Job, the Biblical Atlas

Job, the Biblical Atlas

SAMANTHA JOO 623 Hwarangno, Nowon-gu

Seoul 139-774, South Korea

IN LATER WESTERN LITERATURE and culture, the character of Job comes to represent an iconic image of a patient sufferer, perhaps derived from his depiction in the prologue of the book.1 The poetic dialogue, however, portrays a more indignant and impetuous victim.2 Job does not silently or joyfully hope for redemption; he contests, demands, and struggles with his demonic God. One wonders how the pious man of the prologue comes to interpret his circumstances with such vitriolic vehemence in the poetic dialogue. Many scholars have attributed the difference in characterization to different authors or sources.3 Yet a closer reading of the prologue actually provides an insight into the feature of Job's character that may have

Research for this article was supported by a special grant from Seoul Women's University (2011).

1 One of the earliest interpretations of Job as patient is in Jas 5:7-11. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (20 vols.; 2nd ed.; Oxford: Clarendon, 1989) 7:248, s.v. "Job," proverbial references to Job usually accentuate his patience. For a brief discussion of Job's portrayal in medieval and modern literature, see Lawrence Besserman, "Job," in The Book of Job: Why Do the Innocent Suffer (ed. Lawrence Boadt; Classic Bible Series; New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1997) 29-32.

2 The two distinct images of Job—the patient sufferer in the prologue/epilogue and the rebellious victim in the dialogue—have produced contentious interpretations of Job in the rabbinic sources. See Judith R. Baskin, Pharaoh s Counsellors: Job, Jethro, and Balaam in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition (BJS 47; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983) 7-43.

3 For discussions on the topic of various sources, see the following commentaries: Samuel Rolles Driver and George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Job, Together with a New Translation (ICC; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921) xxv-1; Marvin Pope, Job: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (AB 15; 3rd ed.; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973) xxiii-xxx; and John E. Hartley, The Book of Job (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988) 20-33.

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led to his theological crisis in the dialogue.4 Job's worldview, or more precisely the logic behind his worldview, as outlined in the prologue provides the clue to his transformation in the dialogue. It appears that Job ultimately depends on his righteousness to bring order into his world. Therein lies the raison d'être for his defiant stance but also his eventual despair.

The brief description of the hero in the prologue (1:1-5) provides an outline of the way in which Job constructs his reality. A coherent system of cause-effect guides his actions, which, in his perception, produces his prosperous and secure environment. This idyllic opening sets the stage for the upcoming scene in the divine council. Both God and the accuser seem to understand the reason for Job's impeccable life. God attributes Job's blamelessness to his fear of God, while the accuser is convinced that Job is motivated by rewards. Hence a wager is made. Yet the wager does not exactly produce the kind of results that the accuser, and perhaps even God, expects. Job holds fast to his integrity as God predicts; however, the wager exposes a more fundamental problem in Job's worldview. Job clings to his righteousness rather than to God to safeguard his blessings. Consequently, Job questions not his own character but the character of God. This development forces God to speak to correct Job's perceived reality and projected theology. In the end, Job becomes humbled but is nevertheless comforted in the presence of the awe-inspiring God.

I. Prologue

The prologue to the Book of Job may not be original to the dialogue; nevertheless, it is a necessary and revealing introduction. The narrator of the prologue has an omniscient voice and therefore has access to the earthly and heavenly realms as well as insight into the characters. With a brief description of Job, a wise man from the land of Uz, the narrator provides a glimpse into Job's conceptual framework (1:1-5). Job is described as a man who is "blameless and upright and fears God and shuns evil" (1:1). The syntactical structure of the clause may give some clues to Job's character and, more important, the basis of his disposition. Two adjectives are followed by a waw-conjunctive ("and") and two participial phrases:

That man was blameless and upright, ΊϋΠ ΏΓ\ ΜΤΜ ^ΚΠ ΓΓΠΙ

one who feared God and turned away from evil. SHÖ Ί01 DT!*7N NTT

The adjectives "blameless" and "upright" describe a man who is morally complete, someone above reproach. It is only after this description that the narrator depicts

4 This does not necessarily prove the literary unity of the book. Nevertheless, like Pope (Job, xxx), I do think that the book has a "considerable degree of organic unity despite the incongruities." I do not, however, include the poem on wisdom (chap. 28), Elihu's speech (chaps. 32-37), and the epilogue (42:7-12) in the discussion. They appear to have been much later additions to the book.

