Finding Myth and History in the Bible - Scholarship, Scholars and Errors - Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spano
“To Each His Own Job.” On Job 42:1-6
Finding Myth and History in the Bible - Scholarship, Scholars and Errors - Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spano
Thomas Bolin [+]
St. Norbert College
Thomas M. Bolin is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI. He works in the areas of ancient Israelite history and wisdom literature.
Description
This essay re-examines the philological and exegetical issues surrounding Job's final speech in 42:1-6 and in particular his final clause in verse 6. While some modern commentators have argued that Job's final statement is an act of defiance, such a claim is more likely an anachronistic attribution of individualism to Job. Looking at the transition between the speeches of Yahweh and the epilogue, the article revives the argument of Richard Simon that Job's final speech is a later insertion.