The Divine Speeches of Job 38-41: Chaos Is a Friend of Mine Pubblico

Cooper, Jonathan Alfred (2012)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/x920fw97g?locale=it
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Abstract


The divine speeches in Job 38:1-41:34, along with Job's final reply in 42:1-6,
stand as the theological and literary climax of the book. The speeches, which take the
form of a legal dispute, utilize a number of different genres that are intended to evoke an
emotional response from Job. A rhetorical analysis shows that the purpose of the
speeches is to show Job the error of his worldview that had misunderstood the relation of
God to creation (and by extension, to humanity), and to re-orient Job to a right
understanding of God, God's governance and God's justice. When confronted with the
cumulative effect of the storm, the vision of God, and the vivid imagery found in God's
speeches, Job, realizing the inadequacy of the worldview from which he had contended,
merely retracts his lawsuit against God and ceases his mournful posture.

Table of Contents








TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter
1.
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
2.
Preliminary Considerations Regarding Job .................................................... 6
3.
Form and Genre Considerations ..................................................................... 10
Outline............................................................................................................. 10
Genres and forms: ........................................................................................... 11
Legal Disputation ...................................................................................... 12
Creator Hymn............................................................................................ 14
Wasf........................................................................................................... 17
Challenge-to-Rival .................................................................................... 18
Conclusion ................................................................................................ 20
4.
Purpose of the Divine Speeches ...................................................................... 22
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 22
The First Divine Speech and Job's Response (38:1-40:5) .............................. 26
God's Charge Against Job ........................................................................ 26
God's Use of Rhetorical Questions........................................................... 30
Cosmological and Climatological Imagery .............................................. 32
Animal Imagery ........................................................................................ 37
God's Demand and Job's Reply ............................................................... 42




The Second Divine Speech and Job's Response (40:6-42:6) ......................... 43
God's Challenge and Charges Against Job ............................................... 43
God's Comparison with Job...................................................................... 44
Behemoth and Leviathan .......................................................................... 48
Wasf of Behemoth ..................................................................................... 51
Wasf of Leviathan ..................................................................................... 54
Job's Reply................................................................................................ 59
5.
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 63


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