The Book of Job the Book of Job

THE BOOK OF JOB THE BOOK OF JOB BY NORMAN H. SNAITH, M.A. Tutor in Old Testament Languages and Literature, Wesley College, Headingley, Leeds THE EPWORTH PRESS (EDGAR C. BARTON) 25-35 City Road, London, E.C.r All rights rmrved First published in r945 Mark in Great Britain I THE ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK 1. The Prologue, i, ii J oB is a wealthy Edomite sheikh of long ago, the greatest and most prosperous of them all, a man of blameless piety, scrupulous, even ultra-scrupulous in every slightest duty, perfect, upright and devout. ·Jehovah Himself testifies to his unswerving integrity, unique among the sons of men, but the Satan chal lenges this statement in the midst of the heavenly court. Job is but a time-server. Strip him of his wealth, kill his children, and he will renounce God with the rest. And so the Satan is permitted to deprive Job of everything, possessions, servants, chil dren, but not to touch Job himself. Bedawi raids begin, and lightnings and storm-winds complete the destitution, but Job in his poverty is as devout as Job with his wealth. The heavenly court gathers again, with God still sure of Job's integrity and the Satan still unbelieving. Now the Satan is permitted to smite Job with a loath some 'leprosy' (probably ecthyma), in which the sufferer is covered from head to foot with raw and itching ulcers. Job's wife breaks under the strain, but Job remains steadfastly devout. The last three verses of ii tell of the visit of Job's three friends, who hear of his misfortunes and come to comfort him. They sit with him in the dust for 5 seven days and nights, silently, but with every mani festation of extreme grief. 2. Job's Soliloquies, iii and xxix..:..xxxi There are two. In the first (iii) Job curses the day. of his birth. Why was I ever born, or, being born, why did I ever live? In death there is rest and forget fulness for all, rich and poor, wicked and weary, small and great. Why does God hedge in with life those who long for death? In the second soliloquy (xxix xxxi), Job contrasts his former magnificence with his present wretchedness. Formerly all men respected him and sought his counsel; now even youngsters deride him and base men spurn him from their path. The God who once gave him prosperity is now silent to his cry. Job reiterates his uprightness; he has manifested every virtue both in thought and deed. If he has erred in aught, then he is prepared for the direst penalties. If only he knew what was the charge against him, then he could answer it, and all would be well. 3. First Cycle of Speeches, iv-xiv Eliphaz (iv, v) rebukes Job, but with all tenderness. It is strange that one who has comforted others should himself break down under his own troubles. Job knows very well that only the wicked perish. God, in His wisdom and might, overthrows all the devices of crafty men. The man whom God chastens is blessed. It is but for a season; his end is a ripe old age and a peaceful death. Job's reply (vi, vii) is a criticism of God's ways with men. He uses His power tyrannically, 6 and gives man no chance. Job's friends are 'Job's comforters'. Man's lot is one of misery. The speech concludes with a bitter parody of Psalm viii. 4. Bildad (viii) holds that God is righteous and can do no wrong. If Job is truly righteous, then all he has to do is to appeal to God, and he will soon be restored to increased prosperity. The ancients knew this, and it is presumptuous to deride them. The doom of the wicked is certain, and the upright man will be upheld. Job (ix, x) seizes on the idea of God being righteous. Yes, God is righteous, but 'righteous' means 'being in the right' (cf. Exodus ix. 27; Job xl. 8). Of course God is always in the right. He is too powerful for a mortal to put Him in the wrong. He crushes all opposition, and cares only to exert His sovereign will. I will protest to the end, come what may, even though there is no umpire to see fair play. Job ends by saying that he believes God meant all along to destroy him. Zophar rebukes Job (xi). God is wise, and if Job will repent of his iniquity, he will soon know blessed ness again. Job ends the cycle (xii-xiv) by mocking at the wisdom of his friends. He wants to have this matter out with God. Let Him lay aside His mysterium tremendum. Let Him speak plainly and allow me to have my say. But God gives me no chance. Man's day is short, fading as wild flowers fade. Let him make the most of it. The end is oblivion. 