Redefining Job and the Conundrum of Suffering

Victoria Adams

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781725262447, 9781725262454
• eBook ISBN: 9781725262461
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

As a species, we are storytellers. Our best stories, those that endure for generations, are stories of trials and suffering and of surmounting the challenges set before us. The biblical Job is such a story, one that has become encrusted with centuries of interpretations. Redefining Job and the Conundrum of Suffering sets out to retell the story, to make "once upon a time" have meaning for us today.The best way to break old patterns is to start from scratch. Redefining Job dissects the story, the history of interpretations, and the history of how humanity has dealt with suffering. As the story is rebuilt with different insights gained from research in biblical studies, humanities, and science, the message can be viewed in a fresh light. The author of Job lived at a time when knowledge was expanding and our perception of our place in the universe was changing. From this perspective, Job becomes a hero. No longer patiently waiting for some ambiguous answer, he is demanding something more of his Maker. "Before I heard, but now I see" becomes an affirmation that he grasped a new path to discovering why we suffer and how we should respond.

Chapter 1

Who, What, Where?

Does it matter who the characters portrayed in the book of Job were, where they lived, or when they lived, or if they lived at all? Part of the reason that the book has such lasting power is that the themes within it are universal and timeless. Our species tends to experience curiosity, anger, or concern regarding the presence of evil and undeserved suffering. Some individuals ponder the question of whether there is Someone out there who cares and can do something to help those who suffer. Nailing down every detail of the text to provide understanding of what the text is saying is not entirely necessary. However, placing the story and the characters in a historical context can help reveal the poet’s ultimate message and give depth and lasting meaning to the words.

Knowing something about the times in which the characters lived, where they lived, and what type of culture they lived in, that is, their historical context, can bring clarity to the imagery used by the author. Knowing the sources or background of the book can determine if the text is a parable or if it is a piece of history recounted for edification. The development of the characters within a story and how each one changes helps define what the author is most interested in saying.

Chart 1: : Relevant Genealogy

Chart 2: Scripture Key to Relevant Genealogy

Verse Reference	Generation
Gen 5:32	Shem, Ham
Gen 10:6; 10:22	Aram, Arpachshad, Cush
Gen 10:7–8, 23–24	Uz, Shelah, Seba, Nimrod, Ramaah
Gen 10:7; 11:14	Eber, Sheba, Dedan
Gen 10:25	Joktan, Peleg
Gen 10:26, 29; 11:18	Jobab, Sheba, Havilah, Reu
Gen 11:22	Nahor
Gen 11:24	Terah
Gen 11:26, 29; 16:1; 25:1	Abram, Sarai, Hagar, Keturah, Nahor, Milcah
Gen 16:11; 20–22; 25:4	Isaac, Rebekah, Ismael, Midian, Shuah, Uz, Buz, Bethuel
Gen 22:23; 25:13–16, 24–26; 1 Chr 1:32	Jacob, Esau, Tema, Sheba (two different ancestors), Rebekah (Isaac’s wife)
Gen 35:22–26; 36:10–11	Benjamin, Gad, Judah, Issachar, Eliphaz, Teman
Gen 46:12, 21	Naaman, Perez, Iob (Yob)
Gen 36:26; 46:12	Hezron, Dishon
1 Chr 1:42; Matt 1:3	Ram, Uz
Gen 36:32–33 (see also 46:21)	Bela
Gen 36:33	Jobab
Gen 36:34	Husham

The charts are not comprehensive. The information provided is a summary of individuals key to the story of Job as well as more familiar names from biblical history to provide a sense of contemporaries. There is no attempt to set these individuals within a specific time frame. Much of biblical literature uses symbols and representations that would have been familiar to the audience. Knowing something about these images and symbols can contribute to understanding the story and the message. Whether the core story is history or legend, the men described within the book of Job represented tribal families. Their heritage should be evident somewhere in the literature of the people who recorded and preserved the tale. One of the few things commentators throughout the ages agree on is that the choice of characters within the book is part of the message the book teaches.

Map 1

Map 2

As scholars reconstruct the history of the Middle East, the geographic boundaries of the tribes and nations depicted in Scripture are better understood. Such research has also led to unconfirmed, and sometimes contentious, speculation.

There is a plethora of historical responses defining each of the characters and locations described within the book. Each theory has its ardent supporters. Historical and scriptural research pursued in the past few centuries has helped to provide clarity and context. The purpose here is to set the stage of the tale to provide better understanding of the tools the author used to convey the message.

There was a man in the land of Uz called Job.

The name “Uz” frequently appears in Scripture. Chart 1 shows several candidates who may have been the forefather of a tribal group called Uz. First, there is the firstborn of Aram, a son of Shem. Uz is also the brother of Buz, a nephew of Abraham and an ancestor of another of Job’s visitors, Elihu. Uz is a name in the genealogy of Edom (Esau). Both the descendant of Shem and Esau are mentioned again in 1 Chronicles 1:17, 42. In the case of the Edomites, a man named Uz appears in the lineage of kings or chiefs. Jeremiah names Uz as a target of God’s wrath (Jer 25:20) and as a daughter of Edom whose sins will be exposed (Lam 4:21). From the...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• List of Maps and Charts
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1: Who, What, Where?
• Chapter 2: A Bit of Exegesis
• Chapter 3: The Language, the Author, the Date
• Chapter 4: What Happened
• Chapter 5: Building a Toolbox
• Chapter 6: The Study of Why
• Chapter 7: The Pillars of Early Christian Thought
• Chapter 8: Philosophy or Homily?
• Chapter 9: The Conservative Jewish Philosophers
• Chapter 10: The Aristotelians
• Chapter 11: The Dawn of Religion, Preliterate, and Ancient Faiths
• Chapter 12: Suffering in the Far East
• Chapter 13: Suffering in the Ancient Near East
• Chapter 14: Ayyub—The Prophet of Patience
• Chapter 15: Is Job Really about Theodicy?
• Chapter 16: God on Trial
• Chapter 17: When It Gets Real
• Chapter 18: Can Job Be Understood through Comic Vision?
• Chapter 19: Suffering in Literature
• Chapter 20: The Gordian Knot
• Chapter 21: The View from the Author’s Window
• Chapter 22: Consider the Measure of the Earth
• Chapter 23: Consider Nature
• Chapter 24: Consider Leviathan and Behemoth
• Chapter 25: Before I Heard, But Now I See
• Bibliography