with the Book of Job, we will briefly examine his later works that address this subject as well as the historical and theoretical dimensions of writing a conversion narrative. Particular attention will be given to Augustine’s use of exempla in his other writings, especially the Confessions, in order to explore how he constructs and communicates the concept of conversion through model figures. By examining such examples as St. Paul and St. Antony, we will gain further insight into the function of exempla in shaping narratives intended for a broad audience. We will closely analyze the figure of Job in the Notes, considering how Augustine uses this image to articulate his evolving understanding of repentance and conversion, and how Job becomes a vehicle for expressing the transformative journey toward God. We will also draw some parallels between the development of the concepts of repentance and conversion in the Notes and the Confessions, as these themes emerge as central to Augustine’s theological and narrative concerns.

Due to the convoluted nature of the Notes on Job, it is much more common in scholarship to give greater consideration to Augustine’s later works that contain some coherent interpretations of the book, dated approximately 411–420, and these are most often looked at in light of the Pelagian controversy (see Steinhauser 2001). For Pelagius, as for his follower Julian of Eclanum, the image of Job signifies a blameless man who achieved righteousness without the help of God. Augustine’s later anti-Pelagian writings refute the idea and postulate the necessity of divine grace for salvation; they mention Job and contain some reflections on the book but neither engage with the text exclusively nor at length. A detailed discussion of the Book of Job, Steinhauser believes, may have weakened Augustine’s position with regard to Pelagians because, to defend his view that one cannot save oneself without the grace of God, Augustine would have “to make Job a sinner.” Steinhauser believes that Augustine was unwilling to do so and dealt with the Book of Job “reluctantly and begrudgingly and only because he had to respond to the attacks of his adversaries” (Steinhauser 2001, p. 305). These comments are particularly relevant to Augustine’s later works that mention Job; they may also point to the reason why Augustine never developed the Notes into a coherent book later in life. However, the Notes, as they were written before 400, predate the polemical exchange with Pelagians, and Augustine was under no pressure to prepare a response in his Notes. They contain important speculations on the text of the Book of Job, as well as thoughts on the meaning of repentance and conversion, among other themes. In this sense, the Notes present an attempt to make sense of the story of Job, as some scholars have also noted (see Kerr 2009).

2. Augustine’s Exempla of Conversion

When considering the themes of conversion and exemplarity in Augustine’s Notes on Job, the context surrounding his Confessions, the story of Augustine’s own conversion, offers a helpful insight into an existing tradition of such narratives in the author’s time. Augustine employs multiple figures to narrate his own conversion in Confessions; he uses them as examples to illustrate both the meaning of conversion and to encourage others to convert. In his classic biography of St. Augustine, Peter Brown notes that a century prior to Augustine’s writing of Confessions, the Christian autobiography was dominated by the narratives of martyrdom, and the tradition of the autobiography of soul-searching belonged to pagan philosophers (Brown 1969, p. 152). As the Church established itself in Roman society, Augustine’s text focused not on the examples of death as previous Christian writings had but on those of life, specifically, new life and the “rebirth” brought about through conversion. Augustine’s Confessions is both innovative and rooted in tradition: he crafts a Christian narrative using his rhetorical training while drawing on biblical conversion stories. Considering the theological perspective of this narrative, Louis Mackey writes that “The story of [Augustine’s] life would not be worth telling if it could not be presented as an exemplum of salvation history. As such, it is invested with all the momentous authority of its divinely inspired original” (Mackey 1998, p. 52). To build this authority and present the story as an “exemplum of salvation history” for all, Confessions alludes to other conversion narratives from the Bible and lives of saints, notably those of St. Paul, St. Anthony, and the Prodigal Son. Augustine’s use of biblical conversion stories as meaningful examples or to frame his own narrative of conversion in his Confessions is especially relevant to this study as he also devotes considerable attention to this theme in his Notes on Job and, we argue, sees Job’s story as an important conversion example. Wilhelm Geerlings observes that “Role models—as his own conversion story shows—deeply impressed [Augustine], and he was himself quite aware of the exemplary impact he had on his friends and contemporaries […]” (Geerlings 1978, p. 169)1. Augustine’s rhetorical strategy of engaging with exempla reflects his interaction with the longstanding pagan tradition, which he adapts to more effectively communicate a theological message about the nature and meaning of conversion. Augustine’s appreciation for role models underscores how significantly his own spiritual journey was molded by the inspiring presence of faithful exemplars.

It is well established that the rhetorical schools in which Augustine studied and later taught emphasized imitation as one of the central pedagogical methods. Aspiring orators were trained to master their craft by emulating exemplary models, including prominent historical figures and using historical examples to illustrate key philosophical and moral principles. Adam Ployd offers a compelling illustration of Augustine’s intentional use of exempla, emphasizing how Augustine presented martyrs as potent cultural symbols for early Christians. Ployd defines exempla as “rhetorically constructed models drawn from history—real or fictional—and presented to one’s audience as positive or negative examples that inspire imitation or its opposite” (Ployd 2023, p. 34). According to Ployd, Christians of the time, living in an era of imperial favor, faced the challenge of how to model their lives after those who had been martyred under imperial oppression. Augustine responds by shifting the emphasis from the martyrs’ earthly suffering to their ongoing spiritual significance. Ployd writes:

In Serm. 335D, Augustine tells his congregation not to worry because, though persecutions have ceased, temptations never will. This move, we can now see, is more than a spiritualization of the martyrs’ struggle. It is a reinterpretation of the arc of history that highlights the common struggle of any Christian in any time period and circumstance.

