Language:
English
Year of publication:
2019
Titel der Quelle:
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Angaben zur Quelle:
43,3 (2019) 359-370
Keywords:
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Theodicy Biblical teaching
Abstract:
A case is made for the sophistication of the prose of the Job Prologue. The issue of theodicy in Job is then re-investigated by looking at paratactic elements in the Divine Wager. Three aspects of the Divine wager are probed: (1) Use of Virtual Quotations; (2) The demands on credulity of a "Tall Tale", where one would have it that the system of retributive justice be suspended just so that the suffering of one extra-ordinary individual need not reflect on his punishment due to sin; and (3) Prophetic Discernment: the spectre of a false vision report where the heavenly council scene is a canard. It is concluded that the real issue in Job is not theodicy per se but the folly of raging against God so as to absolve oneself of sin (Prov. 19:3). Thus, Job and the Friends represent a composite portrait of human folly in the manner of the Wisdom Literature. Job is linked to the deterioration of the fool depicted in Proverbs.
DOI:
10.1177/0309089217750032
URL:
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