BI 4215/4315 The Devotional and Wisdom Literature of the...

BI 4215/4315 The Devotional and Wisdom Literature of the OT; Lecture: Theodicy and theBook of Job; Professor: Randall C. Bailey, Ph.D.; Faulkner University, Spring 2010

M. Pope, “Job, Book of,” IDB (1962): 911.1

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I. NAME.

A. English form, “Job” give an inaccurate rendering of Hebrew, bAYa ( îîôb.

1. Based on Greek (Iwb iôb) and Latin (Iob)

2. German, Hiob, somewhat closer

3. The derivation and meaning of the name is uncertain

a. Apparently related to the root bya ’yb, perhaps connected with

“enmity, hostility”

b. The word “enemy” is the active participle of this root

4. Two options have been put forward:

a. “The form of the name (the nominal pattern qattâl > qittôl) is thatusually designating a profession (nomen professionis), or habitualor characteristic activity, such as gannâb, ‘thief’ (professional orhabitual, or gibbôr (gabbâr), ‘powerful man.’ Accordingly, thename would mean something like ‘inveterate foe.’”1

(1) But this form is otherwise unattested

(2) If the word does mean “enemy, foe,” it may have beensymbolic of the hero's reaction to his persecution and hisattitude toward God

b. The opposite sense.

(1) “There is an adjective or noun of this pattern, yillôd, whichhas apparent passival sense, ‘(one) born,’ and accordinglythe name has been interpreted as designating one who is theobject of enmity or persecution; this sense is quiteappropriate for the name of one who is the victim of a cruelwager and experiment on the part of the Lord and `the'


Pope, “Job,” 911.2

Pope, “Job,” 911. See also: J. A. Knudtzon, Die El-Amarna-Tafeln, 2 vols. (Aalen:Otto3

Zeller, 1915; reprint, 1964): 1:815-16, 2:1318-1320; William L. Moran, Les Lettres D’el Amarna(Paris:Les Éditions du Cerf, 1987), 483-485.

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Satan and the target of criticism by his fair weatherfriends.”2

(2) But neither is this passive sense otherwise attested.

B. The name has also been related to the Arabic root 'wb, meaning “return, repent,”thus indicating “the penitent one,” etc.

C. The old notion that the name was created ad hoc to characterize the hero iswithout basis.

1. Execration Texts from Egypt (ca. 2000 BC)–Palestinian chief has name'ayyâbum.

2. Akkadian documents from Mari, Alalakh, and Amarna also have this name

3. “In the Amarna Letter no. 256 the prince of Ashtaroth in Bashan is oneA(y)âb (a-ya-bu). The name has been explained by W. F. Albright asmeaning ‘Where is (my) father?’ similar to the names Ayahammu/halu,‘Where is the Paternal/Maternal Clan?’ The name is perhaps contractedfrom a longer form such as Ayabi-šarri, ‘Where is my Father, O King?’ orAyabi-ilu, ‘Where is my Father, O God?’ The authenticity and theantiquity of the name 'Ayyâb > 'Iyyôb is thus well attested, as is borne by anumber of western Semites in the second millennium B.C.”3

4. Some scholars argue that this fact (i.e., it being an ordinary name) mayhave been the reason for its choice.

5. Others argue that “Job” was a real person who actually experienced thefate described in the book, and, who, thus, became the type and model ofthe righteous sufferer.

6. I adopt the latter.


Samuel Rolles Driver and George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary4

on the Book of Job, ICC (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, n.d.), lxxv.

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II. TEXT AND VERSIONS.

A. The text is in bad shape and resources to reconstruct it are meager

1. Some cases the LXX can be used to reconstruct the MT

a. Most places the Hebrew has to be relied on

b. Many of MT verses missing in the LXX

c. In Origen’s day Greek shorter by 400 lines

d. He supplied these from Theodotion

e. A Coptic translation of the LXX of Job agrees with the pre-Origentext--omits the same verses that Origen added

f. Driver and Gray have listed the number of lines omitted by theLXX in each section.4

MT ABSENT IN LXX

Prologue 1chs. 7-11 6chs. 12-14 17-23chs. 15-21 59chs. 22-31 124chs. 32-37 114chs. 38-42:6 43Epilogue 3

2. Problem is similar to that found in Jeremiah

a. Greek shorter than Hebrew

b. Some scholars, therefore, believe


Pope, “Job,” 912.5

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(1) Shorter Greek represents the earlier text

(2) that Hebrew was expanded

3. Pope denies this, arguing that the ancient translator telescoped passages,much as modern translators do: “It appears that the Greek translator didwhat the modern translator is tempted to do with some of the moredifficult passages of the Hebrew, simply to give up the attempt to translateas futile. In many cases the LXX must be regarded as more of a paraphrasethan a translation, and in some instances the sense of the Greek is farremoved from the Hebrew as to constitute a radical reinterpretation.Theological bias is apparent in many instances in the LXX and especiallyin passages where the sense of the Hebrew is obscured or even radicallyaltered. A flagrant example is the famous text 13:15, where the Masoretesresorted to a simple and convenient device to change the shocking sense ofthe verse, but the LXX translator completely revamped the verse so as toalter entirely the sense and the tone of Job's bitter outcry.”5

a. Job 13:15 Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope:ASV

Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him.

b. Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I willKJV

maintain mine own ways before him.

c. Job 13:15 See, he will kill me; I have no hope; but I will defendNRS

my ways to his face.

d. x;ykiAa wyn"P'-la, yk;r"D>-%a; lxey:a] ÎAlÐ ¿al{À ynIlej.q.yI !he Job WTT

13:15

e. Job 13:15 eva,n me ceirw,shtai o ̀duna,sthj evpei. kai. h=rktai h=BGT

mh.n lalh,sw kai. evle,gxw evnanti,on auvtou/

f. Job 13:15 Though the Mighty One should lay hand upon me,LXE

forasmuch as he has begun, verily I will speak, and plead beforehim.


John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 4.6

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4. Hartley argues that the “more likely explanation is that the Greektranslator abridged the speeches intentionally,” an explanation that is not6

far removed from that of Pope.

B. Other versions no more helpful

1. Peshitta, is sometimes helpful.

2. The Targum offers interesting possibilities that do not help inreconstructing the text

3. The Vulgate was translated by Jerome from the Hebrew text of his day, yetJerome had to admit that difficulties forced him to produce an uneventranslation--sometime literal, sometimes freely

4. Though the MT is corrupt, it remains the primary source and the exegetemust often emend the text to keep from translating nonsense

a. Ugarit has shown many theological words are no longer suspect.

b. Yet it has rendered others suspect

5. With the exception of Hosea, Job is probably the most difficult book of theOT

III. PLACE IN THE CANON.

A. The book belongs to the kìtûbîm, Hagiographa, or Writings

B. Only Theodore of Mopsuestia has questioned its canonicity

C. Its positions among the writings varies.

1. Oldest tradition: Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song ofSongs, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Chronicles

2. Codex Alexandrinus: Psalms, Job, Proverbs.


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3. Cyril of Jerusalem: Job, Psalms, Proverbs. (See also Epiphanius, Jerome,Rufinus, and the Apostolic Canons.)

4. Other orders are found, but the order which places Job first was set by theCouncil of Trent (1545-48, 1551-52, 1562-63) as the order of the Vulgate,and has since been generally followed.

IV. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE.

A. Language of Job presents problems to the philologist, translator and interpreter

1. Voltaire, J. G. von Herder, and E. Renan used the Edomite connections inthe book to argue that it is an echo of the wisdom of Edom.

2. Have argued that the author was Edomite and not Jewish–but have verylittle evidence of Edomite upon which to test this hypothesis

B. Ibn Ezra argued that the book was a translation

1. Many modern scholars have adopted this argument

2. Arabic has been suggested

a. Many problem words in the book can be explained from Arabic

b. But so can many OT words outside Job

c. Arabic is the best known and richest in vocabulary of Semiticlanguages

d. Thus this suggestion is improbable

C. The book does seem to have an Aramaic connection

1. These are universally admitted

2. In poetic parallelism, Hebrew and Aramaic are juxtaposed as synonyms

3. Phonological and morphological features seem Aramaic

4. While all classical Hebrew shows Aramaic influence, that in Job seems to


Pope, “Job,” 913.7

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be more than in any other book

5. Some have attempted to explain as not as a hybrid language, but a halfwaytranslation of an Aramaic original.

The incomplete translator wished to make the Aramaic poetry accessibleto Hebrew-speaking readers and made only such alterations as he deemednecessary. Since much of the alleged original Aramaic would beintelligible without change, it was left unaltered. Thus in large part thesupposed Aramaic original remains, in hundreds of words, grammaticalforms, idioms, and phonetic traits. The Hebrew translator, it is alleged inmany cases failed to recognize the proper sense of the Aramaic words andphrases and thus mistranslated. The Massoretes, quite naturally, had theirtroubles with this Aramaic-Hebrew mixture and vocalized many of thewords incorrectly.7

D. Tur Sinai has argued that

1. This Aramaic original is Babylonian and not later than the 6th century

2. The author was a Jew of the Babylonian exile

3. This author composed the poem based on an ancient legend

4. Some generations later in Israel, a "translator" performed the incompletetranslation

E. Such a “halfway” theory helps little

1. Numerous Aramaic elements in the book cannot be denied

2. “It is clear that the author wrote in a dialect distinct from the Hebrew ofJerusalem, in which much of the OT is composed. His dialect was closerto Aramaic. The author may have been multilingual, as are manyinhabitants of a region in which many related languages are spoken. Hedrew skillfully on his rich vocabulary and knowledge of the various


Hartley, Job, 6.8

See Marvin Pope, Job, 3d ed., AB (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973), i-409; M.9

Dahood, “Northwest Semitic Philology and Job,” in The Bible in Current Catholic Thought, ed.J. McKenzie (New York: Herder & Herder, 1962), 55-74; A. Blommerde, Northwest SemiticGrammar and Job, BibOr 22 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969); W. Michel, TheUgaritic Texts and the Mythological Expressions in the Book of Job. Diss., University ofWisconsin, 1970; A. Ceresko, Job 29-31 in the Light of Northwest Semitic, BibOr 36 (Rome:Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1980).

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dialects of Hebrew to probe the depth of his subject.”8

3. The more direct and “better” approach deals with the Hebrew text as it isto the best of the exegete's ability

4. The Ugaritic language, alluded to above, has done much to improve ourunderstanding; various scholars have improved the interpretation of manypassages.9

V. DATE.

A. Early scholars believed that Moses was the author, thus dating it early

1. Emphasized the patriarchal background of the prose narrative

a. Apocryphal appendix at end of LXX identifies Job with Jobab,king of Edom (Gen 36:33)

NRS Genesis 36:33 Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrahsucceeded him as king.

`hr'c.B'mi xr;z<-!B, bb'Ay wyT'x.T; %l{m.YIw: [l;B' tm'Y"w: WTT Genesis

36:33

b. Religion depicted is primitive

c. No priesthood, or central shrine

d. The patriarch offers sacrifices to alleviate divine anger


Pope, “Job,” 913.10

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e. Wealth consists of cattle and slaves

f. The Sabeans and Chaldeans are represented as marauding nomads

g. The unit of money in 42:11 mentioned again only in Gen 33:19 andJosh 24:32

h. Job’s longevity (42:17–140+ years) matches the patriarchs

i. Literary features of Prologue and Epilogue similar to Semitic Epicas well as Ugaritic literature

2. Some have used this “epic substratum” to argue for an older Job Epic thusmatching with the ANE “Job Motif,” or “Job Legend.”

a. Ezek 14:14 associates Job with Noah and “Daniel"

(1) NRS Ezekiel 14:14 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job, thesethree, were in it, they would save only their own lives bytheir righteousness, says the Lord GOD.

hL,aeh' ~yvin"a]h' tv,l{v. Wyh'w> WTT Ezekiel 14:14

hM'he bAYaiw> ÎlaeynID'Ð ¿laenID'À x;nO Hk'AtB.`hwIhy> yn"doa] ~aun> ~v'p.n: WlC.n:y> ~t'q'd>cib.