(Ployd 2020, p. 8)

Through this use of exempla, Augustine underscores a shared spiritual continuity across time, emphasizing the unity of all Christians, a theme that recurs in many of his examples. This reinterpretation also functions as a rhetorical strategy that makes the martyr’s example relevant and actionable for believers in a dramatically different historical context.

Deeply shaped by the classical rhetorical tradition, Augustine consistently employed mimesis, or imitation, throughout his works as a vital tool for understanding and expressing the principles of the Christian faith, thereby reshaping classical rhetoric to serve the purposes of Christianity. Karl F. Morrison highlights the significance of mimesis in Augustine’s interpretation of history, particularly sacred history. He traces the roots of this intellectual tool in Augustine’s thought, noting:

Augustine’s doctrines of mimesis ultimately derived from two predecessors, Plato and the Apostle Paul. From Plato, through intermediaries, he received the metaphysical conception of two worlds, intellectual and physical, the world of eternal Forms and the actual world around him that drew its shape and meaning from the Forms. This distinction led Plato to teach the separateness and opposition of soul and body […]. When Augustine turned to Paul, he also found that the drama of human existence took place in the mind and centered on conflict between soul and body.

(Morrison 1980, p. 279)

Plato’s dualism, asserting a fundamental soul–body divide, finds a parallel in Paul’s portrayal, adopted by Augustine, of the human condition as an inner conflict between the soul and body. There is a significant difference, however, in St. Paul’s doctrine, which maintains that salvation involves not only the soul’s purification but also the resurrection of the body. This deliverance occurred through a form of mimesis “that was sacramental as well as spiritual—the imitation of Christ by being crucified to the world, and by submitting to baptism, the ritual through which Christians, having been “planted” together in the likeness of Christ’s death, were to be raised also in the likeness of His resurrection (Morrison 1980, p. 279). Morrison believes that Augustine’s doctrine of mimesis centers on the believer’s goal to imitate Christ and, in unity with others, constitute Christ’s Church. Imitation holds particular significance for Augustine, who highlights figures that emulate Christ and presents them as models for others to follow.

Among these figures, St. Paul’s prominent presence in Augustine’s works, especially in the Confessions, has been noted by scholars. Paula Fredriksen states that “[Augustine] self-consciously presents his personal history as the model for his theology in the Confessions, and interprets his personal history in light of Paul’s […] (Fredriksen 1986, p. 24). Fredriksen argues that Augustine conveys his theological ideas through his own conversion narrative, seeing in St. Paul, whom she calls a “prototype of the sinner saved despite himself because God so willed,” a pattern that Augustine both recognized and used to describe his own life journey (Fredriksen 1986, p. 26). St. Paul’s conversion narrative, therefore, serves in Confessions as both the interpretive key to Augustine’s own story and a guiding model for the narrative he constructs, Fredriksen insists.

In his 2008 study Inner Grace: Augustine in the Traditions of Plato and Paul, Phillip Cary also emphasizes the influence and exemplarity of St. Paul for Augustine. He interprets Augustine’s conversion through the lens of St. Paul’s influence, particularly in the pivotal moment in Book VIII when Augustine reads from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans in the Milanese Garden. Cary explains that Augustine understands the phrase “put on Christ” as a call to baptism and calls it “conversion in the ancient ecclesial sense of turning away from all other religious affiliations and being fully incorporated into the Catholic church” (Cary 2008, p. 65). Commenting on Augustine’s later work On the Predestination of the Saints, Cary clarifies the parallel between the conversion narratives of Paul and Augustine:

So when Augustine compares Paul’s “conversion” to his own, he is not comparing the Damascus Road episode to the experience narrated in Confessions 8. Rather, he is talking about an inward turning of the will that may take years (as in his case) or only a moment (as in Paul’s). His focus is on this change of will (what he calls conversion), not on a particular episode, experience, or process in which the change takes place (what we tend to mean by conversion).

(Cary 2008, p. 105)

Cary explains that the similarities between the two conversion experiences, Paul’s dramatic encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, marked by a loss of sight, and Augustine’s response to the mysterious child’s voice urging him to read Scripture, go beyond any formal features. The deeper parallel lies in the spiritual transformation each undergoes: both men experience a profound change in will and are ready to become members of the Church through baptism, to follow God and dedicate their lives to His service.

