Between Heaven and Hell
A Series on the Book of Job
There are some things in life so rich that to find it begins a process of discovery.
Surprise after surprise. And delight.
There is at least one book in the Bible that qualifies on all accounts. This is the
Book of Job. Of course most of us know the outline: A good man loses everything
and in the end God restores his fortunes as a reward for his patient endurance and
tenacious faith. But that is a half-truth. The book is much more interesting than a
simple morality tale. My goal in this sermon is to introduce the ‘book’ beyond the
‘book’ and possibly to interest you enough to read it (again?).
Great Literature
The Book of Job is widely accepted as a great work of literature. I think it should
be counted with the greatest accomplishments of humanity: Shakespeare’s Hamlet
and Dante’s trilogy. Certainly it belo ngs when you think about the next level of the
pantheon: Homer, Chaucer, Cervantes, Milton, and Tolstoy. I try to read what has
been identified as the Great Books of the Western Tradition where it has a place.
It is wisdom literature. In the Bible think in terms of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and
Song of Songs. We don’t know the author but I think it was probably a courtier: an
educated hanger on in aristocratic circles. Who else had the education, time, and
knowledge of the world to write such as masterpiece? This was the group that produced most of the wisdom literature which of course was not limited to Israel but
included Egypt and across the Middle East.
The motif of a religious hero who suffered unjustly is found in ancient Assyrian and
Babylonian literature. It seems likely that a story, in oral form circulated before Job
was written. While this is lost, it formed the foundation of the book. Job was set in
patriarchal times before Moses and the covenant relationship with God. This is
seen even in the names of God: El and Shaddai, not Yahweh. This gives a more
universal perspective, as it were the struggle of every human to find some meaning
before God.
If you have a look at Job in the pew Bibles you will see that there is a brief prose
introduction and ending. The central chapters are set out differently, more like the
psalms. This indicates Hebrew poetry. English poetry is distinguished from prose
by rhythm and to a lesser extent rhyme. Most of Shakespeare is in iambic pentameter weak-strong with 5 stresses in the line: To be or not to be, etc. There are other
poetic conventions but Hebrew poetry is marked by a repetition of ideas, which interestingly translates well. However there are interesting word plays which don’t
translate (yam sea and yom day in 3.8).
There is a poetic format to Job 1.21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and
naked I shall return there.” This plays on a theme that appears repetitive but twists
it to an image of birth and death – so creates ambiguity and a double entendre.
St Margaret’s News
9
February 2015