What do you think?
Rate this book
Bible #18
Job (Bible #18), ESV
The theme of The Book of Job is nothing less than human suffering and the transcendence of it: it pulses with moral energy, outrage, and spiritual insight.
Now, The Book of Job has been rendered into English by the eminent translator and scholar Stephen Mitchell, whose versions of Rilke, Israeli poetry, and the Tao Te Ching have been widely praised. This is the first time ever that the Hebrew verse of Job has been translated into verse in any language, ancient or modern, and the result is a triumph.
First published January 1, 601
About the author
Anonymous
791k books3,257 followersBooks can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 405 reviews
August 26, 2017
کتاب ایّوب نقطه ى عطفى است در عهد عتيق: تا پيش از اين، خداوند فرمانبری را به نعمات دنیوی پاداش می داد و نافرمانی را با مصائب دنیوی مجازات می کرد. در نتیجه هر کس به مصیبتی دچار شود بی شک گناهی کرده که مستوجب این عذاب شده. اما در اين کتاب به نظر می رسد چشم يهوديان باز شده است: چه بسيار نا به كاران سعادتمند، و چه فراوان نیکوکاران تيره بخت.
ايوب مردى است خداترس، كسى كه كمترين خدشه اى به تقوايش نمى توان كرد؛ اما به ناگاه مصائب از همه جا بر سرش جارى مى شوند. دوستانش نزدش مى آيند و به پيروى از كتاب هاى پيشين عهد عتيق، او را متهم مى كنند كه حتماً گناه بزرگى مرتكب شده، كه اين چنين عذاب سختى بر او نازل شده. اما ايوب، وامانده و حيران مى گويد من در پيشگاه خدا كمترين گناهى مرتكب نشدم، و نمى دانم دليل اين بدبختى چيست. بيشتر حجم كتاب شرح اين گفتگو است، و در نهايت خداوند ظاهر مى شود و با خشم به ايوب مى گويد: "تو حق ندارى از كارهاى من ايراد بگيرى، چرا كه من قادرم و تو نيستى."
هر چند اين كتاب پاسخى به اين شبهه (كه چرا نيكان در رنجند و بدان در تنعم) نمى دهد، اما مشخصاً نشان مى دهد كه ذهن يهوديان به اين شبهه مشغول بوده است، و در كتاب هاى بعدى عهد عتيق كم كم مفهوم عدالت اخروى براى جبران بى عدالتى دنيوى شكل مى گيرد: كم كم بهشت و دوزخ به عهد عتيق راه مى يابند.
ايوب مردى است خداترس، كسى كه كمترين خدشه اى به تقوايش نمى توان كرد؛ اما به ناگاه مصائب از همه جا بر سرش جارى مى شوند. دوستانش نزدش مى آيند و به پيروى از كتاب هاى پيشين عهد عتيق، او را متهم مى كنند كه حتماً گناه بزرگى مرتكب شده، كه اين چنين عذاب سختى بر او نازل شده. اما ايوب، وامانده و حيران مى گويد من در پيشگاه خدا كمترين گناهى مرتكب نشدم، و نمى دانم دليل اين بدبختى چيست. بيشتر حجم كتاب شرح اين گفتگو است، و در نهايت خداوند ظاهر مى شود و با خشم به ايوب مى گويد: "تو حق ندارى از كارهاى من ايراد بگيرى، چرا كه من قادرم و تو نيستى."
هر چند اين كتاب پاسخى به اين شبهه (كه چرا نيكان در رنجند و بدان در تنعم) نمى دهد، اما مشخصاً نشان مى دهد كه ذهن يهوديان به اين شبهه مشغول بوده است، و در كتاب هاى بعدى عهد عتيق كم كم مفهوم عدالت اخروى براى جبران بى عدالتى دنيوى شكل مى گيرد: كم كم بهشت و دوزخ به عهد عتيق راه مى يابند.
Read
June 27, 2018God's Hand is with Argentina, according to Messi, and thus god made him suffer brutally before seeing the team through to the round of 16.
Of all the things the biblical god is and isn't, this sounds most plausible to me: a football fan, namely a fan of the Argentinan national team. Suffering from a grandiosity complex, utterly macho and homophobic, with a strange sense of entitlement and a belief in their right to divine intervention, they are godlike, created in the image of their football gods. And Messi(as), successor of Maradona, was just about to be publicly crucified when he was miraculously saved by the grace of football.
As for me, football is my only religion, but I had managed to read the whole bible before I finally understood the offside rule. I wonder when enlightenment will hit me on the meaning of VAR.
Of all the things the biblical god is and isn't, this sounds most plausible to me: a football fan, namely a fan of the Argentinan national team. Suffering from a grandiosity complex, utterly macho and homophobic, with a strange sense of entitlement and a belief in their right to divine intervention, they are godlike, created in the image of their football gods. And Messi(as), successor of Maradona, was just about to be publicly crucified when he was miraculously saved by the grace of football.
As for me, football is my only religion, but I had managed to read the whole bible before I finally understood the offside rule. I wonder when enlightenment will hit me on the meaning of VAR.
January 10, 2020
"Doesn't the mind understand
as simply as the tongue tastes?"
- Job
Loved Mitchell's powerful translation. Sometimes, I'm not exactly sure what method Mitchell uses to translate/interpret, but it might just be magic. The poetry of Job flowed like blood and pounded like the waves. It burned like fire. I'll write more tomorrow when I have time and the weight of justice and the eyes of God are a bit kinder.
as simply as the tongue tastes?"
- Job
Loved Mitchell's powerful translation. Sometimes, I'm not exactly sure what method Mitchell uses to translate/interpret, but it might just be magic. The poetry of Job flowed like blood and pounded like the waves. It burned like fire. I'll write more tomorrow when I have time and the weight of justice and the eyes of God are a bit kinder.
February 18, 2009
I grew up on Grand Manan Island in the 1990s, and the climate of the schools and churches was still like the 1950s. We prayed and got the daily Bible story in class up until grade five. I had a Baptist upbringing, and I remember being taught that the Bible really happened, that evolution had been disproved, and the like.
It's not that my parents were particularly religious; they just got caught up in the lot after they had their wedding there. My wife, who was raised United, tells me that for her, Sunday school was just cake and Kool-Aid and songs about mustard seeds; for me, it was something a bit different. It was a series of terrifying stories about so-and-so being raped and so-and-so being murdered. By 1997, a year before we moved to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, on the mainland, my parents had left the church. They wanted to have champagne on their anniversary, and the pastor said, "No. We don't drink at this church"
"But, Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine!," they protested.
"That was non-alcoholic wine," he responded, putting the last nail into that particular coffin with a real fervor.
And so, we secularized. My mother often lamented the leave, saying that we needed God in our family again, but it just never gelled, never took shape. We were all so different. My three younger brothers probably don't think of the Bible in the same way as I do, and have certainly been spared both the good and the bad of embarking on a lifelong spiritual quest; I don't think that "spiritual" is really a word pertaining to any of them, as of now, anyway.
I did remember a few things from Sunday school, but oddly enough, the book that I took the most out of was Job. First, it was the book with the Behemoth and the Leviathan, and I was way into dinosaurs, as I still am. One of my biggest questions was as to why there were no dinosaurs in the Bible, and I got a variety of answers, none of which were satisfactory, ranging from, "The dinosaurs were failures and God didn't put them on the ark and they weren't worth mentioning" to "There never were any dinosaurs, and the fossils were put in the rocks to test our faith"—special thanks to Mrs. Ingersoll, the owner of a Christian bookstore, for that one. I am now aware of Bill Hicks's answer to this nugget: "Yeah, well, I think God put you on earth to test my faith, buddy."
Then one day I got the good news. My mom's creationist friend Norman—who was cool, as creationists go, having had sat in the footprint of a Tyrannosaur as a child—informed me that, not only had dinosaurs existed, but that they were in the Bible, specific kinds were in the Bible. The Diplodocus, a long-necked giant, was called the Behemoth—"He moveth his tail like a cedar," informs the King James Version. The Mosasaurus, a sea monster, was called Leviathan—the same one that Hobbes would later refer to. Furthermore, this was proof that man and dinosaur coexisted. To this day, I picture these mythical beasts as Diplodocus and Mosasaurus, despite knowing that this is a bunch of hooey. Dinosaurs predated man by, at very least, 64 million years—unless, of course, you're talking about avian dinosaurs, or as we call them, pigeons, crows, cassowaries, and chickens: birds.
At the time, though—wow. I wanted to know more about this Job fellow. So when it came to the class on the book, I was all ears. One particular image stuck with me: that Job scraped at his boils with broken pottery. And, sure enough, the verse was intact in Mitchell's translation
Some things, though, had changed—apparently, the word "tail" here is a euphemism for genitalia:
Mitchell's translation, though, gets Job very right on several accounts, though.
The first is that reading this biblical work in the form of poetry is like seeing it for the first time. There are few if any such renditions of books in the biblical canon, even today, whereas poetic versions of the Koran and Bhagavad Gita abound. If the Bible is outmoded as a source of literal truth, it's certainly not outmoded as a source of wisdom, and its violent, quirky, and entertaining stories are meant to be taken metaphorically, as stories on the nature of faith, or, in Job's case, suffering. I see from browsing Amazon that he has also translated Genesis and the Gospels, and I'll look those up. But what I'd like to see is the whole Bible—or, at least, the Tanakh—rendered Iliad-&-Odyssey style for use as literature in classrooms. It's time.
