How to Charge God with Murder: The Role of the "Witness in Heaven" in Job 16

In this article, I argue that the appeal to a heavenly witness in Job 16:19-21 is intended to support Job's accusation of unjust divine violence, which is depicted in 16:7-18 as an act of murder. Because of this, the common assumption that the witness is God is highly unlikely, but if not God, to whom could Job be appealing, and for what purpose? I argue that Job's appeal to a "witness in heaven," like his call to "the earth" not to cover his blood (16:18), does not have a specific figure in view. Its purpose is neither to exonerate Job nor to secure God's condemnation but instead to provoke God to take Job's charges seriously.