Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bill Rea <cctr114 AT it.canterbury.ac.nz>]

Reggie wrote:-

>RWP: It is exactly "just how little he understood of YHWH," coupled with the 
>conventional widsom dispensed by the friends (who themselves understand much 
>less of YHWH than they realize) that sparked Job's grief-unto-despair.  What 
>Job finally does in Chapter 42, perhaps, is to *rest* -- something he has 
>not 
>done for the rest of the book.

This is an excellent point. In the few discussions of Job I've had in
study groups several times I've tried to make the point that it is
possible that Job's speeches are an over-reaction to the persistant
accusation of personal wickedness leveled at him by his friends.
I don't think I've gotten anyone to buy into that argument yet.
But if true then YHWH's speeches give him reason to rest from his
labour of words.

>     Although it could be that Job *cannot* speak, as you suggest, the
>alternative is that he *doesn't have to* -- he has been freed from the
>treadmill of his own words.

I think it's clear he can speak -- 42:2-6 are his words. I wasn't
intending to say he couldn't, just that given the opportunity he
has nothing to say.
 
Bill Rea, Information Technology Dept., Canterbury  University  \_ 
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