Book of Job: "Greatest poem ... of ancient or modern literature"



"THE BOOK OF JOB"

Introduction

The Book of Job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature.

Consider these quotes:



"Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to

me to retain one work only, I should save Job." (Victor Hugo)



"...the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature."

(Tennyson)



"The Book of Job taken as a mere work of literary genius, is one of

the most wonderful productions of any age or of any language."

(Daniel Webster)



What is it about the book that prompts such praise? Most Christians I

know don't feel that way about the Book of Job. Perhaps it is because

many tend to neglect the Old Testament altogether. Yet Paul wrote of

the value of the Old Testament scriptures:



For whatever things were written before were written for our

learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the

Scriptures might have hope. (Ro 15:4)



Note that the Old Testament was written for our learning, that it

provides patience and comfort, and as such can be a source of hope.

This is especially true with the story of Job, to whom James referred

when seeking to instill patience (cf. Jm 5:10-11). Because the Book of

Job is so often neglected, yet presents a valuable lesson and is so

highly praised by even people of the world, Christians should certainly

take the time to study this portion of God's Word!



THE PLACE OF JOB IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: Job is the first of five books

commonly referred to as "The Books Of Poetry". These include Job,

Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Called such

because they are written in poetic style in contrast to the narrative

style of most other books, they are also often referred to as "Wisdom

Literature" (especially Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes). Oswald

Chambers (1874-1917) offered this concise summary of the five books:



* Job - How to suffer



* Psalms - How to pray



* Proverbs - How to act



* Ecclesiastes - How to enjoy



* Song of Solomon - How to love



Now let's take a look at the Book of Job in particular...



AUTHOR AND DATE OF WRITING: [Comment: The AMAIC has identified Job as Tobias son of Tobit of the C8th BC] Who wrote the book, and when? No one

really knows. Jewish tradition attributes the book to Moses, and other

authors have been suggested (Job, Elihu, Solomon, Isaiah, Hezekiah, and

Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe). "All that can be said with certainty is

that the author was a loyal Hebrew who was not strictly bound by the

popular creed that assumed suffering was always the direct result of

sin" (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown). Because the author is unknown,

it's date has been hotly debated among scholars. Some think it was

written before Moses (pre 1500 B.C.). Others put it at the time of

Solomon (ca. 900 B.C.), and some even as late as the Babylonian Exile

or later (post 600 B.C.).



The uncertainty of author and date does not nullify the book's

inspiration, for it is affirmed in the New Testament. Paul quotes from

it on several occasions in his writings (cf. 1Co 3:19 with Job 5:13;

and Ro 11:35 with Job 41:11). For the Christian who accepts the

inspiration of the New Testament, such evidence is sufficient.



THE HISTORICITY OF THE BOOK: Even though inspired, are we to take the

events described in it as historically true? There are several reasons

for believing that they are:



* The style of the opening and close of the book certainly conform

to other Biblical narratives that are historical (cf. 1:1 with

1Sa 1:1 and Lk 1:5).



* In Ezekiel 14:14, Job is mentioned along with Noah and Daniel,

two other figures of history.



* James, the Lord's brother, refers to Job as an example of

perseverance (Jm 5:11).



THE SETTING OF THE BOOK: The historical events appear to be set in

the "Patriarchal" period (i.e., sometime between Noah and Moses). There

are no allusions to the Law of Moses in the book, but there is a

mention of a flood (22:16). Job functions as a priest in offering

sacrifices for his family (1:5), similar to what we find with Abraham

(cf. Gen 12:7). His longevity is typical of the patriarchs (42:16;

cf. Gen 11:22-26,32). For such reasons I would place him somewhat

contemporary with Abraham (i.e., ca 2000 B.C.).



THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK: It is common to suggest that the purpose of

the book is to answer the age-old question, "Why does God allow the

righteous to suffer?" That is certainly the question Job raises, but

it is worthy to note that he himself never receives a direct answer.

Nor is one given by the author, other than to answer Satan's challenge,

"Does Job fear God for nothing?". We are privileged to know of the

challenge of Satan, and that God allows Job to suffer in answer to that

challenge, but Job is never told of this. Therefore, I suggest that

the purpose of the book is:



To answer the question, "How should the righteous suffer?"



While Job's questions and complaints often come close to charging God

with wrong, he never crosses the line and humbly submits to God when

told that the answers to his questions are beyond his ability to

understand. Thus the book shows us how the righteous should bear up

under suffering ("You have heard of the perseverance of Job" - Jm 5: 11)



SOME LESSONS FROM THE BOOK: In his study on the book (The Book Of

Job, Quality Pub.), Wayne Jackson offers the following lessons to be

gleaned:



* The book defends the absolute glory and perfection of God - It

sets forth the theme echoed in Ps 18:3 ("I will call upon the

Lord, who is worthy to be praised"). God is deserving of our

praise simply on the basis of who He is, apart from the blessings

He bestows. Satan denied this (1:9-11), but Job proved him

wrong (1:20-22; 2:10).



* The question of suffering is addressed - Why do we suffer? Who

or what causes it? Why doesn't God do something? Not all

questions are answered, but some important points are made:



- Man is unable to subject the painful experiences of human

existence to a meaningful analysis - God's workings are

beyond man's ability to fathom. Man simply cannot tie all

the "loose ends" of the Lord's purposes together. We must

learn to trust in God, no matter the circumstances.



