"Why do you hide your face, and count me your enemy" (Job 12:24)? Job's passionate cry to God reflects his desire to regain his relationship with God. But what has befallen Job, and what is the reason? He is a blameless man, yet he suffers God's wrath. The themes of the Book of Job are surrounded by three critical questions: (a) Is there such thing as disinterested piety 1; (b) why do the innocent suffer, while the wicked do not; and (c) where can wisdom be found? The question concerning the innocent suffering is not answered, but the eloquent literary structure of Job offers enlightening answers to the other two difficult questions.
The narrative of Job is divided into several highly structured sections, whish establish a linear path to the unveiling of the answers of the questions stated. The three general sections of the narrative consist of the prose prologue (Job 1, 2), the poetic dialogue (3:1-42:6), and the prose epilogue (42:7-end) 2. The poetic dialogue contains the major conflicts of the narrative, concerning the sufferer's outrage, the bias of Job's comforters, and the high wisdom of God 3 and provides the necessary answers to the three questions of faith. The prologue sets the scene and presents the challenge on the accountability of man's faith and the reasons behind his faith and the epilogue tells of Job's vindication and restoration.
The prologue begins by describing Job, a prosperous man that is "blameless and upright" and fears God (Job 1:1b). The Book of Job is set in the land of Uz, but the location and date of the story is unknown. The prologue is written as a standard narrative, focusing on the factual background and clearly establishes the problem of the book. The scene shifts to the Heavenly court, where the "sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came along with them" (vv. 6). Scholars debate on the idea that the Satan mentioned in the Book of Job is not to be depicted as the Satan of the New Testament; some state that he is "merely one of the 'sons of God' who carry out the Lord's plans" 4 . I disagree with this point of view. In the two confrontations with Satan, God provokes Satan to challenge Job's faith and motivation. Satan argues that Job behaves as a pious man so long as he finds it useful and presents the challange that if God takes away everything Job owns and his physical health, Job would no longer be faithful (1:9-11, 2:4b-5).
If Satan can prove that God's finest man is a hypocrite, then man's sincerity to God is not credible. 5 God accepts Satan's challenge, but on his own terms, emphasizing the superiority of his power 6. Not only does the question of man's integrity arise, but the question is presented as to why the innocent suffer, which the prologue produces no answer 7. The prologue ends with the stricken Job sitting among the ashes with his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
The dialogue (Job 3:1-42:6) can be divided into several main parts, each progressing the themes of the narrative. They include Job's lament (Job 3), three rounds of speeches by Job's comforters with Job's protests in between (4-31), including an interlude on wisdom, Elihu's interruption (32-37), God's disclosure (38-41), and Job's repentance (42:1-6) 8. The author uses poetry in the dialogue in a way that emphasizes the emotions of each of the characters more than the advancement of the narrative. In his lament, Job curses himself, saying, "Let the day perish in which I was born..." (Job 3:3a). The author uses the contrast of light and darkness to portray Job's anguish at God's turning away from him.
Shortly after Job's lament, Job's friends attemt to offer Job consolation by attempting to persuade him to ask for forgiveness. Scholars agree that the three friends' philosophies complement one another, establishing a group with one position against Job 9. Job feels the sting of misjudgment from friends that think he should be asking, "What have I done?" rather than, "What has God done? 10" They are convinced that Job is afflicted due to a hidden sin that Job refuses to repent of (Job 5:17-18; 8:1-22, 11:14-15, etc.). Job's comforters are not presented as hypocrites or fools, but reflect their elder's doctrines on older wisdom 11, which emphasize the concept of afflictions being God's chastisements and the warnings of the law and traditions listed in Deuteronomy and Proverbs 12. They believe that the wisdom of the elders, which they interpret that it states that the just are rewarded and the sinners are punished, 13 is the explanation for the reasons for the way God acts. Through this wisdom, they conclude that Job's plight makes him a sinner. Though his friends come to comfort Job, they have the opposite effect, making it aware that everyone around is against him.
Job's friends "pass from gentle probing for some hidden sin, to stern rebukes for his intemperate language and finally to inventing a fictitious catalog of crimes for him" 14. The literary device of the increasing vehemence of Job's friends reflects the growth of their self-righteousness and their unqualified condemnation of Job 15. After Job's lament, Eliphaz requests that Job should appeal to God for forgiveness and he will be restored (Job 4, 5). Bildad is shocked that Job would think that God is perverting justice (8), and Zophar continues Eliphaz's statement that if Job repents, he will surely be restored 16. The three progressively attack Job by iterating the concept of terrible punishments for the wicked.
