TRANSFORMATION IN THE STORIES OF JOB
By
Bree C. Del Sordo
Submitted to the
Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
of American University
in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
In
Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs
Chair: {[Vi·'ivy k ()lL:•,/'-f..··L• Amy Oflver, Ph.D. . 11 ' ' .\ ' u/\'.A.Nt{}C~"-' '• 0
D~~ndSciences 9~J~S' Date
2008
American University
Washington, D.C. 20016
/JI,, ·'("'f"HCA l\I IJ' ,r•.~: ·1 i ,, '1'< · NIVEFlS!TY UBr·UUlY UMI Number: 1452740
Copyright 2008 by Del Sardo, Bree C.
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by
Bree C. Del Sordo
2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TRANSFORMATION IN THE STORIES OF JOB
BY
Bree C. Del Sordo
ABSTRACT
The Book of Job is the most widely written on text of the Hebrew Bible and has created a long interpretive tradition. In spite of this, the tradition tends to dismiss an integral part of the text, namely Job's restoration, found in the epilogue. It is the thesis of this project that amidst his suffering Job undergoes a transformation of his understanding, evidenced by his restored world, which is radically different than his original one. The thesis is supported not only through an in-depth analysis of the Book of Job, but also through the ancient Mesopotamian literature which preceded it, its Aramaic and Greek re-expressions, and a cross-cultural comparison with the Hindu story of Nala. The following work navigates through a diversity of ancient texts in order to better understand
Job's transformation.
11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my appreciation to all of those who assisted me in this undertaking. My gratitude goes to the Chair of the Department of Philosophy and
Religion, Dr. Amy Oliver, who allowed me to pursue this project. I am greatly indebted to my committee members, Dr. Jason Springs and Dr. Lucinda Joy Peach, who voluntarily trudged through many awkward drafts in order to help make this thesis a reality. Both graciously gave of their time and knowledge. I am also grateful to Dr.
Gershon Greenberg, who originally embraced my work on Job, and who has provided guidance and inspiration. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Shubha Pathak, who instinctively suggested a possible parallel between the story of Nala and the Book of Job.
I deeply appreciate everyone's encouragement and support of the project. Needless to say, I am responsible for any shortcomings the paper may have.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGMEN1'S ...... iii
ABBREVIATIONS ...... v
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
CHAPTER ONE: BOOK OF JOB ...... 8
CHAPTER TWO: ORIGINS OF JOB ...... 42
CHAPTER THREE: HINDU JOB ...... 64
CHAPTER FOUR: TARGUM OF JOB ...... 80
CHAPTER FIVE: TESTAMENT OF JOB ...... 95
CONCLUSION...... 122
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 127
IV ABBREVIATIONS
AB Anchor Bible
KJV King James Version
NEB New English Bible
NKJV New King James Version
T. Job Testament of Job
Tg.Job Targum of Job
v INTRODUCTION
The question of innocent suffering appears in literature as early as ancient
Mesopotamia, but undoubtedly finds its most eloquent expression in the Book of Job of the Hebrew tradition. From the outset, the Book of Job created a narrative legacy that would be extended for centuries. Even today, Job continues to find vital re-expressions in modern literature. The Book of Job has been a source of inspiration for many thinkers, playwrights, poets, and artists. In the nineteenth century alone the Book of Job inspired three of the greatest minds of all time. Goethe's "Faust," considered a high point in literature and poetry, draws its opening scene directly from the prologue to the Book of
Job. S~ren Kierkegaard, often referred to as the father of existentialism, sermonizes on
Job in his Edifying Discourses. And, William Blake, the artist and mystic, is acclaimed for his visual interpretations of the Book of Job.
The twentieth century was also in:Spired by the Book of Job. Carl Jung, the famous psychoanalyst, dedicated an entire book to the story, the Answer to Job.
Archibald MacLeish, a poet and former U.S. Librarian of Congress, wrote the Pulitzer
Prize winning "J.B.: A Play in Verse." Robert Frost, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote "A Masque of Reason," often referred to as a sequel to the Book of Job. Jack
Miles, a current religious critic, has a chapter on Job in hi~! God: A Biography, also a
Pulitzer Prize winning book. William Safire, the well known New York Times columnist, wrote The First Dissident: The Book of Job in Today's Politics. Primo Levi, a Holocaust 2
survivor and distinguished author, begins The Search for Roots: A Personal Anthology with an essay on the Book of Job. 1 Y.L. Perets' well-known Yiddish story "Bontsye
Shvayg," or "Bontsye the Silent," is said to be based on the Book of Job. 2 And, Paul
Ricoeur and Robert Alter, two well respected contemporaries, both published essays on
Job. In 2007, there were approximately 25 works published on the Book of Job. Clearly,
Job is a living story which has been retold and rewritten many times throughout history.
Indeed, the Book of Job is more than just a religious text. Its influence has crossed so many academic and creative disciplines that it has to be considered a fundamental expression of human existence. The Book of Job is myth par excellence.
The power of Job to continue its influence through time speaks to the universal nature of the story, as well as to the fundamental nature of myth in general. But, myth is more than the preservation and transmission of stories and information through time.
Myth is an original human response to the world. It responds to what is most fundamental and at issue for human existence. It is therefore not surprising that the mystery of creation, the nature of human suffering and the mortality of our lives should be common mythic themes of concern, which cross cultural and historical boundaries.
Myth is conventionally understood to have no basis in history. Such an approach prevents myth from having its own narrative authority. Myth has also been taken as unreal and hence untruthful. But, myth need not be opposed to truth. Myth has a truth and
1 See Primo Levi, "'The Just Man Oppressed by Injustice': The Book of Job, Bible," in The Search for Roots: A Personal Anthology, (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2002).
2 See Bruce Zuckerman, Job the Silent: A Study in Historical Counterpoint, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991). Zuckerman devotes his entire book to a comparison between "Bontsye Shvayg" and the Book of Job, and is the first to translate Perets' short story into English. 3
logic of its own, which speaks to what is most fundamental in human experience. Claude
Levi-Strauss states this point in another way:
Prevalent attempts to explain alleged differences between the so-called primitive mind and scientific thought have resorted to qualitative differences between the working processes of the mind in both cases, while assuming that the entities they were studying remained very much the same. If our interpretation is correct, we are lead towards a completely different view-namely, that the kind of logic in mythical thought is as rigorous as that of modern science, and that the difference lies, not in the quality of the 3 intellectual process, but in the nature of the things to which it is applied.
Commonly, myth is taken as primitive, and science is understood as the more advanced
and civilized way of understanding the world. But, certainly myth is more than a
primitive means of explanation; it is a universal creative source for understanding our
own humanity.
The following project explores the myth of Job from the Hebrew Bible, its
narrative mythic origins and its later mythic re-expressions. Multiple ancient stories
bearing direct similarities to the Book of Job have been mentioned in the writings of
scholars, but rarely are they considered collectively. The texts from which the following
work proceeds are diverse. The literary roots of Job can be found in the laments, poems
and epics of the ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and U garitic traditions. The story finds later re-expression in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, known as the
Septuagint, the Aramaic Targum of Job, and the Greek pseudepigraphic Testament of
Job. The Book of Job also bears similarities with stories from other cultures of the time, in particular the stories of Hariscandra and Na/a from the Hindu tradition. The cross- cultural power of the story of Job cannot be denied; its dynamics speak to the most fundamental human experiences-that of loss and suffering and overcoming. The overall
3 Strauss, Claude-Levi, "The Structural Study of Myth," Structural Anthropology, Trans. Claire Jacobson and Brooke Grundfest Schoepf, (New York: Basic Books, I %3), 230. 4
approach is to allow the texts to mutually illuminate one another and to show how subtle differences of emphasis shed light on the fundamental aspects of the story as a whole.
The idea is to present a collage of myths and texts that both precede and succeed the Book of Job. In using this technique the horizon and literary scope of the story of innocent suffering is broadened-a larger picture is drawn-a myth in toto of the story of
Job surfaces into view. But, before the other myths can be collectively taken as a whole, the Book of Job itself must first be read as a whole. Time and time again scholars have rejected a crucial part of the Book of Job, namely the epilogue which portrays Job's restored world. The unique contribution that the Book of Job brings to its own mythic origins is that Job undergoes a transformation, manifested in his restored world.
The Book of Job is not just a story of loss and restoration, as its Mesopotamian origins are; it is also a story of finding a new understanding. The text locates the issue of suffering primarily within the realm of the understanding. In suffering the understanding is challenged. And, so, it will be shown that it is Job's understanding of the world that needs to be addressed in order for his restoration to be possible. The thesis of this enterprise is that amidst his suffering Job undergoes a transformation of his understanding, evidenced in his restored and restructured world, which is radically different than his original one. It is not enough to accept that Job's world is restored.
Job's world is also restructured---it is not a mere duplication of his original one, as so many scholars have taken it to be. For this reason, it is not sufficient to solely discuss the motifs of loss and restoration; the task also requires that Job's transformation be made evident in order for the legitimacy of the epilogue to become apparent. 5
The dismissal of Job's restored world as a mere duplication of his original one is rooted in the assumption that Job does not undergo a transformation. The following reflections challenge this view. The thesis that Job undergoes a metamorphosis of his understanding is an interpretive way of preserving the validity of the epilogue and allows the story to be read as a whole.
Additionally, if the epilogue is discarded, another important aspect is overlooked, namely the status of women. The Book of Job is just as much about the fair treatment of women as it is about the fair treatment of a suffering man. As the myths unfold, it will become more and more apparent that many of the stories, to varying degrees, reflect an inherent radical view of women. Thus, the role and status of women is a central theme of this work. But, understanding the aspect of the female in the stories is contingent upon first analyzing Job's transformation in the Book of Job.
The project has multiple tasks. First, it is necessary to show that the umque contribution of the Book of Job is that Job undergoes a transformation of his understanding. Secondly, by considering other texts which bear a close affinity with the story, Job's transformation will be brought further into relief. Finally, it is intended that an overall picture of the story of Job will surface into view. The following is a brief outline of how the analysis will proceed.
Chapter One explores the Book of Job. The interpretation considers the myth in terms of its most fundamental motifs: loss, transformation and restoration. It will be shown that each motif carries with it its own thematic features, which will be identified in order to reveal Job's transformation. The features of independence, individuality and equality will be established as renewing for Job and integral to his new understanding. 6
The Book of Job will also be taken up as a way of understanding the dynamics of political suffering and reconciliation. The question of how a community can fail to share in the suffering of others will be addressed. It will be argued that self-exemption and self concealment are reinforcing features of evil, which provide insulation from the suffering of the victim. Finally, it will be shown that Job's restored world is drastically restructured, attesting to his new understanding.
In Chapter Two, four ancient myths of innocent suffering are identified as predecessors to the Book of Job. The Book of Job appears to draw from all four stories and at the same time reshapes them into something new. The importance of this section is two-fold: to present parallels, as well as to show how the motif of transformation is absent in these early roots. By bringing this absence into sharper focus, the presence of transformation in the Book of Job will become more apparent.
Chapter Three further supports the thesis through a comparison of the Book of
Job to the myths of Hariscandra and Nala, found in Hindu scripture. This chapter is intended to show that the motifs of human suffering, transformation and restoration are fundamentally cross-cultural. The story of Hariscandra is frequently referred to as having a close affinity with the Book of Job. But, the story of Nala, less recognized for its connection to Job, bears the essential dynamic of transformation, which is absent from
Hariscandra. The earlier analysis of the Book of Job finds further support in the story of
Nala. For this reason, it is the story of Nala that will be given the most attention.
In Chapter Four, the Targum of Job, an Aramaic translation of the Book of Job, is explored. The analysis will show how subtle changes in the language of the text can have a deep impact on the way the story is heard. The targumist's modifications to the 7
prologue and epilogue bear directly upon the issue of Job's transformation, as well as the way in which women are portrayed. For instance, the targumist inserts names where they are absent in the Book of Job-Job's wife is identified as Dinah and the Queen of Sheba, who appears for the first time, ls named Lilith. It will be shown that even these minor alterations can have major implications for interpreting the text.
The final chapter is devoted to a discussion of a pseudepigraphic text, known as the Testament of Job. In the Testament of Job, Job retrospectively retells the events of his life, from the first person. Interestingly, in the Testament of Job, Job does not portray himself as an innocent sufferer, but rather as a willing one, who knowingly challenges evil. In the Testament of Job, Job undergoes a transformation, but this time it is from a destructive protester to a nonviolent resister. Ultimately, Job will come into direct combat with Satan and, through patience, achieve victory. The theme of patience, which is so often attributed to the Book of Job, finds its full voice in the Testament of Job. The analysis will show that Job's form of patience is not a passive waiting, but is rather an active form of non-violent resistance that is capable of defeating evil.
The analysis of each chapter will be preceded with a brief account of its historical context. Often, we have a tendency to understand Western culture primarily through the
Greek and Roman traditions. But, Babylon, Jerusalem and Alexandria have also exerted their own influence. The scope of what constitutes the Western cultural tradition is broader than has been commonly recognized. The Book of Job and the other texts under discussion offer a glimpse into this broader tradition. CHAPTER ONE
BOOK OF JOB
God made thee perfect, not immutable. -John Milton, Paradise Lost
Introduction
The Book of Job is a story of hope. It is the story of a person who suffers great loss and struggles to understand that loss. The innocence of Job's suffering forces him on a journey of the understanding. Job finds himself on a journey that begins with deep loss, great physical pain and unrelenting attacks by others-but Job never stops searching. It would be very easy for Job to give up and not move further, but his desire to understand what is happening to him does not permit it. Job is relentless in his pursuit of truth and it is ultimately that perseverance that allows him to see the world in a new way. Job risks letting-go of a previous understanding and in so doing puts himself through even more suffering. But, it is his willingness to take such a risk that allows his suffering to be overcome and engender a transformation.
The starting point for the following discussion of the Book of Job is the recognition that human suffering is universal. Suffering is not a problem that the Book of
Job answers; it is a condition that the text gives expression to. Job speaks from his suffering, rather than about his suffering. As will be shown, Job's suffering is alleviated through the honesty of his questioning, which takes him beyond himself to a new
8 9
understanding of the world. This chapter will not answer the question of why we suffer, but will rather consider how we take up with our suffering and the suffering of others.
Historical Context
Dating for the Book of Job has historically been a widely debated issue. Today it is more or less accepted that it was composed sometime between 600-500 B.C.E. The dating approximates the Babylonian Exile of the Hebrew peoples. In 605 B.C.E. the
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea, resulting in the first deportation to
Babylon. In 597 B.C.E. Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and a second deportation occurred. Eleven years later the diaspora reached a climax, when King Solomon's temple was destroyed, and a third wave of deportation to Babylon occurred. In 539 B.C.E.
Babylon was conquered by the Persians, who allowed the Hebrews to return to
Jerusalem.
One of the reasons that the Book of Job is associated with the Babylonian Exile is that the only reference to Job in the Hebrew Bible is found in the Book of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel was among those deported in 597 B.C.E. and began to prophesize in Babylon in
593 B.C.E. Around the same time Jeremiah, who had not been deported, began to prophesize in the destroyed city of Jerusalem. Scholars surmise that either prophet may have written the Book of Job. It is only speculation, but it is plausible that the Book of
Job is a product of this time of great suffering, displacement, and the questioning of God.
I_he Consensus View
The Book of Job is organized into three parts: prologue, dialogue and epilogue.
Chapters One and Two constitute the prologue and the epilogue is found in Chapter 10
Forty-two, verses 7-16. Both the prologue and the epilogue are spoken in the voice of an unknown narrator and act to frame the more lengthy thirty-nine chapters of the dialogue.
There is a tendency by scholars to demote the value of the epilogue and only focus on the prologue and dialogue portions of the text. I find this curious since scholars believe that both the prologue and epilogue were redacted at a later date than the dialogue.4 Though, for some reason, it is always the epilogue that is emphasized as the least original portion of the text, and it is always the epilogue that is rejected. Furthermore, some authors hold that the originality of Job's poem on wisdom, the four chapters of God's voice from the whirlwind, and the speeches by Elihu are all suspect as well. But again, these portions of the text are often given credence, while the epilogue is dismissed. I argue that the way we receive the story today is as a whole; thus the text should be read with equal attention to all of its parts. I propose that the prologue and epilogue to the story of Job are equally central and together provide an integration of the text, which acts as a confirmation to
Job's transformation.5
4 Marvin H. Pope gives an explanation for this: "The names used for God are different in the Prologue-Epilogue and the Dialogue; the former uses Yahweh and Elohim while the latter employs variously the terms El, Eloah, Elohim, and Shaddai." Marvin H. Pope, Job, (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., 1965), XXII. Pope's introduction and translation will be used frequently throughout the thesis.
5 It will soon become apparent that this is not the traditional view. Take Morris Jastrow Jr., for instance: "The unity of the Book of Job in its final form does not go further than the attempt to connect the three strata by editorial headings attached to the chapters ....The thought of regarding the completed book as a progressive and systematically constructed dramatic composition could not have entered the mind of the final editors ....The point is that the Book of Job consists of a foundation on which a number of independent superstructures have been erected. There is no logical development of a theme ... " "The Literary Form of Job-A Symposium Not a Drama," in The Voice Out of the Whirlwind: The Book of Job, ed. Ralph E. Hone, (San Francisco, Chandler Publishing Company, 1960), !05-106. Jastrow is famous for his commentary connecting the Book of Job to the ancient Mesopotamian poem Ludie/ Bel Nemeqi. He also dedicated a book to Job titled The Book of Job, Its Origin, Growth and Interpretation, Together with a New Translation Based on a Revised Text, which is where the above quote had been excerpted. 11
What is it about the epilogue, other than its possible later redaction date, that has made it so easily expendable? The epilogue has often been taken as a cheap happy ending that was tacked-on to appease the reader, or as a dream scenario, where Job merely wakes up from a horrible nightmare to realize that his life was even richer than he knew. Some authors argue that God had to make up for the unjust suffering that Job endured, and that the quantitative doubling of his possessions acts as a form of compensation. Instead, I will argue that the epilogue of the story reveals that Job has undergone a transformation, which is not a means to an end, but rather an end in itself. Through his transformation,
Job is able to participate in the world in a new way.
There is a long tradition, from medieval to contemporary scholarship, in which the epilogue of the Book of Job is routinely rejected as not being integral to the interpretation of the text. Robert Eisen, author of the recent book The Book of Job in
Medieval Jewish Philosophy, reiterates the thinking of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-
1204 C.E.), also referred to as Maimonides-"one of the most sigmficant figures in medieval J udaism": 6
It is noteworthy that Maimonides does not deal with the happy ending to the Job story, according which Job has his wealth returned to him and begms a new family. A plausible speculation on how Maimonides might have understood this conclusion is provided by Levinger, who argues that Maimonides would surely have seen this portion of the story as part of its exoteric layer. Job's family and wealth are restored only in order that the story make sense to the uneducated traditional reader.7
Maimonides is best known for his work "A Guide to the Perplexed." In it he devotes two chapters to Job. but does not directly address the epilogue. Po:;,sibly Maimonides did not think the epilogue was important to the deeper meaning of the text. Levinger's "plausible
6 Robert Eisen, The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 44.
7 Eisen, Book of Job, 71. 12
speculation," that Maimonides thought the ending of Job was merely tacked on to appease the intellect of the general public, may be debatable. But Maimonides's lack of discussion of the epilogue does seem to indicate that he did not find it integral to the reading of the text, whatever the specific reason. Did Maimonides set the stage for the long tradition of dismissing the epilogue?
Eisen also summarizes the views of Zerahiah ben Shealtiel I:Ien, a contemporary of Maimonides and a commentator on the Book of Job:
Zerahiah is of the opinion that the rewards accorded to Job at the end of the story are not credible .... Zerahiah depicts Job as a figure who does not achieve even a modicum of understanding about the true nature of providence and by implication will never experience it. This message seems to reflect a highly negative view of the masses, who can hope to achieve no more than Job. 8
According to Eisen, Zerahiah finds the restoration of Job's world "not credible" and concludes that Job "does not achieve even a modicum of understanding." Clearly, for
Zerahiah, Job does not undergo a transformation.
More recent authors on the Book of Job tend to focus on the question of God's justice, and hence also overlook Job's transformation. Jack Miles, in his book God: A
Biography, presents Job's restored world as a result of God's guilt for having allowed Job to suffer at the hands of Satan. Miles states: "Does the Lord regret what he did? If the
Lord has nothing to apologize for. .. he would have no reason to give Job 'twice what he had before. "'9 For Miles, Job's world is restored out of God's realization of his own injustice to Job.
8 Eisen, Book of Job, 126, 142.
9 Jack Miles, God: A Biography, (New York· Alfred A Knopf, 1995), 312. 13
Carl Jung, in his Answer to Job, also dismisses the epilogue of the story. Speaking
of God's attitude in the Book of Job, Jung says: "Murder and manslaughter are mere
bagatelles and if the mood takes him he can play the feudal grand seigneur and
generously recompense his bondslave for the havoc wrought in his wheat-fields. 'So you
have lost your sons and daughters? No harm done, I will give you new and better
ones."' 10 Jung sarcastically portrays the restoration of Job's children as trivial
compensation.
Harold Bloom, a well recognized American literary critic, who has edited an
anthology on Job and referenced Job in numerous texts, is also unable to embrace the ending of story:
But the poet of the Book of Job (whoever he was-we cannot even know that he was an Israelite) probably did not write the Prologue. He begins in the Debate of Chapters 3-31, and I suspect continues through Yahweh's celebration of Leviathan as his own Moby Dick. The inept Epilogue is an absurdity written by any pious fool whatsoever. 11
Bloom directly refers to the epilogue as an "inept absurdity." 12 The epilogue may not be the most poetic portion of the text, but it should not be rejected on those terms alone.
Wendy Doniger, a well known author of mythic analysis, maintains this common interpretation:
It is clear at the end of the story that Job is caught up once again in the snug and smug world of material wealth and family pleasures, the world in which we first encountered him: 'So the Lord blessed Job's life more than beginning. Job now had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters' -and a partridge in a pear tree. We are back in the
1° Carl G. Jung, Answer to Job, trans. R.F.C. Hull, (New York: Pastoral Psychology Book Club, 1955), 20.
11 Harold Bloom, Where Shall Wisdom be FfJund?, (New York: Penguin Group, 2004), 15.
12 Sixteen years earlier, in th~ introduction to his anthology, Bloom used the same words to describe the epilogue: "Despite pious tamperings, such as the absurd epilogue ... " The Book of Job, (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988). 2. 14
world of account books and dowries, business as usual.. .. There are many who find this ending a rather lame afterthought. 13
In a tone similar to the others, Doniger dismisses the conclusion to the Book of Job, and
goes even further when she says: "Myths like the Book of Job ... too often fail to provide
comfort." 14 The issue is not Job's happiness, nor the comfort of the reader, but rather the
peace that is achieved through a new understanding, embodied in a new world. Like so
many authors, Doniger does not recognize that Job has undergone a transformation and
participates in his own restoration. Job has found the strength and understanding to re-
create his once shattered world, yet in a new and better way. The epilogue to the Book of
Job only appears trivial and fabricated if the transformation of Job's understanding is not
made visible.
Stephen Mitchell, to his credit, is one of the very few to see Job as undergoing a
transformation. Mitchell finds Job's transformation most eloquently expressed by
William Blake's twenty-one watercolors and etchings inspired by the Book of Job. 15 In the introduction to his poetic translation, Mitchell states:
Blake, who with all his Gnostic eccentricities is still the only interpreter to understand that the theme of this book is spiritual transformation, makes a clear distinction between the worlds of the prologue and the epilogue. In his first illustration to Job, he draws the patriarch and his wife seated at evening prayer, with Bibles open on their laps, their children kneeling around them; the sheep are drowsing, the dogs are drowsing, they themselves look up to heaven in drowsy piety, with all their musical instruments hanging silent on the central tree. The last engraving, however, shows a world transfigured: it is sunrise, the whole family is standing up, bright-eyed, each exuberantly playing his or her favorite instrument. 16
13 Wendy Doniger, The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 14.
14 Doniger, Implied Spider, 21.
15 Blake's engravings can be viewed at the Virginia Museum of Fme Arts, which were purchased by the museum in 1973.
16 Stephen Mitchell, The Book of Job, (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1979), xxix. 15
Mitchell does not elaborate further, but his point is clear-Job's world has undergone a transformation. Although the thesis that Job comes to a new understanding of the world may find little support among scholars, Mitchell's insight provides evidence that the idea has not been completely passed over. Unfortunately, in those cases where the epilogue is recognized for its true value, the basis for that recognition is rarely discussed.
Analysis of the Story
The following engagement with the Book of Job identifies three distinct moments to Job's suffering and three related moments of healing. Job's first two moments of suffering occur in the brief prologue to the story and his last two moments of healing are found in the brief epilogue. Both act as bookends to the more elaborate dialogue, where the third moment of suffering and the first moment of healing are found. Briefly stated,
Job suffers the loss of his possessions and family, his body, and his community. Job's suffering is addressed in three ways, through the voice from the whirlwind, Job's subsequent prayer, and the authentic participation by the community. By analyzing the text in this way, it becomes apparent that Job undergoes a transformation of his understanding. The all too common interpretation of Job's restored world as a flippant ending, which magically duplicates and doubles his possessions, will be challenged. The analysis will show that Job's restored world, as given in the epilogue, is qualitatively different from his earlier one. Job's world cannot be restored until it has been restructured and Job's transformative healing has been completed.
In order to support the claim that the voice from the whirlwind, Job's subsequent prayer, and the participation of the community arc healing moments for Job, it is first 16
necessary to show that Job undergoes a change through the course of the dialogue with
his friends, which prepares him to be addressed by the whirlwind. Next, it is necessary to
show what is disclosed by the whirlwind and why it is renewing for Job. It will also be
shown that Job's prayer is a second moment of healing and the community's participation
a third moment. Lastly, the interpretation will examine Job's restored world and show
how it fundamentally differs from his earlier one, evidencing his transformation.
Prologue
The first portion of the prologue from the Book of Job reads:
There lived in the land of Uz a man of blameless and upright life named Job, who feared God and set his face against wrongdoing. He had seven sons and three daughters; and he owned seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she asses, with a large number of slaves. Thus Job was the greatest man in all the East. Now his sons used to foregather and give, each in turn, a feast in his own house; and they used to send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Then when a round of feasts was finished Job sent for his children and sanctified them, rising early in the morning and sacrificing a whole burnt offering for each of them; for he thought that they [his sons] 17 might have scrnehow sinned against God and committed bla.sphemy in their hearts. This he always did. (NEB l: 1-5) 18
Early in the text we learn two important facts about Job's life. In the opening line of the text, and on two other occasions in the prologue, Job is described as "a man of blameless
17 Naphtali H. Tur-Sinai translates this verse: "And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And it was, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts"' (I :4-5). The Book of Job: A New Commentary, (Jerusalem: Sivan Press Ltd., 1967), 6-8. Pope translates this verse in a similar way: "'Perhaps my sons have sinned, And cursed God in their mind"' (Pope, Job, I). In both Tur-Sinai's and Pope's translations, the emphasis is placed specifically 0n the sons, rather than on the children in general, who are all clearly feasting together.