The image of the Prodigal Son plays a prominent role in Confessions, serving as a powerful model for Augustine’s narrative of conversion and return to God. Catherine Conybeare argues that, for Augustine, “the motif of turning (back) is integral to the idea of conversion”:

The story of the son who leaves home and father and squanders his inheritance and then finally, in desperation, turns back and receives an abundant, loving welcome that he knows he does not deserve: how richly this foreshadows Augustine’s relationship with God. No wonder Augustine plays repeatedly and vividly with the concepts of turning and return.

(Conybeare 2016, p. 24)

Augustine invokes the image of the Prodigal Son repeatedly throughout Confessions, structuring his own story of spiritual estrangement and return around this deeply resonant biblical narrative.

Exemplarity in Augustine’s works is also addressed by Lewis Ayres, who notes that “interpreters of Book 8 of Augustine’s Confessiones still find it difficult to see the extent to which this most famous of conversions is presented to the reader as an act of imitation” (Ayres 2009, p. 263). The scholar argues for the importance of “the internalization of exempla” in Confessions, the use of which, Ayres maintains, helps to understanding Augustine’s theology of conversion and the communicative purposes of his book that is to guide people towards conversion (Ayres 2009, p. 263). In analyzing the conversion scene in Book VIII of Confessions, the scholar highlights the importance of the story of St. Antony’s conversion. This story, narrated to Augustine by Ponticianus, sets the stage for his own experience. Just as St. Antony, upon hearing the Gospel, interprets its message as a personal call to action, Augustine likewise receives the passage he reads from St. Paul’s Letters as a divine directive, prompting his decisive turn toward faith. For Ayres, Augustine’s use of this and other examples demonstrates his adaptation of the traditional rhetorical device of exampla “to show how God draws toward conversion […]” (Ayres 2009, p. 281). Ayres also maintains that Augustine “adapts Roman exempla-traditions by arguing that all true exempla follow an identical plot, a plot paradigmatically found in Christ’s own descent and ascent, and a plot which seems to be woven into the very temporal structure of the created order” (Ayres 2009, p. 265). The example of St. Antony differs from that of St. Paul, as the scripture St. Antony hears calls him to monastic life and the wholehearted embrace of his vocation. These diverse examples, however, are unified through the figure of Christ. Ayres argues that Augustine reworks the Roman exempla tradition by claiming that all genuine examples share a single, unified narrative structure that is modeled on the story of Christ. Similarly, Wilhelm Geerlings summarized Augustine’s use of examples, stating, “[…] the Christian life is essentially nothing other than the imitation of [Christ’s] example, as [Augustine] can say following the mentioned theological principle in De Trinitate 7.3.5: ‘Cuius imaginis exemplo et nos non discedamus a Deo’ (‘By the example of whose image, may we too not depart from God’)” (Geerlings 1978, p. 169)2. The aim of the exempla device that Augustine uses is thus to guide his audience towards conversion to Christ, the acceptance of Christianity as the only way to salvation.

The examples Augustine chose to illustrate his conversion reveal much about what conversion meant to him. It is portrayed as a “return” from a sinful state, as in the Parable of the Prodigal Son; a radical spiritual transformation and change in will, exemplified by St. Paul; and the wholehearted embrace of one’s calling, as seen in the life of St. Antony. Together, these examples highlight diverse pathways of imitating Christ and drawing closer to God. With regard to Confessions, Catherine Conybeare observes that “Augustine illustrates that neither conversion nor baptism is an ending, but a beginning of a lifelong emotional, intellectual, and spiritual engagement: that is why the repose with which the Confessions closes is firmly in the future,” a reading that sees conversion as an ongoing process (Conybeare 2016, p. 26).

Augustine’s Notes on Job, though unfinished and convoluted, present Job as an example who, like other biblical figures that Augustine considers, points toward Christ and embodies a particular vision of conversion. The overarching themes that repeatedly come up in the Notes are the interrelated themes of repentance and conversion, signifying that Job embodies these traits even though the existing interpretations at the time portray him as a righteous man. Just as Augustine reinterprets his own life in the Confessions through the lens of Paul’s conversion and through other examples that are worth imitation, so too does he present Job in the Notes on Job as a figure shaped for theological instruction, a model of continual repentance and the human journey toward God.

3. Confession of Sins in Augustine’s Notes on Job

Despite the complex nature of the Notes, they present a coherent vision of Job. In a lengthy reflection on the episode where Job hears God’s voice from the whirlwind, Augustine offers a clear and focused interpretation of the biblical image of Job:

Who is it who conceals council from me, keeping his speech in his heart, and thinks that he is hiding from me? (38:2). There is no one, therefore, who can say that he suffers something harsh without deserving it, since there is sin at least in words if not in deeds, and, if not in words, at least by some rash presumption within the heart, or in the words of his thoughts. And, because they are not hidden from God, no one who is punished may say that he is receiving the correction undeservedly, as if it would not be, even more, something by which he may profit. For it should be known that, at the beginning of this book, Job was praised to the devil by God’s testimony, and at the end to his three friends, yet in such a way that God was aware of how much was lacking to him for perfection, which is why fatherly punishments serve to guide even men who are praiseworthy by the standard of this life and are already pleasing to God. He did not want to take [these punishments] away from the Apostle, when he said, My grace is sufficient for you, for strength is perfected in weakness (2 Cor 12:9). Gird up your loins like a man (38:3). [This] means that the servants of God suffer hard and bitter things in this world, so that they may gather up all their affections from the flux of earthly pleasures and hold them in check.