Secondly it addresses the problem of evil well in its introduction. While "The Unnamed" of Mitchell's Job is as ridiculous as his OT counterpart, placing Job's well-being into the hands of the Accusing Angel on a sort of bet, the introduction shows that all that we see as evil is not necessarily so. We points out that we, like Isaiah, have a tendency to look at nature "red of tooth and claw" and condemn it as violent or evil (hence Isaiah's prophecy of the lion and the lamb). Of course, suffering and pain to one being is joy to another, and the cycle of life may require suffering. Listing carrion feeders and the like as evidence, Mitchell postulates:
Ultimately my favorite quote comes from the very end of Job:
It's not that my parents were particularly religious; they just got caught up in the lot after they had their wedding there. My wife, who was raised United, tells me that for her, Sunday school was just cake and Kool-Aid and songs about mustard seeds; for me, it was something a bit different. It was a series of terrifying stories about so-and-so being raped and so-and-so being murdered. By 1997, a year before we moved to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, on the mainland, my parents had left the church. They wanted to have champagne on their anniversary, and the pastor said, "No. We don't drink at this church"
"But, Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine!," they protested.
"That was non-alcoholic wine," he responded, putting the last nail into that particular coffin with a real fervor.
And so, we secularized. My mother often lamented the leave, saying that we needed God in our family again, but it just never gelled, never took shape. We were all so different. My three younger brothers probably don't think of the Bible in the same way as I do, and have certainly been spared both the good and the bad of embarking on a lifelong spiritual quest; I don't think that "spiritual" is really a word pertaining to any of them, as of now, anyway.
I did remember a few things from Sunday school, but oddly enough, the book that I took the most out of was Job. First, it was the book with the Behemoth and the Leviathan, and I was way into dinosaurs, as I still am. One of my biggest questions was as to why there were no dinosaurs in the Bible, and I got a variety of answers, none of which were satisfactory, ranging from, "The dinosaurs were failures and God didn't put them on the ark and they weren't worth mentioning" to "There never were any dinosaurs, and the fossils were put in the rocks to test our faith"—special thanks to Mrs. Ingersoll, the owner of a Christian bookstore, for that one. I am now aware of Bill Hicks's answer to this nugget: "Yeah, well, I think God put you on earth to test my faith, buddy."
Then one day I got the good news. My mom's creationist friend Norman—who was cool, as creationists go, having had sat in the footprint of a Tyrannosaur as a child—informed me that, not only had dinosaurs existed, but that they were in the Bible, specific kinds were in the Bible. The Diplodocus, a long-necked giant, was called the Behemoth—"He moveth his tail like a cedar," informs the King James Version. The Mosasaurus, a sea monster, was called Leviathan—the same one that Hobbes would later refer to. Furthermore, this was proof that man and dinosaur coexisted. To this day, I picture these mythical beasts as Diplodocus and Mosasaurus, despite knowing that this is a bunch of hooey. Dinosaurs predated man by, at very least, 64 million years—unless, of course, you're talking about avian dinosaurs, or as we call them, pigeons, crows, cassowaries, and chickens: birds.
At the time, though—wow. I wanted to know more about this Job fellow. So when it came to the class on the book, I was all ears. One particular image stuck with me: that Job scraped at his boils with broken pottery. And, sure enough, the verse was intact in Mitchell's translation
"The Accuser covered Job with boils, from his scalp to the soles of his feet. Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself with, and sat down in the dust."Every kid who grows up in a fundamentalist church walks away with one harrowing image stuck in his head forever, and that was mine.
Some things, though, had changed—apparently, the word "tail" here is a euphemism for genitalia:
His penis stiffens like a pineIn addition to this, the Behemoth and the Leviathan are now the Beast and the Serpent. These everyday names don't really convey the terror that they should. Some of the lines that sound so beautiful in the KJV don't hold up in modern verse; for example, the transition from, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord hath taken away" to "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken"; or "Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a hook?"—the religious fundamentalist's taunt of choice in Peter Benchley's Jaws —to "Will you catch the Serpent with a fishhook?"; or the warhorse's change in sentiment from "Ha!" to "Ah!" in battle—In short, the literal reading takes away a little poetry.
His testicles bulge with vigor
Mitchell's translation, though, gets Job very right on several accounts, though.
The first is that reading this biblical work in the form of poetry is like seeing it for the first time. There are few if any such renditions of books in the biblical canon, even today, whereas poetic versions of the Koran and Bhagavad Gita abound. If the Bible is outmoded as a source of literal truth, it's certainly not outmoded as a source of wisdom, and its violent, quirky, and entertaining stories are meant to be taken metaphorically, as stories on the nature of faith, or, in Job's case, suffering. I see from browsing Amazon that he has also translated Genesis and the Gospels, and I'll look those up. But what I'd like to see is the whole Bible—or, at least, the Tanakh—rendered Iliad-&-Odyssey style for use as literature in classrooms. It's time.
Secondly it addresses the problem of evil well in its introduction. While "The Unnamed" of Mitchell's Job is as ridiculous as his OT counterpart, placing Job's well-being into the hands of the Accusing Angel on a sort of bet, the introduction shows that all that we see as evil is not necessarily so. We points out that we, like Isaiah, have a tendency to look at nature "red of tooth and claw" and condemn it as violent or evil (hence Isaiah's prophecy of the lion and the lamb). Of course, suffering and pain to one being is joy to another, and the cycle of life may require suffering. Listing carrion feeders and the like as evidence, Mitchell postulates:
When I was a very young Zen student, caught up in the problem of evil, I once asked my teacher, "Why does shit smell so bad?" He said, "If you were a fly, it would taste like candy."I have always found that the problem of evil stands on weak ground, so this hits home with me. In Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate , we learn that suffering may simply be a part of the human condition, and indeed, Job's friends are chastised for insinuating that it is not. If a God that may or may not exist allowed suffering, it might be to strengthen our characters as beings. If there was no bad, we would no nothing of good.
Ultimately my favorite quote comes from the very end of Job:
I have heard of you with my ears;From dust, to dust; from atoms, to atoms. It is my belief that Mitchell is correct in saying that Job has seen the justice inherent in the universe:
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I will be quiet
comforted that I am dust.
A man who hungers and thirsts after justice is not satisfied with a menu. It is not enough for him to hope or believe or know that there is absolute justice in the universe: he must taste and see it. It is not enough that there may be justice someday in the golden haze of the future: it must be now; must always have been now.Read The Book of Job. Its imagery will burn into your retinas even more in Mitchell's version, despite its few flaws, than it did into mine in Sunday school as a child.
June 18, 2011
Recently filmed by Terrence Malick - it's a non-literal and quite stunning take on the story. Check it out if you're even vaguely interested in religion.
August 26, 2016
I only vaguely knew the story of Job but since it is one of the most influential stories ever, I decided to read the book of Job.
This edition has a very long and boring introduction. You really need the patience of Job to read it. Well I don't have that so I skipped it when I was halfway through.
The book of Job really surprised me. It wasn't at all what I expected.
First the form in which it is written : part prose, part poetry, part playwriting. The dialogues between Job and his so-called friends were very repetitive.
Secondly, Job's personality. He didn't strike me as a patient guy who accepted his fate without a struggle. On the contrary, his thoughts, as expressed in the dialogues, were kind of rebellious.
But what could the poor guy do? His torturer probably wouldn't stop unless Job would stop complaining.
Gosh, a weird, cruel story. I wonder who wrote this? It must have been a wicked person.
This edition has a very long and boring introduction. You really need the patience of Job to read it. Well I don't have that so I skipped it when I was halfway through.
The book of Job really surprised me. It wasn't at all what I expected.
First the form in which it is written : part prose, part poetry, part playwriting. The dialogues between Job and his so-called friends were very repetitive.
Secondly, Job's personality. He didn't strike me as a patient guy who accepted his fate without a struggle. On the contrary, his thoughts, as expressed in the dialogues, were kind of rebellious.
But what could the poor guy do? His torturer probably wouldn't stop unless Job would stop complaining.
Gosh, a weird, cruel story. I wonder who wrote this? It must have been a wicked person.
Read
July 4, 2018“If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?”
June 6, 2020
کتاب ایوب، عهد عتیق
1. یَهُوَه
داشتن پیش زمینه‌ای از خداوند عهد عتیق برای درک اثر مناسب است که در مقدمه، مترجم به خوبی از عهدۀ آن برآمده است. عهد عتیق به گونه‌ای از عشق خالیست؛ خداوند، جبار و خشن ظاهر شده و اطاعت آدمی از او نه از عشق به خداوند، بلکه به سبب دستورات بوده است؛ خداوند نیز تنها عبادت و قربانی نیاز داشته نه عشق. این ویژگی در کتاب ایوب نیز همچنان مشهود است. ایوب پس از ظاهرشدن خداوند هیچ نمی‌گوید، دیگر شکوه‌ای نمی‌کند و دست بر دهان می‌گذارد و دربرابر قدرت‌نمایی یهوه از ترس سکوت اختیار می‌کند.
عدالت خداوندی نیز همیشه در داستان‌های عهد عتیق جای سؤال داشته است؛ چنان که در این کتاب هم، ایوب در اوج ذلالت همیشه دلیل این مشکلات را می‌جوید حال آنکه بسی شکرگزار و عابد بوده؛ درنهایت نیز با ظاهرشدن خدا در صحنه، در مقابل او هیچ نمی‌گوید و دهان می‌بندد نه آنکه عدالت خداوند برایش محرز شده باشد؛ بلکه تنها در برابر قدرت پروردگار سر فرود می‌آورد و می‌گوید:
اینک، من ناچیز؛ چه پاسخی به تو توانم دادن؟ دست بر دهان نهادنم به!