18 For the most pan biblical quotes are drawn from the New English Bible (NEB), but others will also be used in order to hear the story from more than one translator's point of view. For example, m the introduction to his translation, Pope points out that there are slaves in the prologue, but when it comes to his translation, he uses the word "servants." Furthermore, the NEB completely eliminates the Behemoth and calls Leviathan a crocodile. It is for :his reason that different translations will be drnwn from. 17
and upright life, who feared God and set his face against wrongdoing" (NEB l: 1, 1:8,
2:3). Job is also described as a man with substantial holdings-seven sons and three daughters, ample livestock, and many slaves. Job's possessions are great but what is important to note is that the text includes the children among them. The text only reveals the quantity and gender of the children. They are nameless and lack any sense of identity.
At this stage in the story Job's righteousness, possessions, slaves and family are all presented in harmonious conjunction with each other
Fearing that his children may have sinned, Job constantly makes burnt offerings for them: '"Perhaps my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their mind.' This did Job regularly" (AB 1:5). Job lives in constant anxiety over his children, especially his sons.
He tries to extend his righteousness to them, as if he could redeem anything they had done wrong. There is something unusual at work here-Job's righteousness should bring him peace, but instead he lives in a constant state of angst. Job's sense of righteousness is burdensome and creates an ominous atmosphere. His understanding of righteousness is such that it presupposes a capacity on his part to protect his children through sacrifice; he displays an attempt to control their fate and destiny. The text should be read with the view that it is Job's understanding of righteousness that is called into question, not his righteousness itself. It is precisely Job's understanding that will undergo a transformation.
Three Moments of Suffering
The story proceeds with a divine gathering amongst God and the angels in heaven, where Satan straggles in late after walking up and down the earth. God points 18
Job out to Satan as an example of righteousness: "Have you considered my servant Job?
You will find no one like him on earth ... " (NEB 1:8). Satan responds with a question:
Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But, now stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face! (NKJV 1 :9-11)
Satan's challenge amounts to an accusation that Job's righteousness is in truth a means to
an end, namely the acquisition and protection of his possessions. Satan challenges God to
a wager and calls into question the depth of Job's loyalty and righteousness.
Whether or not Job will curse God becomes the crux of the wager. God accepts
the challenge out of a deep faith in Job and says to Satan: "So be it. All that he has is in
your hands; only Job himself you must not touch" (NEB 1: 12). With the permission of
God, Satan destroys Job's possessions and children, exterminating his entire world; but,
as commanded by God, Satan leaves Job's body untouched. The prologue continues and
Job's suffering begins:
When the day came that Job's son:; and daughters were eating and drinking in the eldest brother's house, a messenger came running to Job and said, 'The oxen were ploughing and the asses were grazing near them, when the Sabaeans swooped down and carried them off, after putting the herdsmen to the sword; and I am the only one to escape and tell the tale.' While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, 'God's fire flashed from heaven. It struck the sheep and the shepherds and burnt them up; and I am the only to escape and tell the tale.' While he was still speaking, another arrived and said, 'The Chaldeans, three bands of them, have made a raid on the camels and carried them off, after putting the drivers to the sword; and I am the only one to escape and tell the tale.' While this man was speaking, yet another arrived and said, 'Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the eldest brother's house, when suddenly a whirlwind swept across from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and killed them; and I am the only one to escape and tell the tale.' At this Job stood up and rent his cloak; then he shaved his head and fell prostrate to the ground. (NEB I: 13-20)
The first moment of Job's suffering includes the theft and destruction of his livestock, the
slaying of his slaves, and death of his children. Implicitly, by presenting the death of his 19
children within the context of the loss of his livestock and slaves, again the text implies that Job may have considered his children as possessions.
Job acknowledges that he anticipated that such a calamity could happen. The purpose behind Job's sacrifices now becomes clear: "Every terror that haunted me has caught up with me, and all that I feared has come upon me" (NEB 3:25). Job admits to his anxiety and his anticipation that something disastrous could happen to his children as a form of punishment. Job's anticipation is based upon an underlying belief in the formula for divine justice: God rewards the good and punishes the bad.
The destruction of Job's world does not bring him to curse God, which is precisely what Satan attempts. The text explicitly states that Job does not falter in his first moment of suffering: "Throughout all this Job did not sin; He did not charge God with unreason" (NEB 1 ·22). Has God won the bet? It would seem so-but, the relentless Satan won't accept defeat and challenges God once again.
Job's second moment of suffering begins with another wager between God and
Satan. God re-states his admiration of Job and admits to his complicity in Job's first moment of suffering: "'You incited me to ruin him without a cause, but his integrity is still unshaken'" (NEB 2:3). Refusing to acknowledge Job's righteousness, Satan attempts to provoke God a second time: "'Skin for skin? There is nothing the man will grudge to save himself. But, stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and see if he will not curse you to your face"' (~EB 2:4-5). God agrees to the wager and permits Satan to touch Job's body, but limits how far Satan can go: "Then the Lord said to Satan: 'So be it! He is in your hands; but spare his life"' (KEB 2:6) At this, Satan hastily afflicts
Job, covering his body in sores and boils: "And Satan left the Lcrd' s presence and he 20
smote Job with running sores from head to foot, so that he took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself as he sat among the ashes" (NEB 2:7-8) The terms of the wager remain the same-will or will not Job curse God. And, the text repeats: "Throughout all this Job did not utter one sinful word" (NEB 2: 10). 19 God wins again, but Job continues to suffer.
The prologue sets up a theological question that has captivated scholars for centuries: is God moral? Is human suffering the result of divine punishment? It is hard to ignore the question since God admits to be the source of Job's suffering. But, there is something peculiar at work here-Job is presented as a righteous sufferer who is made to suffer for no apparent reason. One could argue, and many have, that God is immoral. But, read another way, the text seems to be implicitly denying that there is anything like divine justice in heaven. The text should be read as challenging the commonly accepted formula that what befalls human beings is a matter of rev;ard and punishment from above or, rather, that human beings only suffer because they have done something wrong. The bet is an allegorical way of undercutting the notion that human suffering is a product of divine justice. Suffering is not an indication cf wrongdoing-the innocent often suffer.
The bet should be taken as a literary riddle, a parable set up to test the commonly accepted view that the divine realm judges human behavior and consequently controls human affairs. The suffering that Job undergoes is not the consequence of God's retribution; it is not a form of punishment. It is human justice, rather than divine justice, that is of the utmost concern for the innocent sufferer, As will be shown, it is Job's community that becomes directly responsible for Job's third moment of suffering.
19 After afflicting Job's body, Satan disappears from the story and never reappears again. 21
Job's first moment of suffering occurred with the loss of his children whom he loved, and secondly, his own body became afflicted. Both the world wherein Job stood and the corporeality of his being have been destroyed. The familiar has become radically unfamiliar. In suffering, the world becomes unrecognizable. When reality appears in the mode of strangeness, the understanding struggles to appropriate it. This strangeness is magnified in Job's third moment of suffering, brought about through Job's wife and friends. Job's wife appears in the text only once. There appears to be no bond between them when she says: '"Are you still unshaken in your integrity? Curse God and die!'"
(NEB 2:9). Job's wife is of no support and, without compassion, she becomes an accuser, deepening Job's suffering. His relation to her is one of alienation.
Immediately following, Job's three friends arrive, who explicitly come to comfort and mourn with him. They all sit in silence for seven days. In those first seven days of silence, the uncomfortable strangeness of events works on Job. Job finally breaks the silence and regrets the day he was born: "Perish the day when I was born .... Why did I not die when I came out of the womb? ... Why should the sufferer be born to see the light?" (NEB 3:3, 11, 20). He longs for death, as if death is the only solution to the situation: "[Sufferers] are glad when they reach the tomb, and when they come to the grave they exult" (NEB 3:22). At this point, Job understands death as the only release from suffering. Later, he wishes to argue his case before God. His manner of speaking will move from one of lamentation to one of argument.
Job's friends and a young man named Elihu, who has been listening in on Job's laments, respond to him. But, instead of soothing him with kind words, they accuse him of having sinned in some way, suggesting that his suffering indicates a lack of 22
righteousness. Job's friends set themselves up as judges. They show no compassion.
Eliphaz is the first to speak: "'For consider, what innocent man has ever perished? Where have you seen the upright destroyed? This I know, that those who plough mischief and sow trouble reap as they have sown"' (NEB 4:7-8). Bildad asserts: "Disease eats away his skin ... such is the fate of the dwellings of evildoers" (NEB 18: 13, 21 ). Zophar states:
'"The earth will rise up to condemn him. A flood will sweep away his house ... such is
God's reward for the wicked man"' (NEB 20:28-29). Then Eliphaz comes out and directly accuses Job: "'You are a very wicked man, and your depravity passes all bounds"' (NEB 22:5). Elihu, the young man, steps in and is the most severe: "'Was there ever a man like Job with his thirst for irreverent talk, choosing bad company to share his journeys, a fellow-traveler with wicked men? ... He is a sinner and a rebel as well with his endless ranting against God"' (NEB 34:7-8, 34:37). The moral posturing by the friends has taken on the form of a new kind of evil that refuses to recognize the possibility of innocent suffering.
The friends speak out of the moral formula which the prologue has already challenged: righteousness brings reward in the form of prosperity, health and happiness; suffering is an indication of wickedness and a punishment for wrongdoing. The premise of such a formula is that divine justice is sensitive to human moral and immoral action.
Job very well may have shared a belief in this formula, but his integrity and innocent suffering force him to question it. It is precisely this logic of righteousness, that of reward and punishment, that the story undermines.
Job responds to his accusatc•ry friends: "'You exalt yourselves against me, and plead my disgrace against me"' (NKJV 19:5). Job recognizes the self-exaltation by his 23
friends. The friends' mode of address fails to comfort Job. Through their accusations,
Job's friends insulate themselves from his suffering. Their judgment upon him amounts to a tacit exemption on their part from his suffering. Job's suffering is compounded once again. But, whereas. Job's earlier moments of suffering were cosmological, Job's suffering has now taken on a political dimension. The friends' injustice cannot be attributed to either God or Satan; such is the nature of political suffering.
Job expresses his feeling that the whole community is alienated against him: "My brothers hold aloof from me, my friends are utterly estranged from me; my kinsmen and intimates fall away, my retainers have forgotten me; my slave-girls treat me as a stranger,
I have become an alien in their eyes" (NEB 19: 13-15). Job is nor just suffering at the hands of his friends, but by the rejection of his entire community. Job seeks understanding and receives judgment; the c0mmunity has failed him. Just as the world and his own incarnate being appeared strange when afflicted, so too, his friends and community gradually lose their familiarity and begin to appear as strange. There is no recognition on the part of the friends that they are contributing to fob's suffering. Not only have the friends exempted themselves from his suffering; they have also concealed that exemption from themselv~s. The self-concealment of the community becomes apparent in the alienation that Job feels; everyone appears strange, unrecognizable, and distant.
In general, self-exemption and self-concealment can be considered features and partners of evil. Self-exemption is the withdrawal of care from a circumstance so that one is not implicated in it. Self-concealment is the self concealing from itself its withdrawal and exemption of care. Self-concealment is not the intentional deception of others, but 24
rather the way in which perpetrators attempt to justify their actions to themselves. Self- concealment is a deception of the self upon the self which allows evil to be perpetuated and continue unchallenged. Through the dynamics of their self-exaltation, the friends magnify themselves in the face of Job's suffering and find solace in it. Their failure to recognize their own contribution to his suffering is based upon a self-concealment which works hand in hand with self-exemption. Both reinforce each other. The question becomes: How can evil be unveiled in such a way that self-concealment is broken and rendered impotent?20
Preparation for Healing
Just as there are three moments to Job's suffering, there are three moments to
Job's healing: God's voice from the whirlwind, Job's prayer of forgiveness and finally, the authentic participation by the community in Job's revitalization. If, as is being argued,
Job undergoes a transformative healing which allows his world to appear in a new way through a new understanding, then the healing needs to include Job opening himself up to the possibility. Almost unknowingly, throughout the course of the dialogue, Job subtly positions himself to later be addressed by the whirlwind, which brings about his pivotal first moment of healing. There are several ways in which Job's repositioning is indicated.
20 The dynamics of the evil which allow human beings to bring violence on one-another can be expressed in many ways. Simone Weil expresses the dynamics of self-exemption and self-concealment as a "setting aside": "We set things aside without knowing we are doing so; that is precisely where the danger lies. Or, which is still worse, we set them aside by an act of will, but by an act of will that is furtive in relation to ourselves. Afterwards we do not any longer know that we have set anything aside. We do not want to know it and by dint of not wanting to know it, we reach the point of not being able to know it. This faculty of setting aside opens the door to every crime .. .it provides a key to absolute license ... whatever is surrounded with the prestige of the social element is set in a different place from other things and is exempt from certain connections ... setting oneself aside from the crime one commits; not establishing the connection between the two." Gravity and Grace, (New York: Routledge. 2002), 138-39. According to Weil, it is the "setting oneself aside," or self-concealment, which allows the condition of evil to sustain itself. 25
First, the text repeats images in such a way that an underlying anticipation is revealed.
Secondly, Job subtly moves away from the particularity of his own situation toward the human condition in general. Finally, a sense of hope comes to replace his early sense of hopelessness. Job gradually opens himself up to the possibility for a new understanding.
The text anticipates the voice from the whirlwind when Job laments with imagery that will later be repeated by the whirlwind. Job draws metaphors from the realm of nature to express his predicament and, in so doing, humanizes nature. God later responds by reference to the same images, but in a way Job does not expect, stripping away Job's moral connotations. The sense of anticipation that the text establishes is only recognizable in retrospect, after God reveals the amoral aspect of the same images. The following citations are drawn from Job's words to his friends and are Juxtaposed with the words expressed later by the voice from the whirlwind. Many authors contend that the voice from the whirlwind avoids answering Job's pleas. If the text is interpreted this way, then it is difficult to see that Job undergoes a transformation. By juxtaposing the common images, it will be shown that God does in fact address Job's complaints, though admittedly, in an indirect way.
Early in the dialogue, Job likens his life to the vulture, which swoops down on death: "My days have been swifter than a runner, they have slipped away and seen no prosperity ... swift as vultures swooping on carrion" (NEB 9:25-26). Later, instead of addressing Job's complaint on human finitude and the brevity of life, the whirlwind asks:
"Do you instruct the wlture to fly high and build its nest aloft?" (NEB 39:27). The whirlwind takes Job's image of the vulture and points Job to something else. 26
Job proclaims his innocence when he compares himself to the prideful lion: "If I am proud as a lion, thou dost hunt me down and dost confront me again with marvelous power" (NEB 10: 16). God undercuts the moral question of pride by answering: "Do you hunt her prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of young lions, as they crouch in the lair or lie in wait in the covert?" (NEB 38:39). Again, the whirlwind refuses to accept
Job's moralizing of nature, but at the same time points to something more fundamental, the morally neutral aspect of nature.
Job questions whether or not evil is punished; whether there is a moral logic to the universe: "Wicked men move boundary stones ... and l~ad away the widow's ox with a rope" (NEB 24:2-3). God the creator, not the God of judgment, resronds: "Does the wild ox consent to serve you, does it spend the night in your stall? Can you harness its strength with ropes, or will it harrow the furrows after you?" (NEB 39:9-10). Job refers to the domesticated ox that is easily led away. God, on the other hand, reverts the image to something more primordial--the wild ox.
Job draws an analogy between the wild ass searching for food in the wilderness and the condition of the poor and the hungry: "The poor rise early like the wild ass, when it scours the wilderness for food; but though they work till nightfall, their children go hungry" (NEB 24:5). The whirlwind responds by pointing out to Job the freedom that is inherent in nature: "Who has let the wild ass of Syria range at will and given the wild ass of Arabia its freedom?" (NEB 39:5). Once again, the whirlwind responds to Job with the amoral aspects of nature, by disclosing that freedom itself is not moral.
Job speaks with images, which are later re-presented, articulated, and expanded upon by the whirlwind, but in an unexpected way. Instead of embracing Job's metaphors, 27
the whirlwind brings forth the wonder and power of nature. The whirlwind gathers up all of the images that Job previously presented and re-presents them to Job without a moral tone. The beauty and depth of the text's style is to circle back upon itself and reveal its own hidden anticipations.
Throughout the course of the dialogue, Job's speech moves from the particularity of his situation to the general condition of being human. 21 Job's manner of speaking becomes more universal, taking on a philosophic quality. For example, Job's very first words in the dialogue center on himself: "Perish the day when I was born" (NEB 3:3).
Job continues to reference his personal condition throughout the dialogue: "Though I am right I get no answer, though I plead with my accuser for mercy" (NEB 9: 15). "If I am to be accounted guilty, why do I labor in vain?" (NEB 9:29). "I am sickened of life" (NEB
IO:l). "I will put my neck in the noose and take my hfe in my hands" (NEB 13:14). "God himself has put me in the wrong" (NEB 19:6). Finally, after three cycles of dialogue with his three friends, Job interludes with an epiphany-like poem, where he stops searching for answers to his own particular situation, and questions from a general human perspective:
But where can wisdom be found? And where is the source of understanding? No man knows the way to it; it is not found in the land of living men. The depths of ocean say, 'It is not in us,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' Red gold cannot buy it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver; it cannot be set in the scales against gold of Ophir, against precious carnelian or lapis lazuli; gold and crystal are not to be matched with it, no work in fine gold can be bartered for it; black coral and alabaster are not worth mention, and a parcel of wisdom fetches more than red coral; topaz from Ethiopia is not be matched with it, it cannot be set in the s:::ales of pure gold. Where then does wisdom come from, and where is the source of understanding? (NEB 28: 12-20)
Job's poem appears without any reference to che first person. His point of view has momentarily changed and offers the possibility for a new understanding. In his
21 Raymond P. Scheindlin notes this same movement in Job's dialogue with hi~ friends: "Job's speeches in reply to the friends show some progression ... from Job's personal fare to the fate of man in general." The Book of Job, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998), 34. 28
recognition of the value of wisdom, Job lets go of identifying the world in terms of commodity. He opens himself up to be addressed by the whirlwind.
Early in the dialogue Job wishes that his words were written down forever: "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead forever!" (NKJV 19:23-24). Job's sentiments are reversed in the final verses of his final speech, when he wishes for God's words to be written down: "Oh that the Almighty would answer me. That my Prosecutor had written a book! Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, and bind it on me like a crown" (NKJV 31:35-36). It is no longer Job's own words that are prized. The subtle reversal is indicative of Job's preparation for healing. Job no longer rehearses what he would say to God, but rather opens himself up to the possibility that God will address him. In order for a victim's hopelessness to subside, the victim must be receptive to what is possible. Hope relies upon the presence of the possible. In hopelessness everything appears as impossible.
The following citations show how "hope" is expressed at different points in the dialogue:
What strength do I have that I should hope? And what is my end that I should prolong my life? ... My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope .... For there is hope for a tree, if it i:; cut down that it will sprout again .... Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? (NKJV 6: 11, 7:6, 14:7, 17: ! S)
Throughout the early part of th~ dialogue, Job made continual reference to the hopelessness of his situation. Later in the dialogue, there is a deepening and broadening of Job's perspective which, for the first time, brings with it a sense of hope. He subtly expresses this in the negative when he says that the godless are without hope: "What hope has a godless man, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?" (NKJV 29
27:8). Put positively, Job understands that righteousness includes hope. Job's original
hopelessness gives way. As a new sense of hope dawns, the possibility for being healed
becomes more and more of a reality.
Three Moments of Healing
The first moment of Job's healing begins when God responds to Job's questioning: "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said ... 'Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?" (NKJV 38:1-4). God's response appears in the form of questions, which center around the mystery of creation. God goes on to reference the first six days of creation: light and darkness, water and earth, firmament, the plant kingdom, the birds of the sky and creatures of the land. 22 The reference emphasizes the independence of creatures and nature. The independence of creation is achieved through the establishment of boundaries: "'Who shut in the sea with doors ... and says, this far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!"' (NKJV 38:8-11). The creation of the world is dependent upon the making of boundaries. Through those boundaries independence and individuality is achieved. 23
22 Is the Book of Job the inverse of the Creation Story from the Book of Genesis (Ch.1-3 )? The Creation Story from Genesis begins with creadon and ends with the sorrow and suffering of Adam and Eve. The Book of Job begins with Job's suffering and ends with the mystery of creation. The Creation Story opens with God alone and ends with God speaking with the angels. Job opens with God speaking with t.he angels and closes with God alone. In Genesis God and Satan are enemies. In Job, God and Satan are on speaking terms and work together Adam and Eve's story begins with nothingness moves towards bounty and ends impoverished. fob's story begins with Job owning everything moves towards loss and ends in bounty. Adam demonstrates pric!e and accusation; Job is the victim of pride and accusation. In the Creation Story, God searches out Aoam, whereas Job searches out God. Th:: story of job relies upon and circles back to foe Creation Story in i.n irverse way.
23 Martin Buber supports this claim: "The just Creator gives to all His creatures His boundary, so that each may become fully itaelf." The Prophetic Faith, (New York: Macmillan Publishmg Company, 1949), 195. Job will come to realize this as evidence of his transformation. 30
Creation is presented not as a gift exclusively for human being. The rain in the
wilderness occurs independently of any thought of it having a human purpose: '"Who has
cut channels for the downpour and cleared a passage for the thunderstorm, for rain to fall
on land where no man lives and on the deserted wilderness?"' (NEB 38:25-26). God
takes human being out of the center of creation, hence it rains in the desert where no one
lives. The whirlwind discloses nature as fundamentally nondiscriminatory, which implies
an inherent sense of equality. There is an element of contingency in life that is equally
distributed throughout creation.
The voice of the whirlwind continues w present the mystery of creation, but the
attention shifts to the moral neutrality of creation. God points to young deer that grow up
and do not return to their parents: "Do you know ... when the fawns grow and thrive in the
open forest, and go forth and do not return?" (NEB 39: 1, 4 ). There is nothing moral about
this question. God also points to the ostrich who buries her eggs, without thought that
they may be stepped on: "She treats her chicks harshly as if they were not hers, not caring
if her labor is wasted" (NEB 39: 16-17). But, the ostrich cannot be seen as acting out of evil. God questions Job again: "Who provides the raven with its quarry when its fledglings croak for lack of food?" (NEB 38:41). The whirlwind challenges Job to find evil in the destruction of the prey for the feeding of the young. Similar to the days of creation, it is the independence of creatures and all things, which is asserted.
The whirlwind reestablishes rhe foundations of creation, the independence, individuality and equality of all creatures, and the deeper than ethical character of those 31
foundations. 24 This becomes the basis for Job's new understanding, which will no longer
include the need for a pre-emptive controlling of his children's fate. When the gift of
creation is appropriated in terms of control and possession, then it loses its original mode
of independence. The recognition of the independence of all creatures releases Job from
an anxiety that he has been burdened with from the beginning.
In the second speech from the whirlwind, God brings forth the most powerful
creatures of land and sea, Behemoth and Leviathan. The power inherent in creation is
presented as monstrous and bestial. The whirlwind reminds Job that he was created on
the same day as the Behemoth: "Look now at the Behemoth, which I made along with
you; He eats grass like an ox .... He is the first of the ways of God .... He lies under the
lotus trees, in a covert of reeds and marsh. The lotus trees cover him with their shade. The
willows by the brook surround him. Indeed the river may rage, yet he is not disturbed"
(NKJV 40: 15-23). The Behemoth is portrayed as "the first of the ways of God" (NKJV
40:19). The Behemoth remains calm amidst the raging waters that surround him, resting
below the shade of a tree. There is no question that resting is part of the healing that Job
requires. Early in the dialogue with his friends Job complains of his lack of rest: "I am
not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes" (NKJV 3:26). Job's lack of
rest well preceded the suffering brought by God and Satan. His continual morning
sacrifices on behalf of his children were exhausting. His sense of righteousness permitted
24 Buber supports this interpretation, but expresses it another way: "The poet does not let his God disregard the fact that it is a matter of justice. The speech declares in the ears of man, struggling for justice, another justice than hls own, a divine JUStice. Not the divine justice, which remains hidden, but a divine justice, namely that manifest in creation The creatioa of the world is justice, nr:•t " recompensing and compensating justice, but a distributing, a giving justice. God the Creator bestows upon each what belongs to ~irn, upon each thing and being, insofar as He allows it tc, become entirely itself' (Buber, Prophetic Fa;th, 194-195). 32
him no rest. The restful quality of Job's restored world comes directly from the power of the Behemoth.
The calm power of the Behemoth contrasts with the portrayal of Leviathan as violent force: "His rows of scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal" (NKJV
41: 15). "He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride" (NKJV
41:34). The power of the Behemoth lies in its serenity in the face of evil, whereas the
Leviathan exhibits the force inherent in pride and control. Both monsters are gigantic in size, but the Leviathan, who is of the sea,25 is swollen and hardened with pride. God is not accusing Job of pride. Rather, God is pointing out a difference to Job, so that Job may draw his own power from the appropriate source, from the Behemoth, who was also born of the earth on the same day as human being. The Behemoth is huge and powerful, but not destructive. The Behemoth holds "dominion,'' unlike Leviathan, who understands power in terms of force and control.
There is no doubt that the voice from the whirlwind does not directly answer
Job's questions concerning divine justice. Instead, God responds by disclosing the mystery of creation. But, this is not a way of avoiding the issue. The whirlwind does speak to Job's suffering, just not in the terms which Job expects or thinks he requires.
The revealing of the Leviathan and the Behemoth is not intended to scare Job-as so many authors have interpreted-but rather to bring forth the different forms that power can take.
25 Leviathan was born on day five of creation, along with the birds and all the creatures of the sea (Gen 1:20-23). Behemoth, was born on the same day as human being, when God made all the creatures of the land (Gen 1:24 ). 33
Initially, the whirlwind disclosed the independence, individuality and equality of
creation, now it is the underlying power of creation which is disclosed. The whirlwind
has driven Job beyond his personal existence to something impersonal, yet still connected
to him. It is the independence of creation which frees Job, while the power of creation re-
roots and strengthens him. The features of independence, individuality, boundary,
nondiscrimination and equality were presented as not being in and of themselves moral,
but as providing a foundation for morality. The new understanding is liberating and
healing for Job and allows him to engage with his world in a new way. Job comes to
recognize that all things are equal in their independence. This is the essence of Job's
transformation.
After hearing the speeches from the whirlwind, Job's first moment of healing is
complete, but he still has to complete the second and third moments, found in the
epilogue. The epilogue opens with God addressing Eliphaz:
'My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore take yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you.' (NKJV 42:7-8)26
In the prologue to the story, Job only sacrifices for his children, he does not pray for
them. Prior to Job's prayer for his friends, which becomes his second moment of healing,
Job's friends are told to sacrifice. Sacrifice precedes prayer. But, this is not the same
sense of sacrifice as at the beginning of the story. The friends are directly instructed to
prepare sacrifices for themselves and God tells them that Job will pray for them.