(2) “Noah” and flood stories are found in ANE

(3) A “Daniel” is mentioned in the Ugaritic epic in the 2dmillennium

b. The Keret Epic–from the same time–“tells of a king who lost hisentire family, but who by divine favor and assistance got a newwife and other children. He was also smitten with a seemingly fatalillness and yet was restored to health.”10

c. The so-called Babylonian Job, “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom,”is from 18th c. BC, and may go back to the 2d millennium.


Pope, “Job,” 913.11

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B. Other scholars use the mention of “The Satan” (cf. Zech 3:1 which has the article)in the prose narrative to argue for a date in the Persian period

1. NRS Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standingbefore the angel of the LORD, and [the] Satan standing at his right handto accuse him.

!heKoh; [;vuAhy>-ta, ynIaer>Y:w: WTT Zechariah 3:1

dme[o !j'F'h;w> hw"hy> %a;l.m; ynEp.li dme[o lAdG"h;`Anj.fil. Anymiy>-l[;

2. But “The Satan” is missing from the Epilogue, which places responsibilityfor Job’s problems on God (42:11).

3. NRS Job 42:11 Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and allwho had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; theyshowed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORDhad brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and agold ring.

wyx'a,-lK' wyl'ae WaboY"w: WTT Job 42:11

~ynIp'l. wy['d>yO-lk'w> Îwyt'Ayx.a;Ð ¿wyt'yOx.a;À-lk'w> Wmx]n:y>w: Al WdnUY"w: AtybeB. ~x,l, AM[i Wlk.aYOw: wyl'[' hw"hy> aybihe-rv,a] h['r'h'-lK' l[; Atao bh'z" ~z<n< vyaiw> tx'a, hj'yfiq. vyai Al-WnT.YIw:

s `dx'a,

4. Pope argues: “The divine assembly of 1:6-12; 2:1-7, apart from theproblem of the Satan, is a reflex of early Near Eastern mythology whichwe meet in Mesopotamian literature and in the Ugaritic texts and is echoedin some of the biblical Psalms and in Second Isaiah. The celestial courtscene in Job has more in common with the vision of Micaiah ben Imlah (IKings 22:19-23), in the ninth century, than with the vision of the highpriests's trial in Zech. 3, in spite of the use of the definite article with theword `Satan' in both passages.”11

C. Further the Edomite background in the prologue “would hardly have come into


Pope, “Job,” 913.12

Pope, “Job,” 913-14.13

Hartley, 11-12, lists in chart form specific passages which show correlations.14

Hartley, 17.15

Hartley, 17-18.16

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existence in the exilic or early postexilic period, when the Edomites had incurredthe enmity of the Judeans . . . . There is nothing to indicate that the choice of anEdomite hero was motivated by a desire to prick the consciences of particularistsbigots. . . .”12

D. Thus while it is impossible to fix the date later than the 7th c., there areantecedents going back to the 2d millennium.13

E. Opinions of rabbis, and other classical scholars, varied from pre-Mosaic times tothe Persian Period

1. Eusebius–Pre-Mosaic date–some modern critics have so argued

2. Gregory of Nazianzus--time of Solomon--so some modern critics

3. 7 c. proposed mostly by 19 c. Germans, though recent trends dateth th

somewhere between the 6th and 4 c.th

F. The two factors which are the most helpful in establishing the date are: languageand points of contact with other OT books.14

1. Language is quite difficult due to “the author's rich vocabulary and distinctdialect, which differs from the Jerusalem dialect of most of the OT”15

2. The points of contact itself is complicated by two factors: “(1) theuncertainty of the date of those passages (e.g., Pss. 8, 107; Isa. 40-55), and(2) the difficulty of establishing which passage is dependent on the otheror whether both texts are dependent on a third source.”16

3. Pope’s comments on this relationship are used here for illustrativepurposes.


Pope, “Job,” 914.17

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“Opinion is divided as to whether Job is earlier or later than the Second Isaiah[The following arguments are even more complicated if one believes in only oneIsaiah! RCB], with eminent scholars on both sides. The theme for innocentsuffering is common to Job and Isa. 52:13-53:12, but while Job is concernedwith the individual, the Second Isaiah deals with the nation [this is debatable,RCB]. It has been argued that since the nations's interest was recognized beforethat of the Individual, the Suffering Servant passages must be earlier than Job.This argument has little cogency, since the theme of individual suffering wascurrent in the literature of Egypt and Mesopotamia centuries earlier and is giveneloquent expression of Jeremiah. It occurs also in a number of psalms, but thesecannot be dated with any degree of exactness. In relation to the problem ofsuffering, individual or national, there is no firm basis for dating Job later thanSecond Isaiah has been suggested. This would place the book in the firstgeneration of the Exile and relate it inescapably to the suffering of the nation.[This argument would be reversed if one believed in only one Isaiah! Cf. below,RCB] This view has some intriguing implications, but there is no hint in the bookthat the poet has any thought of the fate or destiny of any nation. The allusion tothe deportation of dignitaries (Job 12:17-19) is too general to be taken as areference to the exile or Judah. The entire history of Israel is completely ignored.If the author was a Jew of the first generation of the Exile, the shock of theexperience seems to have destroyed all concern and hope for the nation. Thechoice of an Edomite, of all people, as the hero of the story would indicatecomplete rejection of nationalists aspirations. The destruction of the nation is afait accompli. God has acted in history, and the act was one of destruction.Where now was the ground for hope? The rejection of nationalism by the authorof Job would thus anticipate the similar development in the rise of Christianity.The implication of such speculation could be developed further, but is onlyspeculation, since there is nothing in the book itself to suggest and exilicsetting.”17

G. Thus, many critics assign an exilic date, arguing the suffering of the exile wouldhave necessitated a work similar to “Deutero-Isaiah,” a thing which Pope hasthoroughly dispelled even though he accepts a “Deutero-Isaiah.”

H. Other critics assign the book to the Post-exilic period.

1. A more specific date receives no firm consensus.

2. Dates range from the 3d to the 5 c.th


Hartley 19ff.18

Hartley, 19.19

Pope, “Job,” 914.20

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3. The book was certainly in final form by 200, since it was known to BenSirach (Ecclus 49:9).

4. No critic has placed it later than 250 BC.

I. Still others have argued for late 8th c. to an early 7 c. date.th 18

1. Allusions to Canaanite religion and contacts between the book and textsfound at Ugarit are more easily explained when Israel was influenced byBaalism.

2. Reversing the Isaiah theory, “. . . the close ties between the book of Joband portions of Isaiah, especially Isa. 40-55, may indicate the era in whichJob was composed. While many scholars divide Isaiah into three books,dating the portions to the late 8th century, the 6th century, and the 4thcentury, respectively, other scholars, not persuaded by the theory of aDeutero-Isaiah, hold that Isaiah authored chs. 40-55 late in his ministry,during the first half of the 7th century B.C. [R. K. Harrison, Introduction,363-88] As for the relationship between the two books, the evidenceseems to support the view that Isaiah was influenced by Job, rather thanvice versa. . . . If this is true, then Job was composed before Isaiah,particularly before Isa. 40-55. That would lead to a date for Job no laterthan the second half of the 8th century.”19

J. Such wide ranges in dating indicate how inconclusive the evidence is.

1. Nearly every argument has a counter-argument

2. “It does not serve the cause of truth to pretend that any great degree ofcertainty attaches to any of the various dates that have been proposed.”20

3. We may add to Pope and say, “No date should be considered more 'Holy'than any other, as if any one date would better serve a 'defense of thetruth,' as some seem to think.”


Norman C. Habel, The Book of Job, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985), 42.21

Pope, “Job,” 914.22

Hartley, 13ff.23

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4. More importantly, “the book’s literary, paradoxical themes, heroic setting,and uncomfortable challenge are pertinent for students of wisdom and lifein any era and far more important than the precise date of this literarywork.”21

VI. AUTHOR.

A. The book reveals much about the author.

1. A literary genius—so recognized by world literature

2. A deeply religious soul, sensitive to the suffering of humanity

3. Some have argued that no such work as Job could be created unless itsauthor had experienced intense and prolonged suffering.

4. “The depth and the earnestness of the author's thought and feeling, thekeenness of his insight into human nature, the vivid beauty of hisexpression, as well as the universal human concern with the problem ofpain, gives the work a quality of realism and a power to stir the humansoul in all times and places. The influence of the biblical book on modernliterature has been profound, as seen pre-eminently in Goethe's Faust andByron's Manfred.”22

B. Hartley has argued that the author exhibits characteristics of Israel’s wisdomteachers.23

1. Skilled in the use of proverbs

a. Rhetorical questions, NRS 21:29: Have you not asked those whotravel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony,

`WrKen:t. al{ ~t'toaow> %r,d' yreb.A[ ~T,l.a,v. al{h] WTT 21:29


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b. Riddles, NRS 5:5; 17:5:(1) 5:5: The hungry eat their harvest, and they take it even out

of the thorns; and the thirsty pant after their wealth.

lkeayO b[er' Aryciq. rv,a] WTT 5:5

`~l'yxe ~yMic; @a;v'w> WhxeQ'yI ~yNICimi-la,w>(2) 17:5 Those who denounce friends for reward-- the eyes of

their children will fail.

`hn"l,k.Ti wyn"b' ynEy[ew> ~y[ire dyGIy: ql,xel. WTT 17:5

c. Coarseness, NRS 15:2: Should the wise answer with windyknowledge, and fill themselves with the east wind?

`Anj.Bi ~ydIq' aLem;ywI x;Wr-t[;d; hn<[]y: ~k'x'h, WTT 15:2

d. Vehement, NRS 16:18: O earth, do not cover my blood; let myoutcry find no resting place.

`ytiq'[]z:l. ~Aqm' yhiy>-la;w> ymid' ySik;T.-la; #r,a, WTT 16:18

e. Gruesome, NRS 17:14: if I say to the Pit, “You are my father,”and to the worm, “My mother,” or “My sister,”

`hM'rIl' ytixoa]w: yMiai hT'a' ybia' ytiar'q' tx;V;l; WTT 17:14

f. Humorous, NRS 17:16: Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?Shall we descend together into the dust?

s `tx;n" rp'['-l[; dx;y:-~ai hn"d>r;Te laov. yDeB; WTT 17:16

g. Tender, NRS 14:13-17: Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, thatyou would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you wouldappoint me a set time, and remember me! 14 If mortals die, willthey live again? All the days of my service I would wait until myrelease should come. 15 You would call, and I would answer you;you would long for the work of your hands. 16 For then you wouldnot number my steps, you would not keep watch over my sin; 17 mytransgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would coverover my iniquity.

ynIreyTis.T; ynInEPic.T; lAav.Bi !TeyI ymi WTT 14:13-17

14 `ynIreK.z>tiw> qxo yli tyviT' ^P,a; bWv-d[; lxey:a] yaib'c. ymey>-lK' hy<x.yIh] rb,G< tWmy"-~ai &'n<[/a, ykinOa'w> ar'q.Ti 15 `ytip'ylix] aAB-d[;


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yd;['c. hT'[;-yKi 16 `@sok.ti ^yd,y" hfe[]m;l. ~tux' 17 `ytiaJ'x;-l[; rAmv.ti-al{ rAPs.Ti

`ynIwO[]-l[; lPoj.Tiw: y[iv.Pi rArc.Bi

h. Passionate, NRS 19:13-19: "He has put my family far from me,and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me. 14 Myrelatives and my close friends have failed me; 15 the guests in myhouse have forgotten me; my serving girls count me as a stranger;I have become an alien in their eyes. 16 I call to my servant, but hegives me no answer; I must myself plead with him. 17 My breath isrepulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. 18 Evenyoung children despise me; when I rise, they talk against me. 19All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved haveturned against me.