(Notes 38:2–3).3

In this interpretation, Job is viewed as a righteous man, as God Himself praised him at the beginning and at the end of the story. Yet even the most righteous of men can and should be perfected by God, who knew “how much was lacking to him for perfection.” Augustine alludes to St. Paul’s experience in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where he talks about praying to God for healing and receiving an answer: “My grace is sufficient for you, for strength is perfected in weakness (2 Cor 12:9).” Augustine interprets this passage from the Corinthians and Job’s situation as God perfecting his loyal servants. Job in Augustine’s reading presents an exemplum of a righteous man who is perfected by God, who repents and is converted. The theme of Job as a righteous man is developed in the Notes through the constant references to repentance, confession, and conversion.

The theme of confession of sins (confessio/confiteri), which signifies repentance as an important step towards conversion, permeates the Notes on Job. As for the very word itself, Georges Folliet discusses three meanings that the Latin word confessio/confiteri may take in the Notes: confession as a synonym for praise, profession of faith, and confession of sins (Folliet 2008). Folliet also notes that these uses of the word are similar to its use in Confessions. For this study, it is the last meaning that is significant. While a picture of a repentant Job may have served a specific purpose in supporting Augustine’s view on divine grace, it also reveals a complex and nuanced understanding of the image of Job. First of all, Augustine presents repentance as a necessary step in the journey of conversion; the two themes of confession of sins and conversion are intertwined in the Notes. Secondly, Augustine sees Job as both prophesying and teaching about repentance, speaking not only of his own need for it but also of the universal necessity of repentance and confession. Furthermore, Augustine presents Job as a model for repentance for all, interpreting Job’s behavior as deeply penitent. Closely related themes, such as the reflection on the dichotomy between God’s greatness and human sinfulness, and the universal need for God’s mercy, are also present in the Notes through Augustine’s interpretation of Job’s words.

In Augustine’s reading, the line between Job’s personal conversion and that of everyman is often fluid, as is the case in his interpretation of passages in chapter 6 of the Book of Job. Here, Job attempts to justify his own right to speak about his misfortunes and comments on the limits of his own strength and the limited time of human life. Augustine interprets the words of Job, 6:10–11:

I shall not spare, for I have not lied; the words of my Lord are holy (6:10), because he [Job] did not say anything other than what he heard from God, that is of one prophesying generally about man, that he needs help in confession [of sin]. For what is my strength that I should bear it (6:11), which signifies his wound. Or what is my time, that my soul should endure it? (6:11), because men is terrified when death is imminent, so that they are converted and confess the foulness of their sins to God. On considering this he [Job] says he is obliged to acknowledge his sins.

(Notes 6:10–11)

In Augustine’s interpretation, confession and conversion are closely linked as essential steps toward salvation. Augustine understands Job’s words as an acknowledgement of his own need for repentance but also prophesying the confession of sins for all. People should embrace confession in light of the limits of their own strength and in the face of the imminence of death. Job prophesies “generally about man,” which means that his words not only bear a very personal meaning to him alone but also gain universal significance. Job “is obliged to acknowledge his sins,” but so is everyone in Augustine’s interpretation. Job further asks, “Is my strength the strength of stones?” (6:12), and Augustine proceeds to interpret: “Those who are not moved to this confession are hard and impervious to the javelins of God’s word” (Notes 6:12). In Augustine’s reading, Job’s words are a call for the righteous and unrighteous to confess their sins. In confessing his own limitations, Job shows that his heart is not like “stones,”; therefore, he is not “impervious” to God’s calling to confession of sins. Job, according to Augustine, is conscious of the human need for God and comes to Him with repentance. Reproaching his comforters, especially Eliphaz who spoke before him, Job asserts, “For not from you do I seek help” (6:25), which Augustine interprets: “for a true man seeks help from God, for he who makes a confession [of sin] is true, from which follows, He who does the truth, comes to the light (Jn 3:21)” (Notes 6:25). Thus, Augustine sees Job as a truthful man who seeks help from God through confession and even in confessing sins, as stated in 6:11. Augustine associates confession of sins with acting truthfully. His further quotation from the Gospel of John about this—“He who does the truth, comes to the light”—can thus be interpreted as “the one who confesses his sins, comes to God or converts.” One finds God through the truth, and the truth can be found in repentance. Job, therefore, teaches about and models confession of sins that leads to conversion and closeness to God.