26 Interestingly, God asks Job to pray for all three of his friend~. but Elihu is not mentioned. In fact, Elihu is not mentioned in the epilogue at all. Because of this, some authors think that Elihu's speeches were redacted at a later date. If any portion of the Book of was redacted, it certainly was speeches of Elihu. But, the Testament of Job (see Chapter Five) reconciles the absence of Elihu in the epilogue, by claiming that his words were the most evil and that Elihu was never to be forgiven. 34
Importantly, the friends are told to sacrifice for themselves-this is in contrast to the mode of sacrifice that Job undertook for his children at the beginning of the story. Job sacrificed for others. The epilogue teaches that the most authentic way of taking up with ourselves is found in the realm of sacrifice; and that prayer is the most authentic way of taking up with others. Sacrifice is an admittance of wrongdoing; prayer is an act of forgiveness. The text calls into question the conventional understanding of both sacrifice and prayer.
In sacrificing for themselves, the self-concealment that the friends exhibit is broken. In their sacrifice, the friends admit and recognize what they did to Job. Only the actors themselves can admit what they have done. Earlier in the prologue, sacrifice was understood as a way of controlling events-Job thought he could assume responsibility for his children's actions. Job failed to recognize that his children needed to answer for their own actions. Sacrifice is an un-concealment and a testimony that can only be done by oneself for oneself.
Because Job's friends testify to their wrongs, it opens up a space for Job to forgive them. Job's prayer is a prayer of forgiveness. 27 The healing power of Job's prayer is evidenced when the text says: "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends ... " (KJV 42: 10). Implicitly, his prayer includes forgiveness and it is precisely at that moment that he is released from the prison of his suffering. Job is able to forgive his friends, because they have already testified to their wrongs. The text advocates that the perpetrator admit wrongdoing before forgiveness by the victim be
27 Buber also makes the important observation that Job's prayer is a healing moment: "The significance of Job's intercession is emphasized by the Epilogue ... in that the turning point in Job's history, the 'restoration' (Job 42, 10) and first of all his healing, begins the moment he prays 'for his friends,"' (Buber, Prophetic Faith, 197). 35
expected. Importantly, Job is not instructed by God to perform the prayer, but rather he prays on his own accord. Job's prayer is an act of free will.
In sum, unlike Job's sacrifices in the prologue, the epilogue shows that Job takes up with righteousness in a new way. In the prologue, Job sacrificed for his children without any reference to prayer In the epilogue, Job prays for others, but does not sacrifice. Job's transformation is indicated once again. Job's new understanding now includes prayer.
Job's third moment of healing, like his third moment of suffering, requires no divine intervention. It is the authentic action by the community that finally completes the healing process: "Then all .Job's brothers and sisters and his former acquaintance came and feasted with him in his home, and they consoled and comforted him for all the misfortunes which the Lord had brought on him; and each of them gave him a sheep and a gold ring" (NEB 42: J 1). In the case of radical suffering, it is necessary that the community receive the suffering of the victim for a complete restoration to be possible.
Through compassion and a form of distributive justice, the society properly addresses
Job's suffering, rather than exempting itself from him. The community authentically participates in Job's restoration by sharing their wealth with him. Job's friends bring him gifts to help him reassimilate into the community and restore his world. They genuinely
"console and comfort him." A sense of community and family is achieved within a new atmosphere of peace; anxiety no longer holds sway. But, importantly, the reconciliation with the community also requirei> the willing participation of the victim. 36
Epilogue
The voice of the whirlwind healed Job through a renewed and restructured
understanding of the world. Job's anxiety has ceased. Reality achieves a mode of
independence, which is liberating for Job. What appeared strange in his suffering now
appears as familiar again. The alienation subsides and a new sense of peace is established. The new sense of independence includes a bond where all things are recognized as equally dependent upon a shared ground of creation. Job's understanding has now been restructured and his world is restored. The epilogue reads:
So the Lord restored Job's fortunes and doubled all his possessions .... The Lord blessed the end of Job's life more than the begi.nning; and he had fourteen thousand head of small cattle and six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and as many she-asses. He had seven sons and three daughter.s; and he named his eldest daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-happuch. There were no women in all the world as beautiful as Job's daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance with their brothers. (NEB 42:10-15)
A close reading of the text makes it very clear that there is a distinction between a
"fortune" and a "possession." Oniy Job's possessions are doubled in the epilogue, not the children.28 As has been said, the prologue taught that Job looked at his children as something he could possess and control. The fact that Job's children are not doubled along with. his possessions in the epilogue gives a hint that Job comes to view all of his children in a new mode of independence. This recognition on Job's part is vital to his
28 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (I 3 h Century CE.) interprets the non-doubling of the children as the way the author recognized their increased value: "Not only were his possessions which he had lost restored to him, but also his children were restored to him, but not double what he had before, for the text says, 'He had seven sons and three daughters.' There are two reasons for this. One pertains to the future life, because the sons which he had, were not completely lost to him but were saved in the future life to live with him. The other reason concerns the present life, for if the number of sons was also doubled when the rest of the things were doubled, the fortune of his house would not seem to have increased, because each one of his children would have the same quantity of goods as before. Therefore, it was more just that his children should increase in value rather than number." Western Dominican Province, "The Commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Book of Job," trans. Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P., (2002). http://www.opwest.org/Archive/2002/Book_of_Job/ tajob.html (accessed January 17, 2008). 37
new understanding. He now recognizes what legitimately can be considered a possession,
and what cannot be.
Furthermore, in the prologue, Job possessed many slaves. In Job's restored world,
the slaves are overtly absent. This absence is not an oversight. Erich Auerbach's
description of the Hebrew linguistic style is helpful in understanding this point. The
Hebrew Bible creates absences and these absences carry implications. Auerbach states:
[The Hebrew Bible provides] the externalization of only so much of the phenomena as is necessary for the purpose of the narrative, all else left in obscurity; the decisive points of the narrative alone are emphasized, what lies between is nonexistent; time and place are undefined and call for interpretation; thoughts and feeling remain unexpressed, are only suggested by the silence and the fragmentary speeches; the whole, permeated with the most unrelieved suspense and directed toward a single goal (and to that extent far more a unity), remains mysterious and 'fraught with background.' 29
Auerbach explains that absences are vital to the interpretation of the narrative. The text relies upon absence as a way of indicating presence. If the Jewish author is minimalist in what s/he chooses to include, then s/he must also be conscious of what is being left out.
The absence of slaves in Job's restored world should not be written-off as something that was merely passed over by the author. What is absent is just as important as what is present. Through the absence, the text teaches that human beings are not possessions. The sense of independence and equality disclosed through the whirlwind does not leave room for slavery. The absence of the slaves testifies to Job's new understanding. 30 Job no
29 Erich Auerbach, Mimesis, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), 11-12.
30 Tur-Sinai supports this interpretation: "(T]he biblical poem of Job is eternal, utterly devoid of superstition; it is wholly divine, pervaded by a pure God-concept, and wholly human, recognizing the equality of all men, sanctioning the rights of the slave and affirming the affirmation towards a world of justice, in which social discrimination is no longer practiced and the servant is free from his master" (Tur Sinai, Book of Job, LXXI). For Sinai, the Book of Job not only raises the question of justice, but positively addresses it. 38
longer defines the world in terms of possessions. Job's understanding has undergone a transformation that allows for and recognizes the independence and equality of others.
The independence of human beings implicit in the absence of the slaves is rendered explicit in Job's new recognition of his daughters' independence and individuality. It is first necessary to recognize the independence of others, in order for their individuality to come forward. In the prologue, Job was only concerned with his sons' well being, as he consistently made burnt offerings on their behalf: "[For] he thought that they [his sons]31 might have somehow sinned against God and committed blasphemy in their hearts. This he always did" (NEB 1 :5). There is no mention of concern for his daughters in the prologue. In the epilogue, the sons move towards the background and the daughters emerge in the foreground. The daughters are given names, whereas the sons are not. The epilogue emphasizes this: "He names his eldest daughter
Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren··happuch. There were no women in all the world so beautiful as Job's daughters" (NEB 42:14).32 The daughters, who were originally faceless and nameless, are now present in a mode of individuality.
Immediately after the naming, the text tells us that Job gives his daughters a share in his inheritance: "And their father gave them an inheritance with their brothers" (NEB
42: 15). By including his daughters in his inheritance a new sense of equality is now present,33 which works hand in hand with the new sense of individuality that has been
31 Pope, Job, 1.
32 Jemimah means dove; Keziah means cinnamon; Keren--happuch means cosmetic eye-shadow.
33 Pope makes a similar observation: "Normally daughters inherited only when there was no son .... Inheritance by the daughters when there are sons is thus remarkable and unique in the OT. This may be regarded as a token of the elevated status of women in the patriarchal society reflected by the Book of 39
achieved. Just as the community participated in Job's healing through a form of distributive justice, so too Job uses this form of justice to elevate his daughters to a level equal to that of his sons. The same sense of equality that was implied by the absence of the slaves is also present through the elevation of the daughters. There is no question that
Job's understanding has changed-the children, who were originally viewed as possessions, are re-established in a new mode of independence.34 Job's new understanding of righteousness fosters independence, parity, and affirms individuality.
In sum, a close reading of the epilogue has shown that Job's restored world is very different from his original one. Only Job's possessions are doubled, not human beings. Job's transformation is evidenced when he forgives his friends, his daughters are named and given an inheritance along with their brothers, he no longer possesses slaves, and the community participates in his restoration through a form of distributive justice. A new sense of equality is present which recognizes the individuality and independence of others. The epilogue can be considered a legitimate ending to the Book of Job, if one accepts that Job has undergone a transformation.
Job" (Pope, Job, 292 n 15). But, while Pope points out the uniqueness of the daughters' inheritance, he never explains it in terms of the narrative.
34 Mitchell, in the introduction to his translation of the Book of Job, touches upon the presence of equality, and the absence of control, in Job's new world: "The most curious detail in the epilogue is the mention of Job's daughters. In this new world they are not inferior to their brothers ... Indeed, they are dignified equally by being given a share of Job's wealth as their inheritance. Each is named while, while the seven sons remain anonymous ... There is something enormously satisfying about this prominence of the feminine at the end of Job .. .It is as if, once Job has learned to surrender, his world too gives up the male compulsion to control" (Mitchell, Bc•ok of Job, xxx). Mitchell's description recognizes that Job has undergone a transformation. 40
Conclusion
Job's transformation has been presented as a movement away from the moral formula that understands suffering in terms of divine judgment to a new amoral understanding which has moral implications. In particular it was the innocence of his suffering that illuminated the inadequacy of the formula. The nondiscriminatory aspect of nature became the basis for his new understanding of human equality. The independence of creatures as presented by the whirlwind was liberating for Job and led to the recognition that righteousness does not include control. Through independence a new appreciation for individuality developed. The restructuring of Job's understanding provided the amoral ground from which a new morality was possible. Through Job's transformation, the epilogue of the story not only becomes credible, but also becomes the embodiment of that transformatio.1.
Self-exemption and self-concealment were understood to be features of evil which promote and perpetuate political suffering through the withdrawal of care. The adherence by the friends to the formula of divine reward and punishment was shown to be a form of accusation that blames the victim for their own circumstance. A common example of this logic occurs when the poor and the homeless are accused of suffering through their own lack of industry and laziness. The victim is deemed at fault.
Job had a premonition and it came to pass. He suffered in silence and condemned his life. Others also condemned ·him, but Job beiieved in his righteousness and stood firmly within it. The meaning changed as his suffering deepened and he was addressed by the whirlwind. Job demanded justice and received understanding. He sought wisdom and was presented with mystery. He asked for strength and was given the earth. He needed 41
community and was taught prayer. Through the disclosure from the whirlwind, his own integrity and the authentic participation by the community, Job's world was restored and restructured in a radically new way. CHAPTER TWO
ORIGINS OF JOB
The following discussion considers four Job-like myths, three of which were found in ancient Mesopotamia, and the other in the neighboring land of Ugarit. The
Mesopotamian texts will be presented in the order of their composition, followed by the
Ugaritic myth. The first text under consideration is the Sumerian "A Man and His God," succeeded by a discussion of two Babylonian myths, the Ludie! Bel Nemeqi and the
Babylonian Theodicy. The analysis will end with the Ugaritic Epic of Keret. Scholars on the Book of Job primarily refer to these four myths as having affinities with the Book of
Job, but rarely elaborate on the parallels. This chapter provides a more in-depth investigation, especially with regards to the Epic of Keret, where only one author, Daniel
J. O'Conner, has dedicated an essay to the comparison.
The task in this chapter is two-fold: to present the narrative commonalities that the myths bear to the Book of Job, and to show how the motif of transformation is absent in all four myths. The ancient mythic origins of the Book of Job all attest to the primordial concern for human suffering, and all include the motif of loss. But, though the theme of restoration is evident in all (except for the Babylonian Theodicy), none of the myths include the notion of a new understanding. As will become evident, transformation is the enormous contribution that the Book of Job offers, as it reinterprets its own origins.
42 43
Sumerian Origin: "A Man and His God"
The question of innocent suffering reaches back to the earliest days of preserved
history-the stone tablets of ancient Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was situated in the land
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known today as the country of Iraq.
Mesopotamia stands with Egypt as the oldest source of Western civilization: "Along with
Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia was the birthplace of civilization. But, unlike Egypt,
Mesopotamia was the home of not one, but a succession of glorious civilizations-the
civilizations of Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria-that together flourished for more than
three millennia from about 3500 to 500 B.C.E."35 Mesopotamia was home to many city
states, several of which came to dominate the area and beyond. The oldest Mesopotamian
culture was Sumer.
Sumer had its own language, which was neither derivative of a previous language,
nor gave rise to any other language after its fall. Sumer was a linguistic island. The oldest
Mesopotamian writings (pictographs) were found in Uruk, the first city of the Sumerian peoples (3300 B.C.E.). Uruk was located in the fertile southern region of Mesopotamia,
where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. Other ~mportant cities that blossomed during this time where those of Nippur, Kish, Cr, Larsa and Eridu.
The earliest parallel to the Book of Job is found in the Sumerian myth "A Man and His God" (ca. 2000--1700 B.C.E.).36 Could this be where it all began? "A Man and His
God" bears comparable parallels to the dialogue portion of the Book of Job, Like Job, the young man of the story is an innocent sufferer. And Jlke Job, the young Sumerian laments
35 Stephen Bertman, Handbook to L(fe in Ancient Mesopotamia, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), x.
36 Pope, Job, XXXII 44
over the treatment by his herdsmen, his companion and his friend, who all falsify his
words. In the confusion of his suffering, his friend twists his words and brings insults
upon him. The young man cries out to his God for understanding. But, all the while his
God remains silent. Then, unexpectedly, his God replies and shortly thereafter the young
man is released from his suffering and brought to joy. An abbreviated version of "A Man
and His God" follows:
There is a young man who does not wickedly put his efforts into evil murder, yet he spends the time in grief, asag illness and bitter suffering. The fate demon has brought need ... has confused his judgment.. .the young man weeps bitterly over the malice he has suffered. He is reverent and performs obeisance .... He speaks ...... of his suffering .... The truth which I speak has been turned into a lie. A man of deceit has overwhelmed me like the south wind and prostrated me before him. ... My herdsman has plotted malice against me although I am not his enemy. My companion does not say a true word to me. My friend falsifies my truthfully spoken words. A man of deceit has spoken insulting words to me while you, my god, do not respond to him and you carry off my understanding .... [T]he confusion of what I have done ... tears will not cease .... Tears, lament, anguish and despair ~.re lodged within me. Suffering overwhelms me like a weeping child. In the hands of the fate demon my appearance has been altered, my breath of life carried away. The asag demon, the evil one, bathes in my body .... For how long will you be uncaring for me and not look after me? Like a bull I would rise to you but you do not let me rise, you do not let me take the right course .... My god, ...... after you have made me know my sins, at the city's gate I would declare them, ones forgotten and ones visible .... The man's god heard his bitter weeping. After his lamentation and prolonged wailing had soothed the heart of his god towards the young man, his god accepted ~he righteous words, the holy words he had spoken. The words of supplication which the young man had mastered, the holy prayers, delighted his god like fine oil .... He eradicated the fate demon which had been lodged in his body .... He turned the young man's suffering into joy. 37
The story captures the themes of loss and restoration, suffering and healing, but does not
include a sense of transformation on the part of the young Sumerian. Nor does it discuss a wager between deities in heaven, or the explicit loss of possessions and family.
Furthermore, the end of the story has the young man being released from his physical suffering, through the eradicat10n cf the "evil fate demon" that was "lodged in his body," but does not include a reconciliation with the community. The story emphasizes bodily
37 The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, "A Man and his god: translation," University of Oxford, http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr524.htm (accessed November 2007). 45
suffering, as well as a confusion of the understanding, but although the young sufferer returns to health, there is no sense that his understanding has been addressed or transformed.
Babylonian Origin: Ludlel Bel Nimeqi
Sumer fell when its Northern neighbor Agade conquered the area (ca. 2334
B.C.E.), and became the center of cultural life, giving rise to a new Mesopotamian language, Akkadian. Approximately four centuries later, the city of Babylon became the ruling power of Mesopotamia. The Babylonians adopted the Akkadian language, which would remain the language of the land until the mid sixth century B.C.E.
Many Babylonian myths are echoed in stories of the Hebrew Bible. The
Babylonian stories of creation and the great flood are remarkabiy similar to those found in the Book of Genesis. One Babylonian myth of particular interest for this analysis is the
Ludlul Bel Nemeqi, 38 or "I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom," dating sometime between
40 1600-1150 B.C.E.39 This myth is often referred to as the "Babylonian Job," a predecessor of the Book of Job. Though unearthed from the ruins at Nineveh, the Ludie[
38 Ludlul Bel Nemeqi is also transliterated as Tiibi-utul-Bel or Tiibu-utul-Bel. Morris Jastrow Jr., famous for his early in-depth rendering of this ancient text, calls the myth Tabi-utul-Bel. See Morris. Jastrow Jr, "A Babylonian Parallel to the Story of Job," Journal of Biblical Literature 25, no. 2 ( 1906): 135-191.
39 This period falls within the third dynasty of Babylon, also known as the Cassite dynasty. Cassites were an Iranian tribe who respected the customs and literary traditions of Babylon. The Cassites were overthrown by the Elamites in 1156 B.C.E., who were in turn overthrown by a military coup one hundred years later. Nebuchadnezzar, a Chaldean, would assume leadership over Babylon in 604 B.C.E., to lose it to the Persians once again ;n 539 B.C.E. Mesopotamia would come to an end. See Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, 54-58.
40 See D.S. Russell, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, J 987), 58. 46
Bel Nemeqi is the story of a legendary king of Nippur,41 who without any apparent reason
was struck down with disease, but persevered through his long suffering. The similarities
with the narrative of Job, as given in the Hebrew Bible, are striking: the innocent
suffering of a pious man, the loss of possessions, bodily affliction, the longing for death,
the search for understanding, the initial silence of God, the image of the whirlwind, and the subsequent healing. While these events do not proceed in the exact same sequence as
the Book of Job, they are all present. Only the words from the poem itself can speak to the mysterious resemblance between the two stories. The following is a condensed
version of the Akkadian-Babylonian myth Ludlul Bel Nemeqi:
I advanced in life, I attained to the allotted span: Wherever I turned there was evil, evil Oppression is increased, uprightness I see not. I cried unto god, but he showed not his face .... (Who) opposes the weak, forgets his God .... Prayer was my wisdom, sacrifice, my dignity; the day of honoring the gods was the joy of my heart .... What is innocent of itself, to God is evil! What in one's heart is contemptible, to one's god is good! Who can understand the thoughts of the gods in heaven? The counsel of god is full of destruction; who can understand? Where may human beings learn the ways of GodL .. Quickly he is troubled; all at once oppressed .... My limbs are destroyed, loathing covers me; On my couch I welter like an ox; I am covered, like a sheep, with my excrement. ... The god helped me not, my hand he took not. ... The coffin yawned; they took my possessions; while I was not yet dead, the death wail was read~'· ... Let thy hand grasp the javelin ... He sent a storm wind to the horizon ... .'W'ith the woe he had brought, un-repulsed and bitter, he filled the earth like a storm .... My eyelids, which he had veiled with the veil of night he blew upon with a rushing wind and made clear their sight. ... My mouth which was closed so that I could not be 1.mderstood-he cleansed it like a dish, he healed its disease ... 42
41 Jastrow states: "A line from the third tablet preserved in the commentary reveals to us the name of the royal sufferer as Tabi-utul-Bel, and he is there described as 'dwelling in Nippur.' This personage, by a fortunate chance, occurs again in an important list of names, which confirms the view that he was a king who ruled in Nippur" (Jastrow, "A Babylonian Parallel to the Story of Job," 149). Bertman discusses the unique position of the ancient city of Nippur: "Unlike other cities that were guided by rulers who often had imperialistic ambitions, the Sumerian city of Nippur never possessed a ruling dynasty of its own. Instead Nippur maintained a position of political neutrality while acting as a religious center to which other cities and rulers turned. Nippur enjoyed this preeminence because it served as the site of the most important temple of the God Enlil, regarded from the third millennium B.C.E. as the head of the Sumerian pantheon ... Nippur's longevity extended to 800 C.E." (Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, 27).
42 George A Barton, "A Babylonian Job," Archaeology and the Bible, J'd Edition, (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920), 392-395. 47
Like the Sumerian story, the Babylonian story not only tells of a man who suffers bodily affliction, but also suffers the loss of his possessions. But, while the Sumerian story incorporates suffering at the hands of a friend, the Babylonian story omits this theme.
Hence, the Ludie[ Bel Nemeqi eliminates political suffering. Both myths have something very much in common and at the same time very different from the Book of Job. Neither myth on its own fully parallels the Book of Job, but both myths taken together incorporate key themes found in the Hebrew version of the myth. Both stories tell of loss and restoration, suffering and healing, but neither story gives voice to a transformation having occurred for the protagonist. This is precisely the contribution of the Book of Job.
The next ancient myth that expresses the confusion which accompanies innocent suffering is known as the Babylonian Theodicy.
Another Babylonian Origin: Babylonian Theodicv
The Babylonian Theodicy is said to have been written sometime between the later part of Babylon's Cassite period and the early part of the Edomite period (ca. 1000
43 B.C.E.). This is a period that would quickly lead up to severa; hundred years of military conquest. Ancient Mesopotamia was in transition. But, the literary traditions were preserved and it is likely that the author of the Babylonian Theodicy was familiar with the mythic tradition.
The Babylonian Theodicy tells of 3 man who questions the legitimacy of a god/goddess that allows the righteous to suffer and the wicked to prosper. The story takes place as a conversation between the sufferer and his friend. Because of this, the myth has
43 See Wilfred G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963),67. 48
more in common with the Sumerian "A Man and His God," than it does with the Ludlel
Bel Nemeqi. Several authors find the Babylonian Theodicy to be the closest akin to the
Book of Job, even though it only mirrors the portion where Job engages in a dialogue with his friends. But, it is highly possible that the author of the Book of Job drew inspiration from the myth solely for writing the dialogue portion of the text.
From the opening lines of the story we learn that the sufferer is the youngest child and an orphan who suffers bodily affliction and a confusion of the understanding. Like
Job, his loss is deep. And the words that the sufferer uses are quite similar to those of Job.
The themes of inheritance, questioning the role of :1 god ~n human suffering, and engaging in a dialogue with a friend, are all consistent with the themes found in the Book of Job.
Like the Book of Job, tl:e friend in the Babylonian Theodicy plays the role of accuser; the friend calls the sufferer a "madman" and says his words are "perverse."
Throughout, the sufferer consistently makes the observation that the good suffer, while the evil flourish. Ultimately, the friend responds by explaining that this is the way the gods want it. The story never gets beyond the paradox implied by inn0cent suffering. The sufferer begins with the notion that the gods are unjust and ends· in the very same place. It is not until the Book of Job that the paradox is overcome through a new understanding which no longer relies upon divin~ reward and punishment.
In general, the Babylonian Theodicy expresses a profound loss that includes a deep questioning, but does not provide for the restoration of the sufferer In fact, there is no indication that the sufferer undergoes a transformation in the slightest. If the author of the Book of Job did find inspiration from the Babylonian Theodicy, then it can be said 49
that the myth was certainly re-expressed in order to provide more than a one dimensional rendering of the theodicy question. The Babylonian Theodicy opens with the sufferer describing his plight:
Sufferer: 'I [ .... ], the suffering, will not cease to reverence you .. I am finished. Anguish has come upon me. I was the youngest child; fate took my father; my mother who bore me departed to the land of no return. My father and mother left me without a guardian ... ' Friend: 'He who waits on his god has a protecting angel, the humble man who fears his goddess accumulates wealth.' Sufferer: 'My friend, your mind is a river whose spring never fails ... Hear my words. My body is a wreck, emaciation darkens me, my success has vanished, my stability has gone. My strength is enfeebled, my prosperity has ended, moaning and grief have blackened my features ... ' 44
Like Job, the Babylonian sufferer has lost family, possessions and been physically weakened. The sufferer is presented as innocent and someone who revered the gods.
The friend replies to the lament of the sufferer:
Friend: 'What I say is restrained ... But you [ ... ] your balanced reason like a madman. You make [your. ... ] diffuse and irrational, you turn your select.. blind ... ' Sufferer: 'Have I held back offerings? I prayed to my God, I have pronounced the blessing over the goddesses regular sacrifices ... Those who neglect the god go the way of prosperity, while those who pray to the goddess are impoverished and dispossessed ... In my youth I sought the will of my god; with prostration and prayer I followed my goddess. But I was bearing profitless .. ' Friend: 'My reliable fellow, holder of knowledge, your thoughts are perverse .... You have let your subtle mind go astray ... You have ousted wisdom ... Unless you seek the will of the god, what luck have you? He that bears his god's yoke never lacks food, though it be sparse. Seek the kindly wind of god, what you have lost you will make up for in a moment ... ' 45
Similar to the Book of Job, the friend's response is challenging rather than comforting.
He accuses the sufferer for having engaged in evil thoughts. The sufferer insists that the moral formula is invalid-the good are not rewarded and evil is not punished. But, the friend is not convinced and promises that if the sufferer remains loyal to the gods, then
44 Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 71-3.
45 Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 73-83. 50
the sufferer's world will be restored. This is the only place where restoration is referenced in the story.