2. شیطان
اگر بدون پیش‌زمینۀ اسلامی و مسیحی، کتاب ایوب را بخوانیم، متوجه می‌شویم که شیطانِ مظهر شری وجود نداشته است؛ او یکی از فرزندان خدا بوده (باب یکم) و در انجمن فرشتگان شرکت می‌کرده است؛ بنابراین، برخلاف آنچه انتظار داریم، ابلیس به عنوان عامل شر، داشته‌های ایوب را نمی‌گیرد و انگیزه‌ای شیطانی (!) در سر نداشته تا ایوب را خفیف کند و از شکرگزار نبودنش خوشحال شود؛ اینها همه پیش زمینه‌های ذهنی منِ خواننده است و در کتاب ایوب اثری از آنها نیست. شیطان تنها در چند سرود اولیه حضور دارد و پس از آن دیگر در جریان روایت نیست.تفکیک نیروهای تشکیل‌دهندۀ به دو دستۀ خیر با عاملیت خداوند و شر با عاملیت ابلیس، تنها چند قرن پس از ظهور مسیحیت (نه در ابتدای آن) و تحت تأثیر مانویت تا حدی رخ داده (در مقدمۀ کتاب نیز توضیح داده شده است) و بنابراین اینجا باید درنظر داشته باشید که عامل هر دو دسته وقایع خوب و بدی که روی می‌دهند، یهوه است.
3. تصور سیر وقایع از نگاه اول شخص نه دانای کل
به گمانم کتاب تنها در صورتی دلنشین می‌نماید و خوانش آن نکته‌ای بر خواننده می‌افزاید که خواننده با این فرضِ دشوار پیش برود که از حکمت اتفاقات آگاه نیست! در اصل چند سرود اول را نادیده بینگارد و بخواند؛ آن زمان متوجه خواهد شد که دردِ ایوب که از اتفاقات آسمان آگاهی نداشته با از دست دادن همه چیز چه بیشتر است و این سؤال که چرا این اتفاقات برای من عابد اتفاق می‌افتد، تا چه حد خورۀ ذهن ایوب می‌شود.
4. ذهن ایوب، تحولش و نگاهی انسانی به روانِ او
لزوم نگاهی اول شخص به آلام ایوب اینجا مشخص‌تر می‌شود؛ ایوب فردی درستکار، خداپرست و عادل، ناگهان هر آنچه را در این جهان دارد از دست می‌دهد، دیگر کسی او را احترام نمی‌گذارد، توسط دوستانش ملامت می‌شود و متهم به گنه‌کاری و ...؛ او نمی‌داند دلیل اینها چیست، نمی‌داند چرا مستحق این عذاب شده است و آخر کار چه می‌شود؛ در ناامیدی بر آلامش گریه می‌کند و اندوهش با ملامت و خوارشدنش توسط دوستان بیشتر می‌شود.
با این مقدمه، تحول شخصیت ایوب در خلال داستان اهمیت می‌یابد؛ ایوب شروع به ناله و شکوه می‌کند، از این همه سختی و بدبختی ناراضی می‌شود؛ سؤالاتی تابو می‌پرسد، به دنبال علت آلام می‌گردد و عدالت خداوند را باتوجه به بیگناهیش زیر سؤال می‌برد؛ این سرکشی اولیه زمانی اتفاق می‌افتد که ایوب همه‌چیز را از دست داده و بوسیلۀ دوستانش چنین سرزنیش می‌شود که اگر گناهکار نبود خداوند با تو چنین نمی‌کرد؛ گویی ذهن ایوب نیاز داشت تا این چنین به «هیچ» برسد و هرآنچه داشته نابود گردد، تا ذهنش شروع به نابودکردن داشته‌های (قطعیات) ذهنش کند و پرسشگری را آغاز نماید. سؤالات پیچیده‌تر می‌شوند و با سرکشی بیشتر؛ ایوب به جهان می‌نگرد و می‌اندیشد، اگر خداوند بدکاران را عقوبت می دهد چرا ظالمان و ستمگران جهان را پر کرده‌اند و تخم و ترکه‌شان هر روز بیشتر می‌شود، اما من که دوستدار ضعیفانم به خاک سیاه نشسته‌ام؟!
در مرحلۀ بعد، ایوب که ذهنش با پرسش‌ها سرشار از تشویش و عدم قطعیت شده، راهی آسان را در پیش می‌گیرد: گناهکاری خود؛ او که پاسخی برای پرسش‌های دشوارش نمی‌یابد، خود را می‌فریبد (به تعبیری البته!) و این چنین توضیحی برای عذابهایش می‌یابد، که حتماً گناهکار بوده‌ام که شایستۀ این چنینم! او با حقیقت روبرو شده، پذیرفته که خدا درها را بر روی او بسته و گناهکار است!. درجواب ملامت دوستانش می‌گوید که « گیرم من گناهکار، شما را در قبر من نمی‌گذارند». اینجا دیگر ایوب خود را تحت لوای خداوند نمی‌‌بیند و کم‌کم می‌پذیرد که یهوه به کمکش نمی‌آید. او که همه چیز را از دست داده، بر همه چیز شوریده و به دوستانش می‌گوید: « چرا چون خدا دنبال من کنید و از گوشت من سیر نمی‌آیید (جبار دیدن خداوند!)».
اما ایوب، دوباره دست به‌سوی خداوند می برد تا شاید مشکل حل شود؛ او که قبلاً خود را عادل‌تر از خداوند می دانست، زندگیش را مرور می‌کند تا گناهش را بیابد و این چنین خود را آرام می‌کند که خداوند او را درنظر داشته و به‌سبب گناهش مجازاتش می‌کند. این آخرین تلاش عاجزانۀ ایوب برای آرامش روحش است؛ یافتن اعمال نادرستش و نسبت دادن بدبدختی به آنها. به گمان من اینجا اوج عجز ایوب و از زیبایی‌های کتاب است.
5. نگاهی به متن با توجه به ایدۀ ذهن دوساحتی
کتاب ایوب، از کتاب نسبتاً جدید عهد عتیق بوده و متأخرتر از سایر کتب نگاشته شده است؛ به همین سبب، می‌توان بارقه‌های از وجود آگاهی به معنای امروزی را در آن دید. ایوب می‌اندیشد، از خود سؤال می‌پرسد و به‌هیچ عنوان چون کتب قدیمی‌تر عهد عتیق سرسپردۀ ارادۀ خداوندی نیست و تاحدی نیز دربرابر او می‌شورد؛ تنها با ورود یهوه به صحنه است که او مطیع می‌شود.
درعین حال که در کتاب، نشانه‌های از آگاهی و تفکر را می‌توان مشاهده نمود، اما همچنان به مانند گذشته (دوران ذهن دوساحتی) توهم‌های دیداری و شنیداری مشهود است؛ ورود خداوند به صحنه در میان گردباد است، یهوه در میان طوفان دیده می‌شود و سخنانش نیز با صاعقه‌ها شروع می‌شود؛ قطعاً در آن زمان صاعقه پدیده‌ای دلهره‌آور و ترسناک بود که محرک کافی ذهنی برای ایجاد توهم در انسان آن زمانی بوده است، چونان که در سایر آثار ادبی هم‌زمان آثار می‌توان دید؛ مانند فرود زئوس از اولمپ همراه با صاعقه و ...
برگردان و توضیحات
حدود یک‌چهارم کتاب را کتاب اصلی عهد عتیق تشکیل داده و بقیه توضیحاتی به‌جا و ضروری دربارۀ خود کتاب و بررسی داستان ایوب در آثار اسلامی بوده است که به‌خودی خود ارزشمندند. ترجمۀ کتاب نیز سعی شده با توجۀ به زمانۀ آن، با زبان کهن فارسی نگارش شود که خوانشش را دلنشین‌تر می‌کند.
مقایسۀ داستان ایوب در قصص قرآن با کتاب مقدس
مهمترین تفاوت در ارتباط با جنبۀ انسانی موضوع است؛ ایوب در کتاب مقدس بسیار انسانی‌تر ترسیم شده تا داستان‌های اسلامی؛ او می‌ترسد، ناراحت می‌شود، شک می‌کند و ناله. اما در روایات اسلامی، داستان به‌گونه‌ای بازگو شده که «ساخت پیامبریِ» ایوب حفظ شود و ایوب همچنان پاک بماند؛ درنتیجه، نقش شیطان پررنگتر شده و مصائب برگردن او انداخته شده است. او براثر حسد به عبادت‌گزاری و شاکربودنِ ایوب، اجازۀ روا داشتن آلام را از خداوند می‌گیرد؛ در برخی دیگر، جبرئیل واسطه می‌شود و از ایوب دربرابر شیطان محافظت می‌کند. در داستانی دیگر، ایوب خود از خداوند خواسته صبرش را آزمایش کند تا جزو صابران شود و ... . حال اینکه این موارد ( مثل حیله‌‌های متعدد شیطان) در کتاب عهد عتیق موجود نیستند.
پ.ن: مورد پنجم با توجه با کتاب «منشأ آگاهی» نوشته شده است.
1. یَهُوَه
داشتن پیش زمینه‌ای از خداوند عهد عتیق برای درک اثر مناسب است که در مقدمه، مترجم به خوبی از عهدۀ آن برآمده است. عهد عتیق به گونه‌ای از عشق خالیست؛ خداوند، جبار و خشن ظاهر شده و اطاعت آدمی از او نه از عشق به خداوند، بلکه به سبب دستورات بوده است؛ خداوند نیز تنها عبادت و قربانی نیاز داشته نه عشق. این ویژگی در کتاب ایوب نیز همچنان مشهود است. ایوب پس از ظاهرشدن خداوند هیچ نمی‌گوید، دیگر شکوه‌ای نمی‌کند و دست بر دهان می‌گذارد و دربرابر قدرت‌نمایی یهوه از ترس سکوت اختیار می‌کند.
عدالت خداوندی نیز همیشه در داستان‌های عهد عتیق جای سؤال داشته است؛ چنان که در این کتاب هم، ایوب در اوج ذلالت همیشه دلیل این مشکلات را می‌جوید حال آنکه بسی شکرگزار و عابد بوده؛ درنهایت نیز با ظاهرشدن خدا در صحنه، در مقابل او هیچ نمی‌گوید و دهان می‌بندد نه آنکه عدالت خداوند برایش محرز شده باشد؛ بلکه تنها در برابر قدرت پروردگار سر فرود می‌آورد و می‌گوید:
اینک، من ناچیز؛ چه پاسخی به تو توانم دادن؟ دست بر دهان نهادنم به!
