The Book of Job in Ritual Perspective

Responding to some of the recent work of Michael V. Fox on the narrative frame of the book of Job, this article explores the possibilities for placing Job in a different framework than has been the custom in contemporary biblical research, namely, that of ritual mourning. I suggest that the work can be understood as a story of mourning, the failure of consolation, and its eventual, forceful accomplishment. In particular, the connection between mourning and protest has not always been appreciated, and this article ultimately provides another way of thinking about the book of Job as a unity. Finally, I consider the implications of this view for Job’s place in the canon. I note throughout how contemporary notions of individual subjectivity inform and limit current readings of Job. Incorporated into the discussion are a close treatment of Job 42:6, a philological inquiry into the terms מאס and נחם, consideration of other biblical narratives of mourning, and an inquiry into the place of national mourning in Second Isaiah.