The sufferer continues on in grief and challenges the fairness of inheritance laws, which only recognize the eldest:46
Sufferer: 'I have looked around society, but the evidence is contrary. The god does not impede the way of a devil ... The first born son pursues his way like a lion, the second son is happy to be a mule driver. The heir stalks along the road like a bully. The younger son will give food to the destitute. How have I profited that I have bowed down to my god? ... ' Friend: 'The div!ne mind, like the centre of the heavens, is remote; knowledge of it is difficult; the masses do not know it. .. ' Sufferer: 'Pay attention, my friend, understand my ideas ... Pecple extol the word of the strong man who is trained in murder, but bring down the powerless who has done no wrong. They confirm the wicker! ... Yet suppress the honest man who heeds the will of his god. They fill the store house of the oppressor with g::ild, but empty the larder of the beggar of its provisions. They support the powerful. .. but destroy the weak and drive away the powerless ... ' Friend: 'Solemnly they [the gods] speak in favor of a rich man ... but they harm a poor man like a thief, they lavish slander upon him and plot his murder, making him suffer every evil like a criminal, because he has no protection. Terrifying they bring him to an end and extinguish him like a flame ... ' Sufferer: 'May the god who has thrown me off give me help, may the goddess who has abandoned me show mercy ... ' 47
The sufferer continues to question cl.ivine justice, as well as social justice, and the friend finally sides with the sufferer. The text ends with the claim that there is no justice in the world. The dilemma remains unresolved. The final words of the story have the sufferer crying for mercy.
"A Man and His God" and the Ludie/ Bel Nemeqi taken together exemplify the core of the Book of Job. But, the Ludie/ Bel Nemeqi leaves out an important aspect which
"A Man and His God" introduced, namely, the presence of an accusatory friend. Could it be that the Babylonian Theodicy attempted to fill this gap left in the Ludlel Bel Nemeqi?
46 Lambert expresses the originality of this challenge: "The writer seems to be unique in preaching against the privileges of the first-born" (Ibid., 65).
47 Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 85-89. 51
The Theodicy and the Ludlel were, after all, written very close together and are both found in Babylon. But, the Babylonian Theodicy does introduce something new, which the other myths did not include-a questioning of traditional inheritance law. The fourth myth to be discussed, will also incorporate a challenge to inheritance laws, but will take the issue one step further. A discussion of the Ugaritic text known as the Epic of Keret follows.
Ugaritic Origin: Epic ofKeret
Like the text of the Ludlel Bel Nemeqi, which is about a king from Nippur, but found in the ruins of Nineveh, the Epic of Keret is a story of a king from Hubur, but found in the ruins of Ugarit. Similarly, the Book of Job tells the story of a man from Uz, a
I city which ha~ never been identified. It is interesting that in all three cases the sufferer is from a different locale than the c·1lture that embraced the story.
48 In 1928 the ancient polytheistic city of Ugarit (4500-1100 B.C.E.) was discovered in what is now modern day Ras Shamra, located on the Syrian coast directly across from the Eastern tip of Cyprus. U garit stood west of Mesopotamia on the
Mediterranean Sea. A farmer stumbled upon the ancient city when he accidently opened a tomb while plowing a field. He not only discovered the city of U gar.t, but also a language not known to have existed, U garitic, a new Semitic dialect. Many tablets were unearthed from the site and were discovered to have been written in various different languages:
48 See Anson Rainy, "Ugl'.rit,'' Encyclopedia Judaica 20, 2"J Ed, (Detroit· Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 225-228. 52
Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian hieroglyphics, the non-Semitic language of the Hurrians, and of course U garitic, as wel~ as texts t~at exhibit a combination of these vocabularies.49
Three core texts emerged from excavations during the early 1930s, all written in
Ugaritic: The myths of Baal, Keret, and Aqhat (also referred to as Dn'el). Scholars date all three myths to sometime between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E., a period also referred to as the later part of the Bronze Age. 50 In 1971, the excavation of U garit yielded 120 tablets and, most recently, in 1994 another 300 tablets were found. 51 Scholars agree that U garitic literature provides an important background for the study of the Hebrew Bible:
We find in the Ugaritic narrative poems representatives of a developed poetic tradition that lies behind the poetic achievement now preserved in the prophetic, liturgical and wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible; versions of traditional tales or motifs that are later recast in Hebrew prose narratives.52
As documents which so intimately illustrate the Canaan of the Hebrew Bible, the Ras Shamra texts ought to command the interest not merely of the few Gpecialists but of all who are really interested in the Old Testament. 53
It is probable that before the biblical writers made use of them, many older Hebrew Canaanite versions of the Noah and Job stories circu.Iated among the people as narrative poems ... 54
The story of Aqhat (Dn'el) has been connected with the story of Daniel of the Hebrew
Bible. Daniel, like Dn'el, was a famous judge. Both were known for their wisdom. Baal
49 See John Gray, The Legacy of Canaan: The Ras Shamra Texts and Their Relevance to the Old Testament, Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 5, 2"ct rev. ed., (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1957, 1965), 2.
so Gray, The Legacy of Canaan, 1-2.
51 Syria Museum, "Ugarit," http://www.syriamuseum.com/WikiHome/Ugarit (accessed January 18, 2008).
52 Edward L. Greenstein, "Kirta," Ugaritic Narrative Poetry: Writings from the Ancient World, Society of Biblical Literature, 9, ed. S. B. Parker. trans. M. Smith, S. Parker, E. Greenstein, T. Lewis, and D. Marcus, (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997), 2.
53 Gray, The Legacy of Canaan, 2.
54 John C. L. Gibson, "Myth, Legend and Folklore in the Ugaritic Keret and Aqhat Texts," Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 28. (Leiden: Brill, l 975), 68. 53
is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy, as a false god and the object of idolatry. And, most importantly for this investigation, the Epic of
Keret is said to have influenced the authorship of the Book of Job.
In the introduction to his translation, Pope affirms the connection between Keret and Job: "From Ugarit also we have another long epic poem which has certain affinities with the story of Job. The Keret epic tells of a king whose entire family was wiped out in a series of catastrophes."55 Greenstein et al., in their introduction to their 1994 translation, also allude to the parallel: "'A king is bereft of family, his dynasty threatened with extinction' .... The disaster is described step by step, like the fateful series of announcements to Job that his estate and children have been destroyed."56 Michael
Coogan in the introduction to his translation also mentions a semblance: "Kirta's situation recalls that of Job, a comparison strengthened by Kirta's sickness described in the second and third tablets."57 But, Pope, Greenstein and Coogan all merely mention the possible Keret-Job connection in passing. Only Daniel O'Connor dedicates an entire essay to the subject, titled "The Keret Legend and the Prologue-Epilogue of Job."58
Synopsis of the Story
The Epic of Keret opens with the tragic death of his seven sons and abandonment by his wife. In deep sorrow Keret falls asleep and the god El visits him in his dreams. El
55 Pope, Job, XXXI.
56 Greenstein et al., "Kirta," 10.
57 Michael D. Coogan, "Kirta," in Stories from Ancient Canaan, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978), 52.
58 See Daniel J. O'Connor, "The Keret Legend and the Prologue-Epilogue of Job," Irish Theological Quarterly 55, (Maynooth, Ireland: Maynooth College, 1989). 54
presents a prophecy and plan for Keret to regain a family. Keret is instructed to lay siege to the Kingdom of Udum in order to win I;Iurriya, King Pabel's beautiful daughter. Keret then gathers a large army and proceeds towards Udum. On the way he passes the temple of Asherah, El's wife, and elicits the help of the goddess. He makes her a promise in exchange for her assistance and continues on to Udum. Rather than go to battle with
Keret, Pabel negotiates a peace and submits to Keret' s terms. I;Iurriya is permitted to marry Keret and bears him sons and daughters. Keret' s earlier loss is restored. But, having forgotten to fulfill his promise to Asherah, Keret is stricken down with illness.
Once again, Keret finds himself suffering and once again, El comes to Keret's aid and conjures up a demon, Sha'taqat, who heals him. Keret then suffers yet another time through his son Ya~~ib, who comes to take his throne. What Ya~~ib does not know is that
Keret has been restored to health by Sha 'taqat. Keret' s response to his son is one of immense anger. The text abruptly ends here.
Analysis of the Story
Like the three moments of Job's suffering in the Book of Job, King Keret also displays three moments of suffering: the loss of family, the pain of physical disease, and political accusation. And like Job, Keret also goes through three moments of healing, though the third moment is only a possibility, since the tablet breaks off before the conclusion of the story. The cycles in each story are the same, but the sequence of suffering and healing is different. Job's three moments of suffering are consecutive, followed by three consecutive moments of healing; whereas, in the Epic of Keret each moment of suffering is followed immediately by a moment of healing. They alternate one 55
another. Although the text is in,:;omplete, the first two cycles of Keret' s suffering and healing do not indicate any transformation of the understanding on Keret' s part.
First Cycle
The story of Keret opens with King Keret having lost his wife and all seven of his sons: "He sees his offspring ruined, wholly undermined his seat, and in its entirety a posterity perishing" (A, 1:21-24 ). 59 Any chances for a continuation of Keret' s dynasty have been lost. By stating his loss in terms of dynastic rule, the text signifies that Keret may have only seen his sons as a means to an end. Nevertheless, Keret finds himself devastated at the loss of his family and expresses his profound suffering: "His tears do drop like shekels to the ground" (A, 1:28). Job's reaction is similar to that of Keret' s when he receives word from a messenger that all of his children have been killed: "At this Job stood up and rent his cloak; then he shaved his head and fell prostrate on the ground" (NEB 1:20-21). Both Job's and Keret's suffering begins with the extreme loss of family. Keret loses his seven sons, and Job loses his seven sons and three daughters.
59 H.L Ginsberg's translation of the Epic of Keret will be used henceforth. See The Legend of King Keret: A Canaanite Epic of the Bronze Age. Bulletin of the American Schocls of Oriental Research, Supplementary Studies, Nos. 2-3, (New Haven: American Schools of Oriental RP-search, 1946). The first translation of the U garitic text appeared in French in 1936. The work was done by Charles Virolleaud, Director of the Bureau of Antiq:.1it1es of Beirut, a linguist and a French national. Ten tears later, H.L. Ginsberg was the first to provide a widely published English translation (1946). Because of its popularity and originality, Ginsberg's translation will be used in this analysis. Subseq'uem English translations of the Epic of Keret were done by Cyrus H. Gordon (1949), James B. Pritchard (1950), John Gray (1955), J.C.L. Gibson (1956), Cyrus H. Gordon (1977), Michael D. Coogan (1978), Edward L. Greenstein (1997), and N. Wyatt (1998). A note on citation format: the Epic of Keret appears on three clay tablets, with three columns of writing on each side. Generally spe~.king, translators organize their work accordingly, so that each translation contains six columns per tablet. But, in the original excav'l.tion the tablets were labeled inaccurately-the third tablet was labeled as the second in the sequence and the second as the third. To resolve the issue, Ginsberg relabeled the tablets A, B and C. Ginsberg's reassignment will be used in this chapter. 56
There is no mention that Keret originally had daughters, but later when Keret's family is
restored he will have seven new sons and six daughters.
While weeping, Keret falls asleep and is visited by the god El in his dreams. El is
the supreme god of the Ugaritic pantheon, a creator and father of the gods. El has formed
a certain attachment and compassion for Keret, continually evidenced throughout the
story as El refers to Keret as a son. El comforts Keret and shows him the necessary path
for re-establishing a new family. The journey involves a large military campaign to win
the daughter of King Pabel, ruler of the neighboring Kingdom of Udum. But, Keret is
instructed by El not to destroy the city, only to surround it. This will provoke Pabel to
negotiate for peace. It is at this moment that Keret is to make a peace offering in
exchange for King Pabel's beautiful daughter J:Iurriya.
On his way to Udum, Keret pays homage to El's female counterpart Asherah, the
mother of the gods. During his prayer he makes a promise to Asherah: '"As Asherah of
Tyre exists, as Elath of Sidon! If I:Iurriya to my house I take, I bring the lass into my court, the twofold of her will I give in silver, and the three fold of her in gold"' (A, 4:201-
06). El has already promised Keret a favorable outcome, but Keret calls upon Asherah
anyway, as if to ensure success. Keret's promise arises out of self-interest, and again, takes the form of a mere means to an end. It is easy to pass over Keret's promise to
Asherah, l:mt it plays an important role later in the narrative, when he fails to fulfill it.
Keret arrives in Udum. surrounds the city, and as EI promised, Pabel accepts the terms of peace. Keret weds I:Iurriya and together they have seven sons and six daughters.
Keret's progeny is restored, just as Job's children are restored. Keret's first cycle of suffering and healing is complete. Like Job, Kernt's restored world is different than his 57
original one-Keret is granted both sons and daughters. Also, similar to the Book of Job,
when Job's daughters are given an inheritance along with their brothers, Keret affords his
youngest daughter a special status: "'To the youngest of them I will give the birthright"'
(B, 3: 16).60 Like Job, there is an apparent inversion of conventional inheritance laws. In
Ugarit, the throne would normally pass to the oldest son, just as in Judaism women were
never included in inheritance. Not only does Keret grant this right to a daughter, rather
than a son, but to the youngest of the daughters. Just as in the Book of Job, a sense of
gender equality is achieved in Keret's new family.
Furthermore, in both stories the daughters are named. O'Conner points this out:
In the Keret poem there is no list of his sons by their names, but when it comes to the birth of the daughters we get six parallel lines, short lines of only three word~ each, but the final word in each gave the name of the girl. Unfortunately, only in the sixth line can the name of the (favorite) daughter of Keret be reconstructed, the text is damaged in the other five, but the space for the name was there. 61
Only the name of Thitmanet is preserved in the list.62 She is last in the list, and hence,
presumably the youngest. Yet, it is to Thitmanet that Keret gives the "first-born's rights."
And, it is Thitmanet who Keret later calls on, out of all of his children, for comfort in his
suffering. Thitmanet is not only the favorite daughter, but the favorite child. The common
theme of naming the daughters in both the Epic of Keret and the Book of .Job reinforces
the importance of the daughters' elevated status.63 A certain sense of individuality, as
well as equality, is achieved in both cases. But, Keret's esteem for Thitmanet need not
6° Coogan transliterates this verse in a clearer manner: "To the youngest I will give a first-barn's rights," (Coogan, "Kirta," 67).
61 O'Connor, "The Keret Legend and the Prclogue-Epilogue of Job," 3.
62 See John C. L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, (New York: T &T Clark International, 1956, 1978,2004),92.
63 It is important to note that unlike the Book of Job, the Epic of Keret does provide the names of two of Keret' s sons, Elhau and Y a~~ib, the ugh the names are not given in a list like the daughter's names. 58
imply a transformation on Keret's part. Rather, the elevation is done out of affection, as
opposed to a new understanding. His affection for Thitmanet will further become
apparent in his second cycle of suffering.
Second Cycle
Keret's second moment of suffering and healing begins when the reader is
reminded that Keret fails to keep his earlier promise to Asherah. The goddess strikes
Keret down with disease for not keeping his vow. The old formula for divine justice is
clearly at work-Keret is punished by the gods for wrongdoing. Like the bodily affliction
that Job undergoes, Keret suffers prolonged physical illness. Keret, like Job, is brought
near to death. Both stories express a questioning of suffering, and in both stories only
silence is received. El, on behalf of Keret's anguish, repeatedly asks (seven times): "Who
among the gods can remove illness, driving out the malady?" And repeatedly the text
states that "none among the gods answers him" (C, 5:8-22). Job's pleading is given in a
similar tone: "Why was I not still born, why did I not die when I came out of the
womb? ... Why should the sufferer be born to see the light?" (NEB, 3: l l, 20). Job goes
through nine speeches before God rephes to him. In both cases, questioning is brought
about by profound suffering. However, it is important to observe that the nature of the
questions in each story is quite different. El pleads to the lesser deities on behalf of Keret
for a cure and Job pleads for understanding.
During his long illness, Keret's son Elhau goes to see his father: "Into the presence of his father he enters weeping bitterly, giving forth his voice in weeping" (C,
1: 12-14 ). Keret finds no solace through Elhau. He dismisses him and asks that he bring 59
Thitmanet: "Call thy sister Thitmanet, a maid whose passion is strong. Let her weep and wail for me .... Thy sister I know is compassionate" (C, 1:29-33). Keret's affection for his youngest daughter is now reinforced. It is only through her authentic compassion that he finds solace. But, Thitmanet cannot heal him.
Unable to bear the silence of the gods any longer, and seeing Keret continually suffer, El takes it upon himself to create a healer named Sha'taqat, to magically restore
Keret' s health. El commands the c•ther deities to take a seat for this momentous event:
"'Remain seated, my sons, upon your seats, upon your thrones of princeship. I will apply sorrery and will surely compass the removal of the illness, driving out the malady. With clay his hand he fills, with goodly clay he moulds ... [a] dragon'" (C, 5::24-31). Sha'taqat is formed and instructed by El to fly over cities and towns to reach Keret. She arrives and heals him: "[Sha 'taqat] proceeds to wash him dean of sweat. His desire for bread she opens, his appetite for food. Death, on the one hand is broken; Sha 'taqat, on the other has prevailed" (C, 6: 10-14 ). Kt-ret is cured of his illness and immediately asks I:Iurriya to
"prepare a lamb that [he] may eat'' (C, 6: 17). Keret' s appetite is healed.
A similar sequence of events occurs in the Book of Job, but they have a very different meaning. Job has already suffered the loss of his family, his bodily health and his community. When God finally answers Job's pleas, he instructs Job to brace himself, in anticipation of the events to come: "Then the Lord answered Job out of the tempest. ... Brace yourself and stand up like a man" (NEB 38: 1, 3). The tone of voice that
God uses with Job is similar to the tone that El uses with the lesser deities. Both warn of a mysterious event about to happen-the creation of Sha 'taqat and the awesome disclosure of the whirlwind. Job is miraculously healed by the voice from the whirlwind and, 60
likewise, Keret is miraculously healed by Sha 'taqat. But, the types of healing that each undergo are qualitatively very different. Job is taken on a healing journey through the mystery of creation, which restructures his understanding, and Keret simply regains his health and appetite. This brings to a close Keret' s second moment of suffering and healing.
Third Cycle
In the Book of Job, the political suffering stemmed from the incessant and antagonistic questioning by Job's three friends who came to "mourn" with him. In the case of Keret, the political suffering occurs in the dynamic between him and his son.
When Keret's eldest son Ya~~ib senses that his father is too ill to properly rule the land, he takes advantage of the situation. But, what Ya~~ib does not know is that his father has already been healed by the magical powers of Sha'taqat. Ya~~ib visits Keret and demands that he step down as king and allow Ya~~ib to rise to the throne. Ya~~ib justifies his demand by accusing his father of not having fulfilled his kingly duties of stewardship:
"Thou didst use to judge the cause of the widow, to adjudicate the case of the wretched, to drive out them that prey upon the poor" (C, 6:45-8). Keret is deeply offended and angered by the accusations. He curses Ya~~ib and calls upon the god Horon to "break his head" (C, 6:55).
Importantly, Ya~~ib's words indicate that the King once upheld those duties and valqes. It is here that we learn that Keret was a righteous king. Job's righteousness also included helping the poor, the widowed and the orphaned: "I saved the poor man when he called for help, and the orphan who had no protector ... and I made the widow's heart sing 61
for joy" (NEB 29: 12-13 ). Keret, like Job, is known for his generosity. Both men are
victims of false accusations and their situations are taken advantage of by people close to
them. We know that Job's friends, save Elihu, are forgiven by God through Job's prayer
and, soon after, Job's world is restored. Unfortunately, the Keret tablet cuts off the ending
of the scene between Keret and Ya~~ib, so the reader is not told how the political
suffering of Keret is resolved. And so, whether or not Keret forgives Ya~~ib remains
unknown.
Even though the story is incomplete, where it ends is somewhat paradoxical. The
story begins with Keret' s loss of his sons and ends with his anger at his oldest son who
wants to take the throne. The incongruity lies in the fact that Keret needed sons to
continue his dynasty, but now that he has a son to heir the throne, he finds himself being
prematurely replaced. Gary Knoppers also points out the irony of Keret's situation:
"Kirta's furious reaction to his son is certainly ironic. The pursuit of one goal within royal
ideology has worked at cross-purposes to the pursuit of another. An heir was thought
critical to the viability of his dynasty and the stability of his kingdom. Yet this divinely
elected heir is now a threat."64 Knoppers's interpretation recognizes a paradox inherent in
the notion of dynastic rule. In order for Keret' s dynastic future to be realized a son must
be present. Yet, in order for the dynastic future to be realized, Keret must be absent.
There is a similar irony with Job's friends who are supposed to be comforters, as friends
are expected to be, and instead turn out to be accusers, radically distancing themselves from Job's suffering.
64 Gary N. Knoppers, "Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta," Journal of the American Oriental Society 114, no. 4 (1994): 580. 62
In sum, Keret suffers the loss of family, bodily disease, and the political betrayal of his son. But, unlike Job, Keret does not suffer the loss of possessions; Keret is never reduced to poverty. And unlike Job, Keret's suffering does not appear to occur in the realm of his understanding. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the motif of transformation is absent from the narrative of the epic. Although the text is incomplete,
Keret's first two cycles of suffering and healing survive in a fairly unobstructed form.
But even so, neither the restoration of his family, nor the restoration of his physical health indicate a new understanding, and hence it can be inferred that the missing conclusion also does not indicate a form of transformation.
Conclusion
Similar to the Book of Job, the myths frorr, Sumer, Babylon and Ugarit all reflect a deep concern for suffering. Taken ;;ollectively, the stories testify to three distinct types of suffering, which are also found in the Book of Job. Additionally, three of the myths explicitly include the motif of restoration, but none of the four incorporate the transformation. Interestingly, "A Man and His God," the Ludie! Bel Nemeqi and the Epic of Keret all specifically incorporate bodily healing, something that is silently passed over in Job's restoration. Only the Epic of Keret includes a female character, bringing the theme of the female into play for the first time. Like the Book of Job, by establishing a strong relationship between Keret and his youngest daughter, the U garitic myth presents the female in a positive light.
Though the four myths all expresi; the problem of innocent suffering, none of them on their own completely prefigures the Book of Job. All of the myths recognize the 63
problem that innocent suffering brings to the notion that the good are rewarded and the
evil are punished, but none are able to overcome the formula. Hence, there is no
transformation on the part of the sufferer in any of the four myths. Taken collectively and
synthesized together, the myths do, however, provide an important narrative basis from
which the author of the Book of Job may have drawn. One can now see the building blocks from which the Book of Job reshaped and re-expressed its own origins in a new
way .. The originality of the Book of Job lies not in its being a first expression, but rather
in the way in which it reinterprets its own origins and introduces the notion of
transformation. CHAPTER THREE
HINDU JOB
Introduction
Several scholars point to affinities between the Book of Job and two Hindu
stories: the myth of Hariscandra from the Markandeya Purana and the myth of Nala from the Book of the Forrest of the Mahabharata. Dating for the Markandeya Purana ranges from as early as 300 C.E. to 900 C.E., but one thing is certain, it was written and compiled subsequent to the Mahabharata (200 B.C.E.-200 C.E.'t,65 the most well known
and longest Hindu epic. Connections between the story of Job and the Hindu tradition primarily focus on Hariscandra, rather than Nala. But, it will be argued that the story of
Nala, dating at least 100 years prior to Ha:iscandra, in fact bears just as strong, if not stronger, similarities to the Book of Job. It is the thesis of this section that Nala bears a deeper resemblance to the story of Job because it incorporates the important motif of transformation. Furthermore, Nala is not only poetically on par with the Book of Job, it is also nearer in date. But, before an in-depth analysis of Nala, it is first necessary to briefly consider the motifs that are operational within Hariscandra.
65 See Shubha Pathak, "Why Do Displaced Kings Become Poets in the Sankrit Epics," International Journal of Hindu Studies 10, no. 2 (2006): 128.
64 65
Hariscandra
There are primarily four works where a discussion of parallels between
Hariscandra and the Book of Job appears. All four references are very brief and are quoted in their entirety below. In 1953, Anthony and Miriam Hanson are the first to point out a possible connection between the story of Hariscandra and the story of Job:
Another interesting paralkl comes from Hindu legend. Here a righteous king called Hariscandra is tempted by a supernatural being called a Rishi, who has made a wager with a fellow-Rishi that no man's righteousness is proof against temptation. Hariscandra undergoes every form of trial m order to induce him to fail in his duty ... But, in every circumstance of ignominy and disaster Hariscsndra resolutely performs his dharma, so in the end his fortunes are restored and the wicked Richi loses his wager. The parallel with the Job legend is very close indeed here, but it is expressed in terms of the Hindu conception of righteousness 66
Hanson and Hanson state that it is Hariscandra's persistent and loyal attention to duty that finally restores his world. Unlike Job, \\'hose understanding of righteousness goes through a transformation, Hariscandra's allegiance to duty is unwavering-there is no indication of a change in his understanding.
In 1957 Naphtali Tur-Sinai also drew parallels with the Book of Job. The following is quoted from Tur-Sinai's 1967 revised English edition of his translation:
An even more similar story-as first pointed out by K. Schottmann in his commentary on Job (1851 )-is an ancient Indian legend contained in the Markandeya Purana. At an assembly in the heaven of the god Indra, the gods and the 'reverent' discuss whether there is a perfectly righteous king on earth. When Mazishta refers in this connection to his disciple Hariscandra, the God Shiwa (disguised as one of the 'reverent') expresses doubt whether ~his righteous man would stand a test. Shiwa is given permission to test the king. Owing to an unders:anding to pay a sum of money which exceeds his means, Hariscandra and his generous wife sink into vilest servitude, he being employed as a grave digger. But he stands the test, the gods restore him to his former position, and he and his people are translated to heaven for eternal happiness. 67
66 Anthony and Minam Hanson, The Book of Job: Introduction and Commentary, (London: SCM Press Ltd., 1953), 9.
67 Tur-Sinai, Book of Job, LXX-LXXI. Tur-Sinai's translation was originally published in Hebrew in 1957. A revised English edition appeared in 1967. The English edition is used here. Also, Tur-Sinai attributes the discovery to K. Schottmann-·unfortunately Schottmann's commentary appears to be unpublished, and hence is very difficult to attain. 66
Tur-Sinai's summary of Hariscandra, like that of the Hansons', indicates little by the way
of metamorphosis.
In 1965, Marvin H. Pope also refers to the parallel:
In Indian literature there is a story first told in the Markandeya Purana, which is similar in theme to that of Job. Among the gods at an assembly of the god Indra a discussion arose as to whether there was on earth a man perfectly righteous. Most of the gods doubted that such a one existed, but the goddess Vasishta nominated a certain king Hariscandra for this distinction. The god Shiva doubted that Vasishta's candidate could qualify and tested him with a series of calamities like Job's. Hariscandra was bereft of his wealth, his kingdom, his wife and only son, but he preserved his rectitude and was at last restored and rewarded.68
Again, for Pope, it is Hariscandra's consistent "rectitude" that ultimately resulted in his
world being restored.
