The Book of Job

Question: Which of the sapiental (Wisdom) books is your favourite? What do you learn from reading it?

The Book of Job has been described as a poetic book, but to me it is a drama, addressing the issue of theodicy, that is, how Godde can be understood as just, in view of suffering, particularly innocent, or unmerited, suffering. 

The book has a definite structure, consisting of a prose prologue, Job's opening monologue, three cycles of dialogue with his three friends, a Hymn to Wisdom, Job's closing monologue, Elihu's speeches, two speeches by Godde, and a prose epilogue. It has been suggested that the Hymn to Wisdom and Elihu's speeches are later additions, but given that the book belongs to the genre of wisdom literature, which treat of the way of wisdom (which is both the knowledge gained by a particular way of thinking, and by the gift of Godde, and the ability to apply that in practical terms) they are likely I think to be part of the original text.

I like that this book addresses a particular common issue, and is an attempt to reconcile that with a received concept of Godde. I like that, although Satan is given permission to test Job, it is not Job who is, effectively, on trial, but Godde, and I respect the intellectual endeavour that this book represents - and the fact that it does not come up with easy answers.

The Hymn to Wisdom in Chapter 28 opens with the question of where Wisdom shall be found, and goes on to list the places and where it shall or can not be found 'because only Godde understands the way of it, and s/he knows the place thereof' (v.23). And the well known resolution of this question comes in verse 28: 'Behold, the reverence of Godde, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding' (formerly translated as: 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' - fear being in the sense of awe/reverence).

The Hymn reminds us of the complexities of Creation, known fully only to Godde - and in this way it prefigures Godde's own response to Job (chapters 38-41).

That response to Job's anger and confusion comes 'out of the whirlwind', and it poses yet more questions, this time of Job himself, representing all of us: 'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth'? and so on. Job, poor man, is well put in his place, and yet not actually answered. The question is left open, and the book as a whole is a challenge to the reader/listener to work towards their own understanding. And I'd so much rather be left with questions to work through than be told what I should/must accept - but then my heart is that of a non-conformist, dissenting Protestant!