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Any notes made in the text are also included.
PROLOGUE
Chs. 1-2:
God decides to test Job. The action of chs. 1-2 unfolds in
alternating scenes on earth (1.1-5, 13-22, and 2.7b-10) and in
heaven (1.6-12 and 2.1-7a). Each earthly scene ends with a
righteous statement or act by Job (1.5, 22; 2.10). Each
heavenly scene begins with the courtiers presenting themselves
before the Lord and ends with one member of the court, Satan,
leaving to take action.
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1
There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one
who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There
were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3
He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred
yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that
this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4
His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another's houses in turn;
and they would send and invite their sisters to eat and drink with
them. 5 And when the feast days had run their
course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in
the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of
them all; for Job said, "It may be that my children have sinned, and
cursed God in their hearts." This is what Job always did.
_________________________________________________________________
1.1-5:
Earthly scene I: Introduction of Job the just.
1. Job is a venerable hero, well known beyond the confines of
Israel (Ezek 14.14, 20). His homeland Uz is outside the
holy land, located to the east, probably in Edom (Lam 4.21), an area
south of the Dead Sea on both sides of the Wadi Aragah. Job
was blameless and upright, designations important
thematically in the dialogues; they are more fully explained
by the following phrases, feared God and turned away from
evil. 4-5: The children are mentioned to
illustrate Job's piety on their behalf and to prepare for their loss
in v.19.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6
One day the heavenly
beingsa came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satanb also came among them.
7The Lord said to Satan,b "Where have
you come from?" Satanb answered the Lord, "From
going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
8The Lord said to Satan,b "Have you considered
my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil."
9Then Satanb answered the Lord, "Does Job fear
God for nothing? 10Have you not put a fence around
him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have
blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in
the land. 11But stretch out your hand now, and
touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face."
12The Lord said to Satan,b "Very well,
all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your
hand against him!" So Satanb went out from the
presence of the Lord.
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1.6-12:
Heavenly scene I: Conversation of God and Satan.
People imagined the heavenly court on the model of an earthly one:
Courtiers present themselves before the king and officials report to
the Lord. Satan, literally, "the Satan" or the adversary, is
not the enemy of God as in later biblical books, but a member of the
court whose particular task is to watch the actions of human beings
and report back to the Lord. 8-10: God is pleased by the
utterly just actions of Job, but Satan cynically intimates that Job
is doing it only for the abundant blessings he receives in return.
God allows Satan to test Job to see whether he, when "touched," will
curse God. The reader now knows two things that the friends of
Job do not: Job is genuinely just, and God is testing him.
--------
a
Heb sons of God bOr
the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13
One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in
the eldest brother's house, 14a
messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the
donkeys were feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans fell
on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge
of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 16While
he was still speaking, another came and said, "The fire of God fell
from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed
them; I alone have escaped to tell you." 17While
he was still speaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans formed
three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and
killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have
escaped to tell you." 18While he was still
speaking, another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, 19and
suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four
corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are
dead; I alone have escaped to tell you."
20 Then Job arose, tore his
robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped.
21He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken
away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
22 In all this Job did not sin
or charge God with wrongdoing.
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1.13-22: Earthly scene II: All that
Job has is taken away but Job does not curse God.
With divine permission, Satan instigates four attacks, by two
peoples (Sabeans, Chaldeans) and two natural forces (the fire of
God, a great wind), to wipe out Job's animals, servants, and
children. 15: The Sabeans lived in
southwestern Arabia, contemporary Yemen. Here they must be
members of a caravan. 17: The Chaldeans
were the rulers of the sixth-century Neo-Babylonian Empire, named
here probably to characterize the eastern raiders as devastating.
21-22: Dramatic suspense is built by postponing Job's
response. Contrary to Satan's prediction (v.11), Job does not
curse God but worships and blesses in the sense of praising and
acknowledging God's power as almighty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2
One day the
heavenly beingsa came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satanb also came among them
to present himself before the Lord. 2The Lord said
to Satan,b "Where have you come from?"