- Suffering is not always the result of personal sin - The

erroneous conclusion drawn by Job's friends is that suffering

is always a consequence of sin. Job proves this is not the

case.



- Suffering may be allowed as a compliment to one's spirituality

- God allowed Job to suffer to prove to Satan what kind of man

he really was. What confidence God had in Job!



* The book paints a beautiful picture of "patience" - The Greek word

is "hupomone", which describes the trait of one who is able to

abide under the weight of trials. From the "patience of Job", we

learn that it means to maintain fidelity to God, even under great

trials in which we do not understand what is happening.



* The book also prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ!

- His coming is anticipated in several ways. Job longs for a

mediator between him and God (9:33; 33:23), and Jesus is one

(1Ti 2:5). Job confessed his faith in a Redeemer who would one

day come (19:25); Christ is that Redeemer (Ep 1:7)!



BRIEF OUTLINE (adapted from Warren Wiersbe)



I. JOB'S DISTRESS (1-3)



A. HIS PROSPERITY (1:1-5)



B. HIS ADVERSITY (1:6-2:13)



C. HIS PERPLEXITY (3)



II. JOB'S DEFENSE (4-37)



A. THE FIRST ROUND (4-14)

1. Eliphaz (4-5)_Job's reply (6-7)

2. Bildad (8)_Job's reply (9-10)

3. Zophar (11)_Job's reply (12-14)



B. THE SECOND ROUND (15-21)

1. Eliphaz (15)_Job's reply (16-17)

2. Bildad (18)_Job's reply (19)

3. Zophar (20)_Job's reply (21)



C. THE THIRD ROUND (22-37)

1. Eliphaz (22)_Job's reply (23-24)

2. Bildad (25)_Job's reply (26-31)



D. YOUNG ELIHU SPEAKS (32-37)

1. Contradicting Job's friends (32)

2. Contradicting Job himself (33)

3. Proclaiming God's justice, goodness, and majesty (34-37)



III. JOB'S DELIVERANCE (38-42)



A. GOD HUMBLES JOB (38:1-42:6)

1. Through questions too great to answer (38:1-41:34)

2. Job acknowledges his inability to understand (42:1-6)



B. GOD HONORS JOB (42:7-17)

1. God rebukes his critics (42:7-10)

2. God restores his wealth (42:11-17)



REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION



1) What are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,

often called?

- Books of Poetry

- Wisdom Literature



2) Who wrote the book, and when?

- We do not know



3) What evidence is there that this book describes an event that

actually occurred?

- It both starts and ends like other books of history in the Old

Testament

- Job is included with Noah and Daniel, as figures of history, in

Ezek 14:14

- James refers to the example of Job in teaching on perseverance

(Jm 5:11)



4) In what historical time frame is the story of Job possibly set?

- During the period of the patriarchs, perhaps contemporary with

Abraham



5) What is the purpose of this book, as suggested in the introduction?

- To answer the question, "How should the righteous suffer?"



6) According to the outline suggested above, what are the three main

divisions of the book?

- Job's Distress (1-3)

- Job's Defense (4-37)

- Job's Deliverance (38-42)

....
 
Taken from: http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/job/job_01.htm

Character of Holy Job

Job

Job was a God-fearing man who avoided evil, had seven sons and three daughters, and was immensely wealthy. God calls Job "A good man who fears God and will have nothing to do with evil." (Job 1;8). Satan scoffs, "Why shouldn't he when You pay him so well? ... You have always protected him and his home and his property from all harm." God then allows Satan to do anything he likes with Job's wealth, but not to harm him physically. 100 Prophecies, explains how Bible prophecies have been fulfilled in history. Click for more information. A series of misfortunes strikes Job. Three friends visit him, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, and each try to explain Job's misery in a different way. There are three speeches by each of the three friends. A fourth man Elihu, tries to summarize the situation, offering yet another explanation of why Job is suffering. Finally the Lord Himself speaks to Job, and Job recognizes that we do not always need answers to life's problems but that we always need God Himself. Job is then healed and given material and spiritual blessings far beyond his former state. The life and times of Job are contained in the Bible's book of Job, in the Old Testament. The theme of this book is that mankind simply does not have enough knowledge to explain why things happen the way they do. It is possible to rise above our limitations by faith in God, however, because God does know why everything happens and will work good for those who love him. We may thus learn the profound truth that when we have nothing left but God, God is enough. Job is mentioned, along with Noah and Daniel, in Ezekiel 14:14, as the only ones to be saved by their righteousness.

In James 5:11 Job is mentioned as a man who continued to trust the Lord even in sorrow.

...

Taken from: http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p165.htm

Book of Job and Problem of Suffering

....

The book of Job is one of the most beautiful and accomplished poems in world literature. It has been compared with Dante's Divine Comedy and Goethe's Faust. As A. Vaccari says, it deals with an absorbing subject, a deeply human and divinely sublime drama, with such color and warmth of feeling and such variety of form that language and art have here reached their zenith.

The poem is divided into three parts: a prologue (chap. 1-2); a dialogue, taking up the main body of the book (chap. 3-42:6), and an epilogue.

The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. The adversary (Satan) insinuates himself among the angels of God's court and argues that Job's virtue is not genuine. So God permits Job to be tested. Blow after blow falls on Job, depriving him of his possessions and of his children. But Job remains faithful and then is attacked personally; he becomes gravely ill and disfigured. He accepts with resignation the physical evil which God sends him, just as he had previously accepted the contentment he enjoyed.