Wrz"-%a; y[;d>yOw> qyxir>hi yl;['me yx;a; WTT 19:13

15 `ynIWxkev. y[;D'yUm.W yb'Arq. Wld>x' 14 `yNIM,mi ytiyyIh' yrIk.n" ynIbuv.x.T; rz"l. yt;hom.a;w> ytiybe yreG"

hn<[]y: al{w> ytiar'q' yDIb.[;l. 16 `~h,ynEy[eb. yTiv.ail. hr'z" yxiWr 17 `Al-!N<x;t.a, ypi-AmB.

ybi Wsa]m' ~yliywI[]-~G: 18 `ynIj.bi ynEb.li ytiNOx;w> ydIAs ytem.-lK' ynIWb[]Ti 19 `ybi-WrB.d;y>w: hm'Wqa'

`ybi-WkP.h.n< yTib.h;a'-hz<w>

i. Sarcasm NRS 12:2: No doubt you are the people, and wisdomwill die with you.

`hm'k.x' tWmT' ~k,M'[iw> ~['-~T,a; yKi ~n"m.a' WTT 12:2

j. Persiflage (i.e., banter) NRS 38:3: Gird up your loins like a man, Iwill question you, and you shall declare to me.

`ynI[eydIAhw> ^l.a'v.a,w> ^yc,l'x] rb,g<k. an"-rz"a/ WTT 38:3

2. He had an extensive knowledge of nature:

a. Plant and animal life; 5 different words for lion used in NRS4:7-11: Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Orwhere were the upright cut off? 8 As I have seen, those who plowiniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the breath of God


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they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10The roar of the lion [hyEr>a;], the voice of the fierce lion [lx;v'], and

the teeth of the young lions [~yrIypik .] are broken. 11 The strong

lion [vyIl;] perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness

[aybil '] are scattered.

hpoyaew> db'a' yqin" aWh ymi an"-rk'z> WTT 4-11

!w<a' yver>xo ytiyair' rv,a]K; 8 `Wdx'k.nI ~yrIv'y> WdbeayO h;Ala/ tm;v.NImi 9 `Whruc.q.yI lm'[' y[er>zOw> lx;v' lAqw> hyEr>a; tg:a]v; 10 `Wlk.yI APa; x;WrmeW @r,j'-yliB.mi dbeao vyIl; 11 `W[T'nI ~yrIypik. yNEviw>

`Wdr'P't.yI aybil' ynEb.Wb. Magnificent portraits of animals, 38:39-39:30:

c. 13 different words for gems (5 words for gold alone), NRS 28:15-19: It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver [@s,K,] cannot be

weighed out as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold [~t,k,B.]of Ophir, in precious onyx [~h;voB.] or sapphire [ryPis;]. 17 Gold

[bh'z"] and glass [tykiAkz >]cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged

for jewels of fine gold [zp']. 18 No mention shall be made of coral

[tAmar'] or of crystal [vybig"]; the price of wisdom is above pearls

[~ynIynIP.]. 19 The chrysolite [td;j.Pi] of Ethiopia cannot compare

with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold [~t,k,].

lqeV'yI al{w> h'yT,x.T; rAgs. !T;yU-al{ WTT 28:15

rypiAa ~t,k,B. hL,sut.-al{ 16 `Hr'yxim. @s,K, bh'z" hN"k,r>[;y:-al{ 17 `ryPis;w> rq'y" ~h;voB.

vybig"w> tAmar' 18 `zp'-yliK. Ht'r'Wmt.W tykiAkz>W 19 `~ynIynIP mi hm'k.x' %v,m,W rkeZ"yI al{

al{ rAhj' ~t,k,B. vWK-td;j.Pi hN"k,r>[;y:-al{@ `hL,sut.

d. observant of weather patterns, 7:9; 36:27-37:20; 38:34-38:

(1) NRS 7:9: As the cloud fades and vanishes, so those who godown to Sheol do not come up;


18

`hl,[]y: al{ lAav. dreAy !Ke %l;YEw: !n"[' hl'K' WTT 7:9

(2) 36:27-37:20:(3) NRS, 38:34-38: Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

so that a flood of waters may cover you? 35 Can you sendforth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, “Herewe are”? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, orgiven understanding to the mind? 37 Who has the wisdomto number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of theheavens, 38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clodscling together?

~yIm;-t[;p.viw> ^l,Aq b['l' ~yrIt'h] WTT 38:34

^l. Wrm.ayOw> WkleyEw> ~yqir'B. xL;v;t.h; 35 `&'S,k;T. !t;n"-ymi Aa hm'k.x' tAxJuB; tv'-ymi 36 `WnNEhi hm'k.x'B. ~yqix'v. rPes;y>-ymi 37 `hn"ybi ywIk.F,l;

rp'[' tq,c,B. 38 `byKiv.y: ymi ~yIm;v' yleb.nIw>`WqB'duy> ~ybig"r>W qc'WMl;

e. Familiar with mining (28:1-11), hunting and trapping (18:8-10)

3. Familiar with foreign cultures

a. Pyramids, 3:13-14(?): NRS Job 3:13 Now I would be lying downand quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest 14 with kingsand counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves,

yTin>v;y" jAqv.a,w> yTib.k;v' hT'[;-yKi WTT Job 3:13

#r,a' yce[]yOw> ~ykil'm.-~[i 14 `yli x;Wny" za'`Aml' tAbr'x\ ~ynIBoh;

b. Like the Egyptian Book of the Dead (ch. 125), is this an oath ofinnocence (ch. 31)?

C. Whether or not the author was Israelite, he was a literary genius who had acosmopolitan outlook.

1. Parts of the book show affinities with prophetic and wisdom materials

2. Yet the connections (e.g. laments and the book of Psalms) also have points


James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3d ed.24

with Supplement (Princeton: Princeton University, 1969), 405-407, hereafter abb. ANET;William K. Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, rev. ed. (New Haven: Yale University,1973), 21-29; Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 3 vols. Vol. 1: The Old andMiddle Kingdoms; Vol. 2: The New Kingdom; Vol. 3: The Late Period (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia, 1973-80), 1:163-169.

Hartley, 9.25

ANET, 407-410; Simpson, 31-49; Lichtheim, 1:169-184.26

19

of contact with the ANE in general.

3. One thing is certain, he belonged to the intellectually elite of his time.

VII. BACKGROUND AND PARALLELS.

A. Egyptian debates his soul regarding suicide24

1. from 2d millennium

2. Debates with soul regarding suicide when life is unbearable

3. Like Job he welcomes death as a release from life's miseries, though “Jobfinds greater meaning in life than does his Egyptian counterpart, and hisview of God prevents him from contemplating suicide at all. In theEgyptian work the troubled man's speech may be considered a soliloquy,but Job's speeches, for the most part, are addressed to specific parties.”25

4. While there are other ideological and phraseological parallels, there are notenough to point to a direct connection.

B. Egyptian story entitled “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant”26

1. Literary form similar to Job

a. Prose prologue and epilogue

b. 9 semipoetic appeals for justice by the peasant


ANET, 441-44; Simpson, 210-29; Lichtheim, 1:149-63.27

ANET, 434-37; W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford: Clarendon,28

1960), 21-62.

20

c. Peasant appeals to steward for redress and steward answers

d. At first polite, the peasant becomes more vehement, threateningeventually to appeal to Anubis.

e. When it looks as if death is imminent, justice triumphs, and theman’s stolen property is returned.

2. Plaintiff’s attitude resembles Job and other connections are obvious

3. Yet the issue here is social justice and not sin.

4. Further, in contrast to the peasant, Job becomes more confident as timemoves on.

C. The Egyptian work “The Admonitions of Ipu-wer.”27

1. Ipu-wer protests the upheaval of society and is distressed at the decline ofimmorality.

2. But this desire is for a more stable social order and not moral justice.

D. Mesopotamian, “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom,”28

1. Sometimes called “The Poem of the Righteous Suffer,” or “TheBabylonian Job.”

2. Title suggests a psalm of thanksgiving

3. The hero is stricken by a disease and wants to know its cause.

4. He consults the gods but receives no answer

5. He cannot believe it is due to his disobedience, for he has been verypunctual in his cultic activities


Pope, “Job,” 915.29

Hartley, 9.30

J. Nougayrol, Ugaritica V (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1968): 264-73.31

21

6. He recounts his pious acts and concludes that one cannot understand thegods

7. All attempts to be rid of the disease fail, and he expects death.

8. At the last moment Marduk brings about healing and the poem concludeswith a hymn of thanksgiving to Marduk.

9. “This poem has many contacts with Job. In both, a man of high position,who has had a long and prosperous life, is suddenly reduced to misery.Both victims protest their innocence and impugn divine justice. Both givelong descriptions of their afflictions and contrast their lot with theirdeserts. Both are finally restored to health. There are, however, markeddissimilarities. The settings and personal names are entirely different. Theliterary forms differ. The Akkadian poem, as much as is preserved, isentirely poetic monologue, without prose prologue or epilogue. Theattitudes of the sufferers also differ somewhat. Job stresses his ethicalprobity, and Yahweh vouches for his innocence. The Babylonian suffereremphasizes his ritual acts, but is prepared to entertain the idea that he mayhave committed some sin unwittingly. While the author of Job may havebeen familiar with the Akkadian poem, there is no evidence of directliterary dependence.”29

10. At the same time, the author “unlike Job . . . shies away from the problemof theodicy.”30

E. An Akkadian text similar to “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom” has been found atUgarit.31

1. Like Job, this sufferer cannot find an answer for his troubles.

2. His relatives try to console him, encouraging him to yield to his fate, andeven pour oil on him in anticipation of the certainty of death.


Hartley, 10.32

ANET, 438-40; Lambert, 63-91.33

22

3. But the afflicted one expects Marduk to save him and continues to lamentto Marduk, eventually turning the lamentation into praise.

4. While the picture is similar to the popular understanding of Job, it is fardifferent to Job's approach of litigation with God.

5. “That this text was found at Ras Shamra proves that the theme of the justsufferer was known very early in Canaanite culture, and such texts mayhave been available to the author of Job even if he lived all his life inPalestine.”32

F. Babylonian Ecclesiastes has affinities with Job.33

1. Dialogue about human misery and divine justice

2. Is between a victim of suffering and a group of friends

3. The name of the sufferer:

a. Shagil-kinam-ubbib

b. Means “O E sagil [i.e. Marduk's temple] declare the righteous onepure”

c. Expresses hope for vindication

4. But the piousness of the poem disagrees with the attitude of the sufferer inthe dialogue

5. The form is similar to Job, Pope describes:

The sufferer appeals to his learned friends to hear and consider his tale of woe.Trouble began with his birth. Both his parents were snatched away, leaving himwithout a guardian. A friend agrees that this is a sad story, but the sufferer'sattitude is self-conceited and impious. Whoever reveres the gods prospers. Thesufferer responds with a description of his condition which belies the doctrine of


Pope, “Job,” 915.34

ANET, 437-438.35

23

retribution. . . . the recommended remedy is prayer, which will bring pardon.The sufferer protests that he has prayed and fulfilled all ritual requirements. Thefriend answers with sarcastic praise of the sufferer's great wisdom. He appeals tothe world of nature, where the violent and predatory, the wild ass and the lion,eventually get their due, the arrow and the pit. The rich young upstart, too, theruler burns along with his wealth. Why follow their path? Instead, seek divinefavor. The sufferer characterizes such talk as mere wind (cf. Job 12:2). Fromchildhood he has sought the will of the gods and has received only misfortune ashis reward. The friend charges that the sufferer has rejected the truth anddespised the divine ordinances. Thus the argument goes back and forth with noprogress toward agreement, as with Job and his friends. In the last stanza thesufferer pleads for the mercy and understanding of his friends. He cites hishumble conduct in the past. Finally he addresses a plea for mercy to the godNinurta, the goddess Ishtar, and the king. The conclusion of the poem is notknown, but we may assume that the appeal to the gods brought a change in thesufferer’s lot.”34

6. While the similarities between this document and the books of Job andEcclesiastes are obvious, there are also differences

a. The 11 line stanzas are in sharp contrast to the long speeches in thebook of Job

b. While the extant tablets date from the 7th c., the original isprobably centuries older.

c. It cannot be established that there was direct influence

d. Friends have a different function also.

