The Book of Job. Session 1 Getting wise to the wisdom books

Transcription

1 The Book of Job Session1 Gettingwisetothewisdombooks Gettingstarted IfwearetobeginanexplorationoftheBookofJob,wemightdowelltobeginbyrememberingthatThe Bibleis,inessence,a library acollectionof66differentbooks,ofdifferentgenres,writtenatdifferent times, by different authors, in response to different experiences. Though some books cross genre boundaries,andalthoughsomebooksarethemselvesacollectionofstoriesfromacrossdifferinggenres, abasicbreakdownofbiblicalbooksbygenreisprovidedbelow. Figure1:AbasicbreakdownoftheBiblicalbooksbygenre. Notably,theBookofJob,belongstoagenreofbooksidentifiedas WisdomBooks,oras Wisdom Literature.BeforemovingtowardacloserexaminationofJob,it sworthtakingthetimetounderstand somethingofthegenreitbelongsto.

2 Whatisthe WisdomTradition? The Book of Job is belongs to the genre of Wisdom Literature a literary outgrowth of the Wisdom Tradition. Writings belonging to this genre can typically be identified by 4 common characteristics, whichincludethefollowing: WisdomLiterature isrootedinthepracticalhumanexperienceoflife. WisdomLiterature intentionallysoughttoexploreandrealisticallyconfrontcrucialandcritical issuesabouttheanxietiesandtensionsoflife,itsmeaning,andthedesirefora goodlife. WisdomLiterature oftenraisedrealanddifficultquestions,intendedtoprovokethought, withoutofferingeasyanswersorsimplesolutions. WisdomLiterature oftenchallengedconventionalopinions,practices,andbeliefsaboutlifeand itsmeaning. TheWorldofthe WisdomTraditions Wisdom Literature was prolifically produced, borrowed, and exchanged throughout the Ancient Near East including areas such as: Egypt, Babylon, Phoenicia, Edom,& Israel who inherited a portion of its own Wisdom Tradition from pre existed Canaanite cultures they encountered as they settled the PromisedLand.Thisexchangeof wisdommaterials wascommonplaceintheancientneareast,andis evidenced to within the Bible itself. See Figure 2, below indicating some of the exchange evident in scripture. Figure2.Tracingtheoriginofportionsofscripturebacktotheirroots withinthe WisdomTraditions ofseveralsurroundingcultures.

3 ThoughIsraelborrowedfromthe wisdomtraditions oftheirneighbors,it simportanttonote,that whatevermaterialstheydidborrow,theyalso baptized,re interpretingthosematerialsinlightof Israel sexperienceoflifelivedwithgod,asgod speople. Definingthe Wisdom ofancientisrael InsearchingforawaytoexpressthenatureofAncientIsrael s WisdomTradition,andinparticular,as weencounteritinthepagesofthebible,itmightbeenoughtosimplydefineitinthefollowingterms: The Wisdom materialsofancientisraelwererootedinthepracticalhumanexperienceoflife withgod,intentionallyseekingtoexplore,andtorealisticallyconfrontcrucialandcriticalissues abouttheanxietiesandtensionsoflife,faith,andthedesirefora goodlife withgod. Theyoftenraisedreal,difficult,andoftenemotionalquestions,intendedtoprovokethoughtand growth,withoutnecessarilyofferingeasyanswersorsimplesolutions,andoftenchallenged conventionalopinions,practices,understandingsandbeliefsaboutlife,itsmeaning,andgod. FromWisdomTraditionstoWisdomTexts Prior to Babylon s conquest of Judah,thedestructionofthetemple in Jerusalem (586 BC), and the ensuing deportation of the exiles, the wisdom tradition in Israel had beenamixofbothoralandwritten materials. This material was generally taught informally, typically at local town gatestoanyonewhowouldlisten. During the Exilic Period, while other Biblical texts were being collected,writtendown,edited,and canonized, Wisdom materials that were deemed important to God s people were also being written downtoensuretheirpreservation. Followingtheexilicperiod(538BC ff), and after returning home, schools were created in Israel, for the purpose of formally teaching wisdom, as a means to helping achieve thegoodlife.

4 It salsoworthnotingthatwhatchristiansrefertoastheoldtestamentwascanonized(writtenintoits finalformandorder)overaperiodtime,andindifferentstages.thesestagesareoutlinedinthediagram below. Figure3.Abasicoutlineofthe3 stagecanonizationprocessoftheoldtestamentscriptures. TheTorah(orTeachings),theNevi im(orprophets),andthekethu bim(orwritings)each containeddifferentbooksofthebible,andwerecanonizedatdifferenttimesoveraperiod ofapprox.600years. It simportanttonotethatalthough Wisdom materialswerebeingcollectedthroughoutisrael shistory, the Wisdom Books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, & Lamentations) were amongthelastbookstobeenteredinthecanonofscripture.assuch,theyaresituatedinsuchawayas to converse withmostofisrael shistory,traditions,andbeliefs. TheWisdomBooksoftheBible:AnOverview AswegetclosertoconsideringtheBookofJob,let sstoptobrieflyconsidertheotherbookssharingthe genreof WisdomLiterature :