Such is Job's faith that Satan is defeated. But Job's suffering is so deep that he utters a cry of lamentation--not of despair--when his three friends seek to console him after his being plunged into silence for seven days.

Job starts the dialogue, provoked by his friends' failure to understand why he is suffering like this. They consider suffering to be punishment for sin (this was the general view at that time), yet Job keeps insisting that he is blameless. They in turn invite him humbly to recognize his fault and beg God's forgiveness.

At no stage does Job say that he is completely free from sin; what he does maintain is that his suffering is far greater than his faults deserve. One might think that this means he is accusing God of being unjust, but that is not so: He simply cannot make out why God is sending him these sufferings. In fact, in this life God does not reward everyone according to his merits: That happens in the life to come. Therefore, if he sometimes causes suffering to someone who is known to be blameless, his purpose in doing so is to train him in virtue, to make his merits shine even more through the patience he shows.

Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, keep interrupting him to try to convince him that he is at fault, but Job knows otherwise and refuses to plead guilty to a sin he did not commit.

After addressing himself to divine wisdom, confident that God will hear him (chap. 28), Job appeals to the Supreme Judge, who is the only one who can give him justice and declare his innocence. God hears him, and he uses Elihu, a young man who up to this has not taken part in the dialogue, to come in on Job's side. To everyone's surprise he says something entirely new: Job should not be saying that God has condemned him, because the reason God sends evils and sufferings is not only to punish people. Their primary purpose is to purify man of his faults and prevent him from committing worse sins. By saying this Elihu consoles Job. He argues that Job is blameless, and he also shows him why he has had to suffer in this way. Finally, Yahweh himself enters into the discussion, on Job's side. Job cannot find words; he feels so insignificant. As he says himself:

"I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted. `Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. `Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.' I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see thee; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2-6).

In the epilogue, in which God takes Job's three friends to task, Job is declared innocent. To reward his virtue God restores all his property to him, twice over: "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before and ate bread with him in his house" (Job 42:10-11).

There is a happy ending, and the moral is quite clear, even if Job does not g.asp it. But he does realize now that there is no reason why God should have to account to anyone for what he does. Man cannot g.asp the mysterious ways of divine providence. In permitting the innocent to suffer and even die and in not punishing the evildoer during his lifetime, God has his reasons, even if man cannot g.asp them.

The book does not answer the initial question posed; indeed no answer is forthcoming until almost the era of the New Testament. According to Vaccari it does advance to the position of realizing that God has wisely but mysteriously disposed that sometimes even the just are made to suffer despite their innocence. However, God will eventually reward their virtue. The problem posed by Job is, basically, what is the origin and purpose of suffering?

Job's question remains unanswered. He does not discover the reason why innocent people suffer. The furthest he gets is to realize that suffering is part of God's plan, that it has to be accepted as long as it lasts, and that God does not abandon the sufferer. In this connection it raises other basic points which later revelation -- especially that of the New Testament--will be more specific about: (a) suffering tests the genuineness of a person's virtue; (b) it protects him from pride and makes him more humble; (c) when suffering comes a person's way he should abandon himself completely into God's hands.

The entire book opens up a new perspective, that of the reward which awaits, in heaven, those who do God's will on earth. Job's suffering, the suffering of a just man who bears it patiently and continues to seek mercy and forgiveness, acquires its fullest meaning in the New Testament. Thus, this text of St. Paul provides an answer to Job's complaints: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom 8:18).

In other words, no matter how much we may suffer on earth, it is nothing compared with the vision of God which awaits us in heaven. Job did not realize that the just man does not attain fulfillment through possession of material things and never attains it completely in this life. He also knew nothing about what happens to souls after they leave the body. Happiness and immortality are totally connected to one another, but it took human reason centuries to discover this.

Without Christ's passion, without his death on the cross, man never would have managed to understand the apparent paradox which our Lord expressed in these words: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matt. 16:24-26).

The lives of the early Christians were, from the very beginning, based on identification with Christ in his passion. Paul, who understood all this very well, put it in this way: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24).

In this life, every Christian, as a member of the Church, is called to spread the kingdom of God in the world. To do this he must supernaturalize all his sufferings and difficulties and see them as something very precious which God puts in his hands. By uniting himself to the sacrifice of Christ, he will turn all these adverse things into a source of supernatural light and will find in them the peace and the joy which no created thing can provide.

....

Taken from: http://archive.catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9310otg.asp

Marvellous Description of the Horse in the Book of Job

 

Job 39:

....
19 "Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
....

The Prophet Job According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

Here we want to propose a somewhat more expanded geography for TOBIAS = JOB, beyond the two basic locations of Nineveh and Bashan of the Book of Tobit (revised). And we also want to propose, in relation to this, that the famous trials of the holy man, that the Book of Job gives as having occurred in such rapid succession - and commentators have tended to take this apparent rapidity as being the reality, as an intensification of Job’s afflictions (whether true life or not) - were in fact (at least in some cases) well separated in time, and perhaps also in terms of geographical locus.

This would be far more reasonable than the situation of utter torture, without any time of relief, for Job that the narrative might superficially tend to convey.