In their speeches, Job's friends speak solely to Job, while Job strives to defend his integrity to only God. His true desire is to reestablish his relationship with God. Job prays to God, asking him to show his face to Job to tell him the sins that have been committed against him (Job 13:20-14:22). Suffering both in his wake and in his dreams, Job asks God, "Am I the sea, or the Dragon, that you set a guard over me" (7:12)? Does God feel threatened by him, or does God wish to bully him 17 (vv. 19)?
Toward the end of his defense, Job says that as long as he lives, he will not "speak falsehood" (Job 27:4) and will not give a "trumped-up confession" for a sin that he did not commit 18. In the interlude on wisdom, the author raises a parenthetical account 19, declaring that wisdom cannot be found on earth and cannot be valued in gold or any precious jewel (28:12-19). He states that only God knows the way to wisdom, because he created it.
In contrast to the persecution by his friends, Job grows in strength to the end. He does not deny that he is sinless, but gives an oath to God, declaring that if he has done anything to offend God, by not doing His Will or has committed a grievous sin, may God take all that he has (Job 31). Tsevat calls this oath the "most terrible oath in the Bible, " where Job's oath does not leave out the apodos "then may God punish me" to ensure no further punishment 20. Job exclaims in Job 31:37 that he will "give [God] and account of all [his] steps; like a prince [he] would approach [the Lord]." Though the reestablishment of his faith with God is his only hope, Job declares in Job 9:2, "Indeed this I know for the truth, that no man can win his case against God." 21 The greatest cause of Job's pain is that he is divided between his belief in the wisdom of the elders and his current situation 22. Job wants to believe that the innocent are rewarded with goodness, but he is a living exception. Job seeks God for the answers and for vindication.
Before God's revelation to Job is recorded, Elihu, a young and learned man presents his arguments against Job. After waiting for his elders to finish speaking, Elihu's speech reiterates the arguments mentioned by Eliphaz and his two friends 23. According to Craigie, his speech "rings of bookish knowledge," which is not absorbed or understood 24. Scholars identify Elihu's speech as an anticlimactic delay of God's revelation.
Yahweh, Hebrew for "the Lord," addresses Job from "out of the whirlwind" (Job 38:1), which scholars say represents God's formidability and his unceasing offensive. The Lord begins to overwhelm Job with a stream of questions, each of which Job is unable to answer. Job imagined himself asking God questions; however, he is not given the chance 25. Two things are occurring in this disclosure: God has changed the subject from Job's suffering to questions on wisdom and the power of God; and is reconstructing Job's faith 26. God's first disclosure to Job can be divided into several parts: the survey and management of the world (vv. 4-21); the dimensions of the universe (vv. 22-30); questions about the world and the stars (vv. 31-38); the sustenance of the kingdom of animals (39:1-4); and the freedom and taming of wild beasts (vv. 5-12) 27. These sections reflect the creation story in Genesis 1, in which God asks Job numerous questions about the beginning and of the knowledge about his creations. Through these questions, God asks Job, "How can you question the way I run the world, when you lack the wisdom to understand the things around you" 28?
Verses 4-21 consist of questions that ask where Job was when the earth was formed and when its foundation was laid. It also asks Job if he has "commanded the morning since the days began" (vv. 12), and where the light and darkness reside (vv. 19). Verses 22-30 present questions about the places the precipitation, winds, and other items of weather are from. Questions like "has the rain a father...?" (vv. 28a) allude to ancient myths of the East, in which man justifies natural occurrences with myths and lack the wisdom for the truth 29. The third sections (vv. 31-38), the Lord asks Job if he can guide the constellations and if the elements of nature would obey him. Chapter 39 questions Job about his knowledge of the animals around him, from knowing the birthing cycles of the mountain goats, to the ability to tame the wild beasts. God states that the wold ox could be useful to Job, but Job is unable to break its will 30. Through these questions, both Job and the reader are drawn into the mysteries of creation 31. God then asks Job, "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty" (40:2a)? Unable to answer, Job states that he will speak no further.
Scholars debate on the significance of God's second disclosure to Job's repentance. Fod's first disclosure silenced Job, but the second disclosure caused Job to "despise [himself], and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). The second disclosure is divided into two strophes: the first, in which God charges that Job would put God in the wrong to clear his own name, and the second, which challenges Job to "humble the haughty and imprison them in the dust" 32, and he will acknowledge that Job can use his own power for his victory" (40:14).