G. “A Pessimistic Dialogue Between Master and Servant,” discusses themeaninglessness of life.35

1. The master summons the slave and proposes to engage in variousendeavors. For each proposal the slave expresses enthusiastic approval andlauds the activity as pleasurable or profitable.

2. Each time the master rejects the idea of pursuing the projected activity,


Pope, “Job,” 916.36

See S. N. Kramer, “‘Man and His God,’ A Sumerian variation on the ‘Job’ Motif,” in37

Wisdom in Israel and the Ancient Near East. Fest. H. H. Rowley, ed. Martin Noth and D. WintonThomas, VTSup 3 (Leiden: Brill, 1969), 170-82; idem. History Begins at Sumer, 3d ed.(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1981), 114-18.

24

and the obliging servant agrees and shows that it is, after all, a uselessendeavor.

3. Pursues all aspects of human activity--pleasure, politics, wealth, women,worship, love, service to country, etc.

4. Raises the question, “What then is good?”

5. The servant replies to break one's neck and plunge into the river is the onlygood.

6. The master proposes to do just this to the servant who will be there aheadof him, to look after him.

7. Servant replies, "Would/could my master live three days after me?"--implying one of the following:

a. The master could not survive without someone to look out for him

b. He would not care to prolong a life void of purpose.

8. The work vividly illustrates the pessimism, cynicism, and skepticismcurrent in Mesopotamia at that time.

9. “While this document has more affinities with Ecclesiastes than with Job,since the victim suffers from ennui rather than physical pain, they all havein common a spirit of rebellion at the seeming futility of humanexistence.”36

H. A Sumerian poem from Nippur, dating from the 2d millennium deals with a manwho had been healthy, wealthy, and wise, but is suddenly seized with illness andpain.37


Pope, “Job,” 916.38

25

1. The sufferer laments his fate, but confesses his guilt instead of raging atthe god

2. The god answers the man delivering him from his trial

3. There are considerable similarities and differences between this and Job.

a. Similarities include:

In the Sumerian world view, evil was integral to the cosmic order. Basicto their theology and ethics was the doctrine that man's afflictions resultfrom sin. The problem of justice was thus not so acute for them, since allmen are sinful. In all cases of human suffering, it is man who is to blameand never the gods. When adversity strikes, there is nothing a man cando but praise his god and lament and plead until the god relents andharkens to his prayer. This view is virtually identical with that espousedby Job's friends. For the Sumerians, the god with whom the man mustremonstrate is his own personal god, who acts as intermediary with themajor gods on behalf ot his client and intercedes for him in the assemblyof the gods, where men are judged and their fates decided. The Sumerianconcept of a personal god may be behind Job's appeals to or for anumpire, witness, vindicator (9:33; 16:19, 21; 19:25-27), who will pleadhis case in the celestial court.38

b. Differences include:

(1) The Sumerian admits his guilt at the very beginning whileJob denies at first, but is brought to that, or a similar,attitude at the end.

(2) The Sumerian never raises the question of divine justice.

I. That there was a Job motif in the ancient Near East cannot be doubted.

1. “As early as the second millennium, both in Egypt and in Mesopotamia,there were literary compositions which dealt with the same concern as thebook of Job and in form and content exhibited features characteristic ofthe biblical book. That these works directly or indirectly, contributed to thebiblical masterpiece, appears ever more probable as new materials such as


Pope, “Job,” 916.39

Hartley, 10-11. Smick (“Job,” ZPEB: 601) adds more forcefully, “there is really nothing40

extant that compares with the biblical book in its philosophical and theological profundity.”

26

the Sumerian Job are added. Even if the author of Job did not know theseworks at first hand, they created a literary, poetic, and religiousbackground to his work.”39

2. Even so, “The Uniqueness of the book of Job is evident when it iscompared to these other works. The author expanded the dialogue fromtwo to four speakers, a major literary breakthrough. More profoundly . . .he successfully joined the cultic and the wisdom traditions. He preservedthe full pathos of the lament and at the same time kept the intensity of thedebate of ideas in the disputation format. His incorporation of lines fromthe hymic tradition gives the work a grandeur not visible in the NearEastern parallels. Criticism of the traditional beliefs about reward andpunishment is much more severe in the book of Job. This comparison ofparallel literature with the book of Job shows that the author may havebeen influenced by the rich literary tradition of the ancient Near East aboutsuffering, but more in format than in substance.”40

J. Other societies have literary material whose themes parallel Job's.

1. Story of Hariscandra–India

a. At an assembly the God Indra began a discussion of whether arighteous man existed on the earth

b. The god Vasishta nominated king Hariscandra as one suchindividual.

c. When the god Shiva expressed doubt a wager was made betweenVasishta and Shiva.

d. Shiva brought a series of misfortunes on Hariscandra

e. The king lost his wealth, kingdom, wife, son, but remainedrighteous and in the end was restored to former state


27

2. In Greek literature suffering is a prominent theme

a. Seen in the concept of fate

(1) Man’s share of life is like rations of food or booty

(2) He must take what he gets without grumbling

(3) To demand more than one's lot is insubordination

(4) Belief that gods interacted with man ran counter to fatalism

(5) Good fortune man does not question, but misfortune makesone wonder--especially when a righteous man suffers

(6) Greeks answer involved such stock phrases as “knowthyself,” “nothing in excess,” etc., which means be aware ofyour surroundings and do not acquire more than your share.

(7) Thus man's crossing bounds and the god's retaliation is thecommon theme of the Greek tragedies.

b. The tragedy that bears the most resemblance to Job is that ofAeschylus' Prometheus Bound.

(1) Is chained to a rock by Zeus for giving mortals fire.

(2) Though he protests this does no good

(3) His sympathizers beg him to confess his error

(4) He refuses–Zeus is the one who must relent

(5) Prometheus disappears crying, “See the unjustness of myfate.”

(6) He thus makes the same kind of assertions as Job–wistfullonging, righteousness.

(7) Whereas Job is mortal, Prometheus is an immortal Titan


28

(8) No mystery–he knows that Zeus is unjust, vengeful, savage,relentless, and unpredictable

(9) Prometheus’ friends offer sympathy, but Job's condemnhim

3. Greeks eventually came to the conclusion that since all wrongs are notrighted in this life, they must be in the afterlife.

a. Punishment in the after life involve not only retaliation or revenge,but also has a purifying effect on the sinner.

b. Job came to the brink of this solution, but he never quite made thelast step.

c. Elihu said that sufferings are for discipline

d. Neither of these answers are completely satisfying.

VIII. MAJOR GENRES HAVE AFFINITIES WITH FROM THEMES AND FORMSELSEWHERE IN THE OT.

A. Narrative portions have a patriarchal setting, though bearing little resemblance tothe narratives of Genesis.

1. Job is settled, not a nomad.

2. Rather more like the books of Judges and Ruth than any other OTnarrative.

B. About half the book consists of poetic hymns and lamentations; among thehymns:

1. Some belong to the speeches of Job–9:4-12; 12:13-25; 26:5-14

2. Some belong to the speeches of the friends--5:9-16; 11:7-11; 25:2-6;34:18-30.

3. Psalm 104 has many similarities to a number of passages in Job

a. Ps 104:6-9 and Job 38:8-11:


29

(1) NRS Psalm 104:6 You cover it with the deep as with agarment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At yourrebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take toflight. 8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to thevalleys to the place that you appointed for them. 9 You set aboundary that they may not pass, so that they might notagain cover the earth.

AtySiKi vWbL.K; ~AhT. WTT Psalm 104:6

!WsWny> ^t.r'[]G:-!mi 7 `~yIm'-Wdm.[;y: ~yrIh'-l[; Wdr>yE ~yrIh' Wl[]y: 8 `!Wzpex'yE ^m.[;r; lAq-!mi

9 `~h,l' T'd>s;y" hz< ~Aqm.-la, tA[q'b. tASk;l. !WbWvy>-lB; !Wrbo[]y:-lB; T'm.f;-lWbG>

`#r,a'h'(2) NRS Job 38:8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it

burst out from the womb?-- 9 when I made the clouds itsgarment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 andprescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11 andsaid, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and hereshall your proud waves be stopped'?

~x,r,me AxygIB. ~y" ~yIt;l'd>Bi %s,Y"w: WTT Job 38:8

10 ÀtL'tux] lp,r'[]w: Avbul. !n"[' ymiWfB. 9 àceyE 11 `~yIt'l'd>W x;yrIB. ~yfia'w" yQixu wyl'[' rBov.a,w" tyviy"-apoW @ysito al{w> aAbt' hPo-d[; rm;aow"

`^yL,G: !Aag>Bi

b. Ps 104:21, 27 and Job 38:39-41:

(1) NRS Psalm 104:21, 27: The young lions roar for theirprey, seeking their food from God. 27 These all look to youto give them their food in due season;

`~l'k.a' laeme vQeb;l.W @r,J'l; ~ygIa]vo ~yrIypiK.h; WTT Psalm 104:21

ÀT[iB. ~l'k.a' ttel' !WrBef;y> ^yl,ae ~L'Ku WTT Psalm 104:27

(2) NRS Job 38:39-41 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, orsatisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 when they crouchin their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? 41 Who


Pope, “Job,” 917.41

30

provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry toGod, and wander about for lack of food?

aLem;T. ~yrIypiK. tY:x;w> @r,j' aybil'l. dWct'h] WTT Job 38:39-41 40

bre[ol' !ykiy" ymi br,a'-Aml. hK'Sub; Wbv.yE tAnA[M.b; Wxvoy"-yKi 41

lk,ao-ylib.li W[t.yI W[WEv;y> lae-la, Îwyd'l'y>Ð ¿Adl'y>À-yKi Adyce

c. Ps 104:30 and Job 12:10:

(1) NRS Psalm 104:30 When you send forth your spirit, theyare created; and you renew the face of the ground.

`hm'd'a] ynEP. vDex;t.W !WareB'yI ^x]Wr xL;v;T. WTT Psalm 104:30

(2) NRS Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every living thingand the breath of every human being.

`vyai-rf;B.-lK' x;Wrw> yx'-lK' vp,n< Ady"B. rv,a] WTT Job 12:10

d. Ps 104:32 and Job 9:5; 26:11:

(1) NRS Psalm 104:32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,who touches the mountains and they smoke.

`Wnv'[/y<w> ~yrIh'B, [G:yI d['r>Tiw: #r,a'l' jyBiM;h; WTT Psalm 104:32

(2) NRS Job 9:5 he who removes mountains, and they do notknow it, when he overturns them in his anger;

`APa;B. ~k'p'h] rv,a] W[d'y" al{w> ~yrIh' qyTi[.M;h; WTT Job 9:5

(3) NRS Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and areastounded at his rebuke.