Here we turn to the testimony of the German mystic, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who claimed to have been favoured from childhood with having seen famous Old and New Testament peoples and events. We are well aware that the little excursus that follows may be of keen interest only to Catholics. And, whilst we cannot accept Anne Catherine’s proposed era for Job (see section below), we accept that this very holy woman was perfectly honest in her testimony that she had seen Job (though having no idea at all of how to put what she saw into a proper chronological - and sometimes geographical - perspective) and that she can give us an idea of how the succession of trials befell Job. We at least think that the mystic’s account of the relative chronology and geography of Job’s sufferings may have a lot to recommend it.

Here are the relevant parts of Anne Catherine’s account of Job (in The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations, Vol. 1, ch. 11), to which we have added some comments:

[Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich on Job]:

The father of Job, a great leader of the nations, was brother to Phaleg [Peleg], the son of Heber. Shortly before his time occurred the dispersion of men at the building of the Babylonian Tower.

Comment: This reflects a traditional view that Job was the Jobab of Genesis 10:29; a view that one may find even in contemporary biblical commentaries. But we shall stick firmly to my own identification of Job as an C8th-C7th BC character. For one, the “Chaldeans [who] formed three columns” to seize Job’s camels and kill his servants, in Job’s third-listed trial (1:17), would be a complete anachronism, one would think, at the time of Peleg; but an organised Chaldean raiding force would be perfectly reasonable in my C7th BC context, when the Chaldean empire had begun to rise.

Anne Catherine continues:

…. Job … dwelt in different places, and his afflictions came upon him in three different abodes. Between the first and the second, there intervened a period of nine years’ posterity; between the second and the third, seven years; and after the third, twelve years. His sufferings always befell him in a different dwelling place. But he never was so absolutely ruined as to have nothing left; he merely became quite poor when compared with his former circumstances. He always had enough left to pay all his debts.

Comment: This all sounds entirely reasonable. But does Anne Catherine’s notion of long time intervals between trials actually accord with the Bible? The German mystic, whilst admitting that it may not seem so, has offered the following eminently plausible interpretation of this aspect of the Book of Job:

Although in the Book of Job this narrative is given very differently, yet many of Job’s own words are therein recorded. I think I could distinguish them all. Where the story says that the servants came quickly one after another to Job with news of his losses, it must be remarked that the words: “And as he still spoke of it”, signify, “And while the last calamity was not yet effaced from the mind of men”, etc.

Comment: Again, this seems to me to be most reasonable.

Perhaps an intuitive person might even be able to pick up a clue or two as to in which geographical locations some of Job’s trials had occurred, especially with occasional assistance from Anne Catherine. Though, as we shall see from the following passages, she herself is generally rather vague about locations, except in the case of Egypt.

[First Trial]

…. Job moved with his followers northward from the Caucasus to a very miserable swampy region. …. After his first affliction, he removed further up the mountain range, the Caucasus, where he again began anew and where prosperity again followed him. ….

From this, his second dwelling place, Job went, accompanied by a numerous train of followers, to Egypt where at that time strangers called shepherd kings, and who were from his own native land, governed a part of the country.

Comment: The whole notion of a sojourn in the Caucasus region is extremely suspect if Job is to be identified with Tobias. Even during his period of dwelling within the Assyrian Empire, that far northern Caucasus region would seem to be far too distant. And it is certainly most inappropriate anyway as the location for Job’s first trial (in which context Anne Catherine places it), given that those who caused this trial were “the Sabeans”, a southern Arabian people having nothing to do with the Caucasus, who raided Job’s oxen and donkeys, also killing off his servants (1:15).

With regard to Egypt, commentators claim indeed to have found clear Egyptian elements in the Book of Job. Moreover, there is an Egyptian tale that is thought to resonate with the story of Job, and perhaps its likeness to Egyptian Pessimistic literature. Be that as it may, Anne Catherine is quite wrong to suggest that Job had gone to Egypt during the era of the shepherd kings, known as the ‘Hyksos’, which was an era non-contemporaneous with the holy man by any model - being much later than Peleg’s time, but much earlier than that of Tobias. Though her claim that the then rulers of Egypt were from Job's own land may actually have some merit. See our complete reconstruction of Egyptian history at this time, at:

http://kinghezekiahofjudah.blogspot.com/

Anne Catherine Emmerich continues:

[Second & Third Trials]

…. When Job returned to his native country, his second misfortune overtook him; and when, after twelve years of peace, the third came upon him, he was living more toward the south and directly eastward from Jericho. I think this country had been given to him after his second calamity, because he was everywhere greatly revered and loved for his admirable justice, his knowledge, and his fear of God. This country was a level plain, and here Job began anew. On a height, which was very fertile, noble animals of various kinds were running around, also wild camels. ….

Job settled on this height. Here he prospered, became very rich, and built a city. The foundations were of stone; the dwellings were tents. It was during this period of great prosperity that his third calamity, his grievous distemper, overtook him. After enduring the affliction with great wisdom and patience, he entirely recovered, and again became the father of many sons and daughters. I think Job did not die till long after, when another nation intruded itself into the country.

Comment: Certainly tradition locates Job’s tomb at Ashtaroth Karnaim eastward of Jericho, but not “directly” as Anne Catherine says. It is in fact much further to the north. The plain of Hauran in Bashan (“Ecbatana”) where TOBIAS = JOB went to live (Tobit 5:6) is certainly most “fertile”. There is no evidence that TOBIAS = JOB “built a city” anywhere. Though he may have. And it is perfectly in accord with our chronology (see later posts) that “another nation intruded itself into the country” during the long lifetime of TOBIAS = JOB. This was the Chaldean nation under Nebuchednezzar II.