JOB, THE BIBLICAL ATLAS 69

Job's propensities to fear God and eschew evil. Therefore, the waw-conjunctive of NT ("fear") distinguishes blamelessness from Job's fear of God.5 Not only does the conjunction distinguish the two distinct elements of Job's character, it also functions as a sequential conjunctive. Even though the sequential use of the waw conjunction primarily applies to verbal constructions, since the order of nouns/ adjectives joined by waw is usually insignificant, the waw here can designate linear progression, since the adjectival participial phrase functions as a verbless predicate.6 In other words, instead of constructing v. lb as one verbal clause, it would be better translated as two verbal clauses. For instance, rather than translate v. lb as "that man is blameless and upright and God-fearing and evil-shunning," where rrm ("and he is") introduces both adjectival word pairs, it is better to translate as "that man is blameless and upright and (then) he is God-fearing and evil-shunning." Based on this construction, his fear of God follows his blamelessness:7

Blamelessness —* Fear of God

This reading makes more sense, in that it leads to w. 2-3, where Job appears to have been rewarded for his fear of God, which is ultimately motivated by his blameless character.

In the next verses, the narrator mentions Job's progeny and all his material possessions (1:2-3). As Carol A. Newsom notes, the waw-copula sets up a causal relationship so that Job's riches are a "mark of divine blessing":8

Blameless —• Fear of God —• Reward

Inherent in the cause-effect system is a theology of a just deity who responds in direct proportion to human activity. God rewards good deeds and punishes wicked deeds. With this concept of a retributive deity, Job would have feared God because of the punishment he would receive if he failed to adhere to his blameless ways:

Not Blameless —> Punishment

5 Driver and Gray (Book of Job, 2) actually read the Hebrew without the copula based on 1:8; 2:3; two MSSKen and Tg. They do not see any significance between the different forms, but I think that the presence of the waw-copula is meaningful here, since it is clearly absent from 1:8 and 2:3. See below.

6 Bruce K. Waltke and M. O'Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990) 650; and Thomas O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) 118-19.

7 Already in the opening verse, the narrator lays out the problem in Job's rationale. The fear of God should precede or, more precisely, should motivate Job to be blameless. According to Prov 1:7, "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (see also Prov 9:10; Ps 111:10; Job 28:28). Therefore, in the Book of Proverbs, a person cannot be blameless without the fear of God (Prov 14:2). Here it has been reversed.

8 Carol A. Newsom, "Job," NIB 4:317-638, here 345. See also David J. A. Clines, Job 1-20 (WBC 17; Dallas: Word, 1989) 13; and J. Gerald Janzen, Job (IBC; Atlanta: John Knox, 1985) 34-35.


Therefore, in order to protect his status and his family, Job constantly feels the need to appease God with his actions (1:5). Consequently, he is constantly uncertain, always afraid of danger (31:23). This anxiety is reflected in the opening incantation (3:25-26):

Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.

Since Job has to secure God's rewards with his actions, he is never sure of his future. As a result, Job, the biblical Atlas, sustains his world; God, to a certain extent, is just the facilitator.9 This is the narrator's succinct but revelatory insight into Job.

As the scene moves from the earthly to the heavenly sphere, the narrator reports two characters' additional assessment of Job. In the divine council, Yhwh and the satan discuss the motivation for Job's blamelessness. God asserts,

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. (1:8)

The short speech redirects attention to the relationship with God. First, God regards Job as "my servant" 0"Π37). Though an honorific term, it establishes the hierarchical relationship between God and Job. Job is God's servant, not the other way around. Second, God shifts the basis of this relationship from Job's righteousness to his overall character. God's description of Job is similar to the narrator's, except for the absence of the waw-conjunctive (1:8; 2:3):

A blameless and upright man Ί!£Η DD 12ΓΝ who fears God and turns away from evil. 57Ί& Ί01 DTI K NT

Without the w«w-conjunctive, the syntax changes slightly; the participial phrases are on equal footing with the adjectives. In other words, with the juxtaposition of the adjectives and the participial phrases, fear of God is equated with blamelessness and uprightness. Therefore, it may be better translated as,

A blameless and righteous one who is a God-fearing and evil-eschewing man.

9 If every action has its consequence, then God is not necessary for meting out the reward and punishment; see Klaus Koch, "Gibt es ein Vergeltungsdogma im Alten Testament?" ZTK 52 (1955) 1-41 ; and Gene M. Tucker, "Sin and 'Judgment' in the Prophets," in Problems in Biblical Theology: Essays in Honor ofRolfKnierim (ed. Henry T. C. Sun and Keith C. Eades; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997) 373-88, here 374. Yet throughout the Book of Job, God is central to the system of reward and punishment: Cause - God - Effect. Despite the need for God to mete out punishments and rewards, God, for all intents and purposes, becomes a puppet of human activity. For a brief discussion of the role of humans in determining divine activity (by exploring the repercussions of the development of biblical monotheism), see Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1992) 100-107.


Job's moral character and piety are fundamentally interconnected. A person who is moral will fear God, and a person who fears God will be moral. In the deity's estimation, Job is God's servant because of his integrity, which in essence is his piety.

