her. To keep her husband from starving, she cut off her
hair, and purchased bread with it. It was all she had to pay
the price charged by the bread merchant, none other than
Satan himself, who wanted to put her to the test. He said
to her, "Hadst thou not deserved this great misery of thine,
it had not come upon thee." This speech was more than
the poor woman could bear. Then it was that she came to
her husband, and amid tears and groans urged him to renounce
God and die. Job, however, was not perturbed by
her words, because he divined at once that Satan stood behind
his wife, and seduced her to speak thus. Turning to
the tempter, he said: "Why dost thou not meet me frankly?
Give up thy underhand ways, thou wretch." Thereupon
Satan appeared before Job, admitted that he had been vanquished,
and went away abashed.[29]