JOB
acquaintance
with
ttie
structure
of
Heb.
poetry,
and
the
desire
to
conform
to
Hellenic
standards,
etc.,
rather
than
to
variation
of
text.
This
version
therefore,
in
the
opinion
of
most
competent
judges,
is
of
little
use
for
the
restoration
of
the
text.
Here
and
there
it
suggests
a
better
reading,
e.g.
in
8"»
'latter
end'
for
'paths,'
but
in
the
main
the
Massoretic
text
is
greatly
to
be
preferred.
It
is
not
improbable,
however,
that
the
arrangement
of
the
latter
is
wrong
in
a
few
passages:
e.g.
in
ch.
31,
where
vv.^-"
form
a
more
fitting
close
than
yV.38-40_
(3)
Analysis.
—
The
book,
as
we
have
It,
is
a
poem
framed
in
prose,
with
bits
of
prose
interspersed.
The
prose
portions
are
as
follows:
the
introduction,
often
called
the
Prologue
(ch.
1
f.),
stating
the
problem,
'the
undeserved
suffering
of
a
good
man,'
giving
a
partial
solution,
and
bringing
on
the
scene
the
hero's
three
friends;
short
headings
(3'
4'
etc.);
a
supplementary
note
(31'»«);
a
brief
introduction
to
the
speeches
of
Elihu
(32'
-5);
and
the
sequel,
often
called
the
Epilogue
(42':").
The
poem
opens
with
a
monologue
in
which
Job
curses
the
day
of
his
birth
(ch.
3).
This
is
followed
by
a
series
of
three
dialogues
extending
over
chs.
4-28:
(i.)
4-14;
(u.)
15-21;
(iii.)
22-28.
The
three
friends
in
succession,
probably
in
order
of
seniority,
reason
with
Job,
all
from
the
generally
accepted
standpoint
that
suffering
is
a
sure
indication
of
sin.
As
the
discussion
proceeds
they
become
more
and
more
bitter,
until
the
most
moderate
and
dignified
of
them,
Eliphaz,
actually
taxes
Job
with
flagrant
iniquity
(22'-').
In
the
third
dialogue,
as
we
have
it,
one
of
the
speakers,
Zophar,
is
silent.
Job
replies
at
length
to
each
expostulation,
some-times
sinking
into
depression
on
the
verge
of
despair
(14'
-'2
etc.),
occasionally
rising
for
a
moment
or
two
into
confidence
(16"
19^-"),
but
throughout
maintaining
his
integrity,
and,
notwitlistandiiig
passionate
utterances
which
seem
near
akin
to
blasphemy
(lO"-"
16'-"),
never
wholly
losing
his
faith
in
God.
The
dialogues
are
followed
by
a
monologue
spoken
by
Job
(chs.
29-31),
consisting
of
a
vivid
retrospect
of
the
happy
past
(ch.
29),
a
dismal
picture
of
the
wretched
present
(ch.
30),
and
what
Marshall
calls
'Job's
oath
of
self-
vindication
'
—
an
emphatic
disavowal
of
definite
forms
of
transgression,
in
a
series
of
sentences
most
of
wMch
begin
with
'if,'
sometimes
followed
by
an
impre-cation
(ch.31).
The
succeeding
six
chapters
(32-37)
are
ascribed
to
a
new
character,
a
young
man,
EUhu
the
Buzite,
who
is
dissatisfiedjwith
both
Job
and
his
friends.
The
distinctive
note
of
his
argument
Is
the
stress
laid
on
the
thought
that
God
teaches
by
means
of
affliction;
in
other
words,
that
the
purpose,
or
at
least
one
main
purpose,
of
trial
is
discipline
(33>9-2«
36'»-
").
Elihu
then
drops
out
of
the
book,
and
the
remainder
of
the
poem
(chs.
38-42«)
Is
devoted
to
Jahweh's
answer
to
Job's
complaint,
calling
attention
to
the
Divine
power,
wisdom,
and
tenderness
revealed
in
creation,
in
the
control
of
natural
forces
and
phenomena,
in
the
life
of
birds
and
beasts,
and
in
the
working
of
Providence
in
human
history,
and
suggesting
that
He
who
could
do
all
this
might
surely"
be
trusted
to
care
for
His
servant;
and
Job's
penitent
retraction
of
his
'presumptuous
utterances.'
(4)
Integrity.
—
On
the
question
whether
the
book,
as
we
have
it,
is
a
single
whole
or
a
combination
of
two
or
more
parts,
there
is
a
general
agreement
among
scholars
in
favour
of
the
latter
alternative.
There
are
clear
indications
of
at
least
two
hands.
The
speeches
of
Elihu
(chs.
32-37)
are
ascribed
by
most
(not
by
Budde,
Cornjll,
Wildeboer,
Briggs,
and
a
few
others)
to
a
later
writer,
who
desired
to
supplement,
and
to
some
extent
correct,
the
work
of
his
predecessor.
The
chief
reasons
alleged
for
this
conclusion
are;
(1)
the
silence
about
Elihu
in
the
Epilogue.
(2)
The
fact
that
the
whole
section
can
be
removed
without
any
break
of
con-tinuity,
SI""-
linking
on
naturally
to
38'.
(3)
The
Aramaic
character
of
the
diction,
and
the
occurrence
of
words
and
phrases
not
found
elsewhere
in
the
poem.
(4)
Literary
inferiority.
(5)
Theological
diveraity,
the
conception
of
JOB
God
differing
from
what
is
met
with
in
the
rest
of
the
book
(Marshall,
Job
and
his
Friends,
p.
