# the patience of Job

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/the-patience-of-job
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

Extraordinary endurance and calm in the face of prolonged suffering.

## Examples

- Teaching thirty toddlers takes the patience of Job.
- You need the patience of Job to deal with that call centre.
- Nursing her mother through a long illness while holding down two jobs, she showed the patience of Job — and never once let anyone see how tired she was.

## Origin

The phrase comes from the Book of Job, in which a prosperous and blameless man loses his wealth, his children, and his health in quick succession, as a test permitted by God. Through it all Job refuses to curse God, and the popular memory of the book reduced to a single trait: his patience. The book itself is more turbulent than the phrase suggests. Job complains bitterly, demands answers, and argues with God for chapters on end — his patience is a matter of not abandoning his faith, not of suffering in silence. English kept the tidier version. To have the patience of Job is to endure hardship, provocation, or delay with remarkable calm — the phrase reached for when someone puts up with far more than most people could.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.