2. شیطان
اگر بدون پیش‌زمینۀ اسلامی و مسیحی، کتاب ایوب را بخوانیم، متوجه می‌شویم که شیطانِ مظهر شری وجود نداشته است؛ او یکی از فرزندان خدا بوده (باب یکم) و در انجمن فرشتگان شرکت می‌کرده است؛ بنابراین، برخلاف آنچه انتظار داریم، ابلیس به عنوان عامل شر، داشته‌های ایوب را نمی‌گیرد و انگیزه‌ای شیطانی (!) در سر نداشته تا ایوب را خفیف کند و از شکرگزار نبودنش خوشحال شود؛ اینها همه پیش زمینه‌های ذهنی منِ خواننده است و در کتاب ایوب اثری از آنها نیست. شیطان تنها در چند سرود اولیه حضور دارد و پس از آن دیگر در جریان روایت نیست.تفکیک نیروهای تشکیل‌دهندۀ به دو دستۀ خیر با عاملیت خداوند و شر با عاملیت ابلیس، تنها چند قرن پس از ظهور مسیحیت (نه در ابتدای آن) و تحت تأثیر مانویت تا حدی رخ داده (در مقدمۀ کتاب نیز توضیح داده شده است) و بنابراین اینجا باید درنظر داشته باشید که عامل هر دو دسته وقایع خوب و بدی که روی می‌دهند، یهوه است.
3. تصور سیر وقایع از نگاه اول شخص نه دانای کل
به گمانم کتاب تنها در صورتی دلنشین می‌نماید و خوانش آن نکته‌ای بر خواننده می‌افزاید که خواننده با این فرضِ دشوار پیش برود که از حکمت اتفاقات آگاه نیست! در اصل چند سرود اول را نادیده بینگارد و بخواند؛ آن زمان متوجه خواهد شد که دردِ ایوب که از اتفاقات آسمان آگاهی نداشته با از دست دادن همه چیز چه بیشتر است و این سؤال که چرا این اتفاقات برای من عابد اتفاق می‌افتد، تا چه حد خورۀ ذهن ایوب می‌شود.
4. ذهن ایوب، تحولش و نگاهی انسانی به روانِ او
لزوم نگاهی اول شخص به آلام ایوب اینجا مشخص‌تر می‌شود؛ ایوب فردی درستکار، خداپرست و عادل، ناگهان هر آنچه را در این جهان دارد از دست می‌دهد، دیگر کسی او را احترام نمی‌گذارد، توسط دوستانش ملامت می‌شود و متهم به گنه‌کاری و ...؛ او نمی‌داند دلیل اینها چیست، نمی‌داند چرا مستحق این عذاب شده است و آخر کار چه می‌شود؛ در ناامیدی بر آلامش گریه می‌کند و اندوهش با ملامت و خوارشدنش توسط دوستان بیشتر می‌شود.
با این مقدمه، تحول شخصیت ایوب در خلال داستان اهمیت می‌یابد؛ ایوب شروع به ناله و شکوه می‌کند، از این همه سختی و بدبختی ناراضی می‌شود؛ سؤالاتی تابو می‌پرسد، به دنبال علت آلام می‌گردد و عدالت خداوند را باتوجه به بیگناهیش زیر سؤال می‌برد؛ این سرکشی اولیه زمانی اتفاق می‌افتد که ایوب همه‌چیز را از دست داده و بوسیلۀ دوستانش چنین سرزنیش می‌شود که اگر گناهکار نبود خداوند با تو چنین نمی‌کرد؛ گویی ذهن ایوب نیاز داشت تا این چنین به «هیچ» برسد و هرآنچه داشته نابود گردد، تا ذهنش شروع به نابودکردن داشته‌های (قطعیات) ذهنش کند و پرسشگری را آغاز نماید. سؤالات پیچیده‌تر می‌شوند و با سرکشی بیشتر؛ ایوب به جهان می‌نگرد و می‌اندیشد، اگر خداوند بدکاران را عقوبت می دهد چرا ظالمان و ستمگران جهان را پر کرده‌اند و تخم و ترکه‌شان هر روز بیشتر می‌شود، اما من که دوستدار ضعیفانم به خاک سیاه نشسته‌ام؟!
در مرحلۀ بعد، ایوب که ذهنش با پرسش‌ها سرشار از تشویش و عدم قطعیت شده، راهی آسان را در پیش می‌گیرد: گناهکاری خود؛ او که پاسخی برای پرسش‌های دشوارش نمی‌یابد، خود را می‌فریبد (به تعبیری البته!) و این چنین توضیحی برای عذابهایش می‌یابد، که حتماً گناهکار بوده‌ام که شایستۀ این چنینم! او با حقیقت روبرو شده، پذیرفته که خدا درها را بر روی او بسته و گناهکار است!. درجواب ملامت دوستانش می‌گوید که « گیرم من گناهکار، شما را در قبر من نمی‌گذارند». اینجا دیگر ایوب خود را تحت لوای خداوند نمی‌‌بیند و کم‌کم می‌پذیرد که یهوه به کمکش نمی‌آید. او که همه چیز را از دست داده، بر همه چیز شوریده و به دوستانش می‌گوید: « چرا چون خدا دنبال من کنید و از گوشت من سیر نمی‌آیید (جبار دیدن خداوند!)».
اما ایوب، دوباره دست به‌سوی خداوند می برد تا شاید مشکل حل شود؛ او که قبلاً خود را عادل‌تر از خداوند می دانست، زندگیش را مرور می‌کند تا گناهش را بیابد و این چنین خود را آرام می‌کند که خداوند او را درنظر داشته و به‌سبب گناهش مجازاتش می‌کند. این آخرین تلاش عاجزانۀ ایوب برای آرامش روحش است؛ یافتن اعمال نادرستش و نسبت دادن بدبدختی به آنها. به گمان من اینجا اوج عجز ایوب و از زیبایی‌های کتاب است.
5. نگاهی به متن با توجه به ایدۀ ذهن دوساحتی
کتاب ایوب، از کتاب نسبتاً جدید عهد عتیق بوده و متأخرتر از سایر کتب نگاشته شده است؛ به همین سبب، می‌توان بارقه‌های از وجود آگاهی به معنای امروزی را در آن دید. ایوب می‌اندیشد، از خود سؤال می‌پرسد و به‌هیچ عنوان چون کتب قدیمی‌تر عهد عتیق سرسپردۀ ارادۀ خداوندی نیست و تاحدی نیز دربرابر او می‌شورد؛ تنها با ورود یهوه به صحنه است که او مطیع می‌شود.
درعین حال که در کتاب، نشانه‌های از آگاهی و تفکر را می‌توان مشاهده نمود، اما همچنان به مانند گذشته (دوران ذهن دوساحتی) توهم‌های دیداری و شنیداری مشهود است؛ ورود خداوند به صحنه در میان گردباد است، یهوه در میان طوفان دیده می‌شود و سخنانش نیز با صاعقه‌ها شروع می‌شود؛ قطعاً در آن زمان صاعقه پدیده‌ای دلهره‌آور و ترسناک بود که محرک کافی ذهنی برای ایجاد توهم در انسان آن زمانی بوده است، چونان که در سایر آثار ادبی هم‌زمان آثار می‌توان دید؛ مانند فرود زئوس از اولمپ همراه با صاعقه و ...
برگردان و توضیحات
حدود یک‌چهارم کتاب را کتاب اصلی عهد عتیق تشکیل داده و بقیه توضیحاتی به‌جا و ضروری دربارۀ خود کتاب و بررسی داستان ایوب در آثار اسلامی بوده است که به‌خودی خود ارزشمندند. ترجمۀ کتاب نیز سعی شده با توجۀ به زمانۀ آن، با زبان کهن فارسی نگارش شود که خوانشش را دلنشین‌تر می‌کند.
مقایسۀ داستان ایوب در قصص قرآن با کتاب مقدس
مهمترین تفاوت در ارتباط با جنبۀ انسانی موضوع است؛ ایوب در کتاب مقدس بسیار انسانی‌تر ترسیم شده تا داستان‌های اسلامی؛ او می‌ترسد، ناراحت می‌شود، شک می‌کند و ناله. اما در روایات اسلامی، داستان به‌گونه‌ای بازگو شده که «ساخت پیامبریِ» ایوب حفظ شود و ایوب همچنان پاک بماند؛ درنتیجه، نقش شیطان پررنگتر شده و مصائب برگردن او انداخته شده است. او براثر حسد به عبادت‌گزاری و شاکربودنِ ایوب، اجازۀ روا داشتن آلام را از خداوند می‌گیرد؛ در برخی دیگر، جبرئیل واسطه می‌شود و از ایوب دربرابر شیطان محافظت می‌کند. در داستانی دیگر، ایوب خود از خداوند خواسته صبرش را آزمایش کند تا جزو صابران شود و ... . حال اینکه این موارد ( مثل حیله‌‌های متعدد شیطان) در کتاب عهد عتیق موجود نیستند.
پ.ن: مورد پنجم با توجه با کتاب «منشأ آگاهی» نوشته شده است.
August 31, 2024
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
This Biblical book answers that age-old question.
This Biblical book answers that age-old question.
March 31, 2018
There is so much encouragement through trials in this book. The thing I'm coming away with from reading it this time is to always keep my eyes on God, no matter what anyone (family, friends, acquaintances, strangers) are advising, suggesting, or telling me I should do. I KNOW what to do: Keep my eyes on God. Why? Because He is mighty and all-wise, and I know NOTHING without Him. May I always remain humble and look only to Him for guidance. Amen.
