The Makers and Teachers of Judaism Part 12

How then can man be just with G.o.d?

Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

[Sidenote: Job 26:1, 27:2, 4, 5]

Then Job answered and said,

As G.o.d liveth, who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty, who hath made my life bitter, Surely my lips do not speak unrighteousness, Nor does my tongue utter falsehood, Far be it from me that I should grant that you are right; Until I die I will not give up my innocence.

[Sidenote: Job 27:7-9]

[Then Zophar answered and said]:

Let mine enemy be as the wicked, And let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

For what is the hope of the G.o.dless, When G.o.d requireth his life?

Will G.o.d hear his cry, When trouble comes upon him?

[Sidenote: Job 29:1-5]

And Job again took up his parable and said,

Oh, that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when G.o.d watched over me, When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness; As I was in the prime of my life, When G.o.d put a covering over my tent, When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me.

[Sidenote: Job 30:16-21]

But now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold of me.

The night bores through my bones, And my gnawing pains rest not.

By reason of great wasting my garment is crumpled together; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.

I cry to thee but thou dost not answer me.

I stand up, but thou dost not regard me.

Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

[Sidenote: Job 31:5-8]

If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hasted to deceit; Let me be weighed in a just balance, That G.o.d may know my integrity.

If my step has turned out of the way, And my heart followed my inclination, And if any spot besmirches my hands; Then let me sow, and let another eat, And let the produce of my field be uprooted.

[Sidenote: Job 31:35-37]

Oh, that there was someone to hear me!

See, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me!

And the indictment which my adversary has written!

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it to me as a crown; I would declare to him the number of my steps, As a prince would I draw near to him.

[Sidenote: Job 38:2-7]

Then Jehovah answered Job out of the storm, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words that lack knowledge?

Gird up thy loins now like a man, And let me ask of thee and inform thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who determined its measures that thou knowest?

Or who stretched out the line upon it?

On what were its foundations fastened?

Or who laid its corner-stone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of G.o.d shouted for joy?

[Sidenote: Job 38:8-11]

Or who shut up the sea with doors, When it broke forth, and issued out of the womb; When I made clouds its garments, And thick mists its swaddling-bands, And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors, And said, Here shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves stop?

[Sidenote: Job 38:39-41]

Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appet.i.te of the young lions, When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait?

Who provideth at evening his prey, When his young ones cry to G.o.d, And wander to seek for food?

[Sidenote: Job 40:8,9]

Will the fault-finder contend with the Almighty?

He who argueth with G.o.d, let him answer it.

Wilt thou even annul my judgment?

Condemn me, that thou mayest be justified, Or hast thou an arm like G.o.d?

And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

[Sidenote: Job 42:1, 2, 3, 5, 6]

Then Job answered Jehovah and said:

I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.

Therefore, I have uttered that which I did not understand; Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, But now mine eye seeth thee, Therefore I loath [my words], And repent in dust and ashes.

I. The Structure of the Book of Job. Like most of the books of the Old Testament, Job is, without reasonable doubt, the work of several different writers. The prose introduction (1-2), with its corresponding conclusion (42:7-17), was probably once an independent story. The words of Jehovah in the epilogue (42:7) clearly implies that, as in 1 and 2, Job had endured the test and had meekly submitted to the afflictions which Satan, with the divine approval, had sent upon him, and that on the other hand his friends, like his wife, had urged him to curse G.o.d and die. The language and phrases of this prose story are radically different from those in the poem which const.i.tutes the main body of the book. The unique explanation of why Job was afflicted that is given in the opening chapters is also completely ignored in the poetic dialogues (3-31). Likewise the problem of whether or not Job fears G.o.d for naught, raised in the prologue, is not taken up again except in the concluding prose epilogue. In the prose story Job's piety conforms to the popular standards, while in the poetic sections he is measured by the loftier ethical principles laid down by the pre-exilic prophets (cf. chap. 31). In form, therefore, in aim, and in content, the prose story differs fundamentally from the great dramatic poem which const.i.tutes the real book of Job. The main body of the book is found in chapters 3-27, 29-31, 38:1-40:14, and 42:1-6. At a few points the original order has apparently been disarranged and later hands have frequently supplemented the older sections, but the literary unity of the whole is obvious. In three cycles of speeches the problem of innocent suffering is fully developed and the current solutions presented. In conclusion the voice of Jehovah comes to Job calling him forth from himself to the contemplation of the larger universe which manifests the divine wisdom and rulership.

The Elihu speeches in 32-37 are evidently from a still later author or authors who wished to rebuke Job's seeming impiety and the failure of his friends to bring forth a satisfactory explanation of the suffering of the innocent. Its independence is shown by the presence of many Aramaic words, by the lack of literary vigor, and by the frequent repet.i.tions, which distinguish it sharply from the writings of the author of the main body of the book. Elihu and his contributions are also completely ignored in the rest of the book and at points where, if they were original, certain references would be almost inevitable. These speeches, in fact, are simply a fuller development of the argument of Eliphaz found in the fifth chapter. They also incorporate many suggestions drawn from the speeches of Jehovah in chapters 38 and 39.

