Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] barak (bless? curse?) in the Book of Job

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
  • To: "b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] barak (bless? curse?) in the Book of Job
  • Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:36:13 -0600

John,

You write:

I'm not quite following what you are saying. What did Satan mean by "to
your face"?


The Hebrew words "if not" are part of an idiomatic development from a oath formula to the idea of "surely." The idea is, "May God do so-and-so to me if he does not . . . ." So Satan was saying that Job would surely "bless" God to his face. This is the tip off that the words have been adjusted by the scribes to avoid the offensive thought of "cursing" God. But the rewrite with "bless" is so obvious that readers would know the change was made for reverential reasons. That is why the scribes could afford to make such a change; it is so obviously a doctoring.
The idea of blessing someone to their face seems pretty meaningless. If one blessed
them behind their back, it would still be a blessing and in that sense would not differ
much from blessing them to their face. Usually the temptation is to speak better of
someone in their presence than away from them, so blessing God to his face seems
"easier" than blessing him behind his back. On the other hand, there are
plenty of people who might curse someone behind their back but would not curse them to
their face. If you curse someone to their face, you are really angry and rejecting.
Just as improbable as Job's wife telling Job to bless God and die is the idea of
blessing here.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page