`Atr'[]G:mi Whm.t.yIw> Wpp'Ary> ~yIm;v' ydeWM[; WTT Job 26:11

4. If Ps 104 was influenced by Akh-en-Aton’s Hymn to Aton, as some haveasserted, the hymn may have been an internationally known hymn amongthe wisdom teachers of the ancient Near East.41

C. Many of Job’s discourses are classed as laments--3:3-26; 6:2-7:21; 9:25-10:22;


Pope, “Job,” 917.42

Pope, "Job," 917.43

31

13:23-14:22; 16:6-17:9; 19:7-20; 23; 29:1-31:37.42

1. This genre's prototype is found in Mesopotamia in the complaint of thesick and persecuted.

2. It is not a mere rhetorical exercise

a. The sufferer describes his condition in detail

b. The attempt is made to excite divine pity

c. The sufferer hopes to convince the god, or gods, of his innocenceand/or penitence.

d. It is a kind of liturgy for healing, an exorcism, a catharsis viadialogue, etc.

3. “The author of Job exploited this literary genre to the full. He may havebeen familiar with it either from Mesopotamian sources or from Hebrewliterature, since some [indeed most, RCB] of the biblical Psalms, or partsof psalms . . . belong to this genre.”43

D. There are a number of dialogues in the OT from which the author of Job may haveused as a model, though he developed it far beyond any of these.

1. Abraham’s negotiations with Ephron the Hittite–an example of tactfulbargaining, Gen 23:3-16.

2. Abraham’s intercession with Yhwh resembles Amos' intercession, Amos7:1-9; 8:1-3 and Gen 18:22-32.

3. The call of Moses and the prophets–Exod 3:2-4:17; Isa 6; Jer 1:1-10.

E. Wisdom bits and pieces in Job are very similar to the wisdom material of theOT–4:8-11; 5:1-7; 8:11-19; 12:11-12; 14:1-2.


Pope, “Job,” 917.44

David J. A. Clines, Job 1-20, WBC, vol. 17 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989), lxi.45

32

1. Even so, the work can hardly be classified as wisdom literature.

2. “Most of the contacts with wisdom-type literature occur in the speeches ofthe friends. Job's vehement protest against their point of view makes thebook, as it were, anti-wisdom literature.”44

3. Perhaps a better description would be that the book (as well asEcclesiastes), introduces a “needed element of sophistication and realisminto the philosophy of wisdom.”45

a. Proverbs and Deuteronomy, like Job’s friends, are the faithfuldefenders of the doctrine of retribution in the Old Testament.

(1) The world is divided into the righteous and the wicked–therighteous are rewarded and the wicked are punished, 11:5-6.

(2) Wisdom–the knowledge of how to live rightly, leads to life,while folly leads to death, Prov 1:32; 3:1-2, 13-18; 8:36.

b. Such a determinism, as expressed in these books and by Job’sfriends, is called into question by the book of Job.

(1) Job’s experience would be an impossibility in Proverbs.

(2) But as revealed in the book of Job, his experience, showsthat if a righteous person suffers, no one can point thefinger of criticism at them.

(3) This is because the proper criterion for determining whethera person is righteous is the moral quality of their life andnot the accidental circumstances of their material existence.

(4) “At the same time, the book maintains that a truly religiousattitude does not consist of passive resignation tomisfortune, but includes a courage to enter into


Clines, xlii.46

Hartley, 13-14.47

Habel, 43.48

Habel, 42.49

33

confrontation with God. Even though the Book of Jobdissents from the leading theological statement of Proverbson retribution, it more than earns its place beside it withinthe corpus of `Wisdom' literature for its implicit instructionon how to live rightly when one is suffering.”46

F. Points of contact in Isaiah have already been noted under the discussion of thedate of the book, but the following also needs to be mentioned:47

1. Both books espouse an ethical monotheism

2. God rules as sovereign

3. Humanity’s weakness

4. The righteous suffer–Job and the suffering servant.

G. The books includes also “oaths (27:2), curses (3:2), proverbs (5:2), parables(8:12f.), traditional sayings (2:4), disputations (ch. 21), and other genres . . . . Ineach of these literary forms are pieces of a larger fabric and their distinctivecharacter musbt be discerned in light of the governing structure of the literary unitas a whole.”48

H. The author rarely uses these forms in their traditional manner, but adapts,modifies and transforms them to meet his specific theological ends.49

IX. CONTENT.

A. The Prose Prologue, chs. 1-2.

1. Represents a man named Job famous for piety

a. He is wealthy, with a large happy family,


34

b. He is very concerned about their conduct

2. Yhwh asks Satan about Job

a. Satan responds that Job's piety is based on God’s blessings

b. Deprive him of his possessions and he would curse God

3. God accepts the challenge

a. Satan proceeds to rob Job of everything he has

b. Yhwh then proposes that Satan do anything to Job accept take hislife

4. Through it all Job remains faithful, even when his wife counsels to curseGod and die

5. Three friends appear and sit with him in grief for 7 days.

B. The Dialogue, chs. 3-31.

1. Job’s complaint in ch. 3 sets the stage for the dialogue which consists ofthree cycles of speeches

a. A speech from each of the "friends."

b. A direct reply from Job to each speech

2. Cycle 1, chs. 4-14.

a. Eliphaz and Job, chs. 4-7

(1) Eliphaz (chs. 4-5):

(a) Begins cautiously, but quickly criticizes Job

(b) Affirms divine justice, 4:7-11

(c) Relates a vision that mortal man cannot be just


35

before God, 4:12-5:7

(d) Advises Job to turn to God who will deliver andrestore him, 5:8-27

(2) Job responds (chs. 6-7):

(a) That his suffering is justification for his complaint, 6:1-7

(b) Pleads for death as release from pain, 8-13

(c) Charges his friends with failure to support him, 14-23

(d) Challenges them to prove he is getting his justdeserts, 24-30

(e) Since life is so difficult, he will complain, 7:1-11

(f) Why doesn't God simply leave him alone? 12-21

b. Bildad and Job, chs. 8-10)

(1) Bildad (ch. 8):

(a) Characterizes Job speech as wind

(b) Asserts that Job is getting what he deserves,

(c) If Job would turn to God he would be restored, 8:1-11

(d) History shows the wicked are punished and therighteous rewarded, 9-20

(e) Job should be assured of justice, 21-22


(a) Man cannot be just before God, 9:1-4


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(b) God puts the issue on power, not justice, thus mancannot argue with God, 5-21

(c) God destroys the guilty and innocent, gives controlto the wicked, and mocks the innocent, 22-24

(d) Life is short, why complain if there is onlycondemnation? 27-31

(e) Asks for an arbiter who will allow him to speak, 32-35

(f) He is tired of life and will speak out and askquestions:

i) Can God see as man sees?

ii) Why does God persecute? 10:1-7

iii) Why pursue man who is only flesh andbones? 8-17

iv) Why give him life at all?

v) Why not leave him to live out his short lifein peace before he dies? 18-22

c. Zophar and Job, chs. 11-14

(1) Zophar (ch. 11):

(a) Accuses Job of boasting innocence when God willfind him guilty, 11:1-5

(b) God’s wisdom and power are beyond man'scomprehension, 6-12

(c) Job ought to change his attitude so God can restorehim, 13-19


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(d) The wicked will receive their due reward, 20

(2) Job responds with sarcastic praise (chs. 12-14):

(a) He is not inferior to them, 12:1-3

(b) He has misery while wicked have prosperity, 4-6

(c) Animals know that God is in control, 7-23

(d) Job knows this also, 13:1-2

(e) The friends are lying to defend God, 3-12

(f) Job only wants a hearing, 13-23

(g) Man’s life is short, why doesn't he get rest, 14:1-6

(h) There is no hope in the afterlife, 7-12

(i) If there were he would be content to wait, 13-15

(j) There is only extinction to look forward to, 18-22

3. Cycle 2, chs. 15-21.

a. Eliphaz and Job, chs. 15-17

(1) Eliphaz (ch. 15):

(a) Characterizes Job’s speech as hot air, vain, andimpious, 15:1-5

(b) Job’s own mouth convicts him, 6

(c) Is Job the only man ever born? Does Job eavesdropon the divine counsel, or have a monopoly onwisdom? 7-8

(d) What right does Job have to berate God? 11-13


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(e) No man is just before God, 14-16.

(f) Wisdom shows that the wicked always suffer, 17-35


(a) He has heard this nonsense before, 16:1-3

(b) He complains to God for his unjust assault, 6-17

(c) He cries for vindication--he must have a witness, amediator, 18-22

(d) He has no help from God or his friends, 4-12

(e) His only hope is the grave, 13-16

b. Bildad and Job, chs. 18-19.

(1) Bildad (ch. 18):

(a) Objects to being called stupid, 18:1-4

(b) Describes darkly the woes of the wicked, 5-21

(2) Job retorts (ch. 19):

(a) “Friends" are rebuked for their harsh judgment,19:1-6

(b) God has afflicted him unjustly

(c) His family, friends, etc abhor him, 13-19.

(d) His body is emaciated, 20

(e) He wants pity from his "friends," 21-22

(f) He appeals to the future and asserts faith invindication, even in the face of death, 23-27


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(g) His “friends” are warned not to persecute him, 28-29

c. Zophar and Job, chs. 20-21.

(1) Zophar (ch. 20):

(a) Is very angry, 20:1-3

(b) The seeming triumph of the wicked is temporary, 4-29

(2) Job responds (ch. 21):

(a) Requests they pay close attention to his words

(b) Asks them to look at him and be horrified, 21:1-6

(c) The wicked continue to prosper, not punished as thefriends have asserted, 7-18

(d) The idea that God punishes the wicked's children isunsatisfactory, 19-21

(e) The wicked escape trouble and go peacefully to thegrave, 22-33

(f) The “comfort” the friends offer is vain, 34

4. Cycle 3, chs. 22-26 (27-28).

a. Eliphaz and Job, chs. 22-24.

(1) Eliphaz asserts (ch. 22):

(a) God receives no benefit from human virtue, 22:1-3

(b) Job is not judged for his piety, 4

(c) Job is wicked and is therefore charged withoppressing the poor, the widow, and the orphan is


40

the reason for the problem

(d) Job thought God would not see his deeds, 5-20

(e) If Job would return he would be restored, 21-30


(a) Continues to search for God, 23:1-7

(b) God knows Job is innocent, 10-12

(c) But God does as he pleases, 13-17

(d) God’s purposes are hidden

(e) Violence and oppression are everywhere, 24:1-17

(f) Vs 18-24 probably belong in the mouths of one ofthe friends.

5. (Chs. 24-28 are scrambled. Various scholars offer various solutions. Thefollowing follows Pope.)

a. Bildad and Job, chs. 25-26 (27)

(1) Bildad declares that wealth will not save the wicked, 26:1;27:7-10, 16-23.

(2) Job replies by describing God's power, 26:1-4; 27:11-12;25:2-6; 26:5-14.

b. Zophar’s missing speech reaffirms the certainty of punishment forthe wicked, 27:13; 24:21-24, 18-20; 27:14-15.

c. Ch. 28–a poem on the value of wisdom, and its inaccessibility toman except through piety.

d. Job’s final speech in the dialogue (chs. 27-31):

(1) Reaffirms his innocence, 27:1-6


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(2) Gives a nostalgic view of the good old days, ch. 29

(3) This is contrasted with his present misery, ch. 30

(4) There follows a series of negative confessions of things hehas not done, 31:1-34

(5) He rests his case and challenges God to answer him, 31:35-37

C. The Elihu speeches, chs. 32-37.

1. Job’s speech is interrupted by the young, impious, Elihu, who is angry atthe inability of the friends to answer Job, 32:1-5

2. Makes a long apology for his youth speaking to elders in such a manner,but

a. He is bursting with words, he will speak without flattery, 32:6-22

b. Speaking to Job, asserts that he, Elihu, is only a man and not God,thus are on equal terms, 33:1-7

c. Summarizes Job's argument, that God persecutes even though Jobis innocent, 8-13

d. But God answers man in various ways, dreams, etc, 14-22

e. When an angel intervenes, man is restored, repents and isredeemed, thus God continually redeems, 23-30

f. Unless Job has something to answer, he had better keep quiet, 31-33

3. Elihu then launches a second discourse in which he charges Job withblasphemy, this only adds to Job's sin, ch. 34.

4. Elihu continues in a third speech in which he argues is too high andexalted to be affected by what man does, if God ignores a plea it isbecause of insincerity, as is Job's case, ch. 35.


