The book of Job poses great challenges to a
modern interpreter. Its structure and plot require a powerful imagination to
make sense of them. Those who think the book is rhetorically persuasive in its
present form, and that Job 28 is appropriate on Job’s lips at the juncture in
which it is found in the unfolding drama the book lays out, are rare birds. I
happen to belong to that number.
Interpreters who discern unity and design in
the book of Job as we know it run the same risk as those who do not: that of
imposing on the book a set of expectations that have little or nothing to do
with the intentions of the author of the book which begins and concludes with prose
narrative, and contains speeches by Job, three friends, Elihu, and God in an
order and according to a logic that have generally defied explanation.
In a series of posts on Job 28, I will
address several issues of interest to readers of the book and students of
ancient Hebrew literature. The first: macrostructural clues to the
argumentative flow of the whole. The second: gender-accurate translation of its
contents. The third: Job 28’s place in the plot design of Job 1-42.
The series is written as a kind of thank-you note to Dave Beldman for keeping an excellent blog. Among his interests are Psalms and Job in the Hebrew Bible.
Thank you For this High Quality Search Accessible Site!
Posted by: Joe Gelb | October 26, 2007 at 03:20 AM
< blushing and embarrassed that he has not written anything close to "excellent" on his blog in quite some time >
I am of course honoured and looking forward to following these posts, after all, you know, rare birds like us need to flock together!
Posted by: dave b | October 26, 2007 at 10:01 AM
I'm looking forward to that. I wonder what kind of wisdom Job thought was hidden. He believed that the fear of the LORD was wisdom, and yet he thought that wisdom was hidden. I think he believed that the way to live was obvious, but the way God made the world and does things (which includes Job's suffering) is a mystery.
Posted by: James Pate | October 26, 2007 at 04:32 PM
I fall into that camp too!
Posted by: Ros | October 26, 2007 at 10:39 PM