II. Dates of the Different Parts. The cla.s.sic Hebrew style and the absence of Aramaic words indicate that the prose story is the oldest section of the book. It also rea.s.serts in modified form the dogma current far down into the Persian period, that if the righteous but patiently bear affliction they will surely in the end be richly rewarded. It contains a message well adapted to the needs and beliefs of the Jewish people during the calamities of the Babylonian period. Its conception of Satan as the prosecuting attorney of heaven, and of Jehovah as a transcendental ruler surrounded by a hierarchy of angels, is closely akin to that which first appears in the second chapter of Zechariah. The references to Job in Ezekiel 14:14,20, as one of the three heroes of popular tradition famous for their piety, implies the existence during the exile of a story closely akin to if not identical with the one found in the prologue and epilogue of the book of Job. Such a story was probably current long before the days of Ezekiel, but in its present form it was not committed to writing until the latter part of the Babylonian or the beginning of the Persian period.

The first part of this story was evidently used by the author as an introduction to the great dramatic poem. He thereby deliberately protested against the solution of the problem of innocent suffering suggested by the ancient story. The poem itself cannot be dated earlier than the middle of the Persian period. In it the great ethical and social standards of the pre-exilic prophets are fully accepted. Its marvelous breadth of vision also implies an advanced stage in Israel's thinking. The problem of suffering with which it deals is not merely that of the nation but of the individual or of a cla.s.s within the Judean community. It is precisely the problem that confronted the author of Malachi and to which he refers in 3:13-16. It is the same problem that bulks largely in the psalms of this period and finds its n.o.blest solution in Isaiah 53. All its affinities, therefore, confirm the conclusion that it comes from the middle of the fifth century B.C. and is probably slightly older than Isaiah 49-55, which presents a more fundamental treatment of the problem of human suffering. The author still holds the old, prophetic conception of the universe (38:4-6), and is unaffected by the priestly thought and tendencies which became especially prominent during the closing years of the Persian period.

The Elihu speeches and the supplemental poem in description of wisdom in 28, and of the behemoth and leviathan in 40:15-41:34, probably come from the Greek period.

III. The Prose Story. In the prose story Job is pictured as a man of superlative piety and prosperity. According to the popular standards of the earlier day he lived a blameless life. His afflictions came simply as a means of demonstrating the unselfish character of his piety. In rapid succession he is stripped of all his possessions and afflicted by the vilest of all diseases, apparently the loathsome tubercular leprosy. Even his wife tempts him to curse G.o.d and die, but he fully meets the test, and, according to the testimony of the concluding epilogue, receives Jehovah's approval and is restored to the joys of family, reputation, and riches. It is obvious that, as in the stories found in the opening chapters of Genesis, this is a popular narrative freely adjusted to the ends which the story-teller wished to attain. The incidents recorded are not in keeping with the ordinary experiences of life, but belong rather to the realm of popular fancy. As a reference in Ezekiel implies, it was probably, like the similar stories regarding Noah and Daniel, a heritage from the common Semitic lore. In fact, a recently discovered Babylonian tablet tells of a famous king of Nippur, Tabi-utul-Bel by name, whose experiences and spirit corresponds closely to those of the hero of this prose story.

The message of the prose story of Job, as it was sent out to the Jewish race, was that it was not always possible to understand the reason why the righteous were afflicted, but that if they faithfully met the test restoration to Jehovah's approval, with the honor and reputation that necessarily follow, were a.s.sured. To the nation such a message was not without its practical application and value, but it failed completely to meet the individual problems that became pathetically insistent during the middle of the fifth century B.C.

IV. The Poem of Job. In the later poetic version of the story (which begins with the third chapter) Job himself is the embodiment of the problem of innocent suffering. His friends' suppositions and condemnations add still another burden to his weight of woe. More intolerable, however, than loss of possessions, health, and reputation is his sense of being forsaken and condemned by Jehovah. Job cannot shake himself entirely free from the belief, which had been inculcated in his mind from earliest infancy, that calamity was a sign of divine displeasure, and therefore of sin on the part of the victim. In the series of monologues and dialogues between Job and his friends he voices every phase of the great problem and makes it concrete and objective. With marvellous psychological truth and insight the author has presented the different phases of feeling through which an innocent sufferer in Job's position naturally pa.s.ses. At times Job is intemperate in his speech and at other times he yields to despondency; again his faith overleaps all obstacles and he holds for the moment a clear belief in the ultimate vindication not only of himself but of Jehovah's justice.

His friends, on the other hand, formulate at length the current Explanation of suffering. Job in his sharp retorts makes clear the Inapplicability of the arguments and the limitations of the dogmas which they constantly rea.s.sert. In the concluding speeches of Jehovah the author with masterly skill takes Job out of his little circle into the larger world of nature, and brings him face to face with the evidences of Jehovah's might, wisdom, and gracious rulership of the great universe and of the complex life of those who inhabit it. Above all, Job learns to know G.o.d, not through the testimony of others, but by direct personal experience, and this knowledge begets humility and trust.