I was not compensated for my honest review.
I was not compensated for my honest review.
July 20, 2024
I think most people know what Job is about but haven’t actually read all 42 chapters of this book.
They’re missing out.
Job is so eye opening on the topics of suffering, God’s silence, staying faithful in the waiting to hear God’s voice season, human knowledge vs God’s infinite wisdom, repentance and how the faithful are rewarded.
This book is a Poetic Book of the Old Testament, and has such descriptive writing and beautiful prose; the writing is just so GORGEOUS. That’s like the only word I can think of atm, haha. But the way Job and his friends speak… man Gen-Z is reallyy far off, guys 😂😂
Anyway, RTC later!!
—> end note: after finishing this book, I just sighed in contentment because wow, it really altered my mindset. The Bible is not a joke, guys; it moves hearts, minds and souls ❤️
They’re missing out.
Job is so eye opening on the topics of suffering, God’s silence, staying faithful in the waiting to hear God’s voice season, human knowledge vs God’s infinite wisdom, repentance and how the faithful are rewarded.
This book is a Poetic Book of the Old Testament, and has such descriptive writing and beautiful prose; the writing is just so GORGEOUS. That’s like the only word I can think of atm, haha. But the way Job and his friends speak… man Gen-Z is reallyy far off, guys 😂😂
Anyway, RTC later!!
—> end note: after finishing this book, I just sighed in contentment because wow, it really altered my mindset. The Bible is not a joke, guys; it moves hearts, minds and souls ❤️
August 20, 2021
5 sao có lẽ không đủ để đánh giá về cuốn sách này.
Sách Gióp (The Book of Job) là cuốn sách cổ xưa nhất thế giới. Được biết rằng nó ra đời cùng thời với bộ 5 cuốn kinh Torah (kinh C��u Ước) của người Do Thái. Tuy nhiên mình vẫn phải quá đỗi ngạc nhiên vì sự khôn ngoan và ý nghĩa của nó. 4000 năm trước đã có ai đó viết được một cuốn sách ngắn gọn nhưng đậm tính Văn học (sách viết bằng thơ - hầu hết), Tính Triết học (nó cho mình câu trả lời về việc "Tại sao người tốt lại khổ? Kẻ xấu lại sung sướng?). Trước đây khi đọc về giáo lý Phật Giáo mình được biết về Luật Nhân Quả - Gieo nhân nào gặp quả ấy. Tuy nhiên tại sao người tốt, không gieo nhân xấu vẫn khổ? Người ta giải thích rằng là do nhân xấu từ kiếp trước, đến kiếp này trả!! Kẻ xấu được sung sướng do kiếp trước gieo nhân tốt, kiếp này được hưởng quả tốt!!! Vậy câu hỏi của mình rằng, có người luôn gieo nhân tốt, vô lượng kiếp có thể gặp quả xấu được không? Có thể. Vậy cần đối diện với việc đó như nào? Sách Gióp sẽ cho câu trả lời. Sách Gióp như 1 mảnh ghép còn thiếu của giáo lý Nhân Quả trước đây mình từng biết. Cuối cùng là tính Đạo đức - Tâm lý học. Hẳn người viết sách là người rất am hiểu tâm lý con người và là người có Đạo đức, biết đối nhân xử thế đúng đắn. Sách Gióp cho mình một hướng dẫn rất cụ thể và thiết thực khi đối mặt hoàn cảnh: mình tốt nhưng gặp quả xấu hay người tốt mình biết gặp phải quả xấu thì mình nên ứng xử, hành động ra sao?
Cuối cùng Sách Gióp nhắc nhở ta một lần nữa, con người là nhỏ bé (hay như Phật Giáo nói là Vô Minh) vì vậy hãy luôn khiêm cung và nhún nhường.
Sách Gióp (The Book of Job) là cuốn sách cổ xưa nhất thế giới. Được biết rằng nó ra đời cùng thời với bộ 5 cuốn kinh Torah (kinh C��u Ước) của người Do Thái. Tuy nhiên mình vẫn phải quá đỗi ngạc nhiên vì sự khôn ngoan và ý nghĩa của nó. 4000 năm trước đã có ai đó viết được một cuốn sách ngắn gọn nhưng đậm tính Văn học (sách viết bằng thơ - hầu hết), Tính Triết học (nó cho mình câu trả lời về việc "Tại sao người tốt lại khổ? Kẻ xấu lại sung sướng?). Trước đây khi đọc về giáo lý Phật Giáo mình được biết về Luật Nhân Quả - Gieo nhân nào gặp quả ấy. Tuy nhiên tại sao người tốt, không gieo nhân xấu vẫn khổ? Người ta giải thích rằng là do nhân xấu từ kiếp trước, đến kiếp này trả!! Kẻ xấu được sung sướng do kiếp trước gieo nhân tốt, kiếp này được hưởng quả tốt!!! Vậy câu hỏi của mình rằng, có người luôn gieo nhân tốt, vô lượng kiếp có thể gặp quả xấu được không? Có thể. Vậy cần đối diện với việc đó như nào? Sách Gióp sẽ cho câu trả lời. Sách Gióp như 1 mảnh ghép còn thiếu của giáo lý Nhân Quả trước đây mình từng biết. Cuối cùng là tính Đạo đức - Tâm lý học. Hẳn người viết sách là người rất am hiểu tâm lý con người và là người có Đạo đức, biết đối nhân xử thế đúng đắn. Sách Gióp cho mình một hướng dẫn rất cụ thể và thiết thực khi đối mặt hoàn cảnh: mình tốt nhưng gặp quả xấu hay người tốt mình biết gặp phải quả xấu thì mình nên ứng xử, hành động ra sao?
Cuối cùng Sách Gióp nhắc nhở ta một lần nữa, con người là nhỏ bé (hay như Phật Giáo nói là Vô Minh) vì vậy hãy luôn khiêm cung và nhún nhường.
February 11, 2021
“O Livro de Jó” faz parte dos “Livros poéticos e sapienciais” do Antigo Testamento, e terá sido escrito entre o VII e o IV séculos a.C., sendo um dos livros da Bíblia cristã mais amplamente citados dentro e fora do contexto religioso. Santo Agostinho cita-o, Tomás Aquino declara a história verdadeira, Martinho Lutero usa-o para definir a santidade. Na literatura, cita-se como a primeira grande obra existencial servindo depois, ao longo de séculos, a múltiplos autores na evocação do significado do humano — de John Milton (“Paraíso Perdido”) a Carl Jung (“A Resposta a Jó”), passando por Dostoiévski (“Os Irmãos Karamazov”) ou Kafka (“O Processo”) ou mais recentemente Terrence Malick (“A Árvore da Vida”). O núcleo do texto assenta no questionar da justiça ou moral divinas, ou como a teologia prefere definir: “o problema do mal” que se equaciona segundo a questão: “Por que sofrem os justos?"
..
...
continua com imagens no blog VI:
https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
..
...
continua com imagens no blog VI:
https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
October 10, 2016
God’s Bad Job
I don’t know what a book like this (or for that matter, Genesis) is doing in Bible – it is like calling in a debate from non-believers, giving them a sort of voice and that is something that no officers of any religion want; but I love the questions Job asked when God turned against him.
And why would God turn against a faithful? Of course Satan, that great master of human psychology, made him do it by saying:
So God ... I mean has he no mind of his own? It is like a parent slapping his/her children to show their faith upon being challenged to do so. Anyway God did as Satan told him to do - as is normally the case. Among other things he took away, God kills all his (innocent) children – which is okay thing to do as long as you want to test the faith of their father:
And Job started giving an account of mankind’s troubles in God’s fair world:
… but the best part comes now, that Job questions the unaccountability of God towards his creations:
And such injustice to the good guy Job,
while wicked lives in comforts:
… And thus mankind’s ultimate wish to be left alone to live in peace the small lives they have:
The answers given by his three advisors as well as that young man who talks towards the end, are so lame and belong to their ideal world which do not exist (unlike Job’s real world enquiries); that I won't trouble myself with summarising them.
The Happy Ending
In the end, though the Lord finally comes to answer himself (Lucky Job! No one comes to answer us); tells him how awesome a thing he did in creating the world (that worst of all art works) and shows his muscle power:
And after that Mr. God goes like “so what were you saying?” and Mr. Job goes ‘oops’; seeing how bad an idea it was to go face to face with God and forgets the live-and -let-live request, he had wanted to make to God. The great lord out of habit showed mercy and everything is good again while Jobs lives happily ever after.
"Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me."
"Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment."
I don’t know what a book like this (or for that matter, Genesis) is doing in Bible – it is like calling in a debate from non-believers, giving them a sort of voice and that is something that no officers of any religion want; but I love the questions Job asked when God turned against him.
And why would God turn against a faithful? Of course Satan, that great master of human psychology, made him do it by saying:
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
So God ... I mean has he no mind of his own? It is like a parent slapping his/her children to show their faith upon being challenged to do so. Anyway God did as Satan told him to do - as is normally the case. Among other things he took away, God kills all his (innocent) children – which is okay thing to do as long as you want to test the faith of their father:
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day
And Job started giving an account of mankind’s troubles in God’s fair world:
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul ; which long for death, but it cometh not ; and dig for it more than for hid treasures ; which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave ? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in ?
… but the best part comes now, that Job questions the unaccountability of God towards his creations:
u
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him ? Who will say unto him, What doest thou ?
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong : and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead ?
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me : if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul : I would despise my life.
If I be wicked, woe unto me ; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion ; therefore see thou mine affliction ;
I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not
And such injustice to the good guy Job,
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
while wicked lives in comforts:
Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
… And thus mankind’s ultimate wish to be left alone to live in peace the small lives they have:
Are not my days few ? Cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return…
The answers given by his three advisors as well as that young man who talks towards the end, are so lame and belong to their ideal world which do not exist (unlike Job’s real world enquiries); that I won't trouble myself with summarising them.