Other points of interest made by Anne Catherine concern Job’s own nature:

Job was unspeakably gentle, affable, just, and benevolent. He assisted all in need. He was, too, exceedingly pure and very familiar with God, who communicated with him through an angel, or “a white man”, as the people of that period expressed it. These angelic apparitions were like radiant, but beardless, youths in long white garments that fell in heavy folds or strips around them, I could not distinguish which. They were girdled, and they took food and drink. God consoled Job during his sufferings by means of these apparitions, and they passed sentence on his friends, his nephews, and his other relatives. He didn’t, like the nations around him, worship idols.

Once three sons were born to him at one birth, and three daughters at another.

… Satan incited his wicked neighbours against Job, and they calumniated him. They said that he did not serve God properly, that he had a superfluity of possessions, and that it was very easy for him to be good. Then God resolved to show that afflictions are often only trials, etc.

The friends who spoke around Job symbolized the reflections of his kinsmen upon his fate.

The history of Job, together with his dialogues with God was circumstantially written down by two of his most trusty servants who seemed to be his stewards. They wrote upon bark, and from Job’s own dictation. These two servants were named respectively Hai and Uis, or Ois. These narratives were held very sacred by Job’s descendants.

One can now only with difficulty trace the particular history of Job, for the names of cities and nations were assimilated to those of the land of Canaan, on which account Job came to be regarded as an Edomite. ….

Comment: Anne Catherine’s account of Job is perfectly compatible with what we know of the man from the books of Tobit and Job (presuming TOBIAS = JOB). She even describes his appearance, as she does all major biblical personages: “… Job was a large, powerful man of agreeable appearance; he had a yellowish-brown complexion and reddish hair. Abraham was fairer”.

Her description of the angel-youth is uncannily like that given in Tobit 5, for the angel Raphael (though Anne Catherine of course knew of no connection between Tobias and Job).

From Anne Catherine’s account, too, we learn that Job’s friends were relatives. We had surmised this in previous Jobian articles.

We cannot make much of the names of Job’s alleged trusty scribal servants, as given by Anne Catherine. Uis, or Ois, seems to be a version of the name, Uz, Job’s land.

Anne Catherine Emmerich attests that geographical names pertaining to Job have become a matter of “difficulty”, which is exactly what we had found in regard to the Book of Tobit. She also rejects a traditional view, that we too have rejected, that Job was an “Edomite”.

Generally, this all seems to be most acceptable.

It leaves us with a picture of TOBIAS = JOB that is somewhat expanded by comparison even with the composite one that we had drawn together in earlier articles. There is now scope for the holy man to have resided in more geographical locations - and with his series of famous afflictions being far more well spaced - than we had previously imagined.

Where else might he have gone?

Stay posted at this site for much more on all of this.

St. Thomas Aquinas an Inspiration Against Moses Maimonides for Historicity of Job

The problem of the historicity of Job appears to be an age-old consideration; for we find that at least as far back as the C13th AD the question was being hotly debated in the Schools. Thomas Aquinas [040] was one who had insisted that Job, and those who engaged in debate with him, were genuine historical persons. In this he was opposing himself to the likes of Moses Maimonides [050], who had expressed a contrary view. Aquinas referred, in the Prologue to his "Expositio" on Job, to what he deemed to be the clear references to Job in the Old and New Testaments (i.e. Ezekiel 14:14,20 & James 5:11). He also, in the course of his commentary, pointed to certain details of an historical nature in the text of Job itself that he believed to confirm this view; for example that very first verse of the Book of Job: "There was a man in the land of Uz by the name of Job, ..."(1:1), in which Job is described with respect to his native land and his name. These two items of information, Aquinas maintained, had been provided to show that this story is not a parable but a real occurrence [060]. Again, later on in the Book of Job, the young Elihu is introduced into the story as "Elihu, the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of the line of Ram" (32:2). From this precise information we learn about the young man's name, his origin, his native land, and his race.This Elihu, incidentally, is the only character in the Book of Job who is accorded a patronymic (a father's name). So, in the case of Job's father, for example, and the father of his wife, we must search elsewhere for the information. I think that we can find these detailed in the Book of Tobit. Biographical detail is one of the major differences between Tobit and Job. Whereas the Book of Tobit provides us with immense personal detail about the lives of its central characters, the Book of Job by comparison is significantly lacking in that regard. The author of Job does not offer even the tiniest clue as to the identity of Job's father, or mother, or who might have been their ancestors; nor are we told where Job was born, nor to which race he belonged.Similarly, we do not learn anything there about the family origins (tôlêdôt) of Job's wife. And it is probably due to the fact that the Book of Job provides no specific Israelite ancestry for its main character - plus the fact that Job himself is described as living in the "east", in the "land of Uz" (cf.1:1&3) - that commentators have invariably concluded that he must have been a non-Israelite, a 'gentile'. Thus Augustine of Hippo (354 AD) said of Job that: "He was neither a native of Israel nor a proselyte (that is, a newly admitted member of the people of Israel) ...", but an Edomite foreigner [070]. What I am here proposing, though, is that the Book of Tobit has already provided all such personal detail as is lacking from the Book of Job.According to this view, we would already know from the opening verses of Tobit all about Job's paternal ancestry, his tribe, his country and town of origin. In those verses we read about Tobias' father, that he was:... Tobit, the son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael, of the descendants of Asiel and the tribe of Naphtali .... And that he was "from Thisbe, which is to the south of Kedesh Naphtali in Galilee above Asor" (1:1-2).That already is comprehensive biographical information!Moreover, we would know from the Book of Tobit that Tobias's mother was "Anna", the wife of Tobit (1:9). We would know such similar details too about Tobias's own wife; that she was named "Sarah" and was "... the daughter of Raguel" (3:7) and "Edna" (7:2), who lived "at Ecbatana in Media" (3:7), and that she married Tobias (7:13).Hence if this reconstruction is correct, that Job is Tobias, there would be no need for the Book of Job to repeat all of this biographical information.