4. Second Cycle of Speeches, xv-xxi Here the three friends do little more than each in his turn to reiterate the orthodox theory, Eliphaz (xv), Bildad (xviii), and Zophar (xx). Job's reply to Eliphaz (xvi, xvii) is that he could talk like that if he 7 was in Eliphaz's place. As it is, God is determinedly hostile to him in spite of his innocence. Then Job suddenly turns from his friends to God (xvi. 19), appealing to the God who must be, against the God of orthodoxy, but he soon (xvi. 22) reverts to a former theme that his only hope is the grave. His reply to Bildad (xix) is that God definitely has dealt unfairly with him. Though aJI have forsaken him, Job is sure that he will be vindicated at last. Job's reply to Zophar (xxi) is a flat contradiction. It is a matter of experience that the wicked live long and happily. To say anything else is to fly in the face of the facts. 5. Third Cycle of Speeches, xxii-xxvii Eliphaz changes his attitude. God is a strict Arbiter, exactly and precisely just. Job therefore must be a great sinner. Let him repent and aJI will be well. Job's reply (xxiii, xxiv. 1) is a plea that God will allow Himself to be accessible, or will allow a settling day occasionaJly to put things straight. In xxiv. 2-end, he continues with a description of the prosperity of wicked men contrasted with the trials of the righteous. The chapter has been subjected to rigorous criticism, the last verse only being universally admitted to be genuine. Some objections are due to the chapter being largely in tristichs instead of the usual distichs. Hence Merx objects to verses 9-24, which he says are a sub stitute for a too-vigorous tirade; Bickell to 5-8, 10-24; Duhm, who has applied his devastating versification theories to Jeremiah and Isaiah, omits 1-4, 5-12, 13-18a, 18b-24 as an intruding poem in four stanzas. Peake and Gray hold that the number of tristichs is greatly exaggerated, and do not object to the variation. 8 Gray omits only roa and r 1a, transposing g to follow 3, and 14c to follow 15. If 18-21 are to stand, then Job is quoting previous speakers in order to refute them. Gray allows this, but not Budde and Peake, who excise them, and also 9 and 24. Grill objects to 5-9 and 14-21; Siegfried to 13-24. xxv-xxvii is confused. Bildad has five verses only allotted to him. Zophar has no third speech, and Job speaks at great length. xxvi, 5-14 is very like Bildad's sentiments, and much of xxvii contradicts what Job says elsewhere. The most probable reconstruction is ,that of Peake: Bildad, xxv. 2, 3, xxvi. 5-14; Zophar, xxvii. 13-23 (possibly also 7-10, though 8-ro may be a gloss); Job's reply to Bildad, xxvi. 2-4, xxvii. 2-6, 1 r, 12. Peake and Strahan think another too-vigorous speech has been excised between verses 1 I and r 2. Perhaps xxv. 4-6 is a gloss, based on xv. 14-16. There are many other reconstructions, the chief being by Gray, Duhm, Bickell, Budde, Sellin, Marshall and Ley. This leaves xxix-xxxi as Job's reply to Zophar and the conclusion of all the dialogues. They can only formally be regarded as part of the ·dialogue. They ignore the three friends altogether, and are a soliloquy comparable to iii. 6. Poem on Wisdom, xxviii This is generally regarded as an insertion, though its style is equal to that of the original author. In so far as it has it:, place in the completed work, it demon strates the futility of man's questionings, since God alone holds the key to all mysteries. For man, 9 Wisdom means bowing in humble reverence before God and doing what is right. Either the chapter is an excerpt, or (Duhm) the refrain 'Whence cometh wisdom .. .' (12, 20) should stand also at the beginning. It is customary to regard verse 28 as an addition, but we do not see this necessity. 7. The Elihu Speeches, xxxii-xxxvii These are an interpolation after the completion of the rest of the book. The writer was less competent, commenting on the dialogues, substantially as we have them now. Nothing before or after refers to Elihu or to anything he says. Particularly there is no reference to him either in Prologue or Epilogue.

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