Four years later, in 1969, Theodor H. Gaster discusses similar connections:
The folktale around which the Book of Job revolves finds an interesting parallel in the Indian legend of King Hariscandra. Once upon a time we are told, at a combined assembly of the gods, saints and patriarchs, the question was propounded whether any entirely faultless prince could be found on earth. The majority, headed by god Rudra, said, No, but the sage Vasesta nominated his disciple, Hariscandra. Rudra accepted this challenge and obtained permission to put the matter to the test. He therefore subjected Hariscandra to the most abject poverty, compassed the execution of his only son, and took away his only wife. Hariscandra, however, withstood all these afflictions without relinquishing his piety. In reward for such virtue, the gods restored his property, revived his son, and brought back his wife, while Rudra retired discomfited. It should be observed, however, that this story-which is told in connection with a passage in the Markandeya Purana-appears to be no older than the third century CE, and may itself reflect the story of Job, picked up from Christian missionaries.69
Gaster, like the others, describes 1-Iariscandra's maintenance of piety and virtue as the
explanation for his restoration. And again, any indication of transformation is absent. All
of these brief synopses of the story of Hariscandra recognize similarities in the narrative,
and emphasize loss and restoration as fundamental motifs. But, what none of the authors
point to is the theme of patience, which the story of 1-Iariscandra concludes with.
68 Pope, lob, LXIV.
69 Theodor H. Gaster, "Job," in Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament: A Comparative Study with Chaptersfrom Sir lame3 G. Frazer':; Folklore fn the Old Testament, (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1969), 785. 67
Just prior to Hariscandra's restoration, the god Dharma expresses to Hariscandra
the virtues that have allowed him to persevere through his suffering: "Be not rash, 0
king! I Dharma have visited thee, gratified with thy patience, self-command, truth and
other virtues" (v. 236). After his son is brought back to life, and Hariscandra regains his
wife, the text repeats Dharma's words: "Ah, the -:najesty of patience!" (v. 268).
Hariscandra survives the trial of his righteousness hy maintaining his virtue of patience,
which is not necessarily the same as devotion to duty. Job is also revered for his patience.
This theme will be addressed most directly in Chapter Five on the Testament of Job.
Clearly, the story of Hariscandra parallels the story of Job in many ways. But, the
text contains no discussion of Hariscandra coming to a new understanding of the world.
Of all the stories discussed thus far that bear a resemblance to the Book of Job, it is only
in Nala that a transformation becomes evident. Compared to the work done on
Hariscandru, there are even fewer discussions of parall.els between the story of Nala and
the Book of Job. For this reason, the story of Nala will be given primary attention.
Like the story of Job is well known in the Western culture, the story of Nala is
well known within the Hindu culture. Both have a deep tradition surrounding them. Just
as the Book of Job has found many expressions, likewise Nala has given rise to twenty- seven different well known pieces of literature that center on the story, the most famous being the Nai$adhacarita. 70 Both stories are considered primary in their respective cultures and are worthy of comparison for this reason alone. Several authors have pointed
70 See Dr. N.P. Unni, Naia Episode in Sanskrit Literature, (Trivandrum: College Book House, 1977). Dr. Unni gives a syncJpsis of all twenty· si::ven works in his book. 68
to the similarities between the stories of Nala and Job, but little has been done by way of an overall comparative analysis. The two stories are clearly very different, but the similarities are striking enough to warrant such an analysis. The purpose of the following comparison is not to argue that any one story is derivative of the other, but rather to unveil the shared human experience that both stories express in their own way.
Comparing stories from different cultures affords the possibility that they may illuminate one another. By looking at the texts together, new ways of interpreting and understanding each text arises. The truth and logic that each text expresses acts as a reinforcement of the other. Both storie~ speak to fundamental features of human existence, in particular that of suffering and the new understanding that can emerge from that suffering. The commonality lies not so much in the corresponding details of the stories, although these are present, but rather in the ground that both stories share.
S. Prabhakara Rao and M. Prakasa Reddy in their essay, "Job and his Satan-
Parallels in Indian Scripture," are the first to point to the similarity between the stories of
Nala and Job:
The Kali Purusha brings to mind the satan of the Prologue of the Book of Job. Such is the satan, who is challenged by God to consider the stature of his servant Job. The parallel with the satan and with the episode in the divine council is completed in the Saga of king Nala, in the Mahabharata. The devas and their lord, Indra, in their court chant the virtues of Nala ... Thus provoked, Kali swears he wouid put to test the virtue of Nala and speeds out of the presence of the devas. He lies in wait, gets his chanc:! one day whe11 the good king makes an omission in his 8.blutions, Hnd possesses him, to drive him to de~titution. Thus also the satan who ruins the happiness and hope of Job. 71
The only other author to discuss a connection is David .J.A. Clines, who responds to Rao and Reddy' s claim and challenges it. In his essay "In Search for the Indian Job," Clines states:
71 S. Prabhakara and M. Prakasa Reddy, "Job and his Satan-Parallels in Indian Scripture," Zeitschrift Fur Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 91, no. 3 ( 1979): 417-18. 69
Nala, even though he is driven ultimately to desert his wife in the forest is, unlike Job, not having his piety or virtue tested, and unlike Job, he continues to be praised by his wife as 'the very best of men.' In short there is no di vine council, no di vine wager, no reproach by his wife; there is indeed a divine persecution of a righteous king, but for a motive utterly dissimilar from that in the Job story. The account by Rao and Reddy is therefore potentially misleading. 72
Assuming that Clines is correct about these differences, are they enough to negate the
parallel cross-cultural motifs that are found in both stories? I challenge Clines's
conclusions and argue that Clines may be looking in the wrong places for similarities.
Clines' s insistence on identical narrative details puts too much interpretive pressure on
the stories. The common fundamental structures of both stories are being completely
overlooked. Both Job and Nala find themselves suffering and the comparison of the two
stories should take as its point of departure this essential theme.
It is only fair to begin the analysis with the recognition that the stories are very different. The story of Nala is a dramatic love story that .::enters on the evolving relationship between Nala and his wife Damayanfi, whereas the story of Job has traditionally been taken up as a questioning of God's moral justice. Furthermore,
DamayantT is depicted as a strong, wise, beautiful and independent woman. Job's wife, on the other hand, is unnamed and denigrated in the text. She speaks only a few nasty words: "'Curse God and die!"' (NEB 2:9)73 Although it is not until the closing scene of the Book of Job that the female is elevated in stature, ultimately, both stories depict women in a positive way. And both stories confirm that restoration is preceded by a transformation of the understanding.
72 David J.A. Clines, "In Search for the Indian Job," Vetus Testamentum 33, no. 4 (1983), 416.
73 It is interesting to note that in the Testament of Job, a retelling of the Book of Job dated sometime between 200 BCE and 200 CE, Job's wife is depicted as a strong and compassionate woman, who deeply grieves the loss of her children. Job's wife becomes the sole bread-winner during their misfortunes. 70
Synopsis of the Story
The story of Nala tells of a wealthy, handsome and wise king who loses everything--his possessions, his kingdom, and his status-during a many-month long betting match with his brother. Kali, a demon god, possesses Nala during the betting match in the hopes that Nala will bet away DamayantT, whom Kali wants for himself.
Nala does not bet away Damayanti, and with nothing left, they leave their children with
Damayanfi's father and escape to the forest. Eventually Kali forces Nala to abandon
Damayanfi in the forest. At this point, Nala loses all of his family. To deepen his suffering Nala is forced to take on a deformed appearance to learn the "secret of the dice" in order to rid himself of Kali, and ultimately reunite with Damayanfi. In their reunion, the restoration of Nata's world begins. Nala now exhibits a new understanding. To regain his kingdom, Nala enters into another betting match with his brother. The stakes are high-his life and his wife for his brother's life and the kingdom. But, having already learned the "secret of the dice," Nala wins the bet.
Analysis of the Story
Just as the story of Job opens with a statement about his righteousness and affluence, in the very first lines of Nata we learn of King Nata's many virtues:
There was a king by the name of Nala, the mighty son of VIrasena, endowed with all good virtues, handsome and a connoisseur of horses, who like the lord of the Gods stood at the head of all the kings of men, rising like the sun far above them with his splendor. This hero, a friend of Brahmins and learned in the Vedas, was king of Ni~hada; he loved to gamble, spoke the truth, and was a great commander of armies. Beautiful women loved him, he was generous and master of his senses, a protector and excellent bowman, a Manu come to flesh. (50.1)74
74 All citations from Nala will henceforth be from J.A.B. van Buitenen's translation of the Mahiibhiirata. See J.A.B. van Bmtenen, "Nala," The Mahabharata, Volume 2: The Book of the Assembly Hall and the Book of the Forest, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975). 71
Nala is depicted as a man of all virtues. His presence is equated with that of the gods. He is at the height of power, beauty and capability. But curiously, gambling is included amongst the list of his virtues. hi a parallel way, Job's children were listed amongst his possessions. Could it be that Nala understood gambling as a virtue, in a similar fashion to the way in which Job understood his children as something he could possess?
Like Nala, Job is extremely wealthy and of high social status, though not a king. 75
Job is a God-fearing righteous man and known for abiding by the law and conducting his life accordingly. And, just as the Hebrew God acknowledges Job's moral and righteous perfection, so too, Nala is acknowledged by all the Hindu gods for his beauty and perfection.
It is also in the first verses of each story that we learn of Nala's and Job's attachments. They both exhibit their own forms of attachment. Job is attached to an understanding of righteousness such that he thinks sacrificial rituals can control the fate of his children. It is precisely this understanding that is called :nto question and becomes essential to Job's transformation. Likewise, Nala's attachment to gambling becomes a driving force for both his suffering and transformation. Job's suffering begins with his excessive attachment to a particular concept of righteousness and Nala's suffering begins with his obsessive attachment to the dice.
Nala is highly regarded and his reputation spreads throughout the land catching the attention of the beautiful Damayantl. Likewise. Damayantf's rep•1tation has also reached Nala: "As they ceaselessly heard of each other's excellence, there rose in them a
75 Though, in the Testament of Job, Job ts presented as a king of Bgypt: "Where is Job who rules over all of Egypt?" (28.8). 72
desire for the other's unseen person" (50.15). A wild goose acts as a messenger between
the two. The love between t-:Jala and Damayanfi begins in remoteness. So too, the Book of
Job begins in remoteness. When Job loses his livestock, his slaves and his children, the
news of these events is brought to him by three different messeng~rs. The general
trajectory of the myth of Nala, like the myth of Job, moves from remoteness to nearness.
Whereas we learn of Job's losses in the prologue of the story, the narrative
background of Nala takes longer to unfold. We do not learn of Nala's loss of possessions
until after his marriage to Damayanfi. Naia's marriage to Damayanfi is an extravagant
scene, where Nala becomes a messenger for the gods, and finds himself present at
Damayanfi's bridegroom-choice ceremony. Damayanfi insists on marrying Nala, the god-
like mortal, instead of one of the gods. The gods endorse the marriage. Kali, a demon
god, is angered that the bridegroom-choice ceremony took place without him,76 and
wants revenge: '"If she has found·herself a human husband in the midst of the gods, then for that she surely deserves a severe punishment'" (55.5). Out of jealousy and vengeance,
Kali plans to punish Damayanfi by making Nala suffer, putting their love to the test. Kali makes an arrangement with Nala's brvther Pu$kara to enter into a betting match with
Nala. Kali assures Pu$kara that he will be victorious and win all of Nala' s possessions.
Out of greed and a longing to overtake Nala's kingdom, Pu$kara welcomes the opportunity. Kali waits for a vulnerable moment to possess Nala. 77 Under the possession
76 Kali arrives late to the ceremony and blames his own truancy on the oth~r gods who were willing to begin the ceremony without him. Similarly, Satan appears to arnve late to the divine gathering that God conducts: "The day came when the members of :he court of heaven took their places in the presence of the Lord, and Satan was th~re among them. The Lord asked him where he had been" (I :6).
77 Kali waits twelve years to attack Nala (56. J!. Interestingly, in the Testament of Job, Satan waits seven years before destroying Job's possessions (16.1). Both demons wait for the perfect moment. 73
of Kali, Nala agrees to a betting match with his brother: "Being possessed by Kali, Nala
lost in the game his stakes of raw and refined gold, wagons and teams and clothes ... he
was mindlessly gambling" (56.10). As Kali had promised, Nala loses everything,
including his throne, but refuses to stake DamayantT.
After losing his kingdom, Nala leaves their children with DamayantT's father, and
he and DamayantT take refuge in the forest. 78 Nala struggles with the idea of abandoning
DamayantT while she sleeps. Kali is clearly pulling him away, but Nala's love and strong
sense of duty struggle to keep him there. Ultimately, Kali wins out and Nala leaves
DamayantT behind, alone in the forest. When DamayantT awakes, she finds herself
abandoned, and intuitively knows that Nala did not leave on his own accord. She curses:
Burning grief consumed her and rage inflamed her as she ran into every direction .... Whatever creature it is by whose curse the suffering Ni~adhan finds more suffering, that creature shall reap even greater grief than his! The miscreant who has done such evil to the innocent-minded Nala will for that find greater grief and Jive a life of miserJ. (60.10, .15)
Later, Kali will admit the deep effect that DamayantI's curse has on him. Cursing is an
important common theme in both the story of Nala and the story of Job. In sum, Nala and
Job both undergo a similar first moment of suffering; they both lose all of their
possessions, family, and are demoted and outcast from their communities.
Nala's second moment of suffering is also similar to that of Job's, who after
suffering the loss of his possessions, is inflicted with sores by the relentless Satan. Job's physical appearance changes and he becomes repugnant. Even his wife and friends are
afraid to approach him. Job metamorphoses into something strange. He becomes
78 Similarly, in the Testament of Job, Job and h;s wife take refuge outside the city walls after the destruction of their kingdom and children: "And in great confusion and distress I [Job] left the city and I sat on the dung-heap ... .I spent forty-eight years sitting on the dung-heap outside the city" (20.8, 21.1). Job's wife is forced to become a maidservant and travels back and forth from the city to bring Job bread so that he may Jive. 74
unfamiliar to himself, helpless and confused Likewise, Nala also undergoes physical
suffering. After abandoning Damayanti in the forest, Nala encounters a snake trapped in a ring of fire. The snake pleads for Nala to help him, for he is under a magic spell and cannot escape the flames. The snake promises Nala something advantageous in return for his help. Nala removes the snake from the fire, when suddenly "the snake bit Nala at the tenth step; and when he was bitten, his appearance changed instantly. Astonished Nala
stopped, looked at himself, and saw that he was deformed" (63.10). The snake keeps his promise and the poison from the bite weakens Kali's grip on Nala. But, Nala is now deformed.
The snake offers Nala a magic robe, which when worn would return Nala to his beautiful appearance, but the snake explains that he has given him the deformed body in order that he may disguise himself as a servant. He instructs Nala to go work for the king
Rtupan:ia, from whom N ala can learn the secret of the dice and be released from Kali forever, and ultimately reunite with Damayanti. Nala obeys the instructions and chooses to remain in the deformed state, suffering the physical metamorphosis of an abject and decrepit body. Nala is no longer beautiful; he is forced to redefine himself. He even takes on the new name of Bahuka. Nala and Job both undergo a drastic change of outer appearance; both undergo a bodily metamorphosis where they find themselves as abject, decrepit and strange.
Like Job's third moment of suffering when his friends come to mourn with him, but become accusers, Nala also suffers a rejection by the community. Nala's political suffering stems back to the beginning of the stoty when Pu~kara allies himself with Kali and steals the kingdom. It is not just the stealing of the throne that has political 75
implications but, out of his hatred, Pu~kara also turns the 1,ommunity against Nala:
"Pu~kara, however, great king, proclaimed in the city, 'Anyone who makes common
cause with Nala I shall put to death!' And because of Pu~kara's orders and the malice he
bore Nala, the townspeople showed no hospitality to him" (58.5). Despite the fact that
Nala was a virtuous king, not a single townsperson comforts him or comes to his aid. The
same logic is at work in Nala, as in Job: the community exempts itself from Nala's
suffering. Nala grieves over the rejection by the community: "King Nala could not sleep
as before, for his spirits wert: churned up by anguish. He saw again the plunder of his
kingdom, the desertion of his friends ... " (59.5). Both Job and Nala express grievance
over the betrayal by their friends. In both cases, the community's refusal to address their
suffering itself brings more suftering. Both stories indicate that neither Satan nor Kali
were directly responsible for the political reje1,tion by the community. Political suffering
is brought about within the sphere of human action, and does not rely upon divine
intervention.
Like Job, Nala also undergoes a transformation evidenced in his restored world.
After taking on his grotesque form, Nala finds his way out of the forest and becomes a
servant for King Rtupan:ia. Meanwhile, DamayantT has made it safely to her parent's
house and has sent servants looking for Nala. One servant believes he has found Nala and
informs DamayantT of the disc"overy. DamayantT stages a second bridegroom-choice
ceremony, only revealing the news to King Rtupan:ia, who Nala now serves. DamayantT knew that Nala would drive King Rtupama's chariot. Rtuparr;ia and Nala (disguised as
Banuka, the deformed) start dI on the journey toward DamayantT. On the way Rtupafl)a
teaches Nala the secret of the dice in exchange for Nala's knowledge of horsemanship. 76
As soon as Nala learns the secret of the dice, Kali, who was lodged deep inside
Nala, is expelled from him. Nala is finally released from the torment of Kali's vengeance:
Rtuparl)a imparted his knowledge to Nala. Promptly Kali issued forth from his body when Nala had learned the secret of the dice, incessantly vomiting from his mouth the bitter venom of Karkotaka [the snake]. The fire of Kali's curse came out of the king who had been suffering from it; he had been worn thin from it and haci for a long time lost control of himself. Kali was now himself freed from the poison and he took on his own body. Nala, sovereign of Ni~hadha, angrily wanted to curse him. Frightened, trembling, and folding his hands, Kali said to him, 'Restrain your anger sire, I shall give you the greatest fame. Once your wife cursed me in anger, when you had deserted her, and I have been sorely pressed ever since. I have lived inside you, undefeated Indra among kings, lives in great pain, burning day and night with the poison of that king of the Snakes ... At these words, the cowardly Kali quickly entered the vtbhftaka tree ... Ever since the vibh'itaka tree has stood in ill repute. (70.20)
The text does not directly disclose the substance of Nala's new knowledge, but it does
seem to imply that Nala has learned something about the nature of contingency and
impermanence. Nevertheless, the knowledge of the dice is the pivotal point for his
transformation and liberation. Nala's new understanding frees him from the spirit of
vengeance that dwelled within him for three years. Nala may have harbored thoughts of revenge against his brother, which are now refocused on gaining back what he had before. Nala learns that restoration is not achieved through vengeance.
Armed with new knowledge, Nala and Rtuparl).a continue on their way and arrive at Damayanti" s home. It is not long before she is certain that Bahuka is N ala. N ala reveals himself and the two gloriously reunite: "Three years had passed before he was reunited with his wife, and his heart contented with all that he desired, he found complete happiness. Damayant'f too, on regaining her husband, was wholly refreshed hke an acre with half grown crops on receiving rain" (75.25). The restoration of Nata's world begins and remoteness no longer holds sway. 77
A month later, Nala sets off to meet his brother face to face. Nala challenges
Pu~kara to another betting match. With the knowledge of the dice, this time Nala stakes
DamayantI, as well as his own life: "Nala, son of Vlrasena, went up to Pu~kara and said,
'Let us play again, I have acquired much wealth. DamayantI and wha:tever other riches I
have acquired shall be my stake, and you shall stake the kingdom Pu~kara .... [L]et us
stake both our lives!'" (77.1-.5). Pu~kara agrees to the wager and "in one throw he was
beaten by Nala" (77.15). But, rather than killing Pu~kara, Nala forgives him: "I shall in
no wise blame on you the wrong done by another. Live as you please, I return to you your
life. Also I have affection for you, hero, let there be no doubt. My brotherly feelings will
never fail you. For you are my brother, Pu~kara, live a hundred years!" (77 .20). Pu~kara
was relieved and gladdened at Nata's lack of vengeance. The restoration of Nala's world
occurs without violence. In both the story of Nala and the Book of Job forgiveness is an
integral feature for both transformation and restoration.
Conclusion
Looking back on Clines's arguments from the beginning of the analysis it can
now be seen that his observations forced a literal comparison of the texts, and in so doing prevented any comparison at all. He claims that there is no "divine council" in the story
of Nala, as there is in the story of Job. But, if taken as a "div:ne gathering," then both stories do incorporate this element. The gods in the story of Nala all gather for
DamayantI's bridegroom-choice ceremony and divine beings gather in the story of Job to pass judgment on mortals. In both, there is a divine gathering concerning human beings.
Furthermore, Clines argued that there was no divine wager in the story of Nala. Though 78
the wager element is not "divine" in both instances, there is a betting or gambling aspect
incorporated into both stories. It is thus the element of contingency that connects them.
Clines's third point, that Nala is never reproached by his wife, overlooks the scene where
DamayantT curses Kali, who is inside of Nala. Both DamayantT and Job's wife express
frustration at their husband's suffering. But, more significantly, it is cursing that is the
common theme in both stories. By demanding that the details of each story be the same,
Clines loses sight of the more fundamental features to the stories.
The above analysis has brought the fundamental features and structures of both
stories to the surface. Both stories include three types of suffering: the loss of possessions
and family, a strange physical metamorphosis and political suffering through a rejection
by the community. Both Nala and Job are portrayed as men of virtue and affluence. Both
stories incorporate a form of wagering. Both stories incorporate a divine gathering. Both
characters are tested on a particular virtue; for Job it is his righteousness, for Nala it is his
faith to DamayantT. In both stories, suffering is initiated by an evil demon and later
intensified by the community. Both characters become strange to themselves. Both
become abject. Both seek understanding. Both forgive and out of that forgiveness
community is reestablished. Both characters have their worlds restored and both bring
with it a new understanding.
In sum, the analysis of Nala has confirmed many of the observations made in the
analysis of the Book of Job. Both myths circle back to their own narrative beginnings.
Both Nala and Job regain back what was lost before--their riches, their families and their communities. But, something h::is changed. Both Nala and Job have undergone a
transformation of the understanding, which precedes their restoration. Both stories teach 79
forgiveness rather than revenge. And in both myths, the power of forgiveness is recognized as a fundamental feature for transformation. CHAPTER FOUR
TARGUM OF JOB
Introduction
The contribution of the Targum of Job (Tg. Job) to the overall thesis of this work lies in the recognition of how little it takes to change the story as received through the
Hebrew Bible. For the most part, Tg. Job gives us subtle additions. But, as will be shown, these nuances become interpretively irnportant modifications, and certainly impact the way the story is read. In some cases the targumist's rendering primarily adds emphasis and in other cases the alteration of the text has more serious interpretive results. Tg. Job also offers the opportunity to revi~;it important themes, especially regarding the status of women, from the targumist's perspective There are two passages, one found in the prologue and the other in the epilogue, where the author of Tg. Job radically changes the text, which in turn affects the status of women in the story. Both passages have a direct bearing upon Job's new sense of equality as argued for in the analysis of the Book of Job.
This chapter will show that with very few words, the targumist is able to undercut the thesis that Job undergoes a transformation of the understanding
Historical Context
Historians agree that a targum is a book from the Hebrew Bible orally translated into Aramaic during the readings at the synagogue. The Rabbi would read to the
80 81
congregation m Hebrew and th!! targumist would provide an oral translation into
Aramaic. Hebrew was the only language allowed to be used in its written form during the liturgy. At some point the oral targum translations were written down and preserved. Just as the Greek Septuagint made the Hebrew religion more available, the Aramaic targums did likewise. The story of Job continues and finds another new home in the Aramaic language.
The famous authors whose targums are given official status by the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds are: Onkelos (35-120 C.E.) and Jonathan ben Uzziel (100 B.C.E.-
100 C.E.).79 Onkelos translated the Torah (the Law) and ben Uzziel translated the Neviim
(the Prophets). The Book of Job is not found amongst the books of the Prophets, nor is it considered part of the Law. Rather, the Book of Job, along with Proverbs and Psalms, is found in the Hagiographa, the third section of the Hebrew Bible. Neither author is known to have written targums for the Hagiographa. Tg. Job, like the other versions of Job, survives authorless.
The earliest reference to a targum of Job is found in the Talmud (200-400 C.E.).
The reference tells of the rejection of the targum sometime during the second century C.E. during the life of Gamiliel II:
It once happened that my father, Halafta visited Raban Gamaliel (Gamaliel III, son of Rabbi Judah) at Tiberias and found him sitting at the table of Johanan, the rebuked one, with the Targum of the Book of Job in his hand which he was reading. Said he to him: 'I remember that Raban Gamaliel, your grandfather was standing on a step on Temple Mount when the Targumic version of the Book of Job was brought before him: where upon he said to the builder: 'Bury it under a layer of stones.' He, too [Raban Gamaliel]
79 Jonathan ben Uzziel is kn11wn to have been one of eighty who studied under the church father Hillel during the first century C.'3. Therefore it is likely that ben Uzziel lived during the same period. 82
gave orders, and they hid it. Rabbi Jose, the son of Rabbi Judah said. 'They overturned a tub of mortar upon it. ' 80
The rejection suggests that this early version of Tg. Job must have been radical.
Elias Epstein thinks he knows the reason for the destruction of Tg. Job. The
explanation can be found in the Talmud Babli, Megillah 3. He points out that the Talmud
records that Jonathan ben Uzziel might have begun writing a targum for the Hagiographa,
but was instructed by a heavenly voice to stop, because it contained secret knowledge:
A Bath Koi (i.e. a voice descending from heaven) came forth and exclaimed: 'who is the one who has revealed my secrets to mankind?' Jonathan ben Uzziel thereupon arose and said: 'It is I who have revealed thy secrets to mankind. It is well known to Thee that I have not done this for my own honor, nor for the honor of my father's house, but for Thy honor I have done it, so that dissention may not increase in Israel.' He further sought to reveal [by] a Targum the inner meaning of the Hagiographa, but a Bath Kohl went forth and said: 'Enough!' What was the reason? Because the d&te [literally the 'end'] of the Messiah is foretold in it. 81
Was ben Uzziel writing a targum of Job? Epstein may be right-it very well may have
been that Gamiliel II was brought ben Uzziel's targum of Job when he gave the order to
bury it. However, whether or not ben Uzziel translated the Hagiographa and in it
translated a targum of Job, is not as important as the fact that a targum of Job was
rejected at an early date. 82 The rejection of the text not only gives credibility to its early
existence, but attests to the way in which the story of Job has always been surrounded in
mystery and controversy.
In 1956 a Bedouin made a famous discovery in the caves above the ancient city of
Qumran, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery. Caves II and XI are noteworthy
80 Elias Louis Epstein, A Critical Analysis of Chapters One to Twenty-Six of the Targum to the Book of Job, (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1944).
81 Epstein, A Critical Analysis of Chapters One to Twenty-Six of the Targum to the Book of Job, 107.
82 The TesJament of Job undergoes a similar rejection. This will be discussed in Chapter 5. 83
because they contained fragments from a targum of Job. 83 Unfortunately, only 15 percent of the original Aramaic text survived in Cave 11. 84 The remains of the manuscript found in Cave XI are more substantial, where approximately 60 percent of the manuscript survived, but chapters 1-16 are completely missing. 85 Hence, both Qumran manuscripts are far from complete, falling short of a full narrative. But, the discovery of these manuscripts is extremely valuable, because it gives us the earliest targums found to date.