The Happy Ending
In the end, though the Lord finally comes to answer himself (Lucky Job! No one comes to answer us); tells him how awesome a thing he did in creating the world (that worst of all art works) and shows his muscle power:
Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
And after that Mr. God goes like “so what were you saying?” and Mr. Job goes ‘oops’; seeing how bad an idea it was to go face to face with God and forgets the live-and -let-live request, he had wanted to make to God. The great lord out of habit showed mercy and everything is good again while Jobs lives happily ever after.
Read
September 28, 2019This is one of those books that I can’t give a star rating to.
It’s an OK translation of The Book of Job, but it is not a complete translation. The translator mentioned in the endnotes that he left portions out because the language didn’t flow and that other text was added latter that didn’t match the initial writers vernacular style.
What I would have liked to have seen an explanation in the preface or the introduction that the translation wasn’t complete. Then I would have known what to expect instead of having to pore over my other translations wondering what the Mitchell translation was missing. So as a guide to future readers of this book at my Meeting House I stuck a sticky note in it describing the omission.
So that is the reason for the no star rating.
It’s an OK translation of The Book of Job, but it is not a complete translation. The translator mentioned in the endnotes that he left portions out because the language didn’t flow and that other text was added latter that didn’t match the initial writers vernacular style.
What I would have liked to have seen an explanation in the preface or the introduction that the translation wasn’t complete. Then I would have known what to expect instead of having to pore over my other translations wondering what the Mitchell translation was missing. So as a guide to future readers of this book at my Meeting House I stuck a sticky note in it describing the omission.
So that is the reason for the no star rating.
April 8, 2024
”Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’“
Job 38:4-11
Job 38:4-11
August 5, 2014
This is a very readable translation of
The Book of Job
. However, the reader should be aware that Stephen Mitchell omits the hymn in praise of wisdom and the speech of the young man Elihu. Elihu is the fourth friend of Job's who speaks following the three cycles of speeches by the "Three Comforters." The author explains in a note to the reader that he's left them out because he (and many scholars) regard those parts as later additions to the book of
Job
. I agree that those parts may be later additions, but in this case we're talking about additions made about 2,500 years ago. I guess I'd prefer to keep all the parts together in the manner that it's been copied and saved over these past thousands of years. Based on these observations I have switched to the translation by Raymond P. Scheindlin.
The following is an analysis of the book of Job that I prepared for the Great Books KC group. It applies to the traditional content of book. Most of the comments below regarding discrepancies and structure are borrowed from Bart Ehrman's book, God's Problem . The final paragraph titled, "My Musings," are strictly my own conclusions.
DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE PROSE AND NARRATIVE PARTS OF JOB
Some of the basic discrepancies between the prose narrative with which the book begins and ends (just under three chapters) and the poetic dialogues (nearly forty chapters) can be summarized as follows:
The poetic dialogues are set up as a kind of back-and-forth between Job and his three "friends." Job makes a statement and one of his friends replies; Job responds and the second friend replies; Job responds again and then the third friend replies. This sequence happens three times, so that there are three cycles of speeches. The third cycle, however, has become muddled, possibly in the copying of the book over the ages: one of the friend's (Bildad's) comments are inordinately short in the third go-around (only five verses); another friend's (Zophar's) comments are missing this time; and Job's response at one point appears to take the position that his friends had been advocating and that he had been opposing in the rest of the book (chapter 27). Scholars typically think that something has gone awry in the transmission of the dialogues at this point.
But the rest of the structure is clear. After the friends have had their say, a fourth figure appears; this is a young man named Elihu who is said to be dissatisfied with the strength of the case laid out by the other three. Elihu tries to state the case more forcefully: Job is suffering because of his sins. This restatement appears to be no more convincing than anything the others have said, but before Job can reply, God himself appears, wows Job into submission by his overpowering presence, and informs him that he, Job, has no right to challenge the workings of the one who created the universe and all that is in it. Job repents of his desire to understand and grovels in the dirt before the awe-inspiring challenge of the Almighty. And that's where the poetic dialogues end.
MY MUSINGS
In addition to the preceding comments about discrepancies, it is my understanding that some scholars see indications that the writing style of the dialogue with the fourth figure, Elihu, is different from the rest of the poetic dialogue. This could be an indication that it is an insert by a later writer (perhaps by the same writer who got the third cycle of dialogues muddled up). Scholars have noted that the term Yahweh (Jehovah) is consistently used in the parts of the Hebrew scriptures that reflect the early southern traditions of the Kingdom of Judah. Likewise, the term Elohim (El and Eloah are the singular forms) is consistently used in texts that reflect the early northern traditions of the Kingdom of Israel. Based upon the differing terms used for the divine in the two parts of Job, it can be supposed that the folk tale portion of Job originated in Judah, and the writer of the poetry was from the northern kingdom.
Actually, it's my theory that the writer of Job was a Hebrew poet living in Babylon during the captivity period who spliced his poetry into a folk tale from Judah. He used the language style from the north for his poetry because his ancestral roots were from the north. Or perhaps the northern style of Hebrew was considered to be more appropriate for epic poetry (sort of like King James style of English is to us). I think the writer who later inserted the character of Elihu was a scribe back in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity who did it because he perceived that there were some missing lines of text in the third cycle.
The following is an analysis of the book of Job that I prepared for the Great Books KC group. It applies to the traditional content of book. Most of the comments below regarding discrepancies and structure are borrowed from Bart Ehrman's book, God's Problem . The final paragraph titled, "My Musings," are strictly my own conclusions.
DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE PROSE AND NARRATIVE PARTS OF JOB
Some of the basic discrepancies between the prose narrative with which the book begins and ends (just under three chapters) and the poetic dialogues (nearly forty chapters) can be summarized as follows:
1. The writing styles are different between the two genres, the prose folk tale and the poetic dialogues.OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE POETIC DIALOGUES
2. The names of the divine being are different in the prose (where the name Yahweh is used) and the poetry (where the divinity is name El, Eloah, and Shaddai).
3. The portrayal of Job differs in the two parts of the book: in the prose he is a patient sufferer; in the poetry he is thoroughly defiant and anything but patient.
4. Job is commended in the prose but rebuked in the poetry.
5. The prose folktale indicates that God deals with his people according to their merit, whereas the entire point of the poetry is that he does not do that --- and is not bound to do so.
6. The view of why the innocent suffer differs between the two parts of the book: in the prose narrative, suffering comes as a test of faith; in the poetry, suffering remains a mystery that cannot be fathomed or explained.
7. The style of Hebrew used in the dialogue with Elihu (see discussion of structure below) is different from the other dialogues. (This observation is from Elizabeth Vandiver, not Bart Ehrman.)
The poetic dialogues are set up as a kind of back-and-forth between Job and his three "friends." Job makes a statement and one of his friends replies; Job responds and the second friend replies; Job responds again and then the third friend replies. This sequence happens three times, so that there are three cycles of speeches. The third cycle, however, has become muddled, possibly in the copying of the book over the ages: one of the friend's (Bildad's) comments are inordinately short in the third go-around (only five verses); another friend's (Zophar's) comments are missing this time; and Job's response at one point appears to take the position that his friends had been advocating and that he had been opposing in the rest of the book (chapter 27). Scholars typically think that something has gone awry in the transmission of the dialogues at this point.
But the rest of the structure is clear. After the friends have had their say, a fourth figure appears; this is a young man named Elihu who is said to be dissatisfied with the strength of the case laid out by the other three. Elihu tries to state the case more forcefully: Job is suffering because of his sins. This restatement appears to be no more convincing than anything the others have said, but before Job can reply, God himself appears, wows Job into submission by his overpowering presence, and informs him that he, Job, has no right to challenge the workings of the one who created the universe and all that is in it. Job repents of his desire to understand and grovels in the dirt before the awe-inspiring challenge of the Almighty. And that's where the poetic dialogues end.
MY MUSINGS
In addition to the preceding comments about discrepancies, it is my understanding that some scholars see indications that the writing style of the dialogue with the fourth figure, Elihu, is different from the rest of the poetic dialogue. This could be an indication that it is an insert by a later writer (perhaps by the same writer who got the third cycle of dialogues muddled up). Scholars have noted that the term Yahweh (Jehovah) is consistently used in the parts of the Hebrew scriptures that reflect the early southern traditions of the Kingdom of Judah. Likewise, the term Elohim (El and Eloah are the singular forms) is consistently used in texts that reflect the early northern traditions of the Kingdom of Israel. Based upon the differing terms used for the divine in the two parts of Job, it can be supposed that the folk tale portion of Job originated in Judah, and the writer of the poetry was from the northern kingdom.
Actually, it's my theory that the writer of Job was a Hebrew poet living in Babylon during the captivity period who spliced his poetry into a folk tale from Judah. He used the language style from the north for his poetry because his ancestral roots were from the north. Or perhaps the northern style of Hebrew was considered to be more appropriate for epic poetry (sort of like King James style of English is to us). I think the writer who later inserted the character of Elihu was a scribe back in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity who did it because he perceived that there were some missing lines of text in the third cycle.
September 23, 2020
Job always amazes me. To have that kind of steady faith in the midst of such anguish. I admire him so much. I sometimes put myself in the place of different Bible characters to feel more connected. NOT with Job. I don't want to feel any of his torment.
November 22, 2017
Job sounds an awful lot like me.
April 18, 2024
good omens season 2 episode 2 reference
June 8, 2019
I think this is the first time I truly appreciated the poetry in Job. In my opinion, it's even better than many of the Psalms. Bible poetry usually sounds best in the KJV, but I think the ESV also does fairly well at presenting poetic passages gracefully. I think my favorite section is chapter 28, where Job speaks of wisdom. First he describes how men have mined gold and silver out of the deep, secret places of the earth. "But where shall wisdom be found?" Wisdom is far more valuable than precious stones, yet "it is hidden from the eyes of all living." But "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place." The chapter ends as God says"The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."