The satan, true to its title, begs to differ and questions God's assessment. The satan observes,

Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you [ΠΚ] 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. (1:9-10)

Since God blesses Job, the satan argues, he fears God:

Reward —> Fear of God

Here, the satan emphasizes the role of God in blessing Job with the addition of the independent pronoun "you" (ΠΧ). Who would not revere the benefactor, the divine sugar-daddy? But take away the compensation and Job would curse God (1:11):

Disaster —> Curse God

In the satan's view, Job would not fear a God who does not reward human effort. Without the fear of God, the satan then expects Job to sin against God:

Disaster —> No Fear of God —• Curse God

As a result, the satan attributes a selfish motivation to Job, whereas God concentrates on the relationship between God and Job. Who then is right? To test their claims, a wager ensues between God and the satan.

Instead of declaring a clear victory, the wager begins to chip away at Job's systematic worldview. The minor difference in the literary structure behind the disaster narrative reflects the first sign of the disintegration. The adversary sends two rounds of disasters, first decimating Job's property and children and then his physical body. The manner in which Job responds to the disasters reflects the logic behind his worldview. He refuses to curse God out of fear of God and therefore does not sin.

TABLE 1

Decimation of property and children (1:13-19)

Disaster Affliction of body (2:7-8)

Job blesses God (1:20-21) Fear of God Job does not curse God (2:9-10a)

Job does not sin (1:22) Integrity Job does not sin with lips (2:10b)


The overall literary structure is similar, but the wording of Job's response in 1:22 and 2:10b is somewhat different:

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. (1:22)

In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (2:10b)

In 1:22, Job does not sin and, moreover, he does not attribute any wrongdoing to God. Hence Job still maintains his integrity and, more important, his fear of God. In 2:10b, Job also does not sin, but he does not mention God's innocence.10 The absence may indicate some doubt in his concept of a just God.

Through it all Job keeps his integrity so that God supposedly wins the wager. But Job's integrity is never at stake—as the narrator observes, he is first and foremost "blameless and upright." Nevertheless, through the wager, the satan sets in motion the demise of Job's piety, which ultimately casts doubt on God's assessment of Job. God may have been right about Job's integrity, but God is wrong about his fear of God.

II. Dialogue

With his changed circumstances, Job is thrust into a theological crisis. Job does not question his integrity and the logic of his worldview. Therefore, he tries to make sense of his suffering by forcing God into his system of cause-effect:

Disaster —> God —» Blameless

When Job puts God into the equation, he is confronted with a God who is not consistent; he meets a God who does not play the expected divine role in his conceptual framework. Therefore, in the dialogue Job grapples with his définition of God, which then drastically affects his concept of the fear of God. This struggle becomes the impetus for the dialogue between Job and his friends.

Through the medium of a dialogue, the author(s) probes the mind of Job. According to Job and his friends, disaster is either a sign of divine punishment or a form of discipline that is allotted to the wicked:

Punishment —> Wicked

Therefore, his friends are convinced that Job is wicked and thus deserving of the punishment. Job struggles with their assessment. As the omniscient narrator and God both observe in the prologue, Job is blameless, but, more important, he

10 The expression "not sin with his lips" is not significantly different from "not sin" in 1:22. The lips can be differentiated from the heart (Isa 29:13), but a person's word must be kept (Lev 5:4; Num 30:6-15; Deut 23:23). In fact, an upright person's character is reflected in his or her words (Job 33:3). See Driver and Gray, Book of Job, 26; contrary to Pope (Job, 23), who thinks that Job may have an evil thought.


views himself as innocent in the dialogue. To that end, he is faced with a contradiction in his worldview. How can an innocent man be punished? Yes, he may have sinned here and there, but nothing so grave as to deserve such a drastic measure. As he grapples with not only his perceived reality but his friends' accusations, he oscillates between questioning and appealing to God to resolve the inner contradiction.

Since Job's world turns upside down, his experience of God becomes torturous. Job experiences real physical pain and social estrangement; however, his interpretation of the source of the suffering brings utter anguish. Job is physically wasted (7:4; 16:16; 17:7; 30:16-17,27); his hardened skin is covered with dirt and maggots (7:5; 19:20; 30:30). Because of his condition, he becomes a social outcast. He is alienated from all human relations, family, friends, and the larger community (19:13-20; 30:1-10), the very essence of being human. Rather, he becomes "a brother of jackals, a companion of owls" (30:10); for this reason, he is no different than a wild animal. Without question, he experiences immense pain in his isolation.