In the preface to their translatior, of the Targum of Job from Cave II, B Jongeling, C.J.
Labushagne and A.S. Van Der Woude state: "[T]he Aramaic book of Job is the oldest known Targum .... The Job Targum proves beyond doubt that written Tar gums existed at a relatively early time, at about 100 B.C.E."86 Perhaps because of its age and fascination with the Dead Sea scrolls in general, most of the work on the translation of Tg. Job in the last several decades has centered around the Qumran texts. Although, the targums of Job found at Qumran have sparked much interest, they are drastically incomplete and hence unsuitable for the task at har.d.
Many later targums of Job had already been unearthed prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea manuscripts, most of which have been passed over by translators. These targums were transcribed at a later date than the Qumran texts, and are all in a much more
83 The caves have been numbered for excavation purposes
84 Bastiaan Jongeling, C.J. Labushagne and AS. Van Der Woude, "The Job Targum from Cave II," Aramaic texts from Qumran I, no. 4, (1976), 3.
83 See Michael Sokoloff, The Targum to Job from Qumran Cave XI, (Jerusalem: At Ahva Press, 1974),5.
86 Jongeling et al., "The Job Targum from Cave II," 6, iO. 84
complete form. 87 In 1992, for the first time, Celine Mangan translated one of the
1 manuscripts into English. Her translation is based upon the 14 h century Targum of Job
housed in the Cambridge University Library. The following discussion relies upon
Mangan's translation, which was inqorporated into the first complete English translation
of the Aramaic Bible. Additionally, most of the secondary commentary on Tg. Job also comes from Mangan. The clarity of Mangan's work is astounding. She has certainly opened a new world for Hebrew scholarship and a discussion of her analysis cannot be
avoided.
In the introduction to her translation, Mangan discusses two important features of the manuscript. She reports that the text often incorporates "loan words" from languages other than Aramaic, such as Greek, Latin and Persian. Additionally, the manuscript contains alternate or variant renderings fo~ certain words, phrases and verses. Mangan cites that there are over 50 variations included by the targumist. She credits R. Weiss with the explanation as to why the alternate variations appear in the text: "Weiss suggests that 'the duplicates exist because the composer or copyist had a number of manuscripts before him, sometimes different from each other, in whose margins he listed variant translations which later copyists added into the text. "'88 Weiss's explanation is plausible and it shows the culturally cumulative nature of the manuscript, but it is not my intent to discuss all of the Aramaic variations or departures from the Hebrew Bible. Rather, I will
87 Complete Targums of Job Jn; housed in Cambridge, London, Paris, Salamanca, Madrid, Vatican, Rome, Florence, Milan, Parma, Wroclaw, Turin and Dresden. These manuscripts have all generally been better preserved ~han the Targums found at Qumran. See Celine Mangan, "The Targum of Job" The Aramaic Bible: The Targums. Eds. Kevin Cathart, Michael Maher and Martin McNamara, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The LitJrgic21 Press, 1991), 9-10. Also, see David M. Stec, The Text of the Targum of Job: an Introduction and Critical Edition, (E.J. Brill: New Yo'."k, 1994) for a more in depth account of each manuscript.
88 Mangan, "The Targum of Job," 11. 85
attend primarily to those sections of the story which bear directly upon the interpretation of Job's transformation.
Emphasis in Tg. Job
There are interpretive modifications, subtle nuances, in the Tg. Job which provide emphasis. For example, there are 50 passages where the targumist employs the phraseology "Is it possible ... "89 In 46 of these passages the targumist retains the interrogatory form given in the Book of Job. In the other four passages the targumist alters the verse from a statement to a question. For instance, 16:21 of the Book of Job reads: "If only there were one to arbitrate between man and God, as between a man and his neighbor!" The same verse from Tg. Job reads: "A.nd is it possible for a human being to rebuke God as a man does his companion?" The targumist has converted Job's plea into a general theological question.
The next case where Tg. Job re-expresses a statement into a question can be found in 8: 17. The Book of Job states: "He is the lush growth of a plant m the sun, pushing out shoots over the garden; but its roots become entangled in a stony patch and run against a bed of rock." Tg. Job re-interprets: "Is it possible that his roots are entwined around a heap (of stones)?" The third instance where ttis appears is in 14: 14. The Book of Job reads: "The!! I would not lose hope howev~r long my service, waiting for my relief to come." Tg. Job not only adds a question, but adds additional text: "If a wicked man dies is it possible that he can live again? If this were the case all the days of my service I would wait until the tran!lformations of my life would come." And the fourth occurrence
89 There are also four variants which include the phrase, but they have been left out of the count. 86
is given in 26:5. The Book of Job states: "In the underworld the shades writhe in fear, the waters and all that live in them are struck with terror." Tg. Job questions: "ls it possible that the mighty who are decayed will recover, when they are below the waters and their camps?"
What are the consequences of repeating the phraseology "ls it possible ... "? The consequence is that the reflective space loses its existential resonance and takes on a more theoretical tone. Personal pronouns drop out and are replaced with the more neutral word "it." The voice of Job seems to change when it is re-spoken by the targumist. No longer do we hear the anguish and suffering of a particular person, but rather a general questioning that pertains to all of humanity.
The earlier analysis of the Book of Job claimed that Job transitioned from a questioning of his own circumstance to a more general concern for the human condition.
It was proposed that Job's movement in his manner of speaking opened him to the possibility of being addressed by the whirlwind. By repeatedly introducing the general language of "Is it possible ... " throughout the text, the targumist nullifies Job's transition.
The interpretation that Job undergoes a subtle preparation for healing is negated.
Women in Tg. Job
There are certain instances where the targumist goes further than just providing emphasis. Many of these instances are in the verses involving women. Mangan points out that Tg. Job offers a new perspective on the status of women. In fact, most of her work centers on this theme. She observes that Tg. Job begins with an incredibly liberal 87
rendering of women, but that this quickly changes into a more negative view as the text unfolds.
Unlike the Book of Job where inheritance is only referenced in the epilogue to the story, the targumist also inserts the notion of inheritance into the prologue:
There was a man in the land of Uz named Job. That man was blameless and upright, fearing from before the Lord and turning aside from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him and his flock consisted of seven thousand sheep, a thousand for every son; three thousand camels, a thousand for every daughter; five hundred yoke of oxen for himself;five hundred she asses for his wife's sole property and very many servants. (I :2- 3)
The targumist adds an inheritance for Job's daughters and wife, equal to, if not even more valuable than, what he keeps for himself. Immediately, it seems that the targumist is establishing gender equality. But Mangan is suspicious of the targumist' s intent. She supports her suspicion through a discussion of the Jewish laws of inheritance-namely that it was highly unusual for women to receive inheritance. She suggests "that what was meant in Tg. Job 1.3 was that Job was giving gifts to his daughters and his wife in his lifetime, rather than waiting until after his death when they would have no inheritance."90
But, Mangan later points out other passages in Tg. Job which she finds to be derogatory towards women and, hence, she concludes:
Though women's inheritance in Tg. Job 1.3 would seem to be a liberation from the patriarchal setting of the Hebrew text, it is doubtful if such a liberation was in the mind of the Targumist who made the addition. It is much more likely that he was merely delighting in making the Prologue of the text fit in neatly with the Epilogue.91
Unfortunately, "making the prologue fit with the epilogue" is as far as she takes it. The question has to be asked: what implication docs the addition of inheritance in the
9° Celine Mangan, "The Attitude to Women in the Prologue of Targum Job," in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplemental Series 230, Targumic and Cognate Studies: Essays in Honour of Martin McNamara, Eds. Kevin J. Cathart and Michael Maher, (Sheffield, England: Sheffield University Press, 1996), 104.
91 Mangan, "The Attitude to Women in the Prologue ofTargum Job," 110. 88
prologue have for the earlier investigation of the Book of Job? Knowingly or unknowingly, by introducing the notion of inheritance in the prologue, the targumist neutralizes the impact of its singular appearance found in the epilogue. By doing so, a transformation of the understanding on Job's part becomes null; his restored world becomes a duplication of his original one.
Mangan continues her investigation into the targumist's attitude towards women through a discussion of the dialogue between Job and his wife. Mangan observes:
"Women do not seem to do well in the [Targum] ... where the wife of Job, far from being the object of Job's benevolence ... is seemingly vilified by him."92 Tg. Job reads: "His wife, Dinah, said to him: 'Are you still holding fast to your integrity? Bless the Memra of the Lord and die.' And he said to her: 'You talk as any woman who acts shamefully from the house of her father talks'" (2:9-10). Mangan claims that Job's response in Tg. Job is even more offensive than in the Book of Job, because "Job insults his wife by implying that she was deviant even while still in her father's house.'m But, Mangan may be exaggerating the difference between Tg. Job and the Book of Job, which reads: '"You talk as any wicked fool of a woman might talk"' (NEB 2: 10). Mangan suggests that the targumist may be moralizing to the congregation, that women should never talk back to their husbands; but even so, the targumist doesn't go much further beyond the words that
Job speaks in the Book of Job.
Mangan points out yet another modification that the targumist employs regarding
Job's wife. The targumist changes the words of Job's wife in the Book of Job from
92 Ibid., 107.
93 Mangan, "The Attitude to Women in the Prologue of Targum Job," 108. 89
"'Curse God and Die!"' to "'Bless the Memra of the Lord and die."' Again, at first, it seems that the targumist is trying to cast Job's wife in a more favorable light. But,
Mangan thinks otherwise. Instead, she proposes that the targumist was reluctant to use the Hebrew word for "curse" in close proximity to a reference to "God." But, the targumist very well may have been trying to relay a more positive view of Job's wife.
The targumist's motive for making the change is not clear. Either way, the change, as the reader receives it, results in a more positive view of Job's wife.
Mangan presents yet a third argument regarding the targumist' s attitude towards
Job's wife. The targumist names Job's first wife "Dinah," whereas in the Book of Job she is nameless. To further the argument that the targumist has a negative view of women,
Mangan asserts that the targumist's explicit mentioning of Dinah was a way of conjuring up the idea of defilement and shame: "[l]n rabbinic tradition Dinah was castigated for being a 'gadabout' and thus bringing about her rape by Shechem (Gen 34)."94 Dinah was a daughter of Jacob, who when "Schechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite the local prince, saw her; he took her, lay with her and dishonored her" (Gen 34:2-3). Dinah's character is very mysterious. She never speaks a single word anywhere in her story and she is never mentioned again in the Hebrew Bible. It is very difficult to draw the firm conclusion that she was raped; dishonorment can also occur from sexual relations prior to marriage, even if consensual. Mangan concludes that by employing the name of Dinah, which has certain connotations, the targumist is denigrating Job's wife, but again this is not clear. Besides, the targumist was not the first to use the name "Dinah" in the story of Job. The targumist
94 Celine Mangan, "Blessing and Cursing in the Prologue of Targum Job," in Targum and Scripture: Studies in Aramaic Translations and Interpretation In Memory of Ernest G. Clarke, ed. Paul V.M. Flesher, (Boston: Brill, 2002), 229. 90
may have taken "Dinah" from the Testament of Job (200 B.C.E.-200 C.E.), where she
appears as Job's second wife. But, in the Testament of Job, there is no sense that Dinah is
used to conjure up negative images. In fact, in the Testament of Job, she bears three
beautiful daughters, who are elevated in status even more so than in the Book of Job.95
Mangan drives toward a single conclusion-the targumist holds women in low
esteem, to say the least: "[The targumist's] opinion of women was even more depressing
than that of the Hebrew text."96 Mangan's conclusion regarding Tg. Job also includes her
negative interpretation of the Book of Job. For Mangan, they are both depressing, but to
different degrees. Obviously, her conclusion sees no elevation of women in the Book of
Job, and even less in Tg. Job. Since the stories of Job have thus far been exemplary of
radical views of their times, it is hard to believe that the targumist did not also try to
incorporate and emphasize something unconventional, namely the elevated status
women. Mangan makes an interesting argument, and there are certainly other passages
from the text that could support it, but they are also subject to similar ambiguities.
What Mangan Does Not Mention
There is another passage where the targumist introduces women's names into the
text; the targumist introduces the Queen of Sheba and names her "Lilith." According to
the targumist, the Queen of Sheba is one of the forces that destroy Job's possessions. Tg.
Job reads: "[A] messenger came to Job and said: 'The cows were ploughing and the she
asses were grazing at their side, when Lilith, the Queen of {Sheba} and of Margod fell
upon them suddenly and led them away, and they killed the young men, crowds of them,
95 See discussion in Chapter 5.
96 Mangan, ''The Attitude to Women in the Prologue ofTargum Job," 110. 91
at the edge of the sword"' (1: 14). In the Book of Job, the Sabaeans lead off Job's herds
and kill his herdsmen. It is now known that Sheba was the land of the Sabaeans, and
hence the Queen of Sheba, was the Queen of the Sabaeans.97 The targumist may merely
be drawing on historical fact when substituting in the Queen of Sheba for the Sabaeans.
But, if the targumist was trying to make a statement about women, then it could have
been a positive one. In the First Book of Kings of the Hebrew Bible, the Queen of Sheba
is depicted as a strong and generous woman, a ruler of many peoples, who brings many
gifts to Solomon:
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame and came to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue, camels laden with spices, gold in great quantity, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon she told him everything she had on her mind, and Solomon answered all her questions; not one of them was too abstruse for the king to answer ... Then she said to the king, 'The report which I hear in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, but I did not believe it until I came and saw for myself ... Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance and precious stones. Never again came such a quantity of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon ... And King Solomon gave the queen all she desired, whatever she asked, in addition to all that he gave her of his royal bounty. So she departed and returned with her retinue to her own land. (NEB, 1 Kgs 10:1-13)
The Queen of Sheba shows a great interest in wisdom when she asks Solomon "hard
questions." There is no indication that she represents a negative view of women. But, to
support Mangan's thesis, it is in the Testament of Solomon that the Queen of Sheba is referred to as wicked. She, along with other rulers of the region, all come bearing gifts to
Solomon in celebration of the creation of the great temple: "Among them Sheba, Queen of the South, who was a witch, came with much arrogance and bowed down before
97 "Sabeans were the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Sheba in southeastern Arabia, known from the Bible, classical writers, and native inscriptions." See Jewish Encyclopedia Online, s.v. "Sabeans," http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view .jsp?artid=20&Jetter=S&search=Sheba (accessed January 12, 2008). 92
me."98 Here she is depicted as an arrogant witch, but again the targumist's intentions are not definitive.
Interestingly, the targumist names the Queen of Sheba "Lilith." Lilith is said to have been the first wife of Adam prior to the creation of Eve. The story can be found in the Alphabet of Ben-Sira (700-1000 C.E.). A retelling of the legend goes as follows:
Adam looked out over the many animals on the earth and noticed that they were all male or female, yet he had no female. So God first created a woman named Lilith out of dust. But Lilith set herself over Adam and balked at the way that he wished to make love, with the man on top. 'Why?' she scowled. 'Who are you to Lord over me? We are both made of dust! ' 99
On the one hand, Lilith is depicted as the epitome of disobedience for refusing to succumb to Adam's orders. On the other hand, Lilith can be seen as a woman who stands her ground and maintains her integrity in the face of male dominance. Hence, like the
Queen of Sheba, she may be referenced for her feminine strength. Identifying the motive for the targumist's use of certain expressions is very difficult. So much depends on the way in which the reader receives the words. Lilith may represent disobedience or integrity. Likewise, the Queen of Sheba may represent an "arrogant witch" or an independent, wise and generous woman.
There are other additions by the targumist that Mangan does not discuss. For instance, she never addresses the fact that the sons are doubled in number in the epilogue of Tg. Job. This would seem to support her argument on the patriarchal nature of the
98 Dennis C. Duling, "Testament of Solomon: A New Translation and Introduction," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Volume /: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, ed. James H. Charlesworth, (New York: Doubleday, 1983), 982.
99 John F. Bierlein, Parallel Myths, (New York: Random House Publishing Group, 1994), 78. Eliezer Segal also notes: "The story of Lilith is not actually found in any authentic Rabbinic tradition. Although it is repeatedly cited as a 'Rabbinic legend' or a 'midrash,' it is not recorded in any ancient Jewish text! The tale of Lilith originates in a medieval work called 'the Alphabet of Ben-Sira,' a work whose relationship to the conventional streams of Judaism is, to say the least, problematic." "Looking for Lilith," http://www.ucalgary.ca/-elsegal/Shokel/950206_Lilith.html (accessed January 12, 2008). 93
story. Tg. Job reads: "And he hadfourteen sons, and three daughters" (42:13). Whereas the Book of Job reads: "He had seven sons and three daughters" (NEB 42: 13). In the
Book of Job, Job's world is restored with the same number of sons and daughters as he had at the beginning of the story. What are the implications of doubling the sons? Is the targumist trying to put emphasis on the sons? The earlier analysis of the Book of Job argued that the number of sons and daughters in Job's restored world were the same in order to differentiate them from Job's possessions, which were doubled. The doubling of the sons by the targumist could be a way of maintaining patriarchy, or it could be that the targumist saw children as just another possession. Similar to the modification of the prologue, the targumist' s modification of the epilogue further substantiates the earlier claim that the targumist does not see Job as having undergone a transformation of his understanding.
Conclusion
In sum, the epilogue was clearly an irritant for the targumist, as it has been for many commentators on the Book of Job. The targumist introduces the notion of inheritance into the prologue and doubles the sons in the epilogue. As Mangan pointed out, the targumist may have been preoccupied with establishing a conformity between the epilogue and the prologue. Or, did the targumist recognize Job's transformation and want to negate it? Whether it was out of a desire for symmetry or a desire to negate Job's transformation, the consequence is the same-the whirlwind offers no new understanding regarding equality in the targumist's translation. By doubling the sons in the epilogue, the targumist takes away the same equality that he establishes early on. Furthermore, by 94
doubling the sons along with Job's herds, the sons return to the realm of possessions. The important distinction that the Book of Job made between fortunes and possessions is muted. Job's restored world becomes a mere duplication of his original one.
The analysis of the Book of Job argued that throughout the course of the dialogue
Job transitions from a questioning of his own particular situation to a questioning of the human condition in general. The targumist, through the constant repetition of "Is it possible .. .," establishes the general questioning very early in the text. By doing so, the movement towards healing on Job's part becomes stagnant. It should now be apparent that the subtle changes the targumist makes have a drastic effect on how the story is read.
The concept of Job's transformation is very fragile and it takes very little by way of editorializing for the theme to become obsolete. As will be shown in the following chapter, the Testament of Job also brings its own interpretive emphasis to the story. CHAPTER FIVE
TESTAMENT OF JOB
Patience consists in not transforming suffering into a crime. -Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace
Introduction
The fundamental difference between the Book of Job and the Testament of Job (T.
Job) is that in the former Job is an innocent sufferer and in the latter he is a willing one.
This difference relocates the nature of Job's transformation. In the Book of Job, Job relinquishes the old formula of divine justice for a new understanding. In T. Job, Job will transform his mode of action from that of a destructive protester to one of a non-violent resister. Job, who was once very anxious and impetuous, learns to be patient. The following reflections investigate the fundamental features of Job's patience, 100 which allow him to persevere in suffering and defeat evil. The analysis of T. Job will show that patience is radically different from a passive waiting. The form of patience that Job relies upon challenges this conventional interpretation through an understanding of its role in nonviolent resistance to evil. It will be shown that nonviolent resistance is rooted in a unique understanding of patience.
100 Two Greek words are used to express patience in T. Job: makrothumia and hypomone. Although linked, the two words are not synonymous. Makrothumia literally translates as "long-suffering" and hypomone as "staying in place," "abiding," or "persevering." The etymology of the words indicates that patience is properly understood within the context of persevering-in-deep-suffering.
95 96
In many cases, T. Job makes explicit what is only implicit in the Book of Job.
Perhaps the best example of this is the way in which T. Job amplifies upon Job's patience-which finds little discussion in the Book of Job. Likewise, self-exemption and self-concealment, the key features of evil, will become more apparent through Job's confrontation with Satan. T. lob brings into focus the issue of how we can take up suffering and confront evil in a nonviolent way. But, T. Job not only elaborates and provides emphasis, it also changes the story in certain ways. For example, Job's wife does not negatively reject her husband, but rather positively shares in his suffering. Also,
Job's death and the nature of the daughters' inheritance are elaborately described for the first time. Furthermore, transformation in T. lob is no longer limited to Job. As will be shown, Job's wife and daughters go through their own transformations. Transformation blossoms in T. Job.
Historical Context
It is estimated that T. Job was written sometime between the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E. Whether T. Job has been Christianized or not is a debated matter. Nevertheless, the text positions itself within the narrative of the Book of Job, and hence has its roots within the Hebrew tradition.
T. Job is part of what is known today as the Pseudepigrapha, a collection of apocalyptic literature, testaments, prayers, psalms, and Judea-Hellenistic works, not included in any religious canon. '01 T. Job is understood to have been based upon the
101 See James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Volume I: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, (New York: Doubleday, 1983); James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Pseudepigrapha Volume 2, (N::w York: Doubleday. 1985). Charlesworth's 2,000 page two-volume 97
Septuagint Bible, also referred to as LXX. The LXX is considered the oldest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and includes what is known as the Apocrypha, which means "the hidden texts." The Septuagint is often referred to as the LXX because, as the story goes, it was the product of 70 translators assigned the task. The Septuagint appeared sometime between 275-100 B.C.E., through the work of Hellenistic Jews living in
Alexandria, Egypt.
Alexandria became a cultural center during the Ptolemy dynasty which ruled
Egypt for four generations (305-205 B.C.E.). Ptolemy II (282-246 B.C.E.) founded the famous library of Alexandria, which stood from 300 B.C.E. to 270 C.E., suspected to have been destroyed under the reign of Julius Caesar. The project of translating the Hebrew
Bible into Greek was commissioned by Ptolemy II for the library of Alexandria. 102 If the majority of the Septuagint was translated during the lifetime of Ptolemy II, and was finished before 100 B.C E, then it is almost certain that T. Job, given its approximate dating, was written after the LXX. 103
Between 90-95 C.E., the council of Jamnia met to officially determine the final books of the Jewish canon. The council established four criteria: (1) it had to conform to the Pentateuch, (2) been written in Hebrew, (3) written in Palestine, and (4) written before 400 B.C.E. One of the results of the council was to officially remove the 14 books of the Apocrypha (which are presumed to have originally been written in Greek). Hence, compilation provide; valuable translations of historically rejected texts. It is the most comprehensive set of volumes in this area.
102 See Lionel Casson, Libraries m the Ancient World, (New Haven: Yak University Press, 2001), 35-36.
103 Some scholars believe that there was an Aramaic original of T. Job and hence the LXX was based upon T. Job and not the other way around. See Charles C. Torrey, "Chapter 36: The Testament of Job," in The Apocryphal Literature: A Brief Introduction, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1945). 98
the LXX (also Greek), and other texls based upon it, such as what are now called the pseudepigraphic writings, including T. Job, became historically rejected by the Hebrews.
But, this does not mean that T. Job wasn't popular. In fact, the following will provide ev1"d ence toth e contrary. lM
fab the Patient
The importance of T. Job is that it contributes to a deeper understanding of patient suffering, and ultimately acts as a signpost on the road to peace. The story of Job's patience in suffering is a reference point for all three of the major Western monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The story of Job, as has been shown, is most elaborately told in the Jewish tradition. The Christian tradition accepts the story, and teaches its values. The Qur'an rders to Job, but does not document the narrative in full.
But, what is important is that all of the scriptural references to Job emphasize his patience. 105
104 Though, at some point early in the first couple centuries, the text did fall out of view. From this point, T. Job remained expelled from history until 1833 when A. Mai translated the Vatican codex into Latin. The firs! translation into a modern language (French) did not occur until 1858, through the work of J.P. Migne. And, it was only translated into Spanish in 1987. In spite of its age, it is evident that T. Job is a rather recent text for understanding conflict, suffering and peace. T. Job was first translated into English in 1897 by M.R. James, followed by another translation that same year by K. Kohler. The next subsequent English translation, 70 years later, was done by Russell P. Spittler for his unpublished PhD dissertatior. of 1971. In 1974 Robert Kraft, with the assistance of Spittler, Harold Attridge and Janet Timbie, published a new hybrid translation based upon three of the Greek manuscripts. Spittler then published a new translation of his own work in 1983. A year later, R. Thornhill published a translation-·the most recent English translation to date. This chapter will rely upon the collaborative and most comprehensive Robert A. Kraft edition.
105 Bradford Kirkegaard, in his essay, even sees a Buddhist aesthetic to the Job of T. Job: "Job has become more akin tc a Buddhist sage sitting atop his clung heap, in apparent perfect reverie with the divine ... " "Satan in the Testament of Job: A Literary Analysis," in Of Scribes and Sages: Early Jewish Interpretation and Transmission of Scripture, Volume 2, ed. Craig A. Evans, (New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 16. There is something universal about suffering, which is so fundamental to all of humanity, that the story of Job 1s able t:i speak across cultural and sectarian boundaries. 99
In the Islamic tradition Job is considered a prophet, one of twenty-five. In the
Qur' an, Job is known as Ayyub:.
And tell of Our servant Ayyub, He called out to his Lord, saying: 'Satan has afflicted me with sorrow and misfortune.' We said: 'Stamp your feet against the earth, and a cool spring will gush forth. Wash and refresh yourself.' We restored to him his people and as many more with them: a blessing from Ourself and an admonition to prudent men ... We found him full of patience. He was a good and faithful man. (SAD 38:43) 106
This is one of four references to Job in the Muslim scripture. Although it does not contain the complete story, it is Job's "patience" that is remembered.
Job is only specifically referenced once in the New Testament, and again, the emphasis is on patience. The Book of James points to Job's patience and perseverance in suffering:
[A]s an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. (Jas 5:10-11)107
The Christian tradition shows that patience is perseverance; it is a way in which one's humanity in suffering is maintained.
Another Christian reference to Job's patience appears in the Book of Tobias, a book of the Apocrypha found in the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, also known as the
Catholic Bible. 108 Tobias is a story of a man who buried the dead, when forbidden to do so. One day, God brought a blinding sickness upon him, in order to test his patience:
106 The Koran, Trans. N.J. Dawood, (London: Penguin Books LTD, 1956)
107 Holy Bible: New International Versior (NIV), Zondervan, 1985.
108 The Book of Tobias is also referred to as the Book of Tobit and can also be found in the Septuagint. But, the content of the two versions undoubtedly vary, as there is no reference to Job in the Septuagint version of the book. The book has been dated to the second century B.C.E., around the same time the Testament of Job is estimated to have been written, but some scholars have speculated a much earlier date of composition for Tobias at around the ~ighth century B C.E. The roots of the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible stem from Pope Damasus, who compiled a list of books to be included in the Bible at the Roman 100
Now it happened one day that being wearied with burying, he came to his house, and cast himself down by the wall and slept, and as he was sleeping, hot dung out of a swallow's nest fell upon his eyes, and he was made blind. Now this trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy Job. For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of blindness had befallen him, but continued immoveable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life. For as the kings insulted over holy Job. so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his life ... Where is thy hope, for which thou gavest alms, and buriedst the dead? (Tab 2: 10-16) 109
The author of the book establishes a connection between Tobias and Job, not only in terms of their suffering, but more acutely in terms of how they deal with their suffering.