Satanb answered the Lord, "From going to and fro
on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 3The
Lord said to Satan,b "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.
He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against
him, to destroy him for no reason." 4Then Satanb
answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! All that people have they
will give to save their lives.d 5But stretch
out your hand now and touch his bone and flesh, and he will curse
you to your face." 6The Lord said to Satan,b
"Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life."
7 So Satanb
went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome
sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8Jobc took a potsherd with which to
scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
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2.1-7: Heavenly scene II:
Conversation of God with Satan. 3: You incited me
against him, to destroy him for no reason, a seemingly shocking
statement made by God. What is happening to Job is the result
of a wager in heaven about which he knows nothing. 4:
Skin for skin! A proverbial statement apparently
meaning that people will only act out of self-interest.
5-6: Satan will not concede defeat; he moves to a
new level. If I can touch Job's very self, his bone and his
flesh, as opposed to his property and his children, he will
curse you to your face. The Lord agrees to extend the test
to affect Job's person. The Lord will not speak again until ch.
38. 7: The scene now shifts from heaven to earth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 Then his wife said to him,
"Do you still persist in your integrity? Cursef
God, and die." 10But he said to her, "You speak as
any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at
the hand of God, and not receive the bad?" In all this Job did
not sin with his lips.
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2.8-10: Earthly scene III: Satan
strikes Job. Job's loathsome sores mean he is seriously
ill and isolated from ordinary social relationships. 9-10:
Job's wife has suffered the same losses as he. She unwittingly
quotes both God (2.3) and Satan (1.11; 2.5) and unwittingly
recognizes that it is Job's integrity that has brought down him and
his household.
-----------
a
Heb sons of God
b
Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
c
Or The Accuser; Heb ha-satan
d
Or All that the man has he will give for his life
e
Heb He
f
Heb Bless
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next chapters describe the
conversation between Job and his
three friends: Elphaz, Bildad, & Zophar. They enter into a
lengthy debate, their argument being the Job must have sinned
because God is just. Since the conversation has little to do
with Satan directly, I will omit those chapters. Toward the
end of the discussions, Job cries out to God. At the beginning
of ch. 38 God answers him. It is there that I will resume the
text. The remainder of the story also has nothing to do with
Satan but does mention Behemoth and Leviathan, although in the
context they are not necessarily demons.
GOD'S TWO SPEECHES TO JOB
38.1-42.6: The Lords sudden appearance in the storm never
fails to astonish even though the ground has been laid for it in
Job's oaths and demands of chs. 27 and 29-31 and, in an ironic way,
by Elihu's "appearance" and final statement. God answers Job
out of the whirlwind in two speeches (chs. 38-39 and 40-41), each
evoking a brief response by Job (40.1-5 and 42.1-6). The
structure and the meaning of the speeches have puzzled scholars.
Some believe the speeches are deliberately incoherent, irrational
divine blasts showing there is no answer to Job's questions except
inscrutable divine will. Others rearrange the text, but no
rearrangement has won wide acceptance. Most, however, find
some kind of logic, even though the speeches are also an example of
the mysterious communication of creator to creature. The
first speech shows that the world has a design (God is wise, is able
to govern), and the second demonstrates the world is just (God
upholds the righteous and puts down the wicked).
38.1-40.5: The Lord's first speech and Job's
response. God treats Job like a
rival claimant to deity. God's questions, despite their
variety, come down to one: Did you bring the world into being?
Job was the one who established the legal context. Now, under
God's relentless legal questioning, he cannot give a single answer.