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5. A fourth speech continues to defend God's justice, chs. 36-37

a. Kings are not immune to divine reward and punishment

b. The sinner who repents, prospers, otherwise he dies

c. Affliction may be the means of deliverance, as may be Job's case

d. God is supreme and has control over the universe, and Job cannotunderstand these thing.

D. The Theophany and speeches of Yhwh, 38:1-42:6.

1. “Who is this who darkens counsel!?,” God asks from the whirlwind!

a. Why does Job speak ignorance?

b. What does he know of the earth's founding?

c. Can he provide food for the lion, the raven?

d. Does he know the gestation period of certain animals?

e. Yhwh challenges Job to reply.

f. Job only confesses that he is inadequate, 40:1-6

2. Yhwh challenges Job to show he has power like God

a. If he does, Yhwh will admit that Job can save himself, 40:7-14

b. There are the descriptions of the Behemoth, etc. (41-H 40:26-41:34)

c. Job acknowledges God's power and his ignorance

d. Now that he sees God, he repents, 42:1-6

E. The Prose Epilogue, 42:7-17.


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1. Yhwh rebukes the friends for not speaking correctly as Job did

2. Orders them to offer sacrifices and Job to intercede for them.

3. Job’s fortunes are restored

4. He lives 140 years and sees children and grandchildren for 4 generations.

X. UNITY AND INTEGRITY–“THE DONUT AND THE HOLE,” OR “CAN ADONUT EXIST WITHOUT A HOLE?”

A. For years scholars have focused on is the supposed incongruities between theprose, found in introduction and conclusion, and the poetic Dialogue. Some ofthese are:

1. Job’s two characters:

a. Job’s patience:

(1) The prologue presents Job as pious and patient while theepilogue brings divine rebuke on the friends, for speakingfalsely, and commends Job for having spoken the truth.

(2) The Dialogue pictures a different Job, who complainsbitterly to God.

b. Job’s worship:

(1) In the prologue Job is scrupulous in observing sacrifices.

(2) In the dialogue no such thing is even thought of.

(3) Even in the final apology of ch. 31, he does not mentionsuch things.

2. The themes of the two parts:

a. Impersonal vs. personal:

(1) The prologue is impersonal--an experiment just to see howJob will do.


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(2) The dialogue is charged with the anguish of the victim

b. Views of justice:

(1) The epilogue gives a 100% vindication of divine justice,Job is rewarded completely for his troubles.

(2) The dialogue argues that one cannot always count on reallife working out this way.

3. Divine names:

a. Prose–Yhwh.

b. Poetry–El, Eloah, Elohim, and Shaddai

B. Therefore, critics have thus argued that the prologue and/or epilogue are editorialeditions and have rejected one, or both.

1. Particularly suspect has been those episodes dealing with Satan (1:6-12;2:1-7a ) because Satan is absent from the rest of the book.

a. Some have argued that the author of the poetic Dialogue alsocomposed the prose setting for the work.

b. Others, that the author of the poetic dialogue adopted an ancientfolk tale (prologue and epilogue) for his work.

2. Pope adopts this and offers the following possibilities:

What modifications were made in the ancient story wedo not know. Perhaps the poet introduced the visit of thethree friends to connect the Dialogue with the prosestory. The divine censure of the friends' views and thepraise of Job's in the Epilogue (42:7-8) is hardlycompatible with the blasphemous triads of the Job of theDialogue and the rigidly righteous views of the friends.It may be that the older prose tale, which now has themiddle cut out, included an episode in which the friendsurged Job, as his wife had done to curse God and die. Itmay also be that the censure of the friends and the praise


Pope, “Job,” 921.50

Smick, 602.51

Hartley, 22. Though Hartley’s statement is to be applied to the prologue, for he admits52

that the “epilogue is more suspect,” the epilogue is just as needful as the prologue, for it bringsthe whole matter to a conclusion.

45

of Job was added in a futile attempt to harmonize theJob of the Prologue with the Job of the Dialogue.50

3. Another answer may reflect a difference in the intergrity of the threefriends and Job, i.e.,

. . . Y. Kaufman in The Religion of Israel (p. 335)explains God's rebuking the friends and not Job bysuggesting that they were guilty of convential clichésand empty phrases, while Job had challenged God out ofa moral duty to speak only the truth before him. This ismuch more satisfactory than assuming, as some do, thatthe book has lost a large portion in which the friendslike his wife told Job to curse God and die. Job himselfaccused his friends of saying things they did not believeto curry favor with God (13:7,8). Without assumingthere are not deletions or interpolations at all in Job, afair mind must see the singular organic unity of the

sizeable piece of lit. from OT times.51

4. In the final analysis, “There is no such thing as a donut, without a hole,” so“. . . the characterization of Job in the prologue . . . is essential for a properunderstanding of the speeches. Without the prologue the reader would sidewith the three comforters, thinking Job to be a demented villain, hostile toGod and self-deluded about his own moral virtue.”52

C. Few have questioned the basic unity of the Dialogue (chs. 3-31).

1. In spite of textual and exegetical problems there is an organic cohesion ofstyle, language, and consistency of opposing view points.

2. There appear to have been editorial emendations to tone down theshocking charges against God--probably made by the Massoretes.


46

3. The more serious textual problems are found in chs. 24-27.

a. Bildad’s third speech in ch. 25 is quite short.

b. Zophar’s is entirely missing

c. Job, surprisingly, expresses the views of his friends

d. Possibilities vary from scholar to scholar, though few accept thepresent state as original.

4. Ch. 28 is regarded as out of place by nearly all critics.

a. Does not seem to fit with its surroundings.

(1) The admission that wisdom, and secrets of the universe andprovidence are unavailable to man does not fit with a manwho wants to cross-examine God

(2) Rather seems compatible with chs. 38-40 where Yhwhresponds to all that has been going on.

(3) At the same time, the style and language is very similar tothe Dialogue, allowing some scholars to see it as anindependent composition by the author, though not anintegral part of the book.

D. The Elihu speeches (32-37) have posed problems.

1. Some have held them as authentic, even the climax of the work and theauthor's solution to the problem of suffering.

2. Many have argued that they are interpolations and thus of little value to thebook

a. They could be dropped from the book without damaging its literarystructure.

b. Nearly half of the material is taken up with a pretentiousintroduction.


Pope, “Job,” 922.53

Pope, “Job,” 921.54

47

c. The argument merely repeats the argument of the three friends.

3. Though Pope argues that the Elihu speeches were interpolated, he alsoallows that they do the integrity of the book no harm, and were done withconsiderable skill. He even offers a distinct possibility of how they53

support the theme and flow of the book's development:

It seems likely that the author of the Elihu speeches, shocked, as he says, at Job'sblasphemy and rebellion against God, disappointed at the inability of the friendsto refute Job's arguments, but also, perhaps, chagrined at Yahweh's failure tospeak directly to Job's challenge, ventured to inject himself into the dispute. Hecould not very well speak after Yahweh had spoken and silenced Job. He had tobut in before the theophany. His profuse apologies to the three friends mayreflect more his qualms at presuming to speak before Yahweh than his deferenceto his elders. He anticipates the divine discourse (ex eventu) and supplements theweakness of its argument. He even sets the stage for the theophany by describingGod's power in the storm (ch. 37). Perhaps the most telling reason for regardingthe Elihu speeches as interpolations is the fact that they are not integrated intothe work as a whole. In the distribution of praise and blame in the Epilogue,Elihu is completely ignored. It may be argued that the Satan is also ignored. Butif the Elihu's speeches were an original part of the Dialogue, and if the author putas much confidence in them as Elihu clearly does, they would surely have beenacknowledged in the Epilogue.54

4. Everything Pope has argued for the interpolator may just as easily beargued for a real Elihu.

a. Being young, he would not enter the argument but allow the eldersto continue their discussion.

b. Being young, he would also be brash and have to speak, when Jobseemed to best those he admired.

c. But as all youth, who have not the experience of age, he is onlycapable of summarizing the efforts of his elders.

d. Therefore, when the three friends are shown to be wrong in theepilogue, there is no reason to give any attention to Elihu.


Hartley, 19.55

Pope, “Job,” 921.56

48

e. Literarily speaking the Elihu speeches offer comic relief for theaudience and open the way for the Yhwh speeches.55

E. Some have rejected the speeches of Yhwh in toto.

1. They argue that they could not have been known to the author of the Elihuspeeches, or he would not have made his contribution.

a. This argument is based on the, still unproved, argument that theElihu speeches are not genuine.

b. The Elihu speeches can only go here. The author, even if thespeeches are not genuine, would hardly append them to the end ofYhwh's speech!

2. Further, Job's statement, “Here is my signature! let the Almighty answerme!” (31:35b), demands a response from Yhwh.

3. The first speech which "is widely hailed as a compositionunsurpassed in the world literature, an effort of the highest genius,transcending all other descriptions of the greatness of the Creatorand the wonders of creation," has the effect of humbling and56

silencing Job (40:3-5).

4. The second speech, which is described as "unnecessary and nagging," hasthe effect making Job submissive and repentant (42:2, 3b-c, 6).

5. This may very well be the reason they should be considered authentic,even if they do not fit with current trends in literary criticism.

F. Some have rejected the epilogue.

1. They point to two things:

a. The reward of Job seems to prove the position of the friends.


Pope, “Job,” 922.57

49

b. Job is condemned in the Divine speech, but rewarded in theEpilogue.

2. The answer usually given is that the author was working withprefabricated materials, which could not easily be radically altered(Mesopotamian motifs, etc.).

3. Better is the fact that in the epilogue, the reward is not perceived as aninfallible principle, and Job is not condemned because differentrelationships are evident.

While the doctrine of exact retribution may seem to be upheld by the reward,with a bonus, it is not defended as an unfailing principle. Yahweh'scondemnation of Job in the speeches from the whirlwind was from presumptionin passing judgment on matters beyond his comprehension. It was not on thegrounds which the friends and Elihu asserted. The condemnation of the friendsin the Epilogue may indicate that in the ancient folk tale they, like Job's wife,urged him to curse God and die. It involves no contradiction to leave the rebukeof the friends in the Epilogue, for after the Dialogue it could be argued that theymerited divine rebuke from asserting a lie in order to defend God. Thus theseeming contradictions are reconciled. As for Job's restoration and reward, itwould make little sense to leave him in misery after he had been vindicated.57

XI. LITERARY FORM.

A. Precise literary form of the book variously discussed

1. Until modern times taken as history.

2. Many scholars now do not take it as serious history, though they argue thatthere was a historical person behind the story.

3. They perceive the work as a parable, a type of any and every man whosuffers.

4. Some have suggested that it is similar to the Suffering Servant songs of Isa40ff and therefore, must represent the nation of Israel. This has alreadybeen discussed.


Hartley, 43ff.58

50

B. Some have argued that the book follow is similar to Greek models.

1. Theodore of Mopsuestia–Greek dramas

2. Theodore Beza–tragedy

3. Others include Homeric epics, tragic dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, andEuripides, dialogues of Plato

C. Recent trends see it as drama, or narrative in which contrasts givemovement to the story.

1. Hartley’s points of contact are between one's personal beliefs and hispersonal experience which create tensions:58

a. In the prologue:

(1) At first there is harmony: Job fears God--God blesses him

(2) Job is tested: Job fears God--he is sorely afflicted.

b. In the dialogue:

(1) Job suffers in silence–but later laments bitterly (ch. 3)

(2) The friends desire to comfort, but add to the problem:Friends wish to comfort–accuse Job of sins–Job rejects hisfriends

(3) At the end of the dialogue wisdom is brought into tension:friends are wise men–hymn to wisdom says no human iswise

c. In the epilogue: Friends though they honored God in condemningJob–God condemns them.

d. Certain conflicting motifs also move the plot along:


51

(1) Job believes that he is innocent and God is just–Heexperiences suffering for no apparent reason.