I was also interested by the interactions between God and Satan that are recorded in the first chapters. It's seems strange that Satan had to receive God's permission before harming Job. Trying to think through all the implications of that is fascinating, if a bit confusing.
I was also interested by the interactions between God and Satan that are recorded in the first chapters. It's seems strange that Satan had to receive God's permission before harming Job. Trying to think through all the implications of that is fascinating, if a bit confusing.
March 9, 2011
Most people only read the first two and last chapter of this book (the chapters written in prose), preferring to skip the chapters written in poetry. Doing so leaves the reader with a false impression of this book. The poetry chapters contain Job's questions, rants, and pleadings with his four "friends" and with God over the question: what is the meaning of suffering? Every possible meaning is entertained but without satisfying Job--until God himself speaks out of a whirlwind, showing Job that God's ways are mighty and incomprehensible to human kind. The book is a great marriage of theology and poetry. Even though we are not given an answer to the question of suffering, there is some comfort in the beauty of the language and the feeling of suffering that Job expresses. At some point, we all wrestle with this question, and there is comfort in knowing that we are not alone as we shake our fist towards the sky.
January 15, 2021
Job is a tough book to get through, not only because of the content but also because of the dense Hebrew poetry it's written in. It seems like the writing takes many rabbit-trails in the conversations between Job and his friends, so it takes a very intentional way of reading to grasp the point of the book of Job.
But, with the help of The Bible Project on Youtube and a Facebook group that I'm a member of to help study the Bible in a year, these were my take-aways from Job:
1. Job is about justice. Not justice in how we would define it, which is actually the whole point of Job's conversations with his friends. They are describing God as a just God--which we know to be true according to other Scripture!--but they are defining His justice on a scale that WE understand and grasp. The reason God says that Job and his friends are wrong in their discussions is because it is impossible for man and woman to fully grasp God's justice. God sees the world in its entirety; past, present, and future, and His justice is on that scale. When we, like Job, accuse God of injustice because of something in our lives or the lives of others, we aren't taking into consideration the full extent to which He views the entire universe. In the end, when He rebukes Job, He talks about the constellations, the beasts, the mountains, the wind, the seas, and everything that He has created, and simply tells Job that unless he understands the workings of the universe himself, can he really accuse God of injustice when his view of the world is reduced to the minuscule box that is his life? It was a really eye-opening concept and at the end of Job, God just asks Job to trust Him. To trust that He is just, even when he doesn't understand.
2. Don't be like Job's friends, who are quick to accuse and slow to listen! Goodness!
So, there's my take-away from Job :)
But, with the help of The Bible Project on Youtube and a Facebook group that I'm a member of to help study the Bible in a year, these were my take-aways from Job:
1. Job is about justice. Not justice in how we would define it, which is actually the whole point of Job's conversations with his friends. They are describing God as a just God--which we know to be true according to other Scripture!--but they are defining His justice on a scale that WE understand and grasp. The reason God says that Job and his friends are wrong in their discussions is because it is impossible for man and woman to fully grasp God's justice. God sees the world in its entirety; past, present, and future, and His justice is on that scale. When we, like Job, accuse God of injustice because of something in our lives or the lives of others, we aren't taking into consideration the full extent to which He views the entire universe. In the end, when He rebukes Job, He talks about the constellations, the beasts, the mountains, the wind, the seas, and everything that He has created, and simply tells Job that unless he understands the workings of the universe himself, can he really accuse God of injustice when his view of the world is reduced to the minuscule box that is his life? It was a really eye-opening concept and at the end of Job, God just asks Job to trust Him. To trust that He is just, even when he doesn't understand.
2. Don't be like Job's friends, who are quick to accuse and slow to listen! Goodness!
So, there's my take-away from Job :)
July 10, 2024
"A man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was an honest man and innocent of any wrong. He honored God and stayed away from evil. Job had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 female donkeys. And he had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." Job 1:1-3 (ICB)
Warning: This isn't short, and it's possible that nobody will find it interesting other than me. I'm not even sure I can legitimately call it a review.
I recently read the book of Job. The Bible Recap reading schedule has Job inserted in the middle of Genesis due to its chronology, even though Job is the 18th book in the Old Testament (and in the Bible).
I have to say.... this time around, I liked listening to Job on YouTube a lot better than reading a physical copy! In general, my reading preferences lie in a story with a happy ending that doesn't make me feel overly frustrated or depressed along the way. I find stories like that overwhelming. Either that, or I enjoy reading things that make me think. I don't feel like Job checks either box.
In the past, I have felt the book of Job to be purely depressing. But the pace of the audio dramatization swept me right along, and I never lost track of who was talking. The most challenging part for me on a spiritual level is listening to Job's lamentations. The Bible states that through his sorrow, Job did not sin. He refused to curse God, but he certainly was confused and he was certainly heartbroken. His sorrow was compounded by the fact that eventually, his friends started saying that Job's misfortunes must be a punishment from God. How wretched. Sometimes in reading Job's words, I've wondered, "Are the words he's saying truly acceptable to God?" But the Bible says that Job didn't sin. So I have to conclude that Job is sharing his feelings with God. Pretty bold. Maybe I need to do that more.
"When Job heard this, he got up. To show how sad he was he tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he bowed down to the ground to worship God." - Job 1:20 (ICB)
I've always found that verse odd. He showed outward signs of mourning and then… worshipped God? Not cursing Him, Not railing at Him. That was his first reaction. Giving honor to God. (The quote at the end of this review shows what Job said in the next verse.) And I think that at the same time, Job was steadying himself.
Ultimately, Job passed Satan's challenge, and God blessed him abundantly. But even so.... I cannot imagine losing all of my children and my spouse within a very short space of time and still having the strength to love and trust God. I hope I would, should that happen, God forbid. In the relatively few seemingly unbearable trials in life, my three strongest comforts have been: sleep, encouragement from my husband, and seeking God, always in that sequence.
The thing about sleep is that it's immediate - a needed shut-off to keep my catastrophizing from spiraling out of control. But it's also temporary. I can't do it indefinitely, and I have responsibilities. My husband's encouragement and support need to come in repeated doses, and I'm truly blessed to have that as an option. Imagine if he eventually started blaming me, as Job's friends did! Unbearable! Reading the Bible & praying - along with doing anything that God has led me to do - and then leaving it in His hands and then ……..waiting…… is very effective. Surprisingly so.
And of course, rinse and repeat, as my Goodreads friend would say.
Turning to the book of Job for all that lamenting from Job as well as the dialogue from his friends --- on a personal level would just be too much for me as a source of comfort. Reading about any extensive rumination is anxiety-inducing. I find more comfort in reading Proverbs and Paul's letters. In general, they seem to have the most impact for me. But I recently spoke with a friend who said that she takes great comfort in reading the book of Job when she's going through difficulties. I have no doubt that others feel the same.
So for me, the biggest takeaway from the book of Job is my admiration and respect for the strength of Job's amazing ability to trust in God in times of extreme stress. I sometimes wonder if I'd be able to do that if one of my nearest and dearest passed away. I think I would HAVE TO TRUST GOD. Because my effective three-step strategy - which I was not conscious of until I wrote this review - for dealing with very upsetting circumstances hinges on ultimately acting on whatever God leads me to do, choosing not to worry -again and again - and then to waiting for Him to show me the next step.
But every time I read Job or hear a sermon about Job, I can tell myself that I want to be like Job when I grow up. And that makes the book worthwhile, even though it's DEFINITELY not my favorite.
He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” Job 1:21 (GNT)
5 stars
1/4/24 - 1/15/24 with the Bible Recap
Warning: This isn't short, and it's possible that nobody will find it interesting other than me. I'm not even sure I can legitimately call it a review.
I recently read the book of Job. The Bible Recap reading schedule has Job inserted in the middle of Genesis due to its chronology, even though Job is the 18th book in the Old Testament (and in the Bible).
I have to say.... this time around, I liked listening to Job on YouTube a lot better than reading a physical copy! In general, my reading preferences lie in a story with a happy ending that doesn't make me feel overly frustrated or depressed along the way. I find stories like that overwhelming. Either that, or I enjoy reading things that make me think. I don't feel like Job checks either box.
In the past, I have felt the book of Job to be purely depressing. But the pace of the audio dramatization swept me right along, and I never lost track of who was talking. The most challenging part for me on a spiritual level is listening to Job's lamentations. The Bible states that through his sorrow, Job did not sin. He refused to curse God, but he certainly was confused and he was certainly heartbroken. His sorrow was compounded by the fact that eventually, his friends started saying that Job's misfortunes must be a punishment from God. How wretched. Sometimes in reading Job's words, I've wondered, "Are the words he's saying truly acceptable to God?" But the Bible says that Job didn't sin. So I have to conclude that Job is sharing his feelings with God. Pretty bold. Maybe I need to do that more.
"When Job heard this, he got up. To show how sad he was he tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he bowed down to the ground to worship God." - Job 1:20 (ICB)
I've always found that verse odd. He showed outward signs of mourning and then… worshipped God? Not cursing Him, Not railing at Him. That was his first reaction. Giving honor to God. (The quote at the end of this review shows what Job said in the next verse.) And I think that at the same time, Job was steadying himself.
Ultimately, Job passed Satan's challenge, and God blessed him abundantly. But even so.... I cannot imagine losing all of my children and my spouse within a very short space of time and still having the strength to love and trust God. I hope I would, should that happen, God forbid. In the relatively few seemingly unbearable trials in life, my three strongest comforts have been: sleep, encouragement from my husband, and seeking God, always in that sequence.