Nevertheless, the physical condition in and of itself does not cause a major theological crisis for Job. It becomes a crisis because Job thinks that God is ultimately responsible for his miserable condition. Job interprets every aspect of his bitter circumstance as an act of God; for all intents and purposes, Job is in his own conceptual prison. To Job, God becomes a warrior who attacks mercilessly. As the following chart of active verbs with God as the subject demonstrates, Job is the victim of divine violence (see table 2 on the following page).

According to Job, he is the prey, completely at the mercy of a cruel and inimical deity. Thus, Job feels that he cannot escape the hand of God.11 Hence, Job is utterly hopeless. He cries out,

He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, he has uprooted my hope like a tree. (19:10)

Job is at the point of despair. His suffering is real, but his perception of divine involvement in his torture is psychological, therefore conceptual. God, the facilitator, has become his enemy.

Job is not the only innocent victim; he attributes all acts of injustice in the world to God. Job broadens the scope of his suffering to include his observations of evil everywhere. As a matter of fact, according to Job, God is the ultimate source of chaos. In three literary sections (9:4-19; 12:13-15,14-25), which start as a hymn

11 In view of such a deity, Job becomes a pawn in divine machination. Metaphors of a useless, helpless, hopeless victim prevail in Job's description of himself (7:1-3, 12; 10:16; 13:24, 25, 27, 28; 14:2, 6; 17:6; 19:6, 12; 30:9).

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TABLE 2

Ref. Verbs Ref. Verbs Ref. Verbs Ref Verbs

6:4 arrayed (terrors) 13:25 frighten 16:12 seized 19:10 breaks

7:12 set guard 13:25 pursue 16:12 dashed 19:10 uprooted

7:14 scare 13:26 write bitterness

16:12 setup target

19:11 kindled

7:14 terrify 13:26 reap iniquities 16:13 slashes 19:11 count

7:20 set as target 13:27 set bound 16:13 pours 30:18 seizes

9:17 crushes 16:7 worn 16:14 bursts 30:18 grasps

9:17 multiplies wounds

16:9 torn 16:14 rushes 30:19 casts

9:18 fills with bitterness

16:9 gnash 19:6 closed net

30:21 turn cruel

10:8 swallow 16:9 sharpens 19:8 walled up 30:21 persecute

10:16 hunt 16:11 gives up 19:8 set darkness

30:22 lift

10:17 increase vexation 16:11 casts 19:9 stripped 30:22 toss

13:24 count as enemy 16:12 broke 19:9 taken

of praise, Job actually describes God's power to destroy; he attributes to God wisdom and power (9:4; 12:13, 16a):

He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded? (9:4)

With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding. (12:13)

With him are strength and wisdom. (12:16a)

With such an opening, one would expect a litany of God's wondrous deeds. Yet God does not utilize the power and wisdom to establish order; rather, God brings destruction and injustice. In 9:5-7 and 12:14-15, God destabilizes creation, while in 12:16b-25, God confounds the attempt of leaders to establish justice in society. Consequently, God allows the wicked to prosper (21:7-33) and abandons the disenfranchised to the will of the wicked (24:1-17). God is not just; God is a god of chaos.

As Job's concept of God transforms, his fear of God inevitably changes. Initially, Job fears God out of his moral integrity. It is what a blameless person does. Yet his fear of God is dependent on a concept of a just deity, a God who punishes and rewards according to one's deeds. For the righteous, therefore, this fear of God


elicits an attitude of respect or reverence toward the deity. With a chaotic God,

however, the righteous would be terrified. Hence Job's fear of God turns into

"demonic dread" of God:12

Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. (23:15)

Job is physically and psychologically scared of God; he shudders at the thought of God. Therefore, the book is replete with various words for dread and trembling, most of which directly or indirectly refer to Job's psychological and physiological state. In the chart below, fifteen Hebrew words related to the state of dread or act of terror are listed with their occurrences in the Book of Job.13 The italicized references indicate Job's experience of dread at the hand of God, while the boldface references imply his terror:

TABLE 3

Word References Word References

ins 3:25; 4:14; 13:11; 15:21; 21:9; *n 4:5; 21:6; 22:10; 23:15; 23:16;

22:10; 23:15; 31:23; 39:22 27:20; 30:15

nm 6:4; 7:14; 9:34; 13:11; 13:21;

15:24; 18:11; 33:7

nnn 6:21; 7:14; 33:16; 39:22; 41:33

narx 9:34; 13:21; 20:25; 33:7 •m 19:29; 41:25

ΊΓ 3:25; 9:28 nrta 18:11; 18:14

τ η 3:26; 14:1 TX 31:23

p y 31:34 7ΊΠ 11:19

•nn 4:14 pD 9:6

Τ5Π 40:23

Among the forty-seven occurrences of the different words for dread or trembling, twenty-four of them refer directly to Job, who shakes from the terrors of God, while thirteen of them are indirect references. This dread of God pervades Job's perception of the divine.

