Reading Job: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Reading the Old Testament | RtOT)
Overview
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” It’s a question that we all struggle with at some point in our lives—and the central issue in the book of Job. James Crenshaw has devoted his life to studying the disturbing matter of God’s sometimes seeming lack of justice. Few individuals read the book of Job and remain unmoved. If they seek answers, they likely will be disappointed. Many find the depiction of God troubling. However, if God were merely to meet our expectations, the Creator would would be nothing more than our own projections into the heavens. Crenshaw says that the ancient poet serves readers best by starkly portraying the brutal reality that life and this world are not fair—and that justice is a human project.
Top Highlights
“His name, attested from early times both in Egypt and in Mesopotamia, can mean ‘Where is the (divine) father?’ and ‘Inveterate Foe/Hated One.’” (Page 42)
“Instead of using that verb to soften the shock, he opts for qalal, surprisingly so, for his emotional state would have been better served by a stronger verb for curse such as ʾarur. Why the verb qalal? Perhaps to indicate the lowest possible esteem, a lightness bordering on nothingness. Job wants the day of his birth to vanish, floating into the desert like air itself.” (Page 49)
“The three references to night and four to day add up to seven, a perfect number, according to ancient reckoning. The poet thus has Job curse his conception and birth as fully as if he had used an acrostic, an alphabetic poem amounting to our ‘From A to Z.’” (Page 49)
“Righteousness, not patience, is the virtue for which Job was famous, according to Ezekiel” (Page 6)
“Eliphaz now paints a rosy picture of the state of one who accepts divine correction” (Page 64)
- Title: Reading Job: A Literary and Theological Commentary
- Author: James L. Crenshaw
- Series: Reading the Old Testament Series
- Publisher: Smyth & Helwys
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. Job › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9781573125741, 1573125741
- Resource ID: LLS:ROT18JOB
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:46:59Z