82fE.).
The
third
of
these
reasons
has
been
shown
to
be
incon-clusive.
The
language
of
Elihu
is
not
inconsistent
with
the
view
that
these
chapters
were
written
by
the
author
of
the
dialogues.
The
fourth
reason
is
not
without
weight,
but
it
must
be
allowed
that
there
are
some
very
fine
things
in
these
chaptera,
and
it
must
be
remembered
that
they
have
probably
been
handed
down
less
carefully
than
some
other
parts
of
the
book,
on
account
of
the
disfavour
with
which
some
of
the
ancient
Jews
regarded
Elihu
('
inspired
by
Satan'
—
Test,
of
Job,
ch.
41).
In
any
case,
Friedrich
Delitzsch
has
gone
too
far
in
describing
the
author
as
'a
fifth-rate
poet.'
The
remaining
three
reasons,
however,
seem
to
be
nearly
decisive.
The
fine
poem
in
ch.
28,
which
contrasts
the
success
of
man
in
finding
precious
ore
with
his
utter
failure
to
find
wisdom,
does
not
fit
in
with
the
context,
and
is
therefore
regarded
by
many
as
an
addition.
The
striking,
but
rather
turgid,
descriptions
of
the
hippo-potamus
and
the
crocodile
in
chs.
40.
41
are
also
held
by
many
to
be
an
interpolation.
Some
question
the
verses
about
the
ostrich
(39'=-").
The
Prologue
and
Epilogue
are
considered
by
some
to
be
the
reUcs
of
an
earlier
work
in
prose.
A
few
scholars
go
much
further
in
critical
analysis.
Bickell,
for
instance,
in
his
search
after
the
original
text,'
expunges
not
only
the
speeches
of
Elihu
and
the
Prologue
and
Epilogue,
but
also
the
whole
of
the
speeches
of
Jahweh,
and
many
smaller
portions.
Cheyne
(in
EBi)
seems
to
find
four
main
elements
in
the
book,
as
we
have
it,
'
which
has
grown,
not
been
made':
(1)
the
Prologue
and
the
Epilogue;
(2)
the
dialogue;
(3)
the
speeches;of
Jahweh;
(4)
thespeeches
of
EUhu.
Marshall
(in
Com.),
on
the
ground
that
there
are
different
strata
of
theological
behef
,
also
finds
four
elements,
but
only
in
part
the
same.
(1)
The
dialogues
up
to
27^,
with
the
Epilogue,
and
part
of
the
Prologue;
(2)
chs.
28—31,
and
the
speeches
of
Jahweh;
(3)
the
speeches
of
Elihu;
(4)
the
references
to
the
heavenly
council
in
chs.
1
and
2.
(5)
Nature
of
the
Book.
—
The
class
of
Heb.
literature
to
which
the
Book
of
Job
belongs
is
clearly
the
Chokhmah
or
Wisdom
group,
the
other
representatives
of
which
are
Pr.,
Ec,
and
Sir.
—
the
group
which
deals
with
questions
of
practical
ethics,
reUgious
philosophy,
and
speculation.
The
book
is
mainly
—
^not
entirely,
as
one
of
the
Rabbis
thought
(Ba6a
bathra,
15a)
—
a
work
of
imagination,
but,
in
the
judgment
of
most,
with
a
tradi-tional
nucleus,
the
extent
of
which,
however,
is
uncertain,
as
there
are
features
in
both
the
Prologue
and
the
Epi-logue
which
suggest
Uterary
invention:
e.g.,
the
recur-rence
of
the
words
'
I
only
am
escaped
alone
to
tell
thee'
(lis.
16.
17.
i9)_
the
use
of
the
numbers
3
(l^-
"
2"
42'=)
and
7
(l^'-
42«-
'=),
and
the
doubling
of
Job's
possessions
(42'2).
The
poem,
as
handed
down
to
us,
can
hardly
be
described
in
modem
terms.
It
contains
lyrical
elements,
but
could
not
appropriately
be
designated
lyrical.
It
has
more
than
one
dramatic
feature,
but
is
not
really
a
drama.
It
reminds
one
of
the
epos,
but
is
not
an
epic.
It
is
didactic,
but,
as
Baudissin
has
observed,
soars
high
above
a
mere
didactic
poem.
It
is
emphatically
sui
generis.
It
stands
absolutely
alone,
not
merely
in
the
literature
of
Israel,
but
in
the
literature
of
the
world.
(6)
Poetic
Form.
—
The
Austrian
scholar
Bickell,
who
has
been
followed
by
Duhm,
and
in
England
by
Dillon,
has
tried
to
show
that
the
poem
was
written
throughout
in
quatrains,
but
the
textual
havoc
wrought
in
the
attempt
seems
to
prove
clearly
that
he
is,
in
part
at
least,
on
the
vraong
track.
Very
few
critics
accept
the
theory.
The
only
thing
that
seems
to
be
certain
about
the
poetic
method
of
the
writer
or
vmters
is
the
use
through-out
of
the
paraUeUsm
of
members,
which
has
long
been
known
as
the
leading
feature
of
ancient
Oriental
poetry.
A
verse
usually
consists
of
two
lines
or
members,
but
there
are
many
instances
where
there
are
three
(3*ff-
«),
and
one
at
least
where
there
is
only
one
(14<).
More
than
eight
hundred
out
of
about
a
thousand
verses,
according
to
Ley,
consist
of
two
lines,
each
of
which
has
three
independent
words.
But
here
again