Without the appropriate "fear" (NT) of a just God, one would think that Job would have abandoned his blameless ways. After all, the motivation for righteous-

1 2 Rudolph Otto, The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-Rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and Its Relation to the Rational (trans. John W. Harvey; 2nd ed.; New York: Oxford University Press, 1958) 16.

1 3 1 have not included in the list the Hebrew word NT, since it could either indicate "fear" of God (1:1, 8; 2:3; 4:6; 6:14; 15:4; 28:28) or "dread" of dangerous situations (5:21, 22; 6:21; 11:15; 32:6). Only once is the word used to describe Job's "dread" of God (9:35).


ness should have been the fear of God. Job, however, remains blameless in spite of his "punishment" and dread of God:

Disaster —> Dread of God —> Blameless

In fact, Job is intent on proving his integrity more than ever; by means of a lawsuit, he tries to establish his innocence. He will "condemn" (hiphil of tftîh) God in order to be justified (40:8; also 32:2).

Job tries constantly to bring a lawsuit before God, who is absent. Initially, Job hesitates in his appeal for a trial. Because of his fear of God, he thinks that humans could not be more righteous than God. Therefore, Job does not feel adequate to bring a lawsuit before God:

Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a mortal be just before God?

If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand. (9:2-3)

Nevertheless, as time progresses, Job becomes bolder in his appeal; he expresses his desire to bring his lawsuit (13:3), which will vindicate him (13:18). If he can, Job will find God's dwelling and present his case (23:4-5). Here Job is confident that a righteous person can appeal to God:

There an upright person could reason with him; and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. (23:7)

Toward the end of his speeches, Job, who now views himself as a prince, could physically approach God. The very same man who, at the outset, is timid in his appeal has finally become audacious enough to demand a hearing:

0 that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) O, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown;

1 would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. (31:35-37)

He is convinced of his innocence and righteousness:

Far be it from me to say that you are right; Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

I hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. (27:5-6)

In his own eyes, Job is upright, especially compared to a chaotic God.


This transformation of Job is actually more of a self-realization than a change in his person. The wager basically strips Job of his accoutrements, the blessings and the fear of God. Therefore, toward the end of the dialogue, Job is naked and in his bare self; he has only his claim of righteousness. Enshrouded in royal imagery, Job enumerates his past just deeds (chap. 29). Unlike God, Job helps the marginalized in society: the poor, orphans, widows, the blind, the lame, the needy, and strangers. These are the very people whom God has failed to protect against the wicked (24:1-25). On account of his wise rulings, he had been respected in society (29:7-11, 21-23). Thus, Job sees himself as a "king among his troops" (29:25). Leo G. Perdue writes, "Indeed the language of this chapter borders on self-idolatry as Job describes himself in terms rarely used of kings and often reserved for God."14 For all intents and purposes, Job is a just ruler who establishes justice, unlike his chaotic God who dethrones him (19:9). What would prompt a man to laud his righteousness in the midst of physical and psychological affliction? As the narrator notes at the beginning, Job is first and foremost "blameless and upright."

III. Divine Speech

In the divine speech, the author(s) sets out to dismantle Job's worldview.15

First, the speech humbles Job; he is not the prince of righteousness. Second, it introduces Job to the mysterium, the awesomeness of God; God is neither demonic nor inimical to Job. Therefore, the speech wrests the focus away from Job and his moral integrity to God's creative and beneficent power. God sets out to establish the mysterium tremendum.

Near the end of his monologue, Job is on his own pedestal heralding his integrity; he alone has maintained order in a chaotic world. The task that now lies before God is to relegate Job to his creaturely status. The speech points out his insignificance in creation. In a barrage of rhetorical questions, God exhibits orderly mastery over nature:

14 Leo G. Perdue, Wisdom in Revolt: Metaphorical Theology in the Book of Job (JSOTSup 112; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991) 192. The divine imagery is clear in 29:24, where Job's face shines; this description is otherwise used only for God (Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; 119:135; Dan 9:17).

15 The divine speech (chaps. 38-41) has left many readers wanting a better response, one that would provide some explanation, or even an apology, for Job's meaningless suffering. See Gerhard von Rad, Wisdom in Israel (trans. James D. Marton; Nashville: Abingdon, 1972) 225; R. A. F. MacKenzie, "The Purpose of the Yahweh Speeches in the Book of Job," Bib 40 (1959) 435-45, here 436; and John T. Wilcox, The Bitterness of Job: A Philosophical Reading (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989) 119-20. The speech does not deal directly with the problem of evil; it primarily extricates Job from his faulty thinking.


Where were you [38:4] . . . Who determined [38:5a] . . . Who stretched [38:5b] . . . What were [38:6a]... Who laid [38:6b]... Who shut [38:8]... Have you commanded [38:12]... Have you entered [38:16]... etc.?