V. Progress in Job's Thought. The thought of the book of Job is characteristically Oriental. Instead of moving straight on from premises to conclusion it constantly reverts to the same themes yet advances along independent, parallel lines. Its progress is not objective, as is usually the case in a drama, but almost entirely subjective. These parallel lines of progress are: (1) the conviction gradually crystallizing into certainty that the current explanations of suffering are in certain cases inadequate and false. While viewed from one point of view this conclusion is merely negative, it nevertheless opened the eyes of Job and his generation to a larger conception of Jehovah and a far broader interpretation of the universe and of the laws which regulate it. The second is that he is guilty of no crime commensurate with the calamity which had overtaken him. Overwhelmed by misfortune and the reiterated charges of his friends, only through a superhuman struggle did Job ultimately attain the unshaken conviction that he was indeed innocent in the sight of G.o.d and man. The third line of progress is that, if not in the present life, in that beyond the grave his reputation would not only be vindicated but he himself would be fully conscious of that vindication.

As is ill.u.s.trated by the third chapter, Job in common with his race still shared the belief that for the ordinary individual life beyond the grave was a shadowy existence, far removed from Jehovah's presence. This conception of the life after death was inherited by the Israelites from their Semitic ancestors, and was held in common by most ancient peoples, both of the East and of the West. The Babylonians believed, however, that certain favored mortals, as, for example, the hero of the flood, were transported to the abode of the G.o.ds, there to enjoy blessed individual immortality. The same belief is the foundation of the Hebrew stories regarding Enoch and Elijah. This belief was apparently the germ which in time developed, as in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, into the widespread conviction that the grave would not hold those who had been loyal to Jehovah, but that he would surely raise them again to a glorious life. In the book of Job it is possible to trace the birth-pangs of this broader hope. Conscious of his innocence and confronted by the grave, Job repeatedly voices the deep conviction that G.o.d, because he is just, will raise his afflicted servant from the grave and accord to him that justice which seems excluded from his present life. This solution of the problem of innocent suffering is not given the central place by the author of the book of Job. It is safe, however, to conjecture that if the appearance of Jehovah had not furnished to the author's mind a more satisfactory conclusion, the vindication after death would have been the solution offered. At several points Job approaches very close to the belief in individual immortality which became a commonly accepted tenet in the trying days of the Maccabean struggle.

The fourth line of progress is that Jehovah, after all, must be just and that he will right the seeming wrongs of life. In his opening speeches Job gives free vent to the anguish and impatience that fills his tortured mind. With a boldness strangely foreign to Hebrew thought, he charges Jehovah with injustice and speaks of him as a cruel monster that watches man, his helpless prey, and takes cruel pleasure in the pain which he inflicts. As the discussion progresses Job's mind becomes calmer, and the conviction that G.o.d, after all, is just comes more clearly to expression. His strong utterances gradually yield to this quieter mood.

Even before he hears the voice of Jehovah, Job has attained an att.i.tude of trust, though he is still groping in darkness. Thus with marvelous fidelity to human nature and experience the author of the book of Job would have made a great contribution to the problem with which he was dealing even had he not added the concluding speeches of Jehovah.

VI. Significance of the Speeches of Jehovah. To many Western readers the concluding speeches of Jehovah are unsatisfying. They lack the emphasis on Jehovah's love and that divine tenderness in addressing the heroic sufferer which to us would seem to have been a satisfactory conclusion to the great drama. This element is furnished in characteristically concrete form by the epilogue of the book, in which Job's prosperity is restored in double measure and he is personally a.s.sured of Jehovah's favor. The severe and realistic author of the great poem, however, knew that in ordinary life such solutions are rare. In the speeches of Jehovah he does not introduce an altogether new element, but emphasizes motifs already developed in the earlier dialogues. The effect of these speeches upon Job are threefold: (1) They rebuke his over-accentuated individualism.

(2) They reveal the fundamental contrast between the infinite G.o.d and finite man. In the light of this revelation Job plainly recognizes his presumption and folly in attempting, with his limited outlook, to comprehend, much less to criticise, the mighty ruler of all the universe.

(3) After Job had thus been led out of himself into personal companionship with G.o.d he was content to trust his all-wise guide, even though he recognized his own inability to fathom the mysteries of the universe or to solve the problem of innocent suffering. Thus the great contributions of the book of Job to the problem of suffering are: (1) A clear and scientific presentation of the problem; (2) a bold sweeping aside of the insufficient current theological explanations; (3) a vastly enlarged conception of Jehovah's character and rule; and (4) that att.i.tude of faith which comes from a personal experience of G.o.d and which trusts unreservedly, even though it cannot see or divine the reason why, and in that trust finds peace and joy.