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Job

Job. A theodicy. The Purpose of the Book of Job. A challenge to traditional views of God Old presumptions have lost authority-- Deuteronomistic redactors attributed Israel’s fall and Judah’s collapse to their failure to obey Yahweh’s commands. Sumerian cuneiform variation of the story of Job.

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Job

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  1. Job A theodicy

  2. The Purpose of the Book of Job A challenge to traditional views of God Old presumptions have lost authority--Deuteronomistic redactors attributed Israel’s fall and Judah’s collapse to their failure to obey Yahweh’s commands

  3. Sumerian cuneiform variation of the story of Job Theodicy A literary attempt to reconcile beliefs about divine goodness with the prevalence of evil

  4. A Perplexing Theme Egyptian, Babylonian, and Israelite literature all explored the perplexing theme of the concept of a good God and the prevalence of unmerited human pain.

  5. Who is Job? Job is not an Israelite Written by an anonymous author after exile The first to mention Job is Ezekiel [during Babylonian exile], who calls him an ‘ancient figure’; The author makes him a native of Uz who lived long before Israel

  6. Opening scene The Book of Job opens in the Heavenly Court Yahweh points out what a devoted person Job is One of Yahweh’s “sons of God” or divine beings suggests if Job suffered, he would not be so loyal

  7. The satan • Original Hebrew texts use the article “the” before satan • Later translations use an upper case “S” as if it is a name of a specific entity • The satan takes on the negative qualities once attributed to Yahweh • It is the satan’s task to be an adversary to humans • It is the tester of humanity • His role is to carry out Yahweh’s orders • In the Hebrew scriptures, satan has no independence from God • Hebrew word means ‘opposer’ or adversary’ • Satan’s adversarial relationship is with humanity, not Yahweh

  8. Yahweh Allows Job’s Suffering Job is afflicted by all maladies and losses Job tells God he would rather be in pre-creation, in the chaos of “Leviathan”

  9. Leviathan Mythical dragon of chaos, the embodiment of darkness and disorder that Yahweh subdued at creation. Later, Yahweh is proud to possess the Leviathan

  10. Leviathan In Mesopotamian literature, Leviathan is the primal monster of chaos

  11. The Friends of Job Eliphaz Bildad Zophar They point out that although Job appears good, he must have sinned against God.

  12. Classic Problem for Post Exile Israel The human-divine relationship is not simple It is not simply if one follows the Torah, one will be rewarded. Job is an example of an upright man who suffers nevertheless

  13. Attempt to Understand The Book of Job is a more complex theology The Book of Job attempts to understand the role of evil in the world

  14. Elihu Elihu is the voice of redactors who are disturbed by Job’s evolving understanding of God Elihupresumes to speak on behalf of God His words are ultimately empty of meaning, he is just repeating the old arguments

  15. God Interrupts In a whirlwind, God gives two speeches They emphasize the enormous distance between divinity and humanity Job is reduced to silence God introduced Behemoth

  16. Behemoth A creature so powerful, so grotesque, and removed from humanity, that it causes Job to realize the world may not be designed primarily for human welfare

  17. Yahweh reveals Yahweh reveals himself far more concerned with the complex phenomena of the universe he has created than resolving issues of good and evil that trouble humans. Yahweh discloses the divine paradox that encompasses polar opposites of light and dark

  18. Request from Yahweh Yahweh asks Job to intercede for his three friends While they have more conventional ideas of God, they have missed the point: THE DISPARITY BETWEEN STANDARD NOTIONS OF DIVINE JUSTICE AND THE FACTS OF REAL LIFE, WHERE PEOPLE DO NOT ALWAYS RECEIVE WHAT THEY ETHICALLY DESERVE

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