5 TheBookofPsalms: TheBookofPsalmsisthelongestbookintheBible.It scomprisedof150psalms(poems)bydifferent authors, from different times, within different contexts, addressing different experiences, addressing differentissuessuchas:love,death,alienation,estrangement,despair,hope,life,&eternity.whatsetsthe book of Psalms apart, is the broad range of human emotions it expresses, including: joy, praise, confidence,gratitude,grief,sorrow,fear,anger,betrayal,&anxiety. TheBookofProverbs: Proverbs contains 375 sayings intended to give prudential advice on how to live the good life. These sayingsoriginatedatdifferenttimes,fromvaryingsources,whicharenowdifficulttobothdate&identify individually. However, these sayings come heaped upon one another, contrasting the wise from the fool,the goodlife fromthe bad,inamannermeanttospeakacrosstheagesandgenerations.[seepr. 1:1 4]WithinProverbs,Wisdomisoftenpersonifiedasa woman tobesought,asopposedtofoolishness, whichispersonifiedasa harlot tobeavoided.[comparepr.8:1 6withPr.9:13 18] TheSongofSongs: This Song is generally attributed to Solomon, but doesn t fit easily into the Wisdom category. Interpretations of the book differ, and include: a simple love poem, a drama with 2 or 3 characters, a collectionofwedding/secularlovesongs(givengodisnotmentionedinthetext),acelebrationofhuman loveandsexuality(consideredagiftfromgodbyancientisrael),anallegoryofgod sloveforhispeople, anallegoryonthesearchfor Wisdom.(Considerthepersonificationof Wisdom asawomaninthebook ofproverbs.seeabove.)thoughitslanguageishighlyanderoticandsuggestive(considersongofsongs 1:1 10),andalthoughitmightbeenoughtomakemanymodernreadersblush,ithasbecomeassociated withthecelebrationofpassover. TheBookofEcclesiastes The date of the book s origin, and the identity of it s authorship are uncertain, yet what it conveys is a personalreflectiononlifeanditmeaning.assuch,theauthorexplores:themeaning(ormeaningless)of life under the sun (here in this world), when all human efforts result in a common end death, the limitations of human wisdom and efforts, the lack of clear answers to life s hardest questions the know ability ofgod(orlackthereof)fromhumanexperience,theroleoffaithinacceptinglifedespiteits apparentenigmasandinultimatelydiscoveringjoy. TheBookofLamentations Lamentations isacollectionof5 lament poems,oftenattributedtojeremiah(whichiswhyitfollows the book of Jeremiah in the Bible), primarily because they date to the exilic period and the fall of Jerusalem.Thesepoems(called laments )reflectthepainoftheexilicperiod,theruinofjerusalem,and the destruction of the Temple. The poems, express pain, agony, and a petition for God s mercy. Lamentations is read aloud annually on the 9 th day of Ab (late July) a day commemorating the destructionofthetemplein586bce. Thesebooks,together,tacklesomeofthemostdifficultquestionsregardinglifeandfaith,goodandevil, painandsuffering,faithanddoubt,humanityandgod.theyvividintheiremotions,oftencandidintheir thoughts,shortoneasyanswers,butintendedtoproducethoughtfulconsiderationandmeditation.

6 TheBookofJob: Issues of the story s origins, authorship, historicity & datingaredifficult,andoften debated. But like the other wisdom books of the Bible, Job is a literary construct intentionally designed to dealwithdifficultmattersof lifeandfaith. And though the book is set within the pre Israelite period, it was most likely written during the Babylonian Exile where the story s issues and interests became of significance importancetogod speople. Israel s experience of the Exile sat in tension with a number of its conventional beliefs including a certain ideologyrootedintheideaof covenant that emphasized a belief in consistent reward and punishment based on humanaction. Essentially, this ideology (or Deutoronomistic Theology), whichthreadsitswaythroughoutpartsofthetorah, the History books, and even some wisdom literature, holds that right living and right actions resultinreceivinggod sblessings.bycontrast,wrong actions(sin)resultindivingpunishment[seelev.26; Deut.6;1Chr.4:9 10;Ps.128]. Jobsitsitsintensionwiththisideaof Deutoronomic Retribution, and the more modern notion of ProsperityTheology.Job(thestoryofanuprightand spiritualmanwholoseseverything)seekstoexplore the complexities of life and reality, wrestling with difficultquestionsoffaith,whilecallingintoquestion simplisticexplanationsforlife schallenges. WewillbeginexploringJob andtheissuesitraises moreinournextsession.

7 Somethingtothinkabout HowmighttheexperienceoftheExilehavecreatedtensionsforIsrael(bothasanation&as individuals)withsomeofitsconventionalbeliefsaboutlife,andgod? WhatquestionsmighttheexperienceoftheExileraisedinpeople smindsregardinglife,faith,god, suffering,justice,evil,etc. Fromwhatyouknowofthestory,howmightthesetensionsandquestionsbereflectedintheBookof Job? WhymakeitapointofincludingtheBookofJobinscripture? HowmighttheBookofJobhavespokentoGod speople?andhowmightitcontinuetospeaktogod s peopletoday?