Translation and Interpretation

Extremity of Language

1. Job has more obscure and difficult to interpret passages than any other book in the Bible
2. There are more words in Job that are used only once in the Bible than in any other book
3. Expressions that may have been common usage at the time, but are almost unintelligible to us; cultural colloquialisms

• Cut the rug
• Kill the light
• Dial the number
• Cat got your tongue?

Richness of Hebrew as a spoken and written language

• 5 different words that are translated “lion”
• In other places same words are translated as “hero” or “angel”
• 6 different words used to describe “traps”, “ropes”, and “snares” when Bildad describes the fate of the wicked
• 7 different words translated “gold”

Song of Songs 1:5 – 

• KJV & ASV: I am black, but comely
• AMP: I am deeply tanned, but lovely
• CEB: Dark I am, and lovely
• ERV: I am dark and beautiful
• MEV: I am dark, but still lovely
• MSG: I am weathered but still elegant

Job 13:15…

• NIV - Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
• RSV – Behold, he will slay me. I have no hope. Yet will I defend my ways to him.
• New Living Translation - God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.
• American Standard Version - Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope: Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him.
• New International Reader's Version - Even if God kills me, I'll still put my hope in him. I'll argue my case in front of him.
• Good News Translation - I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me? I am going to state my case to him.
• GOD’S WORD Translation - If God would kill me, I would have no hope left. Nevertheless, I will defend my behavior to his face.

Job’s Wife… was she cursing or blessing? Was she serious or sarcastic? 

Barak - Hebrew verb used more than 325 times in the OT
Usually translated “bless” in the sense of giving or receiving benefits

• Genesis 1:22 - “God blessed them and said…”
• Job 1:10 - “You have blessed the work of his hands”
• Ps 103:2 - “bless the Lord, oh my soul”
• Job 1:11 & 2:5 - “He will curse you to your face”

Job is 95% POETRY

Poets frequently use difficult language to lead the reader on a journey of discovery of ideas, thoughts, and emotions, OR simply to obscure their true message or intent

• Humpty Dumpty
• Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
• Rock-a-bye Baby

Themes in Wisdom Literature

The fear of the Lord

1. +/- 60 times
2. ...is the beginning of wisdom - the foundation
3. Psalm 2:11

• NIV - Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
• CEV - Serve and honor the Lord; be glad and tremble.
• TM - Worship God in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe
• ASV - Serve Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling

Psalm 111:10

• NIV - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

• CEV - Respect and obey the Lord! This is the first step to wisdom and good sense.

• TMV - The good life begins in the fear of God — Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.

• ASV - The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all they that do his commandments

Prov 1:1-7Prov 14:27Ecc 12:13

Limits of Human Wisdom

Wisdom denotes an understanding of how God has ordered the world and how to live within that orderJob 38-39 give a grand tour of the universe to show Job’s lack of understandingEcclesiastes - Who knows?Ecc 3:21Ecc 6:12

Man in Relation to God

The Righteous vs. The WickedDoes God treat everyone the same?Gen 18:23-25Fate of the Righteous and the WickedPsalm 37 - Contrasts the Righteous with the WickedSets up the basis for Torah Obedience However - Ecc 7:15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

Justice and the Problem of Suffering

Job is the most prominent witnessInterpretations vary wildlyResolution is found only in the presence of the CreatorPsalms gives voice to lamentPs 3Ps 4Ps 6:2-3Ps 10:1

The Nature of True Piety and Integrity

In·teg·ri·ty | inˈteɡrədē/ | Noun

• the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
  "he is known to be a man of integrity"
  Synonyms: honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principles, ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness
• the state of being whole and undivided.
  "upholding territorial integrity and national sovereignty"
  Synonyms: unity, unification, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity

Wikipedia: Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness. It is a personal choice to hold one's self to consistent standards.In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy, in that judging with the standards of integrity involves regarding internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding within themselves apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs. The word integrity evolved from the Latin adjective integer, meaning whole or complete. In this context, integrity is the inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. As such, one may judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold.Significant attention is given to the subject of integrity in law and the conception of law in 20th century philosophy of law and jurisprudence centering in part on the research of Ronald Dworkin as studied in his book Law's Empire. Dworkin's position on integrity in law reinforces the conception of justice viewed as fairness.