The topic of the speech is counsel, which Job is accused of
obscuring (38.2). Who is this that darkens counsel by words
without knowledge? Counsel is better rendered
"plan, design" (as in Ps 14.6; 20.4; Prov 20.5). An example of
Job's charge that the earth was purely random and without design is
9.5-6, where Job accuses God of overturning the primordial mountains
and earth, that is, of not knowing how to create. God counters
by asking Job if he actually witnessed the foundation of the earth,
and then reveals how carefully he built with measuring line,
sockets, and cornerstone while a festive chorus sang as at a Temple
dedication (38.4-7). Another example of Job's accusation that
God does not distinguish between the wicked and the righteous
(9.24). On the contrarily, dawn exposes the night deeds of the
wicked, which does not, however, necessarily lead to their
punishment (38.12-15). Even the proverbial stupid ostrich is
stupid by design (39.13-18), a reminder that God creates not for
human beings but for his own inscrutable purpose. The world
includes the useful, the bizarre, and even the playful, all by God's
design. The rhetorical method of the speech is to list eight
items of the inanimate world (38.4-38) and eight items of the animal
and bird kingdoms (38.39-38.30). In none of them did Job have
any role, a conclusion that is made clear by Job's inability to
answer the divine questions. Significantly, the human race is
not mentioned in either catalog. The human race - including
Job - are not the center of the universe.
__________________________________________________________________
38 Then the Lord
answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words
without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will
question you, and you shall declare to me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of
the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements - surely you
know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its
cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beingsa shouted for joy?
8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it
burst out from the womb?--
9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick
darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars
and doors,
11 and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no
farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped?
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38.8: When it burst out from the
womb? A common myth told of sea personified as a monster
whom the storm god defeated in order to create. Here, the
monster is reduced to an infant in order to show God's easy control
(see Ps 104.26)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 "Have you commanded the morning since your
days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of
the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and
it is dyedb like a garment.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their
uplifted arm is broken.
16 "Have you entered into the springs of the
sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to
you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the
earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
---------------------
a Heb sons of God
b Cn: Heb and they stand forth
---------------------
22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the
snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of
trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light
is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 "Who has cut a channel for the torrents of
rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?
28 "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten
the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone, and the
face of the deep is frozen.
31 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or
loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their
season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
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38.26-31.26: To bring rain on a land where
no one lives: God cares for areas where no human beings
live, a rebuke to an anthropocentric view of creation. Human
beings are not the measure. 31: The
Pleiades...Orion...Mazzaroth...the Bear: The Pleiades is
the Greek name for a cluster of six stars in the Taurus
constellation, well known to ancient star gazers. Orion
is a constellation on the equator east of Taurus imagined by the
Greeks as a hunter with belt and sword. The identifications of
Mazzaroth and the Bear are uncertain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
34 "Can you life up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they
may go
and say to you, 'Here we are'?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,a
or given understanding to the mind?a
37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clods
cling together?
39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy
the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens, or lie in
wait in their covert?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when
its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
39 "Do you know
when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their
offspring, and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up
in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to them.
------------------
a Meaning of Heb uncertain
-----------------
5 "Who has let the wild ass go free? Who
has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 to which I have given the steppe for its
home, the salt land for its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult of the city; it does not
hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture, and
it searches for every green thing.
9 "Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes, or
will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength
is great,
and will you hand over your labor to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?a
13 "The ostrich's wings flap wildly, though its
pinions lack plumage,b
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and
lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them, and
that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they
were not its own;
though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;
17 because God has made it forget wisdom, and
given it no share in understanding.
18 When it spreads it plumes aloft,b
It laughs at the horse and rider.
19 "Do you give the horse its might? Do
you clothe its neck with mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust? Its
majestic snorting is terrible.
21 It pawsc violently,
exults mightily; it goes out to meet weapons.
22 It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; it
does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver, the flashing
spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the
ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says 'Aha!'
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 "Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts
up and makes its nest on high?
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home in
the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey; its eyes see
it from far away.
30 Its young ones suck up blood; and where the
slain are, there it is."
40 And the Lord
said to Job:
2 "Shall a faultfinder contend with the
Almighty?d
Anyone who argues with God must respond."
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 "See, I am of small account; what shall
I
answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not
answer; twice, but will proceed no further."
