How to Read the Bible

24. “Being But Dust and Ashes”: Reading Job

24 “Being But Dust and Ashes” Reading Job Primary Reading: Job. (Note: This is a beautiful but complicated book; it is difficult to read in one sitting.) Beyond Difficult In chapter 23, I treated Job as one of three exemplars of biblical “wisdom literature .” I highlighted how challenging are the other two books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes: their history of composition is obscure, and their diverse parts do not fit neatly into a meaningful whole. Yet Job is more difficult than both of those books combined.1 First of all, the language in this book is extremely hard to understand. Job employs a large number of hapax words (see “Words Without Peer”; see chapter 17) and unusual grammatical forms—so much so that some scholars have wondered if it is a bad translation from another language!2 Moreover, that difficult vocabulary pops up at crucial junctures in the text, leaving us unsure how to interpret not only the word, but also the verse—or even an entire section. The historical-critical method reveals other problems on top of these, connected to the composition of Job. Looking at them can help us understand why the book is so difficult, which can make reading Job less frustrating. Some of these problems are obvious from the outline of the book’s structure, as follows: 1. Narrative introduction 2. Speeches by Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar 3. Speeches by Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar 4. Speeches by Job, Eliphaz, Bildad 243 5. Speeches by Elihu 6. God’s speeches 7. Narrative conclusion Certain asymmetries here are puzzling. Why, for example, is there no speech by Zophar in the third set of speeches (section 4)? If Zophar’s third speech is missing , what does this mean? Perhaps it is not really missing—perhaps the words “Zophar the Naamathite said in reply” simply fell out somewhere, skipped by a distracted scribe; but if so, at what point should we reinsert them? Whether we read a particular section as said by Job, or by Zophar, makes a big difference. Aside from the strange structure, none of the friends has a distinct personality , as might be expected.3 More unsettling is the unfulfilled promise when each speech cycle is repeatedly punctuated by the phrase “X said in reply.” This suggests that we are reading a true dialogue, yet we never get one. Indeed, the characters not only talk past each other (as we shall see below), they also attempt to define the other’s position. For example, Eliphaz says: “You [ Job] say, ‘What can God know? / Can He govern through the dense cloud? / The clouds screen Him so He cannot see / As He moves about the circuit of heaven’” (22:13–14). These words Eliphaz puts into Job’s mouth—and they misconstrue Job’s argument! The threefold cycle of speeches is followed by Elihu’s lone speeches in chapters 32–37. His presence is a surprise. He is mentioned neither in the book’s prologue (2:11) nor its epilogue (42:7, 9), where Job has only three other friends. What is Elihu doing here? Why does he offer four speeches in a row? Even stranger than this, he depicts himself as a bumbler who talks a lot but says little : “For I am full of words; / The wind in my belly presses me. / My belly is like wine not yet opened, / Like jugs of new wine ready to burst. / Let me speak, then, and get relief; / Let me open my lips and reply” (32:18–20). To make matters more confusing, what God says later on is much like what Elihu says here. What does this tell us about God? If Elihu is a bumbling idiot, then his speeches may foreshadow God’s speeches, hinting that even God’s answers are not satisfactory.4 God’s speeches to Job have their own difficulties, as we shall see below. For now we can ask: Why does God need to speak twice? What is the difference between Job’s two answers to God, and why is this difference so important that God is satisfied with Job’s second response, but not with his first? Most significantly , does God really answer Job’s challenge? These problems are easily multiplied, for the Book of Job is an enigma.5 This great work of literature is not open to a simple, authoritative explanation. 244 How to Read the Bible A Partial Resolution...