Similar appeals to the confession of sins as a necessary attribute of finding the truth and of conversion to God appear in Augustine’s interpretations of other chapters of the Book of Job, revealing that in Augustine’s view, Job in the Notes is in need of repentance. In chapter 7, Job reflects on the necessity for him to speak now as there will be no return from the “netherworld”, “For this reason, I too will not restrain my mouth” (7:11), Job states; Augustine’s comment here complements Job’s sentence, “by confessing [my sin] when there is time” (Notes 7:9–11). Job appears to justify his act of speaking, and Augustine sees this justification in the fact that Job is using his time to confess his sins. Further reference to speaking as an act of confessing appears in chapter 10 of the Book of Job: “I shall bring forth words against myself (10:1),” Job states, and Augustine reflects, “These are [the words] of the one who confesses [his sins]” (Notes 10:1). The Book of Job, in Augustine’s interpretation, has much to teach about the importance of repentance, and this aspect is stressed throughout the Notes.

Confession and repentance are naturally among the most prominent themes in Augustine’s Confessions; looking at them alongside the Notes highlights their significance as central themes in Augustine’s theology and rhetorical strategy. Additionally, it is of interest that he employs passages from the Book of Job to talk about his own sinful life and longing for repentance. As Augustine worked on the Notes simultaneously with Confessions, both drew on similar episodes from the Book of Job. This is the case with the following episode 2:8 from the Book of Job. In Book III of Confessions, Augustine uses a metaphor of sickness from this very episode: “My soul’s health was consequently poor. It was covered in sores and flung itself out of door,4 longing to soothe its misery by rubbing against sensible things” (Conf. 3.1.1). Augustine also comments on the same episode from Job in the Notes as follows: “And he took a shard to scrape the puss (2:8). This signifies scraping off the sins of those who confess [their sins] through the Lord’s Passion” (Notes 2:8). In Confessions, Book III, Augustine refers to the “poor health” of the soul and its longing to “rub” itself against “sensible things.” In the Notes, he explains that “scraping” or “rubbing” (Latin: radebat) signifies getting rid of sins through the Lord’s sacrifice. Therefore, this passage in Confessions, when read in light of the Notes’ interpretation, expresses the desire of Augustine’s soul to confess the sins, “scrape” them through confession, and receive absolution through the Passion of Christ. In this example, reading the Notes alongside Confessions allows for a more nuanced understanding of Augustine’s vision of repentance in both works.

Chapter 9 of the Book of Job presents a further opportunity for Augustine to explore the idea of the sinfulness of human nature and the need for repentance and mercy from God; he also uses citations from this chapter in Confessions. In this chapter, Job alternates between glorifying God, exalting His strength and wisdom, and reflecting on the powerlessness of men in relation to God, as well as the guilt even of the righteous before God. The tone of exultation is also naturally present in the opening prayer of Confessions, where, in Verse 6, Augustine repeats a reference to Job 9:14, “I do not argue my case against you” and again exclaims, “No, I do not argue the case with you …” (Conf. 1.1.6).5 In Verse 6 of the opening prayer in Confessions, Augustine asks God to “cleanse his house,” “rebuild” it, and cleanse even “hidden” sins—all these themes are also represented in chapter 9 of the Book of Job. Therefore, Augustine’s invocation of the words of Job from chapter 9 in his own prayer for God’s “cleaning” of sins appears to be a natural choice. In his commentary on chapter 9, Augustine emphasizes the necessity of God’s mercy for the forgiveness of sins and warns against reliance on one’s own sense of righteousness as he comments on Job’s appeal: “But even if I am righteous he [God] will not hearken to me (9:15) when I ask him, presuming on my righteousness, for, when I compare those things to those that are unchangeable and everlasting in his presence, he will not hearken to me, as one who is righteous. Therefore I need his mercy”, and further: “But even if I am righteous, my mouth will speak ungodly things (9:20): if I consider myself righteous” (Notes 9:15, 20). Here, Augustine emphasizes that the concept of human righteousness cannot be compared to things “unchangeable” and “everlasting”, the attributes of God. These themes he also raises in Confessions when asking God to “cleanse [his] house” and reveal the “hidden” sins.

The themes related to the sinfulness of all people are as common in Confessions as in the Notes. In Confessions, Augustine quotes from the Book of Job to address the problem of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of human nature. Exploring this subject, Augustine makes a reference to Job 42:6 three times: in Book I, when talking about his infancy: “Yet allow me to speak, though I am but dust and ashes…” (Conf. 1.6.7); in Book VII, when talking about his searches of truth in the philosophies: “for you [God] have taken pity on us who are earth and ashes…”; and in Book X, where he discusses the motives for confession: “And though in your sight I may despise myself and reckon myself dust and ashes…”.6 All these references are closely connected to Augustine’s discussion of his own sinfulness, even the commentary on his infancy. Augustine considers infants to be guilty of the original sin, as further in the same book, he once again refers to the Book of Job to illustrate this: “Who is there to remind me of the sin of my infancy (for sin there was, no one is free from sin in your [God’s] sight, not even an infant whose span of earthly life is but a single day” (Conf. 1.7.11). The reference here is to Job 14:4–5. Augustine’s engagement with the Book of Job to reflect on his own sinfulness and that of all humanity, including infants, highlights the text’s profound relevance for understanding the necessity of repentance.

