update from sparkleup
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<p>And what interest! As Alter says, “The Book of Job is in several ways the most mysterious book of the Hebrew Bible.”<sup id="fnref:1judaism"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1judaism">3</a></sup> \parencite[457]{alter} He then proceeds to discuss the book for eight pages before even getting to the translation (which, while not uncommon among the books in his translation, still stands out as rather a lot of introduction). The editors of the New Oxford Annotated Bible agree on this, saying, “Among the books of the Bible, Job is highly unusual, and, unsurprisingly, its force has often been misunderstood or evaded.” \parencite[735]{noab} This relative inaccessibility, opaqueness of prose (should one choose to ignore the poetic nature of the central work), and the mixed dates of composition have doubtless played their role in it.</p>
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<p>Chief among those is likely the mixed dates of composition. There appear to be four pieces involved in the book: the framing device, which is perhaps the oldest; the discourse between Job and his friends; the later addition of the Hymn to Wisdom, an interruption from Job in chapter 28; and the addition of the character of Elihu, written perhaps most recently.</p>
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<p>In the Hebrew Bible, it is set in the <em>Ketuvim</em> (writings, the ‘kh’ in Tanakh) between Proverbs and The Song of Songs. In the Christian bible, it is set at the beginning of the poetic books, between the prophets and Psalms.</p>
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<p>In both cases, it is classified within the genre of wisdom literature. That is, its goal is one of scholarly and religious wisdom rather than of origin stories (as is the case with much of the books of the Torah and the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles) or prophecy (as is the case with <em>Nevi’im</em> and Revelation). This sets it among Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Proverbs, and the like.</p>
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<p>In both cases, it is classified within the genre of wisdom literature. That is, its goal is one of scholarly and religious wisdom rather than of origin stories (as is the case with much of the books of the Torah and the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles) or prophecy (as is the case with <em>Nevi’im</em> and Revelation). This sets it among Ecclesiastes,<sup id="fnref:1qohelet"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1qohelet">13</a></sup> Song of Songs, Proverbs, and the like.</p>
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<p>Perhaps unique among wisdom literature, however, it seems to have one core thesis. Ecclesiastes has the core theses of a life well lived, self-created meaning, and so on, while Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom, and Sirach are largely compilations of various forms of wisdom.</p>
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<p>There is some discussion as to specific reasons the book was included in the bible (though its canonicity is not in dispute), though the character of Job <em>is</em> mentioned in other books of the Hebrew Bible (and thus the Septuagint, the foundation of the Christian Old Testament). Ezekiel lists him along with Noah and Daniel as one of the three exemplary, righteous men, leading to the conclusion that he must have, at the very least, existed as a folkloric figure prior to the authorship of the Book of Ezekiel. In fact, the Talmud suggests that the Book of Job itself was authored by Moses.</p>
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<p>And yet it remains, does it not? It remains and is its own testament to its power, as NOAB has it, its mystery, as Alter has it.</p>
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<p>And yet, that’s the thing. So many of these arguments for and against the validity and importance of this book center God. It is the bible, of course, and that is often what one must do in a sacred text.</p>
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<p>Our Job, though, our poor, ruined man, has he changed? Has he grown into something new? Has he integrated who he was during those weeks or months of grief with who he was before that? Has he built for himself a new identity? Has he become braver? More fearful?</p>
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<p>There is a saying that, with near-death experiences, there are two likely outcomes. One is that you become a braver, more vivacious person. You live your life all the fuller because you got so close to not living at all. After all, if you have been given a second chance, why not?</p>
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<p>But still, there’s that second option: you become consumed by fear.</p>
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<p>But still, there’s that second option: you become consumed by fear. You freeze up and do not leave the house. Any potential source of death is a thing to become avoided.<sup id="fnref:1avoided"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1avoided">14</a></sup></p>
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<p>This is no value judgement. To be consumed by fear after having your own mortality stand up before you, sneer down its nose, and give you a playful shove bears no shame. It is an honest acceptance of who you are in the face of the enormity of the universe.</p>
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<p>And sure, it might be a spectrum, and there’s probably that absolute midpoint where there is no change. You make it through that brush with death and come out the other side precisely the same as you were before. There is terror in this prospect, that death might be so overwhelming that there is nothing you can do but wrap that experience up in butcher paper, tie it with twine, and set it up in the attic.</p>
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<p>Alter argues that the names that Job gives his new daughters points to a change. “The writer may have wanted to intimate that after all Job’s suffering, which included hideous disfigurement and violent loss, a principle of grace and beauty enters his life in the restoration of his fortunes.” \parencite[579]{alter} This is indeed a beautiful take on it, too. Job comes out the other side and names his daughters after growing things, beautiful things. Dove and Cinnamon and Horn of Eyeshade, the most beautiful in the land and a sign of Job’s joy in living.</p>
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<p>One worries, however, that this is not what happened. Folktales are folktales and there is only so much we can tease out of the text itself. That Job names his daughters and lives another 140 years before dying of old age provides little enough context as to his state of mind. We, of course, have other resources. The Anglicans have their three-legged stool — scripture, tradition, reason — and the Methodists their Wesleyan quadrilateral — which adds ‘experience’ — and so we have at our disposal tradition, reason, and experience beyond just the scripture itself.</p>
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<p>So far, however, we have just looked at the framing device. Happily-ever-afters are for folktales, yes, but our folktale occupies only 1/14th of the book itself.</p>
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<p>One worries,<sup id="fnref:1iworry"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1iworry">15</a></sup> however, that this is not what happened. Folktales are folktales and there is only so much we can tease out of the text itself. That Job names his daughters and lives another 140 years before dying of old age provides little enough context as to his state of mind. We, of course, have other resources. The Anglicans have their three-legged stool — scripture, tradition, reason — and the Methodists their Wesleyan quadrilateral — which adds ‘experience’ — and so we have at our disposal tradition, reason, and experience beyond just the scripture itself.</p>
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<p>So far, however, we have just looked at the framing device. Happily-ever-afters are for folktales, yes, but our folktale occupies only 1/14th of the book itself. What remains is the denser part and, should we see change in Job, it is perhaps here that we will.</p>
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<div class="footnote">
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<hr />
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<ol>
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@ -113,6 +113,15 @@ uncolored dreams made mere contrivances;<br />
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</blockquote>
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<p>Our lives as a whole — indeed, as a spiral — might yet have use for interstitial, intercalary days, intercalary time. An intriguing thought, is it not? <a class="footnote-backref" href="#fnref:1intercalary" title="Jump back to footnote 12 in the text">↩</a></p>
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</li>
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<li id="fn:1qohelet">
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<p>If Job is worth an essay, Ecclesiastes is worth a book. I do not yet have that in me. <a class="footnote-backref" href="#fnref:1qohelet" title="Jump back to footnote 13 in the text">↩</a></p>
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</li>
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<li id="fn:1avoided">
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<p>It need not be permanent, of course. When the me who I was died and I lived my intercalary life, terror filled me, yes, but not for long. Matthew died, and I was nothing but fear for years, and then Madison was born, replacing fear. <a class="footnote-backref" href="#fnref:1avoided" title="Jump back to footnote 14 in the text">↩</a></p>
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<li id="fn:1iworry">
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<p>Or, well, I worry. I do not think many apologists worry, and this is not a work of apologetics. <a class="footnote-backref" href="#fnref:1iworry" title="Jump back to footnote 15 in the text">↩</a></p>
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</ol>
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</div>
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</article>
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