To be able to establish the genealogy and chronology of the young Elihu in the Book of Job would be another means of confirming the true era of the prophet Job.

The Ahikar (Akhiqar) of Legend

Akhiqar - The Wise and Virtuous Man at the Assyrian Courtby Julius N. Shabbas Posted: Thursday, July 20, 2000 12:03 pm CST

http://www.atour.com/education/20000720a.html

Akhiqar was a wise and virtuous man, Chancellor or Secretary at the court of the Assyrian Kings Sennacherib (704-681 BC) and Esarhaddon (680-669 BC). The history and wisdom proverbs of Akhiqar, those that are found, were written in Aramaic, an alphabetical form of writing and a much simpler system than cuneiform. This story may have had an Assyrian prototype which, so far, has not been found. Aramaic was already an official language in Assyria during the reign of Tiglath-Pilesar III (745-727).
The material used in writing Aramaic was on clay, an indestructible material; with ink on potsherds having some chance of survival; papyrus or parchment having practically no chance of survival over millennia.
A considerable number of translations, among them Assyrian (misnamed Syriac), Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, old Turkish, Greek and Slavonic, indicate that the story of Akhiqar was very popular in antiquity.
Akhiqar and his proverbs are not without historical evidence, in light of the discovery of an Assyrian tablet at Uruk from the Seleucid era, in which there is reference to Akhiqar. The tablet relates that "in the time of Esarhaddon, Aba-enlil-dari whom the Arameans call Ahuqar was ummanu, court scholar. [The text was first published by J.J. Van Dijk, as reported by J.C. Greenfield in the Journal of the American Oriental Society 82 (1962) 293].
The story of Akhiqar and his proverbial wisdom influenced the development of Jewish wisdom literature early in the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD). Similar ethical doctrines appear in the old Testament books of Psalms and Ecclesiastes and in the apocryphal books of Tobit and Ecclesiasticus. Traces of the story and the maxims are also found in other sources such as the Arabic Thousand and One Nights, the Greek edition of Aesop's Fables, and the Koran.
The story of Akhiqar is divided into two parts: Akhiqar's life, the adoption of his nephew Nadin and how he was betrayed; the other contains 142 maxims or sage observations on such matters as education, obedience, respect, gratitude, and retribution.
The narrative portion of the text relates the experiences of Akhiqar and, in his advancing age, realizing he would leave no offspring to pass on his wisdom, he decided to adopt his nephew Nadin, to whose education, in the form of a series of maxims, Akhiqar devoted much time and effort to take his place at court. After careful grooming with words of wisdom, Nadin was chosen his uncle's successor at the king's court. Akhiqar, however, ultimately convinced that his protegé was not equal to the task, disowned him. When Nadin was established in power, he forgot his benefactor and repaid him with evil; by means of forged letters he implicates his uncle in treason and slanders him before the king to have him put to death. However, Nabusemakh, a friendly and loyal executioner, secretly hides Akhiqar in an underground chamber, and a condemned slave was put to death in his place.
Men and women throughout Assyria were saddened when they heard that Akhiqar was killed. Sennacherib called Nadin to make preparations for a memorial festivity, but Nadin ignored the King's order, and went about feasting with his friends. Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was happy to hear that Akhiqar was killed. He dispatched a letter to Sennacherib stating that he is planning to build a castle between heaven and earth and to send him a skilled architect and wise enough to solve several profound riddles. The Pharaoh set a condition that if the architect builds the castle and solves the riddles, he would send a three-year revenue of Egypt to Assyria, but if he could not then King Sennacherib shall send the revenue of three years.
The king read the letter to his nobles, and their response was that only Akhiqar was qualified to resolve questions like these. Nadin, on the other hand, declined the challenge saying that not even gods can do these things, let alone men. The king was saddened to have Akhiqar executed by the words of a boy like Nadin. "Alas for thee, Akhiqar the wise, who will give thee to me for such a time as this? I would give him thy weight in gold," said King Sennacherib. When Yabusemakh, the loyal executioner, heard these words, he fell down before the king, admitting that he disobeyed the orders, and told how Akhiqar has been spared, is well and alive. Immediately the king mounted his chariot and rushed to see Akhiqar. The king wept and was ashamed to talk with him, saying that it was Nadin, your nephew, who sinned against thee and not I, Sennacherib. The king asked Akhiqar to go home, clean up, rest for forty days and then come to see him.
Akhiqar returns to King Sennacherib and hears Pharaoh's request. Sennacherib was rejoiced when he heard Akhiqar's positive response, and to not be concerned with this matter.
Immediately Akhiqar writes a letter to his wife Eshpagne to command his huntsmen to catch two young eagles; and command the workers in flax to make two ropes each the length of a thousand ells and as thick as one's finger. And to bid the carpenters to construct two cages for the eagles; and have two boys Ubael and Tabshelim who do not know how to talk, to teach them to say, "Give the builders mud, mortar, tiles, bricks, for they are idle." A practice session ensued wherein the boys sat in the cages on the backs of the eagles that were tied with the long ropes. After several days, the young eagles gained strength and the boys had learned their lines. King Sennacherib and his nobles marvelled at Akhiqar's ingenious device.