In the Notes, Augustine does not provide his interpretation of Job 14:4 (“Who can bring a pure thing out of the impure? There is no one”) but mentions and comments on it later in his writings on the original sin (Notes 14:4). He does provide his reflections on the verse, which immediately follows in the Notes: “For [man’s] months are counted out in your [God’s] presence (14:15). For, because [man] is time-bound, he is convicted of sin, for you [God] have made him eternal” (Notes 4:15). Augustine interprets these words of Job as a reference to the original sin: Job’s reference to the mortality of humans is seen as evidence of all people being affected by the consequence of this sin. The idea of original sin comes up several times also in Confessions, for example, when Augustine refers to 1 Cor 15:22: “I had committed against you, against myself and against other people, evil many and grievous over and above the original sin that binds all of us who die in Adam” (Conf. 5.9.16). In the Notes, Augustine reflects on the sinfulness of all humanity, with Job serving as an example of repentance. The themes of universal human sinfulness and the necessity of confessing sins are closely intertwined with the concept of conversion in both of Augustine’s works.

4. Constructing a Narrative of Conversion with Broader Appeal

According to Colin Kerr, the word “conversion” (conversio) appears approximately 22 times in the Latin version of the Notes on Job; the related themes of “correction” (correptio) and “return” (reditus) are also important (Kerr 2009, p. 33). These themes are also developed in Augustine’s interpretation of the Book of Job in the Notes. Commenting on chapter 10 of the Book of Job, Augustine reflects on the latter concepts:

Put up with me until I rest a little (10:20). […] Put up with me, then, so I can rest in you, before I go into the punishments from which it is not permitted to return (10:21). For from them, which I mentioned previously, it is permitted to return, if a man trusts in God. But he wants to rest before he goes into eternal punishments for this purpose, that in fact he not go. It is as if we were to say to someone, “Correct yourself before you are condemned”; for, when he corrects himself, he will not be condemned.

(Notes 10:20–21).7

Augustine’s interpretation of the verses clearly shows the theme of “returning” to God by “correcting” one’s wrongdoings as aspects necessary for conversion and pardoning of sins. In his vision, God also corrects sinners for their own good. The theme of “fatherly correction” is also prominent in Augustine’s already quoted commentary on verse 38:2: “… And because [sins] are not hidden from God, no one who is punished may say that he is receiving a correction undeservedly, as if it would not be, even more, something by which he can profit” (Notes 38:2). Punishments, therefore, are a form of correction, and the process brings one closer to conversion. Similar ideas on correction are present in Confessions. For example, in Book VI, Augustine speaks about God’s correction when talking about his student Alypius, “Yet I did not correct [Alypius] myself. You [God], make use of us, witting or unwitting, for just purposes, known to you […]”, or when mentioning that one can even be corrected through the works of one’s foes (Conf. 6.7.12; 9.8.18). In both works, Augustine stresses that the purposes of punishments are “just” and for the benefit of people who are thus corrected. Ultimately, it is God who corrects people for their own good, though others may be used for this purpose.

The correction of oneself is further linked to conversion in Augustine’s commentary on the Book of Job: “For I shall not live forever, so that I would bear up patiently (7:16), I have corrected myself by the shortness of life and the fear of death; hence, because he does not die but is damned, the devil is unchangeable” (Notes 7:16). Job is capable of changing himself and therefore of conversion. Job in Augustine’s reading becomes an example of “correcting oneself.” In the final answer of Job to the Lord when he says:

Job answered and said, Why, then, hearing such things, am I judged, having been admonished and rebuked by the Lord, although I am nothing? (40:4). That is why I decree judgment for myself when the Lord admonishes me and accuses me if I contradict Him? Hearing such things, that is, understanding with what great justice and mercy I am being treated in this way, although by myself I am nothing at all.

(Notes 40:4)

Augustine interprets the words of Job here, explaining that Job feels he is treated with great justice and mercy when he heard the voice of God, although he did not deserve such mercy. Here, Augustine sees Job repenting and correcting himself as he submits himself to God’s judgment without relying on his own understanding. Job’s conversion here appears to be associated with understanding God’s mercy and submitting to His vision of justice. Job is able to “correct” himself because, as previously mentioned, “no one who is punished may say that he is receiving the correction undeservedly, as if it would not be, even more, something by which he may profit” (Notes 38:2).

The idea of conversion throughout the Notes is associated with “correction” of oneself that is performed as a response to the fear of God. A similar idea of “cleansing” is further associated with the conversion, which is symbolically presented as a “rebirth”: “And I am cleansed by clean hands (9:30), either by God’s hands or by his own through rebirth” (Notes 9:30). By developing the theme of correction of oneself in his Notes, Augustine emphasizes the universal character of Job’s situation, as Job was in need of such correction and cleansing. Also, since he has acknowledged this need and “has corrected himself,” Job sets an example for all people. Though Job is a righteous man, the Book of Job still contains important insights about the correction of oneself that is necessary for conversion, according to Augustine.

