Job is a unique pearl of Jewish heritage. Its original version did not include chapters 28, 32 to 37 (Elihu’s speeches) and 38 to 42:1-6 (God’s Replies from the Whirlwind). The final message of this original work is clear: the theodicy issue remains unsolved. Even a lengthy dialectic debate does not provide a satisfactory solution to it. Another wisdom book concedes its having arisen. The author of Ecclesiastes says: “…there are just men, to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous: I [say] that this is also vanity” [Ecc. 8:14-15].
Job’s original version was written by a learned and well travelled Diaspora Jew, who, in all probability, was not of priestly origin. Initially, it was circulated to a limited circle of liberal intellectuals. To save this work from oblivion (that is, destruction or suppression) members of this group wrote chapters 32 to 37 (Elihu’s speeches) and 38 to 42:1-6 (God’s Replies from the Whirlwind). Chapter 28 was included by error when the MT version was compiled for wider circulation.
In its final version, Job was included in the MT. Admirers of the Old Testament are fortunate to have it. The epilogue [42:7-end] assures them that honest questioning is preferable to abject hypocrisy.
To sum up, the author of the original version was a wunderkind. His poetic caliber remains unparalelled. He employed dialectic analysis long before it was adopted in the Gemara. It is believed that he became familiar with dialectics due to Greek influence. The splendour of his poetry manifests his genius. Judaism was enriched by the preservation of the book.1
This paper is dedicated to the memory of my Biblical Studies Master in secondary school, “Old Frank”, who taught all his pupils how to analyze the Bible and love it. My thanks are due to Professor E.L. Greenstein for his searching comments on a draft hereof. Al mistakes are, of course, mine. ↩︎