Introduction to Job's Friends

"Sufferers attract fixers the way roadkill attracts vultures"--from the introduction to Job in "The Message" bible translation

In the story of Job we are told of Job's three friends who hear of his trials and come to comfort him. "When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him."

We are not given any indication that their honest and sincere intention was anything but exactly that... to sympathize and comfort. As we know from the story, however, their good intentions quickly deteriorated when they began talking to Job, so much so that "Friend of Job" has become a catch-phrase for one who is a false friend or one who only pretends to want to help.

The friends sit with Job for seven days and nights without saying a word. It should be noted that a custom at the time was for mourners to say nothing until the one they were mourning with spoke. Then they were free to speak as well. Job's friends honored this custom and allowed Job time to grieve. When Job finally did speak, his words were not what his friends thought they should be. That's when the discussions started and quickly became arguments about who was right.

The three friends are generally thought to represent three approaches of reasoning, but all come from the basic premise of "Torah Obedience" which is the belief that "if I keep the Torah, God will bless me and, in fact, is obligated to do so to keep his covenant." This simple formula gave shape and meaning to Israel's religion for centuries and is, in fact, still operative today even, unfortunately, in many Christian denominations. Many believe the purpose of the story of Job was to burst that particular bubble and return the shroud of mystery in which God so rightfully dwells.

Eliphaz the Temanite - - name probably means either "My God is Strength" or "God is fine gold" or some derivation of that; thought to be descended from Teman who was the son of Eliphaz who was the son of Esau. Since he spoke first, Eliphaz was probably the eldest and most noteworthy of the three. He appeals to experience ( I have learned… I have observed… I have seen… and then to mystical visions… “a word was secretly brought to me… can a man be more righteous than God?” “Happy is the man whom God disciplines” was Job happy? If you repent and return to the Almighty you will be restored… but Job had not done anything wrong

Bildad the Shuhite – name means “son of contention” or “son of shouting” - A descendant (or follower) of Shuah, son of Abraham and Keturah, whose family lived in the deserts of Arabia, possibly a member of a nomadic tribe dwelling in southeastern Palestine. Evokes human tradition and philosophy; “Inquire of past generations… Look at how things have always been… “Does God pervert justice?” Rhetorical questions don’t always get the answers we are looking for… Job might have answered him “yes, God IS perverting justice.”

Zophar the Naamanite – name means “hairy” or “expanse” or “pleasant abode” - descendant (or follower) of Naaman, probably also from the deserts of Arabia. Promoted Human Merit and Moral Law… Legalistic pronouncements… recites the fate of the wicked; focuses on rebuking Job for his words instead of understanding the pain behind them, so he generalizes and condemns

The 3 Cycle of Speeches
Cycle 1 – Job 3 / Eliphaz 4-5 / Job 6-7 / Bildad 8 / Job 9-10 / Zophar 11
Cycle 2 – Job 12-14 / Eliphaz 15 / Job 16-17 / Bildad 18 / Job 19 / Zophar 20
Cycle 3 – Job 21 / Eliphaz 22 / Job 23-24 / Bildad 25 / Job 26-27
Poem about Wisdom – 28 / Job 29-31
Elihu – 32-37
God 38-41 – Three Rounds of Speeches

More on Translation and Interpretation

Job’s Wife… was she cursing or blessing? Was she serious or sarcastic?

Song of Songs – I am black and beautiful… I am black but beautiful

Job 13:15…

NIV - Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

RSV – Behold, he will slay me. I have no hope. Yet will I defend my ways to him.

New Living Translation - God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.

American Standard Version - Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope: Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him.

New International Reader's Version - Even if God kills me, I'll still put my hope in him. I'll argue my case in front of him.

Good News Translation - I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me? I am going to state my case to him.

GOD’S WORD Translation - If God would kill me, I would have no hope left. Nevertheless, I will defend my behavior to his face.

What is it Job was hoping for? One of the overarching themes of the story… Justice

Job Overture