In the Notes, conversion, or the related words symbolizing it, like change or transformation of the soul, are oftentimes mentioned together with the confession of sins, stressing the interconnectedness of the two notions. Examples of this can be found in Augustine’s commentary on chapter 6, where he closely associates one with the other: “For the arrows of the Lord are in my body (6:4): the words of God by which the soul is transfixed when it is brought to a confession of sin”; “Or, what is my time that my soul should endure it? (6:11), because men are terrified when death is imminent, so that they are converted and confess the foulness of their sins to God” (Notes 6:4, 11). The processes of conversion and repentance happen almost simultaneously, as “the soul is transfixed when it is brought to a confession” or conversion can even precede the confession of sins, as in the latter example. In the same chapter, when Job speaks of Eliphaz as a “true man” who speaks “the crocked words,” Augustine places penance and conversion together; he interprets Job’s words, “[Job] calls [Eliphaz] a true man who signifies the person of one who does penance by his conversion to God, whose crocked words they spoke” (Notes 6:25). Conversion in these examples in the Notes is closely linked with the words signifying repentance and is associated with a change in the soul and turning back to God, as those who fear death are “converted and confess the foulness of their sins.”

The conversion experience is further addressed in the commentary to chapter 33 in the Notes on Job, in the words of Elihu the Buzite. Elihu speaks prophetically about God who makes Himself known to a man: “For the Lord speaks once (33:14) […] And his [man’s] body would escape destruction (33:17) […]. And he [God] has spared his soul from death’ (33:18). When he [God] converts him, he spares him” (Notes 33:14, 17, 18). Here, Augustine speaks of “conversion” in the sense of “salvation”; conversion is found in the words of God and comes from God.

Importantly, commenting on the Book of Job, Augustine refers to the image of the Prodigal Son, who is a prominent example of repentance and conversion in Confessions. A reference to the Prodigal Son appears when Augustine comments on Job’s use of the word “a runner” or “a messenger” (Latin: cursor): “But my life is more trifling as a runner (9:25), as if he were speaking of men who are fugitives, fleeing from justice, like the younger son, who set out to a faraway land” (Notes 9:25). Here, “the younger son” is a reference to Luke 15:13, the parable of the Prodigal Son, which tells of a father whose younger son took his part of the inheritance and wondered to a faraway land where he squandered the wealth; repentant, the Prodigal returned to his father’s house to be forgiven and accepted. This reference is significant as the image of the Prodigal Son features as an important example of conversion in Confessions and frames the narrative of Augustine’s own conversion.8 In Confessions, the experiences of conversion and repentance of the Prodigal Son and Augustine himself are elevated to a universal significance, become everyman’s experiences, and so is that of Job in the Notes. The comparison of Job with the figure from the New Testament bridges the boundaries of the Old and New Testaments and reveals that the condition of sinfulness of the Prodigal Son, who leaves his loving father to pursue an ungodly life, is a universal human condition. Similarly, the case of Job is the case of everyman, as all people are in need of repentance and conversion. Through the image of the Prodigal Son, Augustine reinforces the idea of “return” and “coming back” as important elements of conversion. Augustine also mentions important moments from the New Testament when St. Peter is called to follow Jesus and St. Paul is converted in his Notes. As God speaks to Job from the whirlwind, He asks Job, “Will you summon a cloud with your voice (38:34), either with your internal [voice], or with that by which it was said, “Follow me” (Jn 21:19), or with that by which it was said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4)” (Notes 38:34). Here, God speaks to Job, asking about Job’s ability to create things and cause them to be. In his interpretation of this verse, Augustine seems to place a particular emphasis on the word “voice” and highlights that God’s voice is the one who “summons a cloud” and also converts people and calls them to discipleship. Augustine’s interpretation references the verses in which Jesus calls St. Peter in Jn 21:19 and the conversion of St. Paul in Acts 9:4. These references deepen the work’s connection to the New Testament and reinforce the idea that Augustine interprets the story of Job as a narrative of conversion and also as one in which Job’s true calling is revealed. The inclusion of two key conversion accounts, that of St. Paul and the Prodigal Son, in the Notes further underscores conversion as a central lens through which Augustine reads the book.

It is of interest that Augustine uses citations from the Book of Job in Confessions to talk about his own conversion. In Confessions, Augustine uses citations from the Book of Job to talk about his own journey of repentance and conversion. In Book VII, he confesses his sin of pride, using the reference to Job 15:26, as Boulding’s translation indicates: “but because I was rearing up against [God] in my pride, charging head-high against the Lord and crassly presuming my own strength […]” (Conf. 7.7.11). In the Notes, Augustine reflects upon the sin of pride when commenting on the same verse from Job. Considering the words of Eliphaz the Temanite, one of Job’s comforters, Augustine reads Eliphaz’s speech as an accusation of Job in being prideful and proceeds to comment:

And he has rushes insolently against [God] (15:25) by doing the opposite of what [God] commanded. On the thick boss of his shield (15:26): presuming on his own protection. Because he has covered his face with his fat (15:27): by his fat, that is, he hid God from himself by exalting his own pride.