Once again, it is Job's patience that is drawn on.
What is interesting is that the word "patient" only appears once in the Book of
Job, and yet, this is what is focused on by James in the New Testament, the author of
Tobias in the Apocrypha and the references to Job in the Qur'an. In the Book of Job, Job questions: "Have I the strength to wait? What end have I to expect, that I should be patient?" (NEB 6: 11). The Hebrew Bible gives us a glimpse into Job's decision making process and provides a clue to the path that Job will ultimately take, but does not elaborate on the concept. Nevertheless, this short verse from the Book of Job does teach that patience is a choice.
In spite of the sparse references to Job in the Christian and Muslim scriptures, it is his patience that is remembered. It is safe to say that "Job the patient" has abided in the collective memory of all throughout the generations. But, where are all of these sources drawing their inspiration, since patience is only mentioned once in the Book of Job? The
Council in 382 C.E. "[Pope Damascus] commissioned St. Jerome to translate the original Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin, which became known as the Latin Vulgate Bible and was declared by the Church to be the only authentic and official version, in 1546." Douay-Rheims Bible Online, "Introduction," Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, DRBO.ORG 2004, http://www.drbo.org/mtro.htm (accessed January 18, 2008).
109 Douay-Rheims Bible Online, "Boo'< of Tobias," Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, http://www. drbo.org/chapter/17002.htm (accessed January 18, 2008). 101
answer must be the Testament of lob! As will be shown, patience is the central theme in
T. lob.
Analysis of the Story
T. lob is a lesson in patience, expressed as a first person narrative, told through the recollection of Job and his understanding of the events that befell him. Job relates the story of his life to his grown children as he approaches death. His testament gives meaning to the inheritance he will leave them, The re-telling of our life's story allows the connectivity of our lived life to remain whole. That which was unclear in suffering is able to become articulate in recollection and carries with it a peace for those giving testimony.
In T. Job, Job is an affluent king in Egypt known for his beneficence. He would loan large portions of his herds to the poor, without penalty for non-recompense. Each day he would set 42 tables: 30 for strangers, the indigent and the orphaned, and another
12 for widows. The four doors of his house were always left open as an invitation.
Strangers were free to enter into one door and leave from another, without loss of dignity.
Job's manner of giving eased the burden and difficulty of receiving assistance.
The Conflict
T. lob opens with King Job wondering about the legitimacy of a god worshipped in a nearby temple. He asks himself: "Can this be the God who made heaven and earth and the sea and ourselves?" (2.3). 110 Job has a driving passion to know which God is the true God. An angel appears to Job carrying a message that it is Satan who is worshipped
110 All citations henceforth are taken from Robert A. Kraft's translation. See Robert A. Kraft, The Testament of Job: According to the SV Text, eds. Robert Kraft, Attridge, Spittler and Timb1e, (Missoula, MT: The Society for Biblical Literature & Scholar's Press, 1974). 102
in the temple, and if Job destroys it he will be forced into battle with Satan. The angel warns Job of the consequences: "[H)e [Satan] will inflict many misfortunes on you and he will take away your possessions; he will carry off your servants" (4.5). Job accepts the possible consequences and unhesitatingly, he anrl 50 servants voluntarily destroy the temple. Unlike the Book of Job, where Job's suffering is set in motion through a wager between God and Satan in heaven, in T. Job, Job voluntarily initiates his own suffering through the destruction of Satan's temple. In T. Job, Job is explicitly forewarned by the angel, whereas in the Book of Job he only has a premonition of things to come. The Job of the Book of Job is presented as an innocent victim; in T. Job he is a voluntary sufferer.
This is a crucial difference-Job, through his recollection in T. Job, understands himself to be a protestor. He recognizes that all of the events that occurred stem from his own act of destruction. At this point in the myth Job shows no patience.
After Job destroys the temple, Satan waits seven years before confronting him.
Satan visits his home disguised as a beggar. But, Job's righteousness allows him to see through the disguise and his only gift to Satan is a loaf of burnt bread. Through the offensive offering of burnt bread, Job shows his power to recognize evil and the battle between he and Satan is declared. The text implies that evil must be recognized before it can be challengerl. If evil is not recognized then it easily triumphs in its disguise. T. Job positions evil as the ground of deception and untruth.
Prepared with his plot, Satan proceeds with an all out attack on Job. But Satan does not attack Job on his own. He enlists Job's own community. The text emphasizes that the community is also responsible for Job's suffering. There are two separate attacks 103
on Job's possessions-the first is directly by Satan and the second by Job's fellow countrymen:
[A]fter the angel had made the disclosure to me, then Satan-when he had received the authority-finally came down unmercifully and burned up the 7000 sheep which had been appointed for the clothing of the indigent and the widows, and the 3000 camels, and the 500 she-asses, and the 500 yoke of oxen. All these things he destroyed himself, in accord with the authority he had received against me. And the rest of my herds were confiscated by my fellow-countrymen, who had been treated exceptionally well by me but who now rose up against me and took away the remainder of my animals. ( 16.1-16.4)
Without assistance, but having been granted authority, Satan destroys only those portions of the herds that Job had set aside for the poor. Satan's direct atta.::k on the poor is also an attack on generosity itself. Implicitly, evil preys on the poor and maintains its position by sustaining poverty.
Disguised as the King of Persia, Satan publicly slanders Job in order to incite the citizenry to steal the remainder of Job's possessions: "This man Jobab is the one who used up all the good things of the earth and left nothing, who distributed to the needy and the blind and lame, and who tore down the temple of God, destroying the place of libation" (17.2-.3). 111 By accusing Job of wasting their resources, Satan easily deceives the crowd into believing that they have a legitimate claim on Job's possessions. Up to this point T. Job leads us to believe that Satan's anger against Job is based solely upon a revenge for destroying his temple. But his words to the citizens indicate that Job's generosity was also offensive to him. Generosity and evil find themselves at odds with one another.
The crowd is moved to viclence when convinced that they arc victims of Job, and have a right to the remainder his herds. Not cnly does evil prey upon poverty, it also preys upon greed. There is a convoluted logic at work here which inspires violence and
111 Note: Satan refers to Job as "Jobab." 104
forgetfulness. Job points out that many of the spoilers were countrymen whom he had helped, that "had been treated exceptionally well by me [.Job]" (16.3). The requirement for remembering is underlined when the actions of a crowd forget the values that they held as individuals. The story raises the issue of forgetfulness and shows how communal forgetfulness can undermine morality and loyalty. Forgetfulness is a form of concealment. What was given by Job out of genuine beneficence becomes recast by Satan as a communal right for all.
When the countrymen express their concern for a possible retaliation by Job's ten children, Satan states how the problem will be solved: "And he [Satan] said to them,
'Have no fear at all. For the majority of his flocks I have destroyed by fire, and the others
I confiscated, and behold I shall destroy his children as well"' (17 .7-.8). For practical purposes, Satan removes the threat of the children in order to bring the crowd to action.
The deeper implication is that violence, once begun, finds its own logic and justification for escalation, often presenting others as a possible threat when they are not. Satan's power of deception is constantly at work, and fosters a form of self-exemption and self- concealment for the whole community. Satan fulfills his promise and kills all of Job's children.
Job retells the events surrounding the death of his children. Even this loss does not cause him to give in to hatred:
And as [Satan] said these things to [the countrymen], [Satan] departed and toppled the house upon my children and destroyed them ... and when another messenger had come and had disclosed to me the destn.:cti.on of my chi:dren, I was deeply disturbed and tore my garments ... When therefore all my possessions were destroyed, S1tan realized that nothing could induce me to be contemptuous. (18.1 .. 2, 19.1, 20.1-.2) 112
112 Note the varying translation from Spittler: "They answered him and said, 'he has seven sons and three daughters. Possibly they might flee to other lands and plead against us'. .. So he said to them, 105
The implication is that if Job is brought to contempt, then he has lost the battle with
Satan. It is Job's patience that allows him to lament without contempt. Similar to the
Book of Job, Job's lament includes the loss of his children as part of the loss of his
possessions. The angel, who earlier explained to Job the consequences of destroying
Satan's temple, did not directly mention that Job's ten children would be slaughtered as
well. Job is only forewarned of "misfortunes," and the loss of "possess10ns" and
"servants." But, the angel's words should not be interpreted as intentionally trying to
deceive Job. Rather, the angel may not have explicitly foretold the loss of the children
because Job may have unwittingly understood them to be possessions. 113 In T. Job, Job
learns very quickly the implicit distinction between "fortunes" and "possessions." In the
Book of Job the distinction is given in the epilogue; in T. Job the dtstinction is given in
the prologue.
Similar to the Book of fob, in T. Job, Job also discusses the purpose behind his
burnt offerings:
'Have no fear at all most of his po5se~~i0ns I already :iestroyed by fire."' (17:5-6). And the text goes on with Job's words, "So when all my goods were gone, Satan conclurted that ne was unable to provoke me to contempI (20: 1). "Testament of Job: A New Translation and Introduction," The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Volume I: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments. ed. James H. Charlesworth, (New York: Doubleday, 1983). In Spittler's translation, Satan indirectly includes the children with Job's possessions, which he has already destroyed. Also, Job refers to his possessions and children together as "goods." In both instance~ the children are referenced as being among Job's possessions. T. Job seems to be emphasizing the more subtle point made in the Book of Job.
113 In passing, Bradford Kirkegaard makes a similar observation, that the chi.dren are seen as possessions (or goods) by Job: "The children, who die in section one and are reckoned largely as goods in a political struggle, are suddenly transformed into inheritors of the same glory which Job has been promised, an outcome that seems all the morn puzzling for never h'lving been alluded to in Job's original revelation from the angel, which so carefully detailed both Job's confhct with Satan and the promised rewards" (Kirkegaard, "Satan in the Testament of Job, 16). Though, Kirkegaard never presses the implication that he himself points out, this is vital to understanding Job's early use of sacrifice as a means of guaranteeing the salvation of his children. 106
I therefore, rising early, would offer up sacrifices .on their behalf in the following amounts: 300 doves, 50 goat's kids, and 12 sheep. Everything over and above the prescribed ritual portion I would order to be considered superfluous and expended on the indigent. And I would say to them: Take the things that remain after the prescribed ritual portion so that you may pray on behalf of my children. Perhaps my sons have sinned before the Lord, saying with contempt: We are sons of this rich man, and these goods are ours. Why then do we also serve? ... Possibly my sons have harbored evil thoughts in their heart against God. (15 .4-. l 0)
T. Job emphasizes Job's sacrificial rituals for his children by providing the precise calculations required. Clearly, .Job had a mathematical formula for offsetting his children's transgressions. Anything in excess of what was prescribed for the ritual was given to the poor. In exchange for the leftovers, Job asks the poor to forgive his children for being selfish. Similar to the B•)Ok of Job, Job sacrifices but does not pray at this point in the story.
Satan's Surrender
Job now finds himself rejected by his fellow countrymen and has lost the entirety of his possessions and his children. Like the Book of Job, the relentless Satan furthers
Job's suffering through bodily affliction. Job's recollection of this scene is certainly more dramatic than the brief description in the Book of Job. T. Job reads:
And [Satan] went and asked the Lord for my body so that he might inflict me with disease. And he came to me as I was sitring on my throne and was in mourning over the destruction of my children. And he was like a great hurricane and overturned my throne. And I spent three hours under my throne unable to leave. And he struck me with a cruel disease from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. (20.2- 8)
Battered and with nowhere el~e t) go, he takes up residence on a dung heap outside the city walls. Job is to suffer with Satan's afflictions for 48 years on the heap. Job accepts his suffering-his worm ridden body: "As I sat on the dung heap my body was infested by worms ... and if a worm would fall off, I would pick it up and return it to the same place saying: Stay in the same place in which you were put until you receive instructions 107
from the one who commands you" (20. 9- .10). 114 Through his patience, Job is able to persevere in his suffering. Job displays the strength that 1s required for any act of nonviolent resistance.
It is at this point in the story that we learn of the care and loyalty of Job's first wife, Sitidos. 115 In the Book of Job, only Job is presented as suffering the loss of the children. T. Job emphasizes the effect this had on Sitidos as well. She is also deeply grieved at the loss. The fact that her children are unburied, lying beneath the rubble of their house destroyed by Satan, continually haunts her. T. Job's portrayal of Sitidos redeems the few biting words that she speaks in the Book of Job: "Curse God and die"
(2:9). Sitidos, unnamed in the Book of Job, and referred to as Dinah in Tg. Job, becomes almost saintly in her care for Job as portrayed in T. Job. 116 She voluntarily submits
114 The earliest reference to T. Job is found in the writings of Tertullian (155-230 C.E.), where he references the replacing of the fallen worms. Tertullian is considered the first great writer of Latin Christianity, and is acclaimed to have introduced the term "trinity." He would have been considered a founding father of the Church if he had not ieft the Church in order to become a Montanist and, hence, deemed a heretic. In his work De Patientia (Of Patience), Tertullian alludes to Job returning the worms to their home, which only appears in T. Job: "[H]ow did the evil one cut asunder, whiie Job with mighty equanimity kept scraping off the unclean overflow of his own ulcer, while he sportively replaced the vermin that brake out thence, in the same caves and feeding-places of his pitted flesh! And so, when all the darts of temptation had blunted themselves against the corslet and shield of his patience ... " Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, De Patientia, trans. S. Thelwall, Christian Classics Electronic Library: The Tertullian Project, 1869, Chapter XIV. http:// tertullian.org/anf/anf03/anf03-56.htm (accessed January 18, 2008).
115 T. Job explains that Job's second wife is named Dinah, though she surprisingly does not make an appearance in T. Job.
116 Early Muslim exegesis on the Qur'an also depicts Job's wife in a favorable light. A well known Muslim commentator, A~mad ibn Mw:iammad Tha'labI (ca. 1035 c E.), compiles the views of several ancient sources on the Book of Job. Thalabi records the words of Al-HaEan. who portrays Job's wife as an equal innocent sufferer. "And there remained to him (Job] no wealth or children or friend and not one drew near to him except Rahrna, his wife. She was patient along with him, serving him and bringing him food and praising God w.th him when he praised Hirn." Duncan B. Macdonald, "Some External Evidence on the Original Form of the Legend of Job," The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Liceratures 14, nc. 3 (April 1898): 156. Al-Baydawi (ca. 1230 C.E ), m his commentary on the Qur'an, reccrds the conversation oet\•vecn Job and his wife in much softer tone than the Book of Job: "It is handed down by tradition that his wife was Makhir bint Misha b. YJsuf, or Rahma bint Ifra'im b. Yusuf. She said to him one day, 'Suppose you we;-e to call upon God?' Then he s1'id, 'What was the duration of 108
herself to servitude in the city to buy bread for herself and her husband. Her humiliation is profoundly increased by the fact that her master is one of the countrymen who took
Job's cattle. Sitidos is extremely loyal to Job throughout the conflict. Her loyalty, undoubtedly, contributes to Job's perseverance. Nonviolent resistance to evil requires others; it is not a solitary act.
The culminating point of her pain, humiliation and sacrifice comes when she is forced to cut and sell her hair in public for three loaves of bread. Sitidos humbly expresses: "What value to me is the hair of my head compared to my hungry husband?"
(23.9). What she does not know is that Satan is disguised as the bread-seller. Satan violently attacks Job through the public humiliation of Sitidos. After the horrendous event, she leaves the city and returns with the meal for Job on the dung heap. In concealment, Satan follows behind her until Job, deeply saddened by the sight of his wife, commands Satan to show himself: "Come out and battle with me! Then he came from out behind my wife and as he stood he wept saying: See, Job, I am distraught and I yield to you who are of human flesh-I who am spirit" (27.2-.3). 117 As soon as Satan steps forward, Satan immediately loses the battle. In his command to Satan, Job displays the active nature of his patience. A power of revelation is inherent in Job's active nonviolent resistance. By obeying Job's command, Satan implicitly recognizes Job's legitimate authority. The text teaches that before evil can be confronted, it has to be
our state of ease?' And she said 'Eighty years.' So he said, 'I am ashamed before God that I should call upon Him when the duration of the state of my trial has not reached the duration of my being at ease.' So We heard him and lightened the burden of his woe, by healing him of his disease" (Macdonald, "Some External Evidence," 142).
117 In the Book of Job there is no direct interaction between Satan and Job. T. Job, on the other hand, portrays Satan and Job in a face to face struggle. 109
commanded from its hiding place Once exposed, evil 1s forced to recognize its own defeat.
The feature of recognition is evidenced by the fact that for the first time in the text
Satan refers to Job as "Job." Hearkening back to Satan's speech while disguised as the
King of Persia, Satan referred to "This man Jobab" (17 .2) as he addressed the crowd.
From the first lines of the story we learn: "I was Jobab before the Lord named me Job"
(2.1). 118 Job's name was changed from Jobab to Job by God. By calling Job by his God- given name, Satan recognizes Job and his triumph. Recognition plays an important role in the moment that the long conflict is brought to a close and must be considered an essential step in defeating evil.
Importantly, Satan not only admits defeat, the demon applauds Job's mortal triumph over immortal spirit: "I yield to you who are of human flesh-I who am spirit"
(27.3). How can a mortal in time frustrate an immortal who is not bound by time? It is
Job's patience and nonviolent resistance that brings Satan to shame:
I [Satan] became like an athlete wrestling with another athlete, and one threw the other down. And the one above silenced the one underneath by filling his mouth with sand and mangling every limb of the one who was underneath him. And when the latter exhibited perseverance and did not become distraught, the one above gave a ioud cry of surrender. So you Job were underneath and diseased, but you overcame my wrestling holds which I applied to you. Then Satan, ashamed, departed from me. (27.5-.9)
This is a powerful metaphorical image of Job's astonishing victory. The patience that Job displays has its own type of power. Patience does not retreat from conflict. There is an
118 It is common in the Hebrew Bible for God to rename as symbolism of transformation, strength and hope for the future. Take for exarr.pie when God changed Abraha'll's .name from Abram and Sarai to Sarah. I would like to point out that none of the secondary literature discusses fob's name change. The name change is particularly striking as we do not hear of such a name change in the Book of Job, though it is said that the LXX translation does mention it. This name change further supports the direct link to the lineage described in the Book of Genesis, as well as indicates the important role of recognition in the story of Job. This is an area that has significant implications for how the story is interpret.ed. 110
immutable strength in this kin~ of patience. Job s patience is able to bring Satan to
shame. Once evil is revealed and stripped of its disguise it is easily defeated, because the
power of evil lies in its concealment. As the angel explained to Job at the opening of the
text: "[It is] the power of the devil by which human nature is deceived" (3.4) . .Job's
patience in suffering has a power to reveal evil and oppose Satan's power to deceive. The
opposite of deception is revelatory truth. In suffering there is chaos, the world appears in
a deceptive manner. A trust in appearances is not possible. Truth is lost. The power of
nonviolent resistance lies in a patience which is deeply committed to truth and is based
upon a trust in the power of truth to reveal.
After retelling of his triumph, Job interrupts the narrative, in order to emphasize
the value of patience to his children: "Now then, my children, you also must be patient in
everything that happens to you, for patience is superior to everything" (27.10). For
patience to have a bearing on "everything," it must be understood as a fundamental way
of being in the world. If so, patience is essential to the way we receive the world and
respond to it. Patience in "everything" implies living a life of nonv10lence.
Job's Fellow Kings
Curiously, Job remains on the dung heap after his triumph over Satan. Why is Job
not healed and his world restored at this moment? Hasn't he won? Yet, his body is still covered in sores and worms, and his possessions have not been restored as promised by the angel at the beginning of the story. One would expect the story to end with the triumph of patience over evil. But the story continues with the arrival of Job's fellow kings and Job's patience is tested once again. 111
Unlike the Book of Job where Job's three friends specifically come to mourn with
him, in T. Job there is something accidental about the three kings' arrival. They come
with their armies seeking Job on his throne, only to find him sitting on a dung heap
outside the city. Like the Book of Job, Eliphaz is the first to speak: "Are you Job our
fellow-king?" (29.3). And, Job's reply 1s a sir:iple "I am" (29.4). The kings do not even
recognize Job. In the Book of Job, Job's friends sit in silence with Job for seven days, but
in T. Job the fellow kings actually retreat from him, taking therr: seven days to re
approach him. The text raises the important question: How do we approach others in their
suffering?
The kings are in disbelief and raise the question of Job's sanity. Job's patient
demeanor is the opposite of what they expect: "Perhaps he is emotionally disturbed ... for
who would not be extremely panic stricken when he encounters misfortunes?" (35.5).
The kings question Job from a position of judgment and presume what a normal reaction of someone in his condition should be. The same question is repeated again and again, taking on the form of an interrogation. Sophar states: "We are not investigating the things beyond us, but wish to know if you are in a stable condition within yourself ... " (48.9-
.12). And Baldas repeats: "Is your heart in a stable condition?" (36.3). Finally, Job replies: "there is understanding in my heart" (38.1) and "my heart is composed" (38.4).
Reminiscent of the Behemoth, Job's patience carries with it a calmness that the friends do not understand. Where they expect to find panic they find composure.
Sitidos arrives on the scene and her first words are a pleading tc the three kings and their troops that they help her find and properly bury the bones of her children. For
Sitidos, the image of her children buried under the rubble has beer, a tormenting thought 112
and inspires her desperate request. Job immed~ately objects and "after a great prayer"
(40.4) 119 directs his wife and the fellow kings to look up: "And when they looked up they saw my children crowned alongside the splendor of the heavenly one. And when she saw these things, my wife Sitidos fell to the ground worshipping and said: Now I know that I have a memorial with the Lord" (40.5-.6). Sitidos' long anguish is stilled by the revelation and we are told, shortly thereafter, that she dies "without malice" (40.9).
Sitidos underwent her own transformation-she is finally able to rest in peace, without resentment. Job's prayer from patience has a power to reveal and at the same time allow the community to share in that vision. The text implies that patience in suffering is not only revelatory for the sufferer, but also for the community. Job's patience is communicative and transformative.
Just as Sitidos had asked the help of the kings and their entourage, so too Job could have enlisted their help to regain his thrown by force. In the beginning of the story
Job enlisted the help of his servants in order to destroy Satan's temple by force. Job could, very easily, have done this again. Instead, Job maintains his demeanor of patient nonviolence. He chooses to remain on the dung-heap and chooses not to embrace destructive force. It is at this point in the text that Job's transfomrntion is most apparent.
The impatience that Job exhibited at the beginning of the text has given way to a transformative act of nonviolent resistance.
119 Job's "great prayer" must be contrasted w;th the calculating nature of the many sacrifices Job had earlier made on behalf of his children. Job's understanding of prayer and ri.ghteousness has begun to undergo a transformation. Authentic prayer is not a means to an end, but rather includes a revelatory patience. 113
Evil Returns
Evil re-emerges with the appearance of Elious, 120 who mysteriously accompanies the three kings and is the last to address Job on the dung heap: "Then Elious, filled with
Satan, uttered arrogant words against me" (41.6). The significance of the reappearance of evil suggests that evil will always be present in the world. There will never be a final battle with evil. In spite of the fact that Sitidos has recently died, Elious attacks Job without compassion. Mockingly, Elious asks: "Where now is the splendor of your throne?" (32.3). Job replies: "My throne is eternal-the whole world shall pass away and its splendor shall fade and those that cling to it shall be caught in its riemise" (33.4) Job's patience includes a certain detachment from the transient nature of existence, while at the same time preserving compassion for others. The dialogue with the fellow kings and
Elious comes to a close.
At this point God appears to Job, for the first and only time in T Job, and out of a tempest warns him that Elious is Satan in disguise. In the Book of Job, God's speech from the whirlwind comprised four chapters of monologue. In T. Job, it is reduced to one short verse: "And after he [Elious] stopped, there appeared to me through a tempest and clouds the Lord, who censured Elious and showed me that the one who spoke in him was not man but beast" (41.7-42.2). The one parallel that is preserved is the image of "the beast." The tempest implies that Elious has a kinship with Leviathan.
Immediately after the tempest reveals the reality of Elious. God addresses the fellow kings:
After the Lord stopped speaking to me, the Lord said to Eliphaz: 'You and your two friends sin'1ed. For you have rot spoken truly against my servant J0b. So anse and have ------···--·-- 120 Referred to as Elihu in the Book of Job and the LXX. 114
him offer up sacrifices on your behalf so that your sin might be taken away. For if it were not for him I would have destroyed you!' And they brought me the things for sacrifice. And taking them I made an offering on their behalf and the Lord accepted it and forgave their sin. ( 42.3-.8)
In both the Book of Job and T. Job, forgiveness plays a vital role in the reconciliation with the community. Forgiveness is implicit in the Book of Job through prayer, but is made explicit in 1'. Job through sacrifice. Each text expresses forgiveness in a slightly different way.
The evil of Elious becomes explicit when out of forgiveness, as instructed, Job sacrifices for the three kings and Elious is not included. Implicitly, T. Job answers the question as to why Elihu is left out of the epilogue in the Book of Job. God grants the forgiveness of the kings, but not of Elious: "I made an offering on their behalf and the
Lord accepted it and forgave their sin. Then Eliphaz, Baldas, and Sophar knew that the
Lord had graciously forgiven their sin but had not considered Elious worthy" (42.8-43.1)
Why does God forgive all the kings but not Elious? The answer lies in his words.
Referring to Job, Elious says: "[Hle has spoken grandiosely and excessively, saying that his own throne is in heaven. Therefore, listen to me and I will make known to you his non-existent pmtion!" (41.5··.6). By accusing Job of pride, Elious twists Job's righteousness to make it seem like something it is not. Elious is dishonest. Satan may not be present in the d;sguise of Elious, but he is present in his contemptuous words.
Violence often enters the world first through the language of distortion, deception, concealment and hate. Eliphaz further explains why Elious is not forgiven: "He has no hope in his heart, nor peace m his mouth, he had the poison of an asp in his tongue"
(43.9). The text implies that contempt. malice and hatred are forms of hopelessness and 115
violence which first appear in speech. Peace or violence is present by the way in which
we participate in language.