Job does not create, participate, or have knowledge of creation; in other words, he has no part in establishing order. If Job could do anything, God would then recognize his power:

Then I will acknowledge [hiphil of TiV] to you that your own right hand can give you victory ΠΓ01 *t? 57Φ1ΓΙ]. (40:14)

This is a direct refutation of Job's earlier claim that he is the righteous ruler who saves the needy.16 Job is speechless; therefore God will not thank (or praise) him.

Simultaneously, the flood of questions reinforces the role of God in creation. According to Job, God uses the power of chaos to terrorize people.17 Here God is powerful, but the power is used to control the chaotic elements in nature. These chaotic elements, however, are not uncontrollable, overwhelming forces of evil; they are a tamed part of creation. God does not eradicate them but keeps them contained. In chap. 38, God describes the ways in which the chaotic elements are set apart and thus controlled:18

TABLE 4

References Description of Boundaries

38:4-7 marked dimensions of earth's foundation

38:8-11 boundaries of the sea

38:12-15 establishment of light

38:16-18 boundaries of the deep

38:19-21 separation between light and darkness

38:22-38 abodes of various natural elements

Based on the description, God has a time and a place for all elements of nature, including the destructive ones. Nothing is out of order or threatening the very scheme that God established in creation.

16 The expression "to save with the right hand" is used only of God (Pss 20:6; 60:5; 98:1; 108:6; 138:7).

17 In 38:2, God asks, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" The expression "to darken" (hiphil of "|$Π) refers to Job's turning God's order into chaos. It is more than just a term; it is a powerful image describing the introduction of chaos into order. Several references to darkness occur in the Book of Job to connote chaos (3:4, 5, 9; 5:14; 10:21; 12:22, 25; 15:22,23, 30; 17:12,13; 18:6,18; 19:8; 20:26; 22:11; 23:17; 24:16; 26:10; 28:3; 29:3; 34:22; 37:19).

18 For a different interpretation, see Michael B. Dick, "The Neo-Assyrian Royal Lion Hunt and Yahweh's Answer to Job," JBL 125 (2006) 243-70.


Even the primordial beasts of chaos are mere creatures. The Behemoth and the Leviathan are monstrous, evil creatures in biblical thought and culture; nevertheless, God approaches them with ease.19 God could easily snare both of them with hooks (40:24; 41:1), yet God does not vanquish them as Job claims:

By his power he stilled the Sea; By his understanding he struck down Rahab. (26:12)

They are part of God's creation. The Behemoth eats grass (40:16) and dawdles in the swamp (40:21-22), while the Leviathan rules the sea (41:31).

Not only is God not chaotic or battling chaos; God is beneficent. In Job's experience, God is inimical, intent on destroying him, but in the divine speech God is benevolent. The divine speech in 38:39-41:34 lists a series of animals, even the primordial creatures, but God nourishes or endows them with unique abilities:

TABLE 5

References Animals Gifts

38:39-41 lions/ravens food*

39:1-4 mountain goat protection for pregnancy

39:5-8 wild donkey hornet

39:9-12 wild ox strength

39:13-18 ostrich wings

39:19-25 horse strength

39:26-30 hawk/eagle wings

40:15-24 Behemoth strength

41:1-34 Leviathan ferocity

* Eliphaz compares the wicked to the lion (4:8-11). In his metaphor, the lions do not fare well: they roar, die of hunger, or scatter. Here God provides prey for the lions.

t Job compares the poor/children to the wild donkey who goes foraging for food in the desert (24:5; see also 6:5). Here the wild donkey finds food in green pastures.

As is clearly evident from the chart, God cares for each creature. Moreover, God appears to take pleasure in them.

19 When God speaks of the Behemoth and Leviathan, Job and the audience associate them with the mythic creatures that battle God. See John Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 34; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).


Since Job, or any human, is not listed among the creatures, most scholars have suggested that the speech only belittles Job.20 The divine speech may relegate Job to his creaturely state, but it does not demean him.21 On the contrary, the Book of Job, and most of the Bible, is anthropocentric and therefore assumes and does not challenge the supremacy of humans over animals.22 Therefore, illustrations of ways in which God cares for the most insignificant creatures demonstrate the extent to which God cares for people.23

As a matter of fact, all the animals and primordial creatures indirectly function as a comparison for Job. Job becomes beastlike with the loss of his social identity; therefore, he is no different from all the animals listed in chaps. 39^40. God states that God had made the Behemoth "along with Job" (40:15). As Driver and Gray comment, the expression y$H ("with you") has the connotation of "like you" (9:26; 31:15; 33:6; 37:18).24 In addition, John T. Wilcox has noted how the opening description of Job resembles God's marvel over Behemoth and Leviathan. Like Job, Behemoth and Leviathan have no comparisons; they are the "best" in their class.25 After all, Leviathan is the king (41:26 [Eng. 41:34]) just as Job sees himself as a royal figure (chap. 29).26 Furthermore, Job compares himself to the primordial sea-monster:

Am I the Sea, or the Dragon,

that you set a guard over me? (7:12)

2 0 James L. Crenshaw, Urgent Advice and Probing Questions: Collected Writings on Old Tes

tament Wisdom (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1995) 458, 461, 464-67; von Rad, Wisdom

in Israel, 223-24, MacKenzie, "Purpose of the Yahweh Speeches," 442; Wilcox, Bitterness of Job,

121; and James E. Miller, "Structure and Meaning of the Animal Discourse in the Theophany of

Job (38,39-39,30)," TAW 103 (1991) 418-21, here 421. 2 1 Henry Rowold, "!Χ1Π ^ ?Κ1Π Ή: Leviathan and Job in Job 41:2-3," JBL 105 (1986) 104-9.

Job declares, "In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being"

(12:10). All creatures, including humans, are an important part of God's creation. 2 2 Contrary to Leo G. Perdue, Wisdom and Creation: The Theology of Wisdom Literature

(Nashville: Abingdon, 1994) 180. In fact, anthropocentricity is present throughout the Book of Job.

When Job says, "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention"

(7:17), he may exhibit an awareness of Psalm 8. Whereas Job considers the special attention a tor

ment, the psalmist revels in this knowledge. See also Elihu's speech, where he claims that God

teaches humans more than the animals (35:11). Perhaps this is a direct response to the divine speech

in which God does not endow the ostrich with wisdom (39:17). Compare the two statements:

"makes us wiser [UftDrp] than the birds of the air" (35:11)

"for God did not endow her with wisdom [HttDn]" (39:17)

If the ostrich can enjoy her feathers, how much more should Job, who has the capability to

gain wisdom? 2 3 Tom Are, Jr. ("Job 38:1-7," Int 53 [1999] 294-98, here 297) observes that "Job is not mere

creature, but God's creature." 2 4 Driver and Gray, Book of Job, 354. 2 5 Wilcox, Bitterness of Job, 231 n. 1. 2 6 See Mark W. Hamilton, "In the Shadow of Leviathan: Kingship in the Book of Job,"

ResQ 45 (2003) 29-40.


As a creature himself, then, Job should find comfort in the way God treats these creatures. Job exclaims,

But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. (12:7-8)

Then what can we learn from all the animals? Job learns how wonderfully all of God's creatures are tended, even in the minutest detail.

With an awe-inspiring and benevolent God, the relationship between the created and the creator is drastically different from that between Job and his chaotic God. Job comes to dread his God; he shudders at the thought of God. Yet all the creatures in the divine speech, even the primordial creatures, are not afraid. Describing the confidence of each creature, the author(s) comments on the "laughter" or more precisely "mockery" (pnfr) of each creature in the face of a threat:

TABLEÓ

Reference Animal Threats

39:7 wild donkey laughs at town commotion

39:18 ostrich laughs at horse and rider

39:22 horse laughs at fear and battleground

40:20 all wild creatures laugh/play on the mountains

41:29 Leviathan laughs at the lance

Most of the creatures mentioned in 38:39-41:34 laugh in their dangerous situations; they do not fear. As God observes, the Behemoth is not "alarmed" (ΤΟΠ, 40:23) by the surging river and the Leviathan is called "a creature without fear" (nn"""1?^ WV71, 41:25). If most of these creatures, even the Behemoth and Leviathan, can laugh at or withstand danger, then why does Job fear trouble and dread God? Job, who is compared to the Behemoth and Leviathan, should learn from these primordial creatures not to be terrified in the face of trouble or the beneficent God. Job should thus laugh and not fear his situation.

IV. Job's Final Response

Job needs more than an encounter with God; he needs to experience the awe-someness of God.27 In Job's worldview, God is primarily a facilitator, a mechanical

27 MacKenzie ("Purpose of the Yahweh Speeches," 440) hints that Job may have required the theophany only because he needed to experience a personal God. The theophany is an important


dispenser of rewards and punishment. Consequently, Job lacks the awe, the mysterium, in his relationship with God.28 When he comes into the divine presence, he is introduced to an awesome and beneficent God. Therefore, it is no longer just tremendum, but mysterium tremendum. He observes,

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand;

things too wonderful [niN^DJ] for me to know. (42:3)

Wonderful things here are not divine acts of justice (5:9) or destruction (9:10; 10:6) but inexplicable marvelous deeds.29 As Job realizes the magnificence of God, he humbles himself before God. Similar in wording to Pss 131:1 and 139:6, where the psalmist acknowledges his/her finitude, Job here also acquiesces to God.