(Notes 15:25–27)

Augustine uses these accusations of Eliphaz against Job to talk about his own pride in the mentioned episode of Confessions, as he mentions “rearing up against [God] in [his] pride” and “presuming [his] own strength.” In Book VIII of Confessions, which is dedicated to Augustine’s conversion experience, as Augustine himself calls it, he uses the citation from Job 28:28, “reverence for God—that is wisdom” (Conf. 8.2.2), with the same quote appearing in Book V when Augustine was looking for wisdom in false teachings. Commenting on the previous verse (28:27) from the Book of Job, Augustine mentions conversion: “In predestination, the Lord saw the way in which those who have undergone trials would be converted” (Notes 28:27). In Confessions, Augustine’s journey to God is marked by his use of citations from the Book of Job; these citations point to his vision of affinity between his own journey to God and that of Job, first and foremost in the necessity of repentance and conversion. His reference in the Notes to the “undergoing of trials” that lead to conversion also resonates with his own experiences as described in Confessions.

References to the Book of Job also appear in the last books of Confessions, where Augustine focuses on his understanding of the world as created by God and ponders on the mysteries of God’s creation rather than on his personal experiences. According to the notes to Boulding’s translation, there are eight references to the Book of Job in the last chapters, six of which can be found in Book X. In this Book, “Looking for God in creatures,” Augustine references Job 28:14, “I questioned the sea and the great deep” (Conf. 10.6.9), and quotes Job 28:25: “We are not […] calculating the distance between stars or the weight of the earth […]” (Conf. 10.16.25). In the Notes, Augustine explains the latter passage, stating that “all things are made by weight, measure, and number, in these the Creator is understood” (Notes 28:25). The Book of Job, and quite possibly, his Notes on it, help Augustine reflect on the created world and the nature of the Creator. The explanation of the passage in the Notes allows for further understanding of the use of the mentioned citations. Augustine reflects on the visible world, the sea creatures, the earth, and the stars, and sees the image of the Creator in the created reality. One more example of the parallel use and explanation of the Book of Job in Confessions and the Notes refers to Job 35:11. In Confessions, Augustine writes, “I will therefore pass beyond memory and try to touch him who marked me out from the four-footed beasts and made me wiser than the birds of the sky; yes, I will pass beyond every memory that I may find you… where?” (Conf. 10.17.26). The reference to Job is in the affirmation of human superiority over beasts and birds. Here, Augustine uses it to reflect on going beyond memory to look for God and asks a rhetorical question about where God can be found. Augustine’s explanation of Job 35:11 in the Notes, though it does not mention memory, still instructs in ways of looking for God: “the Lord is to be sought in the afflictions of this life in such a way that we would not long for earthly goods from him, because, even before we would accept those, we are already better than the beasts” (Notes 35:11). The former statement in Confessions expresses what the speaker is going to do, while the latter one in the Notes explains what should be done to find God, calling everyone to follow, while both of them reflect on God’s gift to people. In both the Confessions and the Notes, references to repentance and conversion are not merely expressions of personal experience; they are presented as exempla intended to instruct and inspire a broader audience.

5. Conclusions

The Book of Job, in Augustine’s interpretation, offers profound insight into the nature of repentance and salvation. In his Notes, Augustine presents Job as a figure who repents and turns more fully to God. Though already righteous, Job “is perfected” through suffering and comes to a deeper understanding of truths about God that were previously beyond his grasp. Reading the Notes on Job alongside Confessions is illuminating, as both works offer profound insight into Augustine’s vision of repentance and the nature of conversion. In the Confessions, Augustine narrates his own journey as a lifelong process of repentance, spiritual growth, and continual return to God. Like the examples of St. Paul, the Prodigal Son, and St. Anthony, all of whom play significant roles in illustrating the concept of conversion in Confessions, Job further expands this understanding in Augustine’s Notes. Even those who are righteous in this life must still repent of their sins and be converted, continually aligning themselves with God’s voice and justice. This idea supports what Conybeare describes as the “continuous” nature of conversion in Augustine’s Confessions, where “Augustine is at pains to show that conversion is not static: it is a continuous process,” and even by the end of his narrative, he still laments his susceptibility to sin (Conybeare 2016, p. 9). Augustine’s unfinished Notes conclude at the moment when Job responds to God, pledging to speak no further and to refrain from questioning divine design. Augustine ends by citing Proverbs 1:33:

And he will be silent without fear of any wickedness (Prv 1:33). So [Job] says rightly that he spoke once, in a kind of continuos seaking, during the whole life of the old man, when there was a spirit that walks and does not return (Psl 78:39). But now, placing a hand on his mouth, so he may not continue, he promises that he will nod add [anything] further, lest he depart from God.

(Notes 40:4)

Augustine describes Job’s earlier state of spiritual weakness as being like “a spirit that walks and does not return”—a reference to human frailty. Because of this inherent weakness, even the righteous require ongoing repentance and conversion. In Augustine’s view, Job is ultimately able to live “without fear of any wickedness” because he gains true understanding through listening to the voice of God.