In the final chapter of the history of Job, following the season of his great trial and the restoration of his fortunes by the hand of the Almighty, we find the name of Keren-happuch. She was the youngest of the three daughters born to Job in his latter days, a child of the restoration and a living testimony to the mercy of God. The scriptures record her name with a sense of beauty and dignity: “And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch” (Job 42:14).
Keren-happuch, whose name signifies a “horn of antimony” or a “container of eye-paint,” was born into a household that had witnessed the extremes of human suffering and the heights of divine vindication. Her name speaks of beauty and adornment, representing a season where the “ashes” of Job’s mourning were replaced by the “beauty” of God’s blessing. She was a daughter of the “Defence of the Truth,” born to a father who had stood firm against the accusations of the adversary and the misunderstandings of men.
The legacy of Keren-happuch and her sisters is marked by a unique and significant departure from the customs of the ancient world. The scriptures emphasize not only their unparalleled beauty but also their standing within the family inheritance. It is written, “And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren” (Job 42:15). This act of physical obedience to a spirit of fairness and love shows that in the house of a man who truly knows God, the “Ancient Paths” of justice extend to all his children.
We look upon the life of Keren-happuch with an admiring eye, seeing in her a symbol of the “latter end” of the righteous, which the scripture says is greater than the beginning. She was a reminder to her father, and to all who saw her, that the King is a restorer of the years that the locust has eaten. Her presence in the sacred text serves as a closing note of grace in the epic of Job, proving that after the whirlwind of testing, there comes a season of peace and a legacy of joy.