The thing about sleep is that it's immediate - a needed shut-off to keep my catastrophizing from spiraling out of control. But it's also temporary. I can't do it indefinitely, and I have responsibilities. My husband's encouragement and support need to come in repeated doses, and I'm truly blessed to have that as an option. Imagine if he eventually started blaming me, as Job's friends did! Unbearable! Reading the Bible & praying - along with doing anything that God has led me to do - and then leaving it in His hands and then ……..waiting…… is very effective. Surprisingly so.
And of course, rinse and repeat, as my Goodreads friend would say.
Turning to the book of Job for all that lamenting from Job as well as the dialogue from his friends --- on a personal level would just be too much for me as a source of comfort. Reading about any extensive rumination is anxiety-inducing. I find more comfort in reading Proverbs and Paul's letters. In general, they seem to have the most impact for me. But I recently spoke with a friend who said that she takes great comfort in reading the book of Job when she's going through difficulties. I have no doubt that others feel the same.
So for me, the biggest takeaway from the book of Job is my admiration and respect for the strength of Job's amazing ability to trust in God in times of extreme stress. I sometimes wonder if I'd be able to do that if one of my nearest and dearest passed away. I think I would HAVE TO TRUST GOD. Because my effective three-step strategy - which I was not conscious of until I wrote this review - for dealing with very upsetting circumstances hinges on ultimately acting on whatever God leads me to do, choosing not to worry -again and again - and then to waiting for Him to show me the next step.
But every time I read Job or hear a sermon about Job, I can tell myself that I want to be like Job when I grow up. And that makes the book worthwhile, even though it's DEFINITELY not my favorite.
He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” Job 1:21 (GNT)
5 stars
1/4/24 - 1/15/24 with the Bible Recap
August 27, 2020
Earlier this summer I read the book of Job from the Old Testament of the Bible. I used a Wesley Study Bible, hoping that it would help me understand the deeper meanings in this book. I was thinking that reading about someone who had truly greatly suffered in his life would help negate any feelings I might be having toward self-pity, in these times of quarantine and isolation. But in the end, I was left with more questions than answers, and so went on to read this translation, including an introduction and notes, to see if this could further my comprehension.
This translator and interpreter, Stephen Mitchell, is a noted scholar, and translator. I noticed that he has translated several works that are Buddhist in nature, and it appears that that is reflective of his own personal belief system. The actual translation of Job here is beautifully rendered, the poetry is vigorous and sharp. The Introduction and Notes are at times consistent with other interpretations I have sought out, but there are some thoughts in the Introduction that I found quite interesting. Mr. Mitchell calls the conversation in Heaven between Yahweh and the Accuser “chilling” and I couldn’t agree more; he speaks of God goading the Accuser into focusing on Job, and God acquiesces to the Accuser’s calm cruelty. It seemed this was done on a whim, for entertainment, that Job’s entire life is upended, his children killed.
Mr. Mitchell also discusses how Job’s statements and arguments are constantly shifting, sometimes to his three “friends”, sometimes to God. This seemed to me to be consistent with how someone whose life has become a torrent, a chaos, might behave.
An interesting concept introduced by this translator is how Job “becomes a symbol for Everyman, grieving for all human misery.” He also notes that Job’s outrage and anguish directed toward God are so intense because of Job’s love for God.
Mr. Mitchell summarizes some of the final chapters with these thoughts:
• God tells Job that “there is no one else in here”, meaning that evil is just part of a continuum, God is the source of all. Both suffering and joy, good and evil, have but one source.
• Job has faced evil, and has come through it into a vast wonder, and love.
• The 10 children who are with Job in the end are not a new set of children, but Job’s original 10 children who died, restored to him and to their lives. (For me, this interpretation makes more sense, as in my original reading I found Job’s restoration to greater wealth, health, prosperity and 10 new children to be superficial and frustrating).
• The theme of Job is spiritual transformation.
All in all, this was an enlightening and superb translation and interpretation of Job, although I still have questions, and will keep searching.
This translator and interpreter, Stephen Mitchell, is a noted scholar, and translator. I noticed that he has translated several works that are Buddhist in nature, and it appears that that is reflective of his own personal belief system. The actual translation of Job here is beautifully rendered, the poetry is vigorous and sharp. The Introduction and Notes are at times consistent with other interpretations I have sought out, but there are some thoughts in the Introduction that I found quite interesting. Mr. Mitchell calls the conversation in Heaven between Yahweh and the Accuser “chilling” and I couldn’t agree more; he speaks of God goading the Accuser into focusing on Job, and God acquiesces to the Accuser’s calm cruelty. It seemed this was done on a whim, for entertainment, that Job’s entire life is upended, his children killed.
Mr. Mitchell also discusses how Job’s statements and arguments are constantly shifting, sometimes to his three “friends”, sometimes to God. This seemed to me to be consistent with how someone whose life has become a torrent, a chaos, might behave.
An interesting concept introduced by this translator is how Job “becomes a symbol for Everyman, grieving for all human misery.” He also notes that Job’s outrage and anguish directed toward God are so intense because of Job’s love for God.
Mr. Mitchell summarizes some of the final chapters with these thoughts:
• God tells Job that “there is no one else in here”, meaning that evil is just part of a continuum, God is the source of all. Both suffering and joy, good and evil, have but one source.
• Job has faced evil, and has come through it into a vast wonder, and love.
• The 10 children who are with Job in the end are not a new set of children, but Job’s original 10 children who died, restored to him and to their lives. (For me, this interpretation makes more sense, as in my original reading I found Job’s restoration to greater wealth, health, prosperity and 10 new children to be superficial and frustrating).
• The theme of Job is spiritual transformation.
All in all, this was an enlightening and superb translation and interpretation of Job, although I still have questions, and will keep searching.
January 10, 2012
Job is a book from the bible I have always been oddly drawn to and Stephen Mitchell is an author I am even more strongly attached to, so The Book of Job by Stephen Mitchell is obviously too great a combination to pass up. And Mitchell delivers a fascinating meditation on that great book of pain, suffering, and questioning. He also translates the book itself beautifully, showing what a beautiful poem it is. At the same time, it remains fresh, almost contemporary in Job's outrage and his friend's responses.
Favorite line so far: God will not hear Job, but Job will see God
Job's "friends" have all the typical, conventional responses. They can't simply be with Job in his pain; it's too threatening.
Someone has to be "wrong." Someone has to be to blame.
Or no one is safe.
Which is the truth.
In the end, Job says to "the Voice in the Whirlwind":
I have spoken of the unspeakable
and tried to grasp the infinite
Favorite line so far: God will not hear Job, but Job will see God
Job's "friends" have all the typical, conventional responses. They can't simply be with Job in his pain; it's too threatening.
Someone has to be "wrong." Someone has to be to blame.
Or no one is safe.
Which is the truth.
In the end, Job says to "the Voice in the Whirlwind":
I have spoken of the unspeakable
and tried to grasp the infinite
October 23, 2016
This was the last little book I sneaked in at my end of the #readathon until I crashed around 4 am. I'm a huge fan of the translations by Stephen Mitchell of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," so I started looking to see what else he translated. I found this. The audio is only an hour long, and this just seemed the perfect way to end my participation in the 24 hour reading event, and stop my mind whirling, and send me to sleep. Beautiful verse rendition in iambic pentameter. Encounter this ancient text when you think your world may be crashing down around you. Listen to it all in one sitting. Go into a cocoon, and listen, and arise a changed person. I've never noticed before how many roots of Christ's teachings are encompassed within this text. I've never noticed before how the three friends resemble the fates. I've never noticed before how whiny Job really was, how truly at the end of the rope he was. I've never noticed before the power of the metaphors and similes evoked in the answer to the accusations. THIS puts the prosperity doctrine right where it belongs.
Whether you have any kind of faith or not, these words will speak to you, and comfort you. Highly recommend.
Whether you have any kind of faith or not, these words will speak to you, and comfort you. Highly recommend.
April 25, 2017
I really enjoyed The Book of Job. It's not a story I remember from my childhood. It's about a very successful and blessed man with a very impressive number of children, animals and servants. Then Satan intervenes, resulting in Job losing the good things in his life. Even though Job becomes unhappy about his situation, he doesn't blame God for his misfortune.
I think this is a story people could learn from. Nowadays, people seem so eager to blame someone or something else for their own failings before looking at themselves, and what they may have done to cause or contribute to their own misfortune, or what they can do themselves to improve their own situation. Life is full of challenges, and sometimes there appears to be no reason for what is happening. Instead of focussing blame, hold on to the hope that things will improve eventually, either because time heals or through your own sheer determination. You will come out of it a stronger person if you refuse to give up. That's what I took from this book.
Job seems like a very wise man and a thoroughly pleasant fellow indeed.
I think this is a story people could learn from. Nowadays, people seem so eager to blame someone or something else for their own failings before looking at themselves, and what they may have done to cause or contribute to their own misfortune, or what they can do themselves to improve their own situation. Life is full of challenges, and sometimes there appears to be no reason for what is happening. Instead of focussing blame, hold on to the hope that things will improve eventually, either because time heals or through your own sheer determination. You will come out of it a stronger person if you refuse to give up. That's what I took from this book.
Job seems like a very wise man and a thoroughly pleasant fellow indeed.
October 10, 2019
Non è proprio lo stesso leggere questo capolavoro della letteratura di tutti i tempi con o senza l'aiuto di un valido commento. Ravasi mi ha aperto prospettive di comprensione e di apprezzamento che non credo avrei mai raggiunto da solo. Tornerò a leggere questo libro della Bibbia, ma ora con molta più ricchezza.
Read
July 14, 2008For a retelling of THE BOOK OF JOB in an experimental wiki format:
https://maryoverton.wikispaces.com/
https://maryoverton.wikispaces.com/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 405 reviews