_____________________________________________________________________
40.2: Shall a faultfinder contend
with the Almighty? God's concluding question to Job is a
legal one: Can the one who brought me into court answer my
questions?
---------------
a Heb your grain and
your threshing floor
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c GK Syr Vg: Heb they dig
d Traditional rendering of
Heb Shaddai
_____________________________________________________________________
God's second speech and Job's response 40.6-42.6:
The topic of the second speech is God's justice, which was
criticized by Job. Will you even put me in the wrong
(v.8) is, literally, "Would you impugn my justice?" Justice
here, and in the Bible generally, is not the Western concept,
passive and impartial (hearing out both sides), but the ancient Near
Eastern concept, active and partial (upholding the righteous and
putting down the wicked). Job accuses God of being unjust in
this sense, that is, allowing the unjust to prosper and the
righteous (like Job) to suffer. God's response, in the form of
a question (Have you an arm like God? v. 9), silences Job,
for Job can never be just in this sense. The rhetorical method
of the second speech is surprising in that God simply describes two
great animals: Behemoth (40.15-24) and Leviathan
(41.1-34). Both animals are mythological beasts (though
Behemoth may be modeled on the hippopotamus). Behemoth and
Leviathan symbolize the two great untamed and chaotic areas,
respectively, the immense and lifeless desert and the vast and
chaotic sea. The first speech (chs. 38-39) refuted Job's
charge that God governs wisely (without design) by demonstrating God
indeed can control ultimate cosmic evil (represented by Behemoth and
Leviathan), but does not necessarily exercise control over it for
the immediate benefit of human beings. God's mastery over the
beasts is shown by 40.24 (Heb., "By [Behemoth's] eyes he is
captured, by hooks his nose is pierced") and by 41.12 (Heb.,
uncertain, "Did I not silence [Leviathan's] boasting, his mighty
words and martial deeds?"). The two beasts symbolize fearsome
power that is beyond our understanding or control, yet they have a
place in God's universe. They fulfill no evident function,
cannot be domesticated, and do not serve human beings. God
allows them to exist under divine control, despite their potential
for evil. The world is God's, not man's (Job's).
_____________________________________________________________________
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the
whirlwind:
7 "Gird up your loins like a man; I
will question you, and you declare to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like God, and can
you thunder with a voice like his?
10 "Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on all who are proud, and abase them.
12 Look on all who are proud, and bring them
low;
tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.a
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you victory.
_____________________________________________________________________
40.10: Deck yourself with majesty and dignity:
God challenges Job to be just in the sense of putting down the
wicked (v v. 10-14).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
15 "Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I
made you, it eats grass like an ox.
16 Its strength is in its loins, and its power
in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the
sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs
like bars of iron.
19 "It is the first of the great acts of God -
only its Maker can approach it with the sword.
20 For the mountains yield food for it where
all the wild animals play.
21 Under the lotus plants it lies, in the
covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it for shade; the
willows of the wadi surround it.
23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not
frightened;
it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can one take it with hooksb
or pierce its nose with a snare?
41c "Can you draw out Leviathand
with a fishhook,
or press down its tongue with a cord?
----------------------
a Heb the hidden place
b Cn: Heb in his eyes
c Ch 40.25 in Heb
d Or the crocodile
----------------------
2 Can you put a rope in its nose, or
pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it make many supplications to you?
Will it speak soft words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you to be
taken as your servant forever?
5 Will you play with it as a bird, or
will you put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or
its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay hands on it; think of the battle;
you will not do it again!
9a Any hope of capturing itb
will be disappointed;
were not even the godsc overwhelmed at the sight
of it?
10 No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it
up. Who can stand for it?d
11 Who can confront itd and
be safe?e - under the whole heaven who,?f
12 "I will not keep silence concerning its
limbs,
or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame.
13 Who can strip off its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?g
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
There is terror all around its teeth.
15 Its backh is made of
shields in rows, shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another that no air can
come between them.