Akhiqar bid farewell to the king and took his leave with a force of soldiers. He arrives in Egypt, goes to the king's gate where the nobles inform Pharaoh of the arrival of a man whom the king of Assyria has sent. Akhiqar and his men were given a place of residence. And on the following day he calls on the king, and in a dignified way inquires about his health, and tells Pharaoh that he was a servant in the Assyrian kingdom, and was sent by his King, Sennacherib, to fulfill your desire. Pharaoh marvelled at the eloquence and educated presentation of the messenger. "What is your name?" Pharaoh asked. "My name is Awikam, a contemptible ant of the Assyrian Kingdom" replied Akhiqar. "Am I so despised by your lord that he has sent me a despised ant of his kingdom?", Pharaoh said. The king then ordered Awikam to go to his residence and return early in the morning.
Day oneAvikam returns the following morning to find Pharaoh sitting on his throne wearing fine linen, and his nobles dressed in red clothes. Pharaoh (asks Avikam): To what am I like, and to what are my nobles like? Avikam (responds): My lord the king, you are like Bel, and your nobles are like the priests.
Day twoThe king was wearing white clothes, and his nobles dressed in white linen. King: To what am I like, and to what are my nobles like? Avikam: My lord the king, you are like the sun, and your nobles are like its rays.
Day threeThe king was wearing crimson clothes, and his nobles dressed in black. King: To what am I am like, and to what are the nobles like? Awikam: My lord the king, you are like the moon, and your nobles like the stars.
Day FourThe king was robed in fine needlework, the nobles in diverse and varied colors, and the doors of the palace were covered with red hangings. King: To what am I like, and to what are my nobles like? Awikam: My lord the king, you are like the month of Nisan, and your nobles to its flowers. After hearing Awikam's responses to the four questions, Pharaoh asked, "To what is thy lord like?"
"Be it far from me, my lord the king, that I should make mention my lord Sennacherib, while you are seated", Awikam responded. Pharaoh was surprised at the daring and liberal statement Awikam uttered. The king then got up from his throne and said, "Now you can tell me." "My lord Sennacherib is like the God of Heaven and his nobles to the lightnings that are in the clouds; for when he wills, he fashions hail from the rain and the dew; and if he thunders, he restrains the sun from rising, and its rays from being seen; and he will restrain Bel from coming in and from going forth in the street (or market place), and his nobles from being seen; and he will stop the moon from rising and the stars from appearing."
And when Pharaoh heard these things he was intensely angry, and said to Avikam, "By the life of your lord, tell me truly what is your name?" Awikam honestly answered and said, "I am Akhiqar, the Secretary and Great Seal of Sennacherib, King of Assyria and Nineveh." Then the king said to him, "Didn't I hear that your lord had killed you." Akhiqar said, "I am yet alive, my lord the king, and God saved me from something which my hands did not."
Before the king dismissed Akhiqar, he told him to return the following day and to tell him a word which neither he nor his nobles, nor anyone in the city of his kingdom have ever heard.
After some meditation, Akhiqar wrote the following letter: "From Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to Sennacherib, King of Assyria and Nineveh, greetings. Kings have need of Kings and brothers of brothers; and at this time my gifts are meager, because there is deficiency of money in my treasury. Command and send me from your treasury 900 talents of gold and in a short time I will return them to you." He folded the letter, and the following day he presented himself to Pharaoh, and said that perhaps in this letter there is a word that was never heard by you. When Akhiqar read the letter, the nobles cried out, as they were commanded to do, and said that this has been heard by all of us and it is so. The king was surprised to hear when the matter of the debt of 900 talents due to Assyria was brought to his attention. At this point the king said that he is planning to build a castle between earth and heaven, and to a height of 1000 fathoms. Akhiqar asked the king to have his workers prepare mortar, bricks, mud and tiles. He then produced the young eagles, bound ropes to their feet, mounted the little boys on their back, and up they flew in the sky. The boys were shouting, "provide mortar, bricks, mud and tiles for the builders because they are idle." The king, the nobles and the congregation gathered were all perplexed. Akhiqar then took a rod or staff and beat the king's nobles in order to provide building material, until they ran away. The king was angry with Akhiqar and said, "You are mad, and who can carry up anything to these boys?" Akhiqar responded by saying that if it is difficult for you to carry the building material up, then how can we build a castle in the sky. If my lord Sennacherib had been here he would have built a couple of castles in one day.
The following morning Akhiqar presented himself to the king. Pharaoh said, "Akhiqar, explain to me how the horse of your lord neighs in Assyria, and our mares hear his voice here, and their foals miscarry." Akhiqar left the palace and commanded his servants to catch him a cat. He whips the cat in the streets of the city. The Egyptians report the incident to the king and say that Akhiqar mocks us. The king calls him in and says, "Why are you insulting us?" Akhiqar responds: "Last night this cat went to Assyria and tore off the head of the cock that had been entrusted to me by my lord, King Sennacherib, and returned." The king said "Akhiqar, you have grown old and absolutely mad. How could this cat, in a single night, go to Assyria which is a distance of 360 parasangs, cut the head of the cock and return?" Akhiqar said, "If the distance from Egypt to Assyria is 360 parasangs, how come your mares in this place hear the voice of the horse of my lord, and their foals miscarry?"
Pharaoh then asks Akhiqar to expound on the following riddles:
King: A pillar has twelve cedars on its head; each cedar has thirty wheels, and in every wheel two cables, one white and one black.
Akhiqar: My lord, the king, even the ox-herds in our country understand this riddle. The pillar that you speak of is the year; the twelve cedars are the twelve months of the year; the thirty wheels are the thirty days of the month; and two cables, one white and one black, represent the day and the night.
King: Akhiqar, twine me five cables from the sand of the river.
Akhiqar: My lord the king, bid them to bring me one rope of sand from your treasury, and I will make one to match it.
King: If you can not do this, then I will not give you the Egyptian tribute.
At this point Akhiqar went out and bored five holes in the eastern wall of the palace. And when the sun penetrated the holes, he scattered sand in them, and the sun's path began to appear as if the sand were twined in the holes. He asked the king to have these taken and he would weave others in their place. The king and his nobles were astonished.
The king then commanded to bring to Akhiqar an upper millstone that was broken to sew up the broken part. Akhiqar left and brought a nether (the mortar) millstone, and cast it down before the king and said, "My lord the king, since I am a stranger here, and do not have the tools of my craft with me, bid the cobblers cut me strips from this lower millstone which is the fellow of the upper millstone, and I will sew it together." Pharaoh laughed when he heard it and said, "The day in which Akhiqar was born shall be blessed before the god of Egypt; and since I have seen you alive, I will make it a great day and a feast."
Pharaoh then gave Akhiqar the revenue of Egypt for three years and he returned to Assyria. He went straight to his lord, King Sennacherib who restored him to his former position, and offered him anything he wanted. Akhiqar said, "My lord whatever you wish to give me, bestow it upon Nabusemakh, because he gave me my life. And as for myself, bid them give me my son Nadin that I may teach him a further lesson since he has forgotten my previous teaching ."
A number of Akhiqar's proverbial sayings have appeared in the previous issues of Nineveh magazine. I will cite a few more when he was grooming Nadin for the Court, and some others when he was betrayed.
Beauty fades but learning lasts, and the world wanes and becomes vain, but a good name neither becomes vain nor wanes.
My son, let thy words be true, in order that thy lord may say to thee, "Draw near me; and thou shalt live."
My son, bring not upon thee the curses of thy father and thy mother, lest thou rejoice not in the blessings of thy children.
My son, associate with the wise man, and you will become wise like him; and associate not with a garrulous and talkative man, lest thou be numbered with him.
My son, rejoice not over the enemy when he dies.
My son, the eye of man is like a fountain of water, and it is not satisfied with riches until filled with dust.
My son, smite with stones the dog that has left his own master and followed thee.
My son, judge upright judgment in thy youth, in order that in thy age thou mayest have honor.
My son, send a wise man and give him no orders; but if thou wilt send a fool, go rather thyself and send him not.
My son, a snare was set upon a dunghill, and there came a sparrow and looked at it and said, 'What doest thou here?' And the snare said, 'I am praying to God.' The sparrow said, 'And what is that in thy mouth?' The snare said, 'Bread for guests.' Then the sparrow drew near and took it, and the snare caught him by the neck. And the sparrow said, as he was being shaken, 'If this is thy bread for guests, may the God to whom thou prayest never listen to thy voice.'
My son, you have been like the man who saw his companion shivering from cold, and took a pitcher of cold water and threw it over him.
My son, you have been like an ox that was bound with a lion; and the lion turned and crushed him.
My son, you have been to me like the buck that led his companions into the slaughter house; and yet he did not save his own life.
My son, you have been to me like the bird that could not save himself from death, and by his voice slaughtered his companions.
My son, you have been to me like the dog that came to the potters' oven to warm himself, and after he was warm rose up to bark at them.
My son, you have been to me like the swine that had been to the baths, and when it saw a muddy ditch, went down and washed in it, and cried to his companions, 'Come and wash.'
My son, I caused thee to behold the face of the king, and brought thee to great honor; and you chose to do me evil.
My son, you have been to me like the young swallows which fell out of their nest; and a cat caught them and said to them, 'If it had not been for me, great evil would have befallen you.' They answered and said to her, 'Is that why you have put us in your mouth?'
My son, I have seen a she?goat brought into the slaughter house, and because its time was not yet come, it returned to its place and saw its children and its children's children.
My son, I have seen colts that have been slayers of their mothers.
My son, I trained up thy stature like a cedar, but thou hast humbled me in my life, and hast made me drunken with thy wickedness.
My son, thou hast been to me like the mole that came up out of the earth that it might see the sun, though he had no eyes; and a eagle saw him and struck him and carried him off.
My son, you have been to me like that palm tree that stood by a river, and cast all its fruit into the river, and when its lord came to cut it down, it said to him, 'Let me alone this year, and I will bring thee forth carobs.' And its lord said unto it, 'Thou hast not been industrious in what is thine own, and how wilt thou be industrious in what is not thine own?'

Related Information...Education Conference Assyrian Education Network Archives

AMAIC's comment: The version of Ahikar given here, and the dates, are not necessarily accepted by us as factual or accurate.