The Voice from the Whirlwind Interpreting the Book of Job

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The Voice from the WhirlwindInterpreting the
Book of Job

• Session 1
• Shirley Fong

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Author Date

• Though the story of Job has its setting
  outside Israel to the east and south (Uz), most
  people believe that the author of Job is a
  Hebrew.
• There is no history reference in the book to
  determine its time or circumstances.

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Purpose of the Book

• To show the inadequacy of the traditional theory
  of retribution (2-Ways Doctrine)
• Job is the exception of the norms .Is the
  doctrine of retribution oversimplified life
  experiences?
• The voice of Job challenges the traditional
  Hebrew thinking (Proverbs)

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Theological Themes

• The Book concerns with the question of faith in
  a Sovereign God.
• Can God be trusted?
• Is God good and just in his rule of
• the world?

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Outline

• Prologue (Ch 1-2)
• The Jobs lament (Ch 3)
• First Cycle of argument with three friends
  (Ch 4-14)
• Second Cycle of argument with three friends
  (Ch 15-21)
• Third Cycle of argument with three friends
  (Ch 22-27)
• Wisdom Psalm (Ch 28)
• Job speech (Ch 29-31)
• Elihu speeches (Ch 32-37)
• Divine speeches (Ch 38-41)
• Jobs reply (403-5 421-6)
• Epilogue (427-17)

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Basic Genres and Literary Form

• Prose/Narrative Frame
• Prologue-Cycle of Speeches-Epilogue
• Lamentation/Monologue of Job (Ch. 3)
• Dialogue/Dispute
• between Job and his friends (Chs. 4-27)
• between the Lord and Job(Chs. 38-426)

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Basic Genres and Literary Form

• Complaint (Monologue) (Chs. 29-31)
• Wisdom Poem (Ch 28)
• Speech (Chs. 32-37)
• Judicial process (Job engages in a
• judicial process against God)
• Rhetorical Questions (Chs. 38-39)

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Interpretative strategy

• Different voices to represent different thinking
  and theologies
• Job does not represent an individual sufferer,
  rather a collective voice of suffering humanity
• Nature of suffering
• Nature and purpose of the Divine speech

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Features

• a figure suffers without cause
• comforts are given by friends
• a complaint/lament by the sufferer
• dialogue/dispute between sufferer and friends
• Deity reveals
• trust appealing to God when in distress
• eventually restored by the deity

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Prologue

• Through the commends of God and narrator to bring
  out the upright personality of Job (to lay the
  foundation of the argument the righteousness
• suffers for no reason)
• The key question
• Will man worship God without reason?

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Prologue

• The spiritual realm (things above the sun) a
  competition between God and the One against Him.
  The one under the sun (Job) has no clue on the
  things above. Is it fair to Job to be used as a
  testing object in this competition?
• Have you considered my servant Job?
• God initiates all the suffering of Job?
• Why?

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Prologue

• The purpose/significance of God drawing the
  boundary of attacking/destruction
• The response of Job (as the sufferer), his wife
  (as the sufferer and the beloved one) and his
  friends (the surrounding people and community of
  the sufferer)

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Reflection

• What is your reason of worshipping God? (For who
  He is? For what He has done for you? For what you
  want/expect Him to do for you?)
• What will be your response if the one who
  suffers is you? Is your beloved one? Is in your
  extended family? Is your friend? Is among your
  faith community?