17 They are joined one to another; they clasp
each other and cannot be separated.
18 Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes
are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of
fire leap out.
20 Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a
boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes
out of its mouth.
22 In its neck abides strength, and terror
dances before it.
23 The folds of its flesh cling together; it is
firmly cast and immovable.
24 Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as
the lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself up the gods are
afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches it, it does not
avail,
nor does the spear, the dart or the javelin.
27 It counts iron as straw, and bronze as
rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make it flee; slingstones,
for it, are turned to chaff.
29 Clubs are counted as chaff; it laughs at the
rattle of javelins.
30 Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 It makes the deep boil like a pot; it makes
the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a shining wake behind it; one
would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth it has no equal, a creature without
fear.
34 It surveys everything that is lofty; it is
king over all that are proud."
42 Then Job
answered the Lord:
2 "I know that you can do all things, and
that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 'Who is this that hides counsel without
knowledge?'
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
----------
a Ch 41.1 in Heb
b Heb of it
c Cn Compare Symmachus Syr: Heb one is
d
Heb me
e GK: Heb that I shall repay
f Heb to me
g Gk: Heb bridle
h Cn Compare GK VG: Heb pride
----------
4 'Hear, and I will speak; I will
question you, and you declare to me.'
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of
the ear, but now my eyes see you;
6 therefore I despise myself, and repent
in dust and ashes."
_____________________________________________________________________
42.1-6. 3: Who is this that hides counsel
without my knowledge? Job cites God's two questions from
the first speech (38.2, 3) as a preface to his final statement in
this verse and the next. The reprise of the opening sentance,
called an inclusio, signals to the reader that the secion is
concluding. 5: But now my eyes see you:
Job had demanded to see God (19.26-27) and resented God's hiding his
face (13.24). God's thunderous speech was an occasion for Job
to "see" God. 6: Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes: The meaning of the verse is
uncertain because no object is specified for the first verb.
Is the verb reflexive or does it have an external object such as
Job's previous words or dust and ashes as they symbol of a deprived
plaintiff? Given the freqent legal language of the book, it
seems better to render "I retract and give up my dust and ashes,"
that is, I give up my lawsuit (without necessarily admitting I was
wrong).
_____________________________________________________________________
EPILOGUE
42.7-17: The reappearance of the name of
the Lord and the resumption of the prose that was used in the
prologue signals the reader that the story is ending. God
declares Job the winner in his lengthy disputation about divine
wisdom and justice. Acting at God's command, Job intercedes
for his friends as he interceded for his children in the prologue (v
v.7-9). God gives Job twice as much as he had before.
His newly enlarged family consoles him (v v. 10-17).
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7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job,
the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "My wrath is kindled
against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of
me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8Now
therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job,
and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job
shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with
you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me
what is right, as my servant Job has done." 9So
Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord
accepted Job's prayer.
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of
Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice
as much as he had before. 11Then there came to him
all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and
they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and
comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him;
and each of them gave him a piece of moneya and
a gold ring. 12The Lord blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six
thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.
13He also had seven sons and three daughters.
14He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third
Kerenhappuch. 15In all the land there were no women
so beautiful as Job's daughters; and their father gave them an
inheritance along with their brothers. 16After this
Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his
children's children, four generations. 17And Job
died, old and full of days.
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42.7-17. 7: You have not spoken of me
what is right, as my servant Job has: Job, who protested and
accused God of attacking an innocent man, is declared to have told
the truth about God, whereas the friends, who defended God and
divine justice and wisdom without regard for truth, are judged to
have acted out of folly and incur God's anger. Job is once
again an effective intercessor (v.10; compare 1.5). 11:
They ate bread with him in his house: The meal shows
the harmony of the restored family and Job's reconciliation with his
friends.
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a Heb a qesitah
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TOP
This section comes from:
The Access
Bible. New Revised Standard Version.
Oxford University Press. ©1999
(this version was recommended by several of my religious studies
professors as being one of the best translations available) The format presented
copies the format of the actual text.
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