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  • From: George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>
  • To: B-HEBREW <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Job 19:25
  • Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 10:29:01 +1000


Robert Vining wrote:

> [...] It is to the credit of Tanakh canonizers that they had the integrity
> and
> courage to include writings expressing diverse and opposing views about
> God and His ways with mankind.

I don't think that's quite the way Job looks at God. The reader knows that
Yahweh is not
Job's enemy - rather, its the Satan who is Job's enemy. Job, though, has no
idea about
this. He thinks that Yahweh is behind all of his calamity and therefore
Yahweh is the one
to be directly blamed. Job has no clue that the Satan has brought about his
predicament
and that Yahweh is actually on Job's side. In fact, during the heavenly court
scene,
Yahweh is clearly Job's defending lawyer - his go'el - who wants to vindicate
Job before
the Satan.

From Job's perspective, though, his worldview is turned on its head. Whereas
he knew
Yahweh to have been a gracious and just deity, it now looks like he's a
Jeckyll-and-Hyde
type of deity. Job thought he had a go'el (a vindicator, defender) in the
heavens, but it
now looks like he doesn't. He wishes there were someone up there who could
help him. Job
doesn't know that Yahweh is actually proving and vindicating Job before the
Satan's
accusations.

Job's statement, "I know my vindicator lives," is not a statement against
Yahweh and for
someone else. It's actually a statement expressing Job's total confusion in
the
cirumstances. Job knows that Yahweh is his vindicator, but he just cannot for
the life of
him work out why Yahweh is now his enemy. The reader, at this point, would
like to call
out to Job and let him in on the celestial dealings between Yahweh and the
Satan, but the
reader does not have that benefit. Job must remain in his confused state,
knowing that
Yahweh was his go'el in the past, but now facing Yahweh like an enemy. Is
Yahweh his
go'el, or is someone else? Job just wants someone to be his go'el in order
prove his case.
Job knows that he had done nothing to deserve his calamity and he knows that
Yahweh is his
just go'el. That is why he cannot figure out why Yahweh would bring this
calamity on him.
Job is mortal and doesn't know the full story. To him, Yahweh has suddenly
become an
enemy, making him question all his held beliefs.

Yet, Job knows that despite Yahweh's seeming enmity towards him, Yahweh is
still his
vindicator, even if he can't work out what's happening and why. That's why at
the end of
the book, Job turns back and realises just how powerful Yahweh is. Job does
not need to
know why his predicament happened - all he needs to know is that Yahweh is
powerful enough
to deal with and contain the situation. Yahweh is still Job's vindicator,
even though it
didn't look like it and Job couldn't work out what was going on. The reader
can now admire
Job for maintaining that Yahweh was his vindicator when Job had only limited
insight into
his predicament. The reader is then called upon to imitate Job's response in
similar
predicaments.


Regards.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tel Dan Inscription Website is at
http://members.xoom.com/gathas/teldan.htm
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::





  • Job 19:25, Robert Vining, 08/31/1999
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Re: Job 19:25, George Athas, 08/31/1999

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