Job's Death
Job's recollections come to a close and the story is brought into the present. When
it is time to distribute the inheritance, the sons are provided for first. Continuous with the
Book of Job, the daughters are given an inheritance along with the sons. Job tells his
daughters: "I have already selected for you an inheritance better than that of your seven
brothers" (46.5). Job then asks his daughters to retrieve three golden boxes: "Take the
signet ring, go to the chamber and bring me the three golden boxes so that I may give you
the inheritance" (46.6). Each box contains a magical gird or band: "And he brought forth
three bands, shimmering, so that no man could describe their form, since they are not
from earth but are from heaven, flashing with bright sparks like the rays of the sun"
(46.8-.9). Job instructs: "place these [bands] around your breast so that it may go well
with you all the days of your life" (46.9). The girls are confused and express dismay.
To ease their dismay Job explains the origin of the bands:
Not only will you sustain your life from these, but these bands will also lead you into a better world ... Are you ignorant, then, my children, of the value of these cords, of which the Lord considered me worthy on the day on which he wished to have mercy on me and remove from my body the disez.ses and the worms? When he called me he set before me these three bands and said to me: Arise, gird your i;:iins like a man: ... And then through the Lord my body grew strong (;S if it had not suffered anything at all. I could even forget the pains in my heart. (47 .3-. IO)
In the Book of Job, the whirlwind instructs Job to "brace [himself] and stand up like a man" (38:3). T. Job adds that God placed three bands in front of Job, before instructing him to "gird his loins." T. Job present~. the girding of the cords as the way in which Job prepared himself to be addressed by the whirlwind. The cords became intimately 116
connected with Job's healing. Job passes the cords he received from God onto his daughters. The importance of the gifts that Job bestows to them is the entrusting of a power that is guided by patience--·it is a healing power. When the daughters receive the cords they are magically transformed.
T Job pays close attention to the transformation that each girl goes through when the bands are adorned. In each case the heart is changed and a release from worldly things is possible: "And [Hemera] received another heart so that she no longer thought about earthly things ... then [Kassia] had her heart changed so that she was no longer anxious about earthly things ... and then [Amaltheias-keras] also was changed by withdrawing from worldly things" (38-50.2). The transformation that the daughters go thrnugh includes a detachment from possessions. The original dismay ewer the gifts has completely subsided and the daughte,rs now see that wisdom is the "better inheritance."
Job also gives each daughter an additional gift, and each begins to sing in the voice of a different heavenly being Hemera, which means "Day," is given a lyre and sings in the voice of an angel. Kassia, meaning "cinnamon or perfume," is given a censer used for burning incense and begins to speak in the dialect of the archons. Almatheias keras, which means "black eye-shadow," is given a kettle-drum and. sings in the language of the cherubim. Miraculously, the girls are transformed into heavenly beings: archons, angels and cherubim. At this moment, Job and his three daughters are united in a single experience.
The mystical experience comes to its apex when Job is about to die and he and his three daughters see a heavenly being and a chariot coming for him. Drawing on imagery 117
from the Hebrew tradition of Merkavah mysticism 121 the text extravagantly describes
Job's ascension:
And after these things the one who sat in tne great chariot came out and greeted Job, while the three daughters looked on, 3.nd their father himself looked on, but others did not see. And taking the soul, he flew up while embracing it, and made it mount the chariot, and set off for the east. (52.4-.6)
Merkavah, literally meaning "chariot," is a prar,tice which began during the second century C.E., but finds its aesthetic in earlier images from the Hebrew Bible and pseudepigraphic texts. Though, a female never experiences the Merkavah in the Hebrew
Bible. And, other than the Testament of Job, there are only two pseudepigraphic texts where a female envisions the divine chariot 122 In both instances they are individual experiences, and not shared events as in T. Job. The import of T. Job to the feminine aspect of Merkavah mysticism is undoubtedly great.
The cornerstone of all Merkavah mysticism is found m Ezekiel's vision as recorded in the Hebrew Bible:
121 Of the tlmty or so authors' corr.mentaries on the Testament of Job, only two discuss a direct connection between Merkavah and the Testament of Job. Howard C Kee, in his essay of 1974, is the first to consider the connection. Thirty years later, Rebecca Lesses is the only other author to raise the theme again. The fact that only two authors focus on the connection between T. Job and Merkavah is not surprising, as there have been very few commentaries on T. Jcb at all.
IE In the Greek version of the Life of Adam and Eve (ca. 100 C.E.), Eve, the mother of humanity, envisions the Merkavah as Adam z.scends in death: "And Eve rose and put her hand on her face, and the angel said to her, 'Lift yourself from earthly things.' And Eve gazed into heaven, and saw a chariot of light coming, drawn by four radiant eagles of which it is not possible for.anyone born fr0m the womb to iell their glory or to see their faces, and angels went before the chariot. When they came to the place where your father Adam was lying, the chariot stood, and the seraphim, were between your father and the chariot. I myself saw golden censers and three. bowls, and behold all the angels with frani<.incense and the censers and bowls came to the alter and breathed on them, and the fumes of the incense hid the sky .... [And then] one of the six winged Seraphim came and carried Adam off' (33-37.3). M.D. Johnson, trans .. "Life of Adam and Eve," in The Old Testament Pscudcpigrapha Volume 2, ed. James H. Charlesworth, (New York: Doebleday, 1983). A similar event happens in the story of Joseph and Aseneth (100 B.C.E.-200 C.E.). The story tells of a woman's conversion to Judais:n in order that she may marry a Jewish man. Aseneth has a vision of the mystical chariot, and with that vision she is converted: "And Aseneth saw something like a chariot of four horses traveling into heaven toward the east. And the chariot was like a flame of fire, and the horses like lightning. And the man was standing on that chariot" (I 7 .8). C. Buchard, t~ans., "Joseph and Aseneth," in The Old Tesrament Pseudepigrapha Volume 2, ed. James H. Charlesworth, (New York: Doubleday, 1983). 118
I saw a storm wind corning from the north, a vast cloud with flashes of fire and brilliant light about it; and within was a radiance like brass, glowing in the heart of the flames. In the fire was the semblance of four living creatures m human form. Each had four faces and each had four wings ... All four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right, on the left the face of an ex and the face of an eagle. (Ezek 1:4-7, 10) '
Could it be that the author of T. Job was directly inspired by Ezekiel's vision? Job and his daughters each seem to take on a side of the heavenly four-faced angelic creatures that
Ezekiel describes. Hemera becomes the lion, as her name means "Day"; Kassia, the eagle which ascends like the smoke of incense; and Almetheias-keras, who keeps her black eye-shadow contained in a horn, the ox. Job, is the fourth face, human bemg. Taken as whole, through the golden cords, the musical instruments and cense1·, the daughters were transformed into heavenly beings. Now, through the Merkavah, the daughters transcend with Job and morph into the chariot as their father is taken away. They become part of the
Merkavah ! The daughters are elevated above and beyond their portrayal in the epilogue of the Book of Job. They are uniquely endowed with wisdom and attain new spiritual heights.
The scene comes to a close with the crescendo of Job's ascension. The daughters are thrown back into reality, where Job's body is wrapped in cloth and prepared for burial. Remembering his generosity, the widows, the orphans and the poor, who once filled Job's house, all return to mourn his passing. They never forgot his beneficence.
Conclusion
In sum, the key features of patience support the claim that patience is much more than a passive waiting. Patience aces, but it acts nonviolently. Concealment and deceit have been identified as the source of evil' s power. Hope has been identified as the connecting concept between patience and generosity. Patience in suffering has been 119
offered as a way of understanding nonviolent resistance as a path to peace. Perhaps
Tertullian said it best in his early commentary on the Testament of Job: "Patience, she is
the pilot of peace; assists charity; bridals the tongue; restrains the hand; consoles the
poor; and teaches the rich moderation .... Her countenance is tranquii and peaceful: her
brow serene, contracted by no wrinkle of sadness or of anger." 123 For Tertullian, patience
is the guiding principle for peace; it remains composed in the face of chaos, quiets the
inclination to panic, acts without violence and remembers the poor. In one brief passage
he summarizes the multi-faceted features of patience.
The analysis of patience as interpreted through the Testament of Job has elicited
key features that make nonviolent resistance possible: a driving passion for truth,
recollection, hope, and generosity. All of the features contribute to an amplified concept
of patience, and each combats evil in its own nonviolent way.
Patience in suffering drives toward truth by forcing evil to reveal itself in all its
untruth. Job's use of truth is not pa.ssi ve. The text teaches that evil abides in concealment
and that it must first be exposed in order to be defeated. Patience allows Job to be open
and attentive to the world around him, such that appearances are not dece1ving. Job's
patience displays an active receptivity, evidenced by the fact that Satan's disguises have
no effect on him. The revelatory power of truth is a key feature of patience.
Forgetfulness is understood to be a mode of concealment and honest
remembrance a mode of revelatory· truth. The countrymen, who were incited by Satan to
Fteal the remainder of Job's hercis, weFe pos:;esscd by forgetfulnes~ .. It is only through recollection and remembrance that we can av1)id losing sight of the past, and understand
123 Tertullianus, De Patentia, Chapter XV. 120
the present more clearly. Through testimony, Job relies upon recollection in order to
preserve truth. Recollection is a feature of patience and combats the distortion of history.
Just as the past needs to be taken up through honest recollection, so too, the future needs
to appear as hopeful.
Hope was also established as a key feature of patience in challenging evil. Hope
calms anxiety and despair. Hope quiets anger wfoch often leads to violence. Hope is
present in the image of Job's suffering on the dung heap. Through hope, perseverance in
suffering is possible. The courage required by the nonviolent path of patience would be
impossible to walk without hope. When EHphaz observes the absence of hope in Elious'
words, implicitly the text teaches that evil relies upon hopelessness.
It was also shown that evil preys upon the poor and the hopeless. The last words
spoken by Job before he dies are: "And now, my children, behold I am dying .... Do good
to the poor, do not overlook the helpless" (45.1-.3). It is through generosity that evil can be confronted. Understood this way, generosity is central to Job's n•Jnviolent attack on evil. His approach employs generosity as a pre-emptive weapon of patience. Generosity provides hope where there is hopelessne5s, strengthening those whom evil preys upon.
Generosity is a key feature of patience and hope provides the fragile connection between the two.
The drama of T. Job is initially sparked through Job's questioning of the God wmshiped in a nearby temple. He shows a driving passion for knowing what God is the true God. When Job is told by God's messenger that it is Satan who is worshiped in the temple, Job shows no restraint and without reflection rushes to destroy it. Job never seems to have he:ard the warning that the angel gave-that the consequence of his actions 121
could implicitly lead to great "misfortunes" that go beyond the loss of "possessions." At this stage Job showed absolutely no patience. After the death of his children, Job learns the difference between a fortune and a possession. Through his immense suffering, Job comes to patience. Unlike the Book of Job, which included a grand disclosure by the whirlwind, in T. Job, Job's learning appears to come through a form of self-reflection.
The source of Job's transformation may differ from the Book of Job, but the new understanding is very similar. Job has transformed from a destructive protester to a reflective nonviolent resister. CONCLUSION
It was argued that the unique contribution that the Book of Job provides to its own mythic origins is the motif of transformation. Taken collectively, the three Mesopotamian myths, along with the Ugaritic myth, revealed a close affinity to the Book of Job. But, as was shown, the early literature relied solely upon the motifs of loss and restoration. And so, it was not enough to look for parallels, it was also necessary to see how the myth evolved. The antecedent literature revealed an attachment to the formula of divine reward and punishment. The Book of Job not only called this formula into question, it also offered an alternative understand:ng to the notion of the di vine, which emphasized the morally neutral character of creation and became evident through Job's transformation.
The notion of Job's transformation acted as a navigational guide through the stories. But in order to do the comparative work, it was first necessary to establish certain features through which the other texts could be analyzed. The analysis of the Book of Job identified three moments of suffering-the loss of possessions and family, bodily affliction and accusation by "friends." The loss of Job's possessions and children, and the affliction of his body were both traced back to the wager between God and Satan. But,
Job's third moment of suffering at the hands of his friends did not include divine intervention, and hence was understood to be political in nature. The political form of suffering that Job experienced was recognizable as early as "A Man and His God," and continuously repeated throughout al! of the subsequent texts, save the Ludlel Bel Nemeqi.
122 123
In all of the texts the community failed to adequately respond to the suffering of the victim. The similarity goes deeper in that in all of the texts the community accuses the victim of having brought sufferirg upon themselves. The community speaks from the point of view of the old formula for divine justice. But, as was analyzed earlier, the voice from the whirlwind attests to the inadequacy of the formula.
It was shown that Job's healing was preceded by a subtle preparation on his own part to be addressed by God, where Job anticipates the images that the whirlwind later draws upon. Job's discourse moved from being centered on his own predicament to a more general questioning of human suffering. The concept of Job's transformation has been offered as a way of opening up the text and getting beyond the question of God's moral culpability. The voice fro.m the whirlwind presented nature as fundamentally amoral, reinforcing the prologue and the contingency of life that was implied by the wager. Slowly, Job relinquished his belief in the moral formula for divine justice and came to understand the role of God in a new way. God as Judge became God the Creator.
If God is seen as judge, then human suffering becomes part of a divine logic that allows the human community to ignore the suffering victim; it is no longer the concern of humanity. All suffering becomes justifiable. Additionally, if the Book of Job is read without the concept of transformation, healing becomes fickle and based on chance, and the sufferer is unable to contribute positively to his own situation. The sufferer is left with no hope.
It was also argued thc:.t Job underwent three moments of healing, through the radical disclosure by the whirlwind, his prayer of forgiveness, and the authentic reintegration by the community. The analysis revealed fundamental features of Job's new 124
understanding: independence, individuality and equality. If Job's transformation is taken seriously, then it opens up the text to an entirely new interpretation, which gives meaning to Job's restored world. If the epilogue is read as God capriciously waving a magic wand to double and duplicate Job's earlier world, then the abiding consensus which rejects the epilogue is understandable. But, as has been proposed, Job's restored world is inherently and fundamentally different from the original. Job's restored world has been restructured.
The qualitative differences, which empha~ized independence, individuality and equality through the absence of slaves, the naming of his daughters and the sharing of inheritance, were all positive evidence of a transformation of Job's understanding. Through the concept of transformation the epilogue gains legitimacy and resists being summarily discarded. This is most evident in the way in which Job recognizes ins daughters for the first time.
The beneficiaries of Job's transformation throughout most of the stories are undoubtedly women. The elevation of the female begins with the Epic of Keret, where the youngest daughter receives the rights of the first born. But .. the roots of this theme can be traced back one step further to the Babylonian Theodicy, which questioned the legitimacy of traditional inheritance laws that only acknowledged the eldest male. The
Book of Job appears to have synthesized these two ideas by providing an equal inheritance amongst all of the children, male and female. The Testament of Job took the idea even further by providing a unique type of inheritance that was only given to the daughters. The ending of T. Job speaks for itself, where it is only the daughters who undergo a miraculous transformation and participate in the mystical vision of the 125
Merkavah. The stories of Job, by reshaping their own origins, progressively and
cumulatively elevate the status of the female.
It is only in the Targum of .lob where the elevated status of the female becomes
disputable. Tg. .lob testified to how little it takes to eradicate the idea of Job's
transformation. There is no doubt that the targumist saw something unique in the
epilogue, but this uniqueness obviously became an obstacle. Apparently it bothered him
so much that he had to amend the prologue to conform to the epilogue. Unfortunately, in
so doing, Job's transformation was neutralized and became less recognizable. In Tg . .lob,
Job's world m the end is almost completely the same as in the beginning Fortunately, the
targumist did not find it necessary to include slaves in Job's restored world. Ultimately, it
is very difficult to foresee t'ie targumist's intentions, but the result is clear-the targumist
eliminates the evidence of Job's new understanding.
The search for another myth which includes the motif of transformation led to the
Hindu story of Nala. The claim was never made that neither Nala nor the Book of Job
were denvative of one another but, rather, the comparison was pursued as a way of
confirming fundamental featmes identified in the Book of Job. The Book of Job teaches,
and the story of Nala confin:is, that transformation occur~ in the realm of the
understanding. In learning the secret of the dice, Nala was released from vengeance and
brought to forgiveness. .Similarly, Job was released from an understandmg of righteousness which included control and alw brought to forgiveness. In both stories forgiveness preceded and set the groundwork for restoration. The observation that both
Nala and Job undergo a transformation of the understanding need not imply that both come to the same new understanding. The parallel lies in transformation itself. 126
Transformation also occurs in the Testament of Job, but just as in Nata, the content of that transformation is different. Patience becomes the essence of Job's transformation in T. Job. The analysis proposed that Job's form of patience was not a passive waiting, but an active form of receptivity that allowed evil to be revealed. Early in the text Job is presented as impetuous and acting without restraint. He willingly enters into combat with Satan, without thought as to the possible consequences to his wife and children. We are introduced to a man of little patience, who through suffering transforms into a man of great patience. The emphasis in the text is not so much on a new understanding of the world but, rather, on a change in how Job responds to the world around him. When Job is presented with the opportunity Jf forcefully regaining control of his kingdom, he shows restraint znd does not elect to enlist the military help of his fellow kings. Job's transition is subtle, but he has moved from destructive protestor to nonviolent resister. T. Job is a prime example of a conflict culminating in µeace, which is instructive for combating violence, especially in our contemporary global rnciety.
The issue of suffering is the most pressing problem in our world today, where more than one sixth of the world's population lives in extreme poverty. Eradicating poverty calls for action from beth the sufferer and the world community. The global community should not turn away, but should instead be receptive to the stories of the suffering victims in order to inspire transformation and engender hope. The arsenal of patience, generosity and hope needs to be enlisted in order to combat and pre-empt evil. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (ORGANIZED BY CHAPTER)
CHAPTER ONE: BOOK OF JOB
Alter, Robert. "Truth and Poetry in the Book of Job." In The Book of Job, edited by Harold Bloom, 63-89. New Haven: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
Buber, Martin. The Prophetic Faith. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1949.
Eisen, Robert. The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Frost, Robert. A Masque of Reason. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1945.
Goethe, Johan Wolfgang Von. Goethe's Faust. Translated by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Anchor Books, 1961.
Hone, Ralph E. The Voice Out of the Whirlwind: The Book of Job. Edited by Ralph E. Hone. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, Inc., 1960.
Jung, Carl G. Answer to Job. Trar1slated by R.F.C. Hull. New York: Pastoral Psychology Book Club, 1955.
Kierkegaard, S(llren. Edifying Discourses. Translated by David F. Swenson and Lillian M. Swenson. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943.
Levi, Primo. '"The Just Man Oppressed by Injustice': The Book of Job, Bible." In The Search for Roots: A Personal Anthology, 11-21. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2003.
MacLeish, Archibald. J.B.: A Play in Verse. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1956.
Miles, Jack. God: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.
Mitchell, Stephen. The Book of Joh. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1979.
Nieman, David. The Book of Joh. Gi·1atayim, Israel: Peli Printing Works Ltd., 1972.
Pope, Marvin H. The Anchor Bible: Job. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., 1965. 127 128
Ricouer, Paul. "The Reaffirmation of the Tragic." In The Book of Job, edited by Harold Bloom, 7·-20. New Haven: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
Safire, William. The First Dissident: The Book of Job in Today's Poiitics. New York: Rando;:n House, 1992.
Scheindlin, Raymond P. The Book of Job. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., 1998.
Sutherland, Robert. Putting God on Trial.· The Biblical Book of lob. Victoria, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2004.
Zuckerman, Bruce. Job the Silent: A Study in Historical Counterpoint. New York: Oxford University Press. 1991.
CHAPTER TWO: ORIGINS OF JOB
Astour, Michael C. "A North Mesopotamian Locale of the Keret Epic?" Ugarit Forschungen 5 (1973): 29-39.
Coogan, Michael D., ed. and trans. "Kirta." In Stories from Ancient Canaan, 52-74. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978.
Finkel, Joshua, "The Expedition of the Ugaritic King Keret in the Light of Jewish and Kindred Tradition." Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 23 (1954): 1-28.
Gibson, John C. L. Canaanite Myths and Legends. New York: T&T Clark International, 1956, 1978, 2004.
---. "Myth, Legend and Folklore in the Ugaritic Keret and Aqhat Texts." Supplements to Vetus Testamentum Volume XXVlll. Leiden: Brill. 1975, 60-75.
Ginsberg, H. L. "The Legend of King Keret." In Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, edited by J. B. Pritchard, 142-149. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950.
---. The Legend of King Ker,7 t: 4 Canaanite Epic of the Bronze Age. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Supplementary Studies, Nos. 2-3. New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1946.
Gordon, Cyrus H. "The Legend of KRT." In Ugaritic Literature, 66-83. Roma: Scripta Pontificii Instituti Biblici, 1949. 129
---. "Poetic Legends and Myths from Ugarit." Berytus: Archaeological Studies 25 (1977): 34-50.
Gray, John. The KRT Text in the Literature of Ras Shamra: A Social Myth of Ancient Canaan. Leiden: Brill, 1955.
---. The Legacy of Canaan: The Ras Shamra Texts and Their Relevance to the Old Testament. Supplements t::i Vetus Testamentum 5. 2nd rev. ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1957, 1965.
Greenfield, Jonas C. "Keret's Dream: '#hrt' and 'hdrt."' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University cf London 57, no. 1 (1994): 87-92.
Greenstein, Edward L. "Kirta." In Ugaritic Narrative Poetry: Writings frof1'l the Ancient World. Society of Biblical Literature 9, edited by S. B. Parker, 9-48. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
Hurowitz, Victor A. "Narru and Zulummar in the Babylonian Theodicy." Journal of the American Oriental Society 124, no 4 (2004 ): 777-778.
Jastrow, Morris Jr. "A Babylonian Parallel to the Story of Job." Journal of Biblical Literature 25, no. 2 (1906): 135-191.
Knoppers, Gary N. "Dissonance. and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta." Journal of the American Oriental Society 114, no. 4 (1994): 572-582.
Lambert, Wiifred G. "The Baby!0nian Theodicy." In Babylcinian Wi:"dom Literature. Oxford University Press, 1960.
O'Connor, Daniel J. "The Keret Legend and the Prologue-Epilogue of Job." Irish Theological Quarterly 55 (1989): 1-6.
Pope, Marvin H. Ei in the Ugaritic Texts. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 2. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1955.
Rainy, Anson. "Ugarit." Encyclopedia Judaica 20, 2nd ed. Edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Detroit: Macmillan Reference CSA, 2007, 225-22.
Saliba, George A. "A Cure for King K~ret (IIK, col. vi, 1-13)." Journal .'Jf the American Oriental Society 92 (1972): 107 ·IO.
Wyatt, Nicholas. Religious Texts from Ugarit. New York: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd, 1998, 2002. 130
CHAPTER THREE: HINDU JOB
Clines, David J.A. "In Search for the Indian Job." Vetus Testamentum 33, no. 4 (October 1983): 398-418.
Doniger, Wendy. "Nala and DamayantI and Odysseus and Penelope." Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Hiltebeital, Alf. "Listening to Nala and DamayantI." In Rethinking the Mahabharata: A Reader's Guide to the Education of the Dharma King, 215-39. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Jamison, Stephanie. "Penelope and the Pigs: Indic perspectives on the Odyssey." Classical Antiquity 18, no. 2 (1999): 227-72.
Meher, Harekrishna Dr. Philosophical Reflections in the Nai->·adhacarita. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1989.
Pathak, Shubha. "Why Do Displaced Kings Become Poets in the Sankrit Epics." International Journal of Hindu Studies IO, no. 2 (2006): 127-49.
Pave, Adam D. "Rolling the Cosmic Dice: Fate Found in the Story of Nala and Damayanti." Asian Philosophy 16, no. 2 (2006): 99-101.
Prabhakara, S. and M. Prakasa Reddy. "Job and his Satan-Parallels in Indian Scripture." Zeitschrift Fur Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 91, no. 3 (1979): 416-22.
Shulman, David. "On Being Human in the Sanskrit Epic; The Riddle of Nala." Journal of Indian Philosophy 22, no. 1 (1994): 1-29.
Smith, J.D. "The Hero as Gifted Man: Nala in the Mahiibharata." In The Indian Narrative: Perspectives and Patterns. Edited by Shackle, Christopher and Rupert Snell, 13-31. Weisbaden: Harrassowitz, 1992.
Unni, N.P. Dr. Nala Episode in Sanskrit Literature. Trivandrum: College Book House, 1977. van Buitenen, J.A.B. "Nala." In The Mahabharata, Volume 2: The Book of the Assembly Hall and the Book of the Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975. 131
CHAPTER FOUR: TARGUM OF JOB
Epstein, Elias Louis. A Critical Analysis of Chapters One to Twenty-Six of the Targum to the Book of Job. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1944.
Jangling, Bastiaan, C.J. Labushagne and A.S. Van Der Woude, trans. "The Job Targum from Cave II." Aramaic texts from Qumran, Semitic Study Series 1, no. 4, 1-73. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1976.
Mangan, Celine. "The Attitude to Women in the Prologue of Targum Job." In Targumic and Cognate Studies: Essays in Honour of Martin McNamara, .Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplemental Series 230, edited by Kevin J. Cathart and Michael Maher, 100-110. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield University Press, 1996.
---. "Blessing and Cursing in the Prologue of Targum Job." In Targum and Scripture: Studies in Aramaic Translations and Jntervretation In Memory of Ernest G. Clarke, Studies in the Aramaic Interpretation of Scripture 2, edited by Paul V.M. Flesher, 225-229. Boston: Brill, 2002.
---. "Some Similarities between Targum Job and Targum Qohelet." In The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplemental Series 166, edited by D.R.G. Beattie and MJ. McNamara, 349-353. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994.
---, trans. "The Targum of Job." In The Aramaic Bible: The Targums, edited by Kevin Cathart, Michael Maher and Martin McNamara, 5-91. The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota, 199 l.
Sokoloff, Michael. The Targum to Job from Qumran Cave XI. Jerusalem: At Ahva Press, 1974.
Stec, David M. The Text of the Targum of Job: An Introduc,tion and Critical Edition. E.J. Brill: New York, 1994.
Shepherd, David. Targum and Translation: A Reconsideration of the Qumran Aramaic Version of Job. The Netherlands: Royal Van Gorcum, 2004.
CHAPTER FIVE: TESTAMENT OF JOB
Bauckham, Richard. "Review: Studies on the Testament of Job (ed. M.A. Knibb and P.W. van der Horst)." The Journal of Theological Studies 42, part 1. (1991): 182-184.
Begg, Christopher T. "Comparing Characters: The Book of Job and the Testament of Job." In The Book of lob, edited by W.A.M. Beuken, 435-445. Leuven: Leuven 132
University Press, 1994.
Collins, John 1. "Structure and Meaning in the Testament of Job." Society of Biblical Literature 1974 Seminar Papers Volume 1: One Hundred Tenth Annual Meeting. Edited by George MacRae, 35-52. Cambridge, MA: Society for Biblical Literature, 1974.
Garrett, Susan R. "The 'Weaker' Sex in the Testament of Job." Journal of Biblical Literature 112, no. 1 (Spring 1993): 55,70.
Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1910, 225-242.
Glatzer, Nahum N. The Dimensions of Job: A Study and Selected Readings. New York: Schocken Books, 1969, 12-17.
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