(2) Job pleads for mercy--God is silent and allows Job'saffliction to continue

(3) Job accuses God of condemning him unjustly–Job affirmshis faith in God as his witness and redeemer–Job swears anavowal of innocence.

(4) Elihu modifies traditional beliefs about suffering and God’ssovereignty:

(a) Job suffers–Elihu says that it is God's way ofdisciplining.

(b) Job complains that God is silent–Elihu says thatGod sends an angel-mediator to rescue those neardeath.

(c) Job accuses God of injustice–Elihu argues for God’sjustice and concludes that Job is wrong incondemning God.

(5) When God comes to answer Job as he has longed for:

(a) Job longs for God's presence--God appears.

(b) Job claims that he is innocent and that God haswronged him--God accuses him of darkeningcounsel

(c) Job demands a resolution to his case–God questionshim about creation and the government of theworld.

(d) Job had stated he was well prepared to argue hiscase before God–Job declines to take advantage ofthe opportunity God gives him to speak.


Hartley, 37..59

Habel, 25ff.60

52

(e) Job had sworn that he was innocent–Job surrendershis complaint and his oath of innocence.

(f) Job asks God to speak to him–God appears to Joband addresses him--Job submits.

e. Certain tensions are resolved in the epilogue:

(1) Job submits to God–God accepts him.

(2) God earlier accused Job of darkening counsel–now affirmsthat Job has spoken rightly

(3) God instructs the friends to offer sacrifices–they obey Godand Job prays for them

(4) God blesses Job–Job’s estate doubles and Job lives a long,full life.

f. Hartley’s method observes a structure of twos, threes, and fours:

The prologue is composed of six scenes grouped into three sets of twos.The number three is prominent in the dialogue; three speakers eachdeliver three speeches in a threefold cycle. In each cycle Job has threeresponses. Job's avowal of innocence also has three parts. In the next twosets the number four dominates. Elihu delivers four unansweredspeeches, and the theophany consists of four units, two long speechesfrom Yahweh balanced by two short answers from Job. The simplicityand symmetry of this structure contrasts with the profundity of thesubject discussed.59

2. Habel, using a similar method, sees the book as a narrative plot.60

a. According to this method the prologue/epilogue and the dialogue(Habel's terms are frame and subject) are interrelated so that theframe interprets the subject.


Robert Alter, The Art of Bible Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981), 69, 75.61

Habel, 26.62

53

b. Habel goes on to argue that a narrative plot underlies the book as awhole and gives it coherence.

c. Using Alter's techniques of “narrative-through-dialogue,” Habel61

argues since dialogue “not only reports or foreshadows actions inthe plot but may itself also be an action which retards, complicates,or resolves an episode in the plot,” the author “has constructed thedialogue as a feature of the plot rather than as an independenttheological disputation.”62

d. Habel charts this plot movement as follows:

(1) Movement I: God Afflicts the Hero–The Hidden Conflict,1:6-22.

(a) Plot development–catalyst which initiates the plot isYhwh’s boast to Satan, which lead to conflict withSatan and the mutual agreement to Job’s affliction.

i) The conflict is apparently resolved when Jobaccepts these events, 1:20-21.

ii) But the second scene in ch. 2 reveals that theresolution is only apparent, for it forces areinterpretation of the first scene--Yhwhaccuses Satan of afflicting Job “for no goodreason” (2:1-3), and a second cruel test isadministered, 2:7.

iii) Job’s wife's statement echoes Satan’schallenge to God and introduces the conflicton earth (2:9-10), which again is apparentlyresolved by Job's acceptance.

(b) Plot anticipation–Job’s apparent acceptance of thesethings does not fit the general mold of the ancient


Habel, 29.63

54

Near Eastern audience, and especially an Israeliteone, cf. the Psalter. Further, Yhwh’s acceptance ofSatan’s wager casts doubt on his ability to governwith justice.

i) Thus the prologue is used to set up the plot.

ii) The prologue is “the first movement of acomplex plot which foreshadows andrequires the subsequent movements for itsappropriate development and resolution.”63

(2) Movement II: The Hero Challenges God–The ConflictExplored, 2:11-31:40

(a) Plot development is seen in the arrival of the friendswho are sympathetic to Job's plight, but when Jobcomplains a conflict is initiated with these friends.

i) Job opens with an oath before his friends(ch. 3) and closes with an oath before God,(ch. 26-31)

ii) Two major conflicts are exposed betweenthese chapters--conflict with Job's friendsand conflict with God.

iii) The friends, at first sympathetic, ultimatelypronounce him guilty.

iv) When the conversation is over with thefriends, Job turns to God to argue his case incourt, ch. 29ff.

(b) Plot anticipation is provided at certain key points--Job's desire to present his case (9:16-1`7); his desirefor a mediator (9:32-35); etc.


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(3) Movement III: God Challenges the Hero–The ConflictResolved, 32-42.

(a) The appearance of Elihu is an apparent resolution ofthe plot, for Yhwh appears contrary to Elihu'spredictions.

(b) Yhwh’s twofold appearance (38:1; 40:6)corresponds to the two councils in heaven in theprologue; his two-fold challenge to Satan there isbalanced by dual challenge to Job.

(c) These challenges intensify the conflict between Joband God, which is only removed by his ambiguousspeech.

(d) The conflict with the friends remains unresolveduntil God intervenes.

(e) The closure at the end is designed to echo theopening: intercession, verdict of the narrator,consolation by friends and family, possessions, etc.

(4) Habel concludes:

A literary analysis of the major elements of the book of Jobreveals a coherent plot developed in three major movements,each with formal introduction and closure. Within these threemovements a series of significant conflicts are developed andresolved, anticipated and recapitulated. These conflicts aredeveloped within the framework of the eternal tension betweenthe will of heaven and the happenings of earth, the plan of Godand the program of mortals. The chief character of the plot istested, suffers great anguish, stands alone, defies heaven, andemerges a true hero. The fact that many events in the plot areverbal acts such as curses or oaths in no way nullifies them asforces integral to the conflict. With great artistic ingenuity theauthor has constructed this work by incorporating ancientlegendary styles, rich poetic language, and diverse sapientialtraditions. All elements of the work are given coherence througha forceful underlying plot which extends beyond the so-called


Habel, 35.64

Pope, “Job,” 920.65

Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry (New York: Basic Books, 1985); James L.66

Kugel, The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History (New Haven/London: YaleUniversity, 1981).

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prologue and epilogue.64

D. “Actually no general classification suits the book. It has features that partake of allthe various literary forms that have been ascribed to it, but it is not to be classedwith any one of them, for it is neither exclusively lyric, epic, dramatic, or didactic.The book is sui generis, and no single term or combination of terms that has beenproposed does justice to the scope of the work.”65

XII. EXEGESIS: NARRATIVE AND POETRY.

A. The facts (1) “no general classification suits the book,” and (2) that Job iscomposed of both narrative and poetry, mean that the exegete is free to employ awide range of tools in his work, particularly poetic and narrative exegeticalmethods.

1. Other books have both types of material.

2. But the peculiar nature of Job, with prose in the prologue/epilogue andpoetry in the dialogue make it an exceptional case.

3. Narrative exegesis will be a necessity in the prologue/epilogue just aspoetic exegesis will be a necessity in the poetic sections.

B. What is extremely fascinating is that the interconnectedness of the poetic andnarrative sections mean that poetic and narrative exegetical tools can becombined!

1. Habel’s example of narrative exegesis has just be noticed.

2. To this should be added the new advances made by Alter and Kugel inpoetic exegesis.66


See Habel, 49-60 for discussion.67

Habel, 51.68

57

3. While one may use narrative tools such as dialogue, leitwörter, etc. in bothpoetic and prose sections, he should also use in both sections those poetictools such as the correspondence between the two lines that both Alter andKugel have noticed, in which the second “goes beyond the first” (Kugel),or intensifies, etc. it in some way (Alter).

4. These may include, repetition, allusion, irony, legal metaphors, imagery,and analogy, etc.67

C. All of this is due to the method of the author: “The artist's way of integrating[these] materials does not reflect a pedantic, point-for-point correspondencebetween argument and rebuttal, or between challenge and response. The approachis tangential; verbal associations are made by indirect allusion; and literaryconnections are often playful. Style corresponds to theology; ambiguity is both amark not only of the literary design but also of the paradox apparent in thecosmos. Word plays, puns, double entendre, and verbal irony are part of theauthor's stock-in-trade. The verbal irony of the language corresponds to thedramatic irony of the plot.”68

D. Thus the entire work can be explored to the fullest through the integration ofnarrative-poetic exegetical methods.

XIII. PURPOSE AND TEACHING.

A. The major purpose of the book has been perceived to answer the problem oftheodicy, i.e., the problem of undeserved suffering.

1. How can Job's case (a man of piety, who is overwhelmed with misfortuneand disease) be reconciled with divine justice?

2. If the purpose of the book is to “solve” this problem, it fails miserably–noanswer is given.

3. The problem is the focus of the discussion of much of the book.

4. Several “solutions” have been put forward.


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B. Job sufferings, at Satan's request, was to test the genuineness of Job’s piety.

1. Friends argue that God is just, thus Job must have sinned.

2. Job denies this, arguing that justice is frequently futile, that God isresponsible, hence God is unjust

3. Elihu agrees with the three friends, but adds that it may be for discipline

4. Yhwh ignores the question, but points to Job's ignorance.

5. None of these is adequate if the purpose is to justify God's ways to man.

C. The purpose was to refute the contention of the friends that righteousness bringsprosperity and wickedness brings misfortune.

1. The doctrine is taught with regard to nations in Exod 23:20ff.; Lev 26;Deut 28; Jer 7:5-7, and applied to individuals in Pss 1; 37; 49; 73; Isa58:6-14; Jer 17:5-8.

2. The doctrine is comforting to a healthy and prosperous individual, as thefriends illustrate.

3. This view has been termed “orthodox,” indicating it as accepted,normative, and time-honored as a view.

4. While this was acceptable to some, to take it as normative is to ignore thefacts.

a. The stories of Abel, Uriah the Hittite, and Naboth are not told toshow that they got what they deserved.

b. Jeremiah (31:30; cf. 11:19 and 12:1) shows that it does not holdtrue in every case.

c. “That there is a measure of truth in the doctrine is obvious.Righteousness ought to be, and frequently is, rewarded withsuccess and favor of man and God, and wickedness oftenoverreaches itself and brings about its own merited destruction, butthe attempt to make this an absolute rule goes against the hard facts


Pope, “Job,” 922.69

59

of life. It ought to be so, but it certainly is not, as Job well arguesand exemplifies. This view is thoroughly refuted by Job, but thePrologue of the book had already taken the ground from under thefriends by assuring us that Job was quite innocent.”69

d. This same mode of thought persisted in Jesus’ day, and was refutedby him Luke 13:1-5; John 9:2.

e. This was hardly the whole purpose of the book.

D. The purpose, which is shown in advance in the prologue, is to prove to angels andmen that disinterested piety is possible–Job can and does revere God for no hopeof reward, but for himself.

1. The reader is privy to the plot from the first.

2. Yhwh initiates the action by calling attention to Job

3. Satan is a mere agent, who carries out Yhwh's will.

4. Victory is seen in Job's confessions:

a. 1:21: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed bethe name of the Lord.”

b. 2:10: “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we notreceive evil?”