The second disclosure continues through the examples of Behemoth and Leviathan. Many scholars interpret these two creatures in the "natural" sense, in which Behemoth represents the hippopotamus and Leviathan represents the crocodile. In this interpretation, the passage focuses on teh magnificance of the creatures and the statement by God that the Behemoth was made, just as Job was made 33.
Other scholars, such as Gammie, view Behemoth and Leviathan as proponents of "mythical" interpretation, emphasizing on the concept that not only did God create these creatures, but that He is the only one that is able to control them 34. This proponent provides a clearer reason for Job's repentance in Job 42, as Behemoth and Leviathan serve as metaphors to Job's character and man's endeavor 35. As a didactic image for Job, there are several similarities between the description of Behemoth and Job. As God does not allow Satan to take Job's life, God is the only one who "can approach it with the sword" (Job 40:19b). In addition, though both Job and the Behemoth are oppressed, they do not flee their habitat 36. Though Job was smitten, lost his family and was oppressed by his friends, he held on to his integrity, just as the Behemoth is confident, in spite of the Jordan River rushing against it. Like Behemoth, Leviathan can be compared to Job. Job himself compares himself at birth to Leviathan (Job 3:1-26). In addition, Leviathan has no equal on earth (41:33), which reflects Genesis 1:26, where God said, "let [man] have dominion over...all the wild animals of the earth..." 37.
Though Job does not receive the reason for his suffering, he now recognizes God's power and wisdom and repents of the things he had said 38. Job is vindicated before his fortunes are restored, which reflects his own order of priorities. Above all, Job had feared the loss of God's recognition of his innocence 39.
In the epliogue, God speaks out in anger against Eliphaz and his friends because they had not spoken right of him, as did Job (Job 42:7). Verse 10 also states that yahweh "restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends." This eliminates all doubt of Job being sinful when he was afflicted 40. As the filling of Job's cup, his wealth is restored twofold and he is blesssed with a long life (vv. 10-17).
Job's desire to reestablish his relationship with God and his repentance in the end of the narrative prove that Satan's accusation was wrong. Job continued to show disinterested piety throughout the narrative. The source of all wisdom is stated multiple times within Job to be from God, which Job sees through the divine disclosure. The question of the innocent's suffering is never answred, but instead, the author conveys the fact that God's wisdom is infinite and should not be questioned 41. Since the wisdom is in God, we should have faith in the things He does in our lives. Though we may not understand, God will always love us and take care of us.
Endnotes:
1. Tsevat, Matithiahu. The Meaning of the Book of Job. Edited by H.M. Orlinsky, Studies in Israelite Wisdom. New York: KTAV Publishing, 1976, pg 342.
2. Kidner, Derek. The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes (Downers Grove: by the author, 1985), pg 57
3. Ibid
4. Murphy, Roland E. Wisdom Literature and Psalms (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1983), pg 76.
5. Kidner, Derek, pg 58.
6. Tsevat, Matithiahu, pg 342.
7. Steinmann, Andrew E. "The Structure and Message of the Book of Job." Vestus Testamentum XLVI, no. 1 (1996): pg 87.
8. Kidner, Derek, pg 57.
9. Tsevat, pg 343; Kidner, pp 60-61; Steinmann, pg 97.
10. Kidner, pp. 60-62.
11. Ibid
12. Ibid
13. Tsevat, pg 343.
14. Kidner, pp. 60-62.
15. Tsevat, pg. 343.
16. Revell Bible Dictionary (1990), s.v. "Job"
17. Kidner, pp. 64-65.
18. Kidner, pg. 67
19. Kidner, pg. 81
20. Tsevat, pp. 347-348.
21. Ewing, Ward B. Job, A Vision of God (New York: Seabury Press, 1976), pg. 83.
22. Ewing, 99.
23. Kidner, pg. 70.
24. Craigie, Peter G. "The Old Testament," Its Background, Growth, & Content (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986), pg. 225.
25. Kidner, pg. 70.
26. Ibid
27. Tsevat, pp. 353-357.
28. Ibid
29. Ibid
30. Ibid
31. Murphy, pg. 83.
32. Gammie, John G. "Behemoth and Leviathan: On the Didactic and theological significance of Job 40:15-41:26." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien (New york: Union Theological Seminary, 1978), pg. 218.
33. Ewing, pg. 115.
34. Gammie, pg. 218.
35. Ibid
36. Ibid
37. Ibid
38. Tsevat, pg. 358.
39. Kidner, pg. 73.
40. Ibid
41. Tsevat, pg. 374.
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