With his new understanding of God, Job is comforted. His final words have been traditionally translated,

Therefore I despise myself [DKQK] and repent [0ΓΗ] in dust and ashes. (42:6)

Given the transformation in Job's outlook, this translation is inadequate. Job may despise himself when he thinks that his demonic God is torturing him, but now Job has no reason to despise himself.30 Moreover, the Hebrew word UX\1 does not occur in the Book of Job with the meaning "repent" but only "comfort" (2:11; 7:13; 16:2; 21:34; 29:25). Therefore, a better translation may be,

Therefore I reject (my words) and am comforted upon dust and ashes.

Job has experienced a different God; thus he recants his words spoken out of anger, pain, and frustration (42:3). Moreover, he is comforted because this God is benev-

aspect of the whole encounter, but the speech introduces Job to the mysterium of God. See also R. A. F. MacKenzie, "The Transformation of Job," BTB 9 (1979) 51-57, where he discusses the transformation of Job's character.

2 8 See Lindsay Wilson, "The Book of Job and the Fear of God," TynBul 46 (1995) 59-79; David J. A. Clines, '"The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom' (Job 28:28): A Semantic and Contextual Study," in Job 28: Cognition in Context (ed. Ellen van Wolde; BIS 64; Leiden: Brill, 2003) 57-92; Horst Dietrich Preuss, Old Testament Theology (2 vols.; Edinburgh: Clark, 1992) 2:129-31; Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (trans. J. A. Baker; 2 vols.; OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967) 2:268-76; and Michael L. Barré, '"Fear of God' and the World View of Wisdom," BTB 11 (1981)41-43.

29 Generally, ¡02 ("extraordinary") denotes wondrous deeds that God performs for the Israelites, sometimes against their enemies. Rarely does the word connote wondrous punishment (Deut 28:59; in reference to human activity, see Dan 8:24; 11:36; 12:6). Therefore, when Job uses the term to describe a God who overturns order (9:10) and stalks Job like a lion (10:16), he totally misunderstands the awesome God. Even his friend Eliphaz does not really comprehend the term, since he equates God's wonders to God's social justice (5:9). See Sylvia Scholnick, "The Meaning of mispat in the Book of Job," JBL 101 (1982) 521-29.

30 Compare previous examples in which he despises himself (7:16; 9:21). The word ONft has two distinct meanings, "to despise" (10:3; 19:18; 30:1; 31:13; 36:5) and "to reject" (5:17; 8:20; 34:33).


olent. As for the dust and ashes, the simple preposition *7S? ("upon") holds the key. Earlier in 30:19, Job claims that he has become "like" (D) dust and ashes; he is comforted, however, "over" (*?S7) dust and ashes.31 He is not dust and ashes but is upon dust and ashes. As a result, Job is neither an upright prince nor dust and ashes; he is a creature wonderfully created by an awesome God.

V. Conclusion

One cannot diminish Job's response; the character experienced tremendous and painful loss. Yet how Job begins to interpret his circumstances and derive from them his conclusions is determined by his worldview. As the narrator observes, Job thinks that his blameless ways, which prompted his fear of God, would lead to rewards. So when God does not reward him according to his expectations, Job confronts a problem in his worldview. Rather than question the logic of his world-view, he modifies his theology to fit his experience. How could Job keep the same theology of a just God who tortures him? He therefore concludes that God is chaotic. With a chaotic God, Job comes to "dread," not "fear" God. In both instances, Job's God is just the facilitator, whether of blessings or terrors, whereas Job is the righteous prince who establishes justice.

With the theophany, Job experiences a different God. This God is the mysterious creator God who generously provides for all of creation. In the presence of an awe-inspiring God, Job comes into his "creature-consciousness."32 This awareness restores the right fear of God, which in turn should motivate Job to lead a blameless life, not the other way around:

Fear of God —• Blameless

Moreover, God blesses creation not because of its righteousness but because it consists of God's creatures. To put it simply, the blessings are signs of divine grace, not reward. In the end, I would argue that Job is comforted. It is quite a burden to be responsible for one's fate; this way, Job could simply rely on God. He is no longer constrained by his Achilles heel, his constrictive worldview in which he is the biblical Atlas.

31 For a different reading of this expression, see Charles Muenchow, "Dust and Dirt in Job 42:6," JBL 108 (1989) 597-611. The expression "dust and ashes" occurs only one other time, in Gen 18:27, where Abraham tries to emphasize his lowly human status before God. See also Ezek 27:30, where both terms occur in parallel to depict a state of deep mourning.

32 Otto, Idea of the Holy, 10.

^ s

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Job, the Biblical Atlas

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