5. Such a view is moving toward its profoundest statement–the Cross of theNT

6. Derives much from the NT

7. While this may be helpful, and even applicable to the Christian today, itderives more from this hindsight than what the author may have known(cf. 1 Pet 1:10ff.).

8. Yet with the assurance that the sufferer was innocent, the author makes


Pope, “Job,” 923.70

Pope, “Job,” 923.71

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some important contributions.

a. Job did not know that God counted him innocent.

b. He had only his conscience and common sense to follow.

c. Had he known the reason for his suffering, there would have beenno test of faith.

d. In Job’s case, this was more than God’s winning a wager withSatan; it was the vindication of God’s faith in man, as well asman's faith in God.70

E. The dialogue offers no answer to the question of theodicy, except the negativeresult, something that could have been decided after the first cycle.

1. When the friends assert God’s justice, Job shows that it does not fit hiscase and many others.

2. “It has been quite properly pointed out that the speeches are not really adialogue in the sense of disputations designed to arrive at the truth, butthey are like the speeches in a legal proceeding, in which each side has apredetermined point of view, which is asserted back and forth till one sidegives up. This is seen as the explanation of Zophar's failure to take his lastturn.”71

3. Such seems corroborated by the fact that there is no real progress made inthe disagreement among the four friends.

4. While the friends remain unchanged in their position, though becomingmore vehement, Job appears to grow more calm toward the end.

5. He has been groping toward an answer and wants to argue his case withGod which opens many possibilities.

a. His appeal for a mediator (9:33).


Pope, “Job,” 923.72

61

(1) While indirectly it may be messianic, it is probably not partof the primary solution to be found in Job's day.

(2) How could the Messiah, Jesus, help Job with his suffering?

b. Job grasps for the hope of an after life (ch. 14).

(1) But the idea is only broached to be rejected.

(2) Job resigns himself to the finality of death.

(3) Even if this were the answer, it must be admitted that “Theprospect of future bliss may be of some consolation to onein agony, but it does not help to understand or bear thesuffering of the present.”72

(4) Such is evidenced by the fact that many faithful Christiansraise the problem of theodicy in their own lives, eventhough they know that heaven awaits them!

c. The climax is reached in 19:25-27 (NRS): 25 For I know that myRedeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh Ishall see God, 27 whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shallbehold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

!Arx]a;w> yx' ylia]GO yTi[.d;y" ynIa]w: WTT Job 19:25

tazO-WpQ.nI yrIA[ rx;a;w> 26 `~Wqy" rp'['-l[; yLi-hz<x/a, ynIa] rv,a] 27 `H;Ala/ hz<x/a, yrIf'B.miW

`yqixeB. yt;yOl.ki WlK' rz"-al{w> War' yn:y[ew>

(1) But this is one of the most difficult passages in the book

(2) Two interpretations are possible:

(a) Job counts on vindication before his death.


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(b) Job hopes for it after his death.

(3) The latter has to lean on the Vulgate for its interpretation,rather than the Hebrew.

(4) Many critics, ancient and modern, have seen in the passageJob’s anticipation of vindication and return to divine favorbefore his death as stated in other passages, 13:15-16; 23:2-10; 29

(5) The context of this passage has to be taken into account:

(a) Job wishes to leave to posterity a lasting memorialof his protestation, vss. 20-24.

(b) He desires a living vindicator who will argue hiscase

(c) Even if he dies before this is accomplished, hebelieves that he will be posthumously vindicated.

F. The theophany of chs. 38-42 provides the answer.

1. There are problems with this view.

a. Job has refuted his friends view and challenged God for an answer.

b. When God appears he ignores the issue as Job has posed it.

c. Does not give an explanation, but instead asks questions whichforce Job to recant.

d. Further more, in the epilogue Job is commended for having spokencorrectly, his friends are condemned, and Job is restored.

e. Such seeming contradictions have caused some to want to deletethese passages as non-genuine.

f. This is hardly reason to eliminate them however, for their positionindicates that they are the climax.


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g. The answer must be sought here.

2. Yhwh’s refusal to answer Job’s question may be seen as putting man in hisproper place in relation to God.

a. Yhwh’s evasion may be a way of illustrating Deut 29:29–there isno answer available to man.

b. God cannot be hauled into court or compelled to testify againsthimself.

c. Impotent man cannot presume to tell God how to run the universe.

d. Nor can any amount of suffering justify man to question God’sjustice.

(1) Job confesses his wrong precisely at this point (attemptingto force an answer from God), 42:3b-c.

(2) Job says nothing regarding his innocence and God saysnothing to imply that Job merited such misery

(3) This is an ethical vindication of Job over his friends, whohad maintained he was sinful

e. God’s bringing no indictment against Job for wrong doing agreeswith both the epilogue and prologue, which tell of his innocence

(1) Job gets no apology and no explanation as to why it hashappened.

(2) But the absence of a charge of wrong doing amounts to avindication.

(3) Thus it is at least a partial answer for Job–his misery wasnot the result of sin.

(4) To the question, if not, why then?–is rejected aspresumptuous, and Job is rebuked.

(5) Throughout Job begged for a chance to argue his case with


Habel, 69.73

Moshe Greenburg, "Reflections on Job's Theology," in The Book of Job: A New74

Translation according to the Traditional Hebrew Text, with introductions by Moshe Greenburg,Jonas C. Greenfield, and Nahum M. Sarna (Philadelphia:JPS, 1980), xvii-xxiii.

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God, and when he gets it, he confesses that he was wrongand that God moves in realms beyond man's comprehension

3. This is as much an answer as man ever receives in this life.

G. Habel provides an adequate summary:

The message of Job, then, is bound up with the interplay of tradition and experience, thesearch for moral laws and the discovery of a cosmic design with laws which are not inthemselves the guarantors of moral order; the right of the sufferer to be angry with Godand the need of outsiders to interpret that suffering; the dilemma of a hiddentranscendent deity and living experience of his holiness; the unexpected dark side of godand his elusive sovereign goodness; the paradox of an ambiguous reality called life andthe search for meaning in the face of death; the inaccessibility of primordial wisdom andthe eternal quest for understanding the mysteries of the cosmos; the laughing Leviathansilenced by God's might; and the comical ostrich in need of God's personal care. Jobfinally understood that “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” (1:21), but not in themanner many mortals may wish, expect, or understand. For Job experienced God and hisparadoxical ways as an insider. The design of God frees Job from a mechanical, blindsubmission to a moral law of retributive justice. God creates the space in his order for thefreedom of humans and the freedom of God, for the integrity of mortals and the integrityof God, for the angry complaints of those in agony and the challenge of God inWhirlwind or whisper. Job discovers his God and in so doing finds his own “place”(mâqôm) and “way” (derek), a “way” once hidden from him by God himself (3:23). Job,like God, comes to transcend the moral order by his innocent suffering.73

XIV. THE HERMENEUTICS OF JOB.

A. Greenburg has identified several thematic motifs which characterize the theologyof the book.74

1. The book is really about Job’s piety as it is transformed from a viewformed in wealth and happiness into one formed through life's calamities.

2. A spiritual journey from a simple world view and piety to one whichrecognizes that some misfortunes are inexplicable.


Greenburg, xix.75

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3. Faith, to be of real value, must be tested.

4. The collapse of an earlier simple piety, when faith is tested can beovercome.

5. God reveals to Job that he is “both purposive and nonpurposive, playfuland uncanny,” in short incomprehensible.75

6. Understanding that God is incomprehensible calms Job, for he is no longertortured by a concept that fails to account for it. Job recognizes that he cannever understand it all.

7. Misfortune changes piety even when that new piety cannot provide theanswers, but is more congruent with experience.

8. Honesty before God is more important than understanding “Why?”

9. Job is wiser because he learns the limitations of his former views.

10. Greenburg also echoes Habel’s sentiments, relative to the inexplicabilityof life, just noted:

The religious sensibility apparently absorbs or even affirms thecontradictions embodied in these books [i.e., Torah, Prophets, Proverbs, andDaniel, rcb]. That may be because these contradictions are perceived to exist inreality. One can see in individual life as in collective life a moral causality(which the religious regard as divinely maintained; indeed, as a reflection ofGod's attributes): evil recoils upon the evildoers, whether individual orcollective; goodness brings blessings. At the same time, the manifestation of thiscausality can be so erratic or so delayed as to cast doubt on its validity as thesingle key to the destiny of men and nations. Hence the sober believer does notpin his faith solely on a simple axiom of the divine maintenance of moralcausality, but neither will he altogether deny its force. No single key unlocks themystery of destiny: “Within our ken is neither the tranquility of the wicked northe suffering of the righteous” (Abot 4:17), but, for all that, the sober believerdoes not endorse nihilism. Wisdom, Torah, and Prophets continue to representfor him one aspect of causality in events which he can confirm in his own privateexperience. But one aspect only. The other stands beyond his moral judgment,though it is still under God: namely, the mysterious or preordained decree of


Greenburg, xxiii.76

Clines, xlviiff.77

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God, toward which the proper attitude is "Though He slay me, yet will I trust inHim" (Job 13:15, qere).76

B. The book can be read from several different perspectives.77

1. A feminist reading, a new approach, would read the book emphasizingthose features which show how woman has been neglected, abused, etc., inthe history of mankind--it is a male dominated book and the women in thebook are given a negative emphasis. E.g., Job's wife's exhortation is seenas being an echo of Satan’s.

2. A vegetarian reading would emphasize that the book places significantemphasis on animals.

a. In the prologue, Job possesses a large stock of animals.

b. Animals are sacrificed at the beginning as protection for Job’schildren.

(1) Since they are cut off, and the sacrifices are apparentlyworthless, are the sacrifices for Job's friends at the end ofthe book of any account?

(2) The book is perceived as calling into question the abuse ofanimals.

c. The mention of the wild animals in the divine speeches of 38-41 isperceived as showing that the world does not exist for man only,but for others of importance as well.

3. A materialist would emphasize:

a. Since Job begins and ends as wealthy, the book may have beenwritten to deal with the antagonism often experienced between richand poor.


Clines, lv.78

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b. The poor find it hard to perceive the rich as both honest and rich.

c. Similarly, the rich perceive the poor as either dishonest, or elsedeserving of their plight.

d. Seen in this way the doctrine of divine retribution might beperceived as “rich man’s” doctrine, for the poor could not afford tobelieve in it.

4. A Christian reading:

a. “It is . . . a more appropriate Christian approach to the OldTestament to forswear an exclusively Christological reading, and toallow the Old and New Testaments to confront one another, withthe possibility being entertained that they may be in conflict withone another over quite important matters.”78

b. A Christian reading must relativize the book.

(1) It is difficult to for the Christian to perceive anyone asperfect (“blameless and upright”).

(2) Since “all have sinned,” Job’s perfection must beinterpreted as “innocence.”

(3) Otherwise, there is a perceived contradiction between theJob of the NT, who was patient (James 5:11), and the Jobof the OT who was not.

c. Job’s concern for order in the world of suffering seems out ofplace, with a belief that "all have sinned," and are in need ofsalvation.

d. At the same time, Job's contradiction of the doctrine of divineretribution as a universal principle allows a connection to be madefor Jesus' vicarious suffering, otherwise the doctrine would have tomean that Jesus was the chief of sinners!


Hartley, 47ff.79

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C. Job can be used to explore several different themes today.79

1. The upright person may suffer even though he has not sinned.

2. Suffering can have great dimensions.

3. In the struggle to overcome suffering the righteous person may haveunreasoned anger which threatens his moral resolve.

4. The too simple understanding of the doctrine of retribution–the righteousare always blessed while the wicked are always punished–is challenged.

5. The justness of God and theodicy is explored to the fullest

6. An encounter with God shows Job that not every question will beanswered, that God does rule justly, and that man must completely yield tohim.

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