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Job 11

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Job 11
The whole Book of Job in theLeningrad Codex(1008 C.E.) from an old fascimile edition.
BookBook of Job
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part3
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part18

Job 11is the eleventhchapterof theBook of Jobin theHebrew Bibleor theOld Testamentof theChristianBible.[1][2]The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE.[3][4]This chapter records the speech ofZopharthe Naamathite (one ofJob's friends), which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprisingJob 3:1–31:40.[5][6]

Text

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The original text is written inHebrew language.This chapter is divided into20 verses.

Textual witnesses

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Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter inHebreware of theMasoretic Text,which includes theAleppo Codex(10th century), andCodex Leningradensis(1008).[7]

There is also a translation intoKoine Greekknown as theSeptuagint,made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version includeCodex Vaticanus(B;B;4th century),Codex Sinaiticus(S;BHK:S;4th century), andCodex Alexandrinus(A;A;5th century).[8]

Analysis

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The structure of the book is as follows:[9]

  • The Prologue (chapters 1–2)
  • The Dialogue (chapters 3–31)
  • The Verdicts (32:1–42:6)
  • The Epilogue (42:7–17)

Within the structure, chapter 11 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:[10]

  • Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament (3:1–26)
  • Round One (4:1–14:22)
    • Eliphaz (4:1–5:27)
    • Job (6:1–7:21)
    • Bildad (8:1–22)
    • Job (9:1–10:22)
    • Zophar (11:1–20)
      • Zophar's Fundamental Position (11:1–6)
      • The Depths of God Are beyond Human Knowing (11:7–12)
      • A Way Forward (11:13–20)
    • Job (12:1–14:22)
  • Round Two (15:1–21:34)
  • Round Three (22:1–27:23)
  • Interlude – A Poem on Wisdom (28:1–28)
  • Job's Summing Up (29:1–31:40)

The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar.[5]

Chapter 11 starts with an introduction ofZophar,Job's third friend to speak, followed by the exposition of Zophar's fundamental stand (verses 2–6). Zophar argues that human cannot fathom God's depths (verses 7–12), but he believes that reward will come to the repentant righteous (verses 13–20), ended with a warning that the wicked will be destroyed.[11]

Illustration ofJoband his friends from theKiev Psalter of 1397.

Zophar's fundamental position (11:1–12)

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Zophar thinks that Job is a man of full of empty talk and has to be silenced and shamed, because he regards anyone protesting to God is mocking God.[11]Zophar's statements imply that God's wisdom is a secret kept from Job, but not from Zophar, so Zophar can speak on behalf of God (despite without any revelation; verses 5–6).[11]Zophar focuses on God's greatness in creation (like Eliphaz and Bildad at the start of their speeches) to tell Job about the punishment of the wicked, as Zophar perceives Job as a worthless, hollow-minded person in contrast to God's wisdom (verse 12).[12] At the end of the book (Job 42:7–8), it is stated that Zophar is wrongly claiming to speak for God, so Zophar words actually are his own view.[13]

Verse 3

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[Zophar said:] "“Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?
And when you mock, will no one shame you? "[14]
  • "Empty talk": translated from the Hebrew wordbaddim,which appears six times, always in the plural, in the Hebrew Bible (including in this verse, Job 41:4 (textually questionable), Isaiah 16:6; 44:25; Jeremiah 48:30; 50:26) and can be rendered as "idle talk" or "babble".[15][11]
  • "Hold their peace": or "be silent";[16]from Hebrew verb in Hiphil form from the stative rootחָרַשׁ,kharash( "to be silent/deaf" ).

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Zophar proposes a way forward (11:13–20)

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In this section Zophar shows the positive results (verses 15–19) of several conditions (verses 13–14) to gain God's favor, concluded by a warning about the destruction of the wicked (verse 20), based on Zophar's conviction that Job is wicked.[12]Many of Zophar's words ring true, but they don't apply to Job's circumstances (because it is stated in the Prologue,chapters 1and2,that Job is blameless in this case).[12]Compared to Eliphaz's thought that Job's suffering can be a temporary setback or Bildad's attempt to distinguish the greater sins of Job's children with Job's sin, Zophar insists that Job is getting off lightly, because of his belief that the degree of sufferings is proportional to one's wickedness.[18]

Verse 20

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[Zopharsaid:] "“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and they will not escape,
and their hope will be as the giving up of breath. "[19]
  • "Will fail": from the Hebrew verbכָּלָה,kalah,which can mean “to fail, cease, fade away”; in this case "the fading of the eyes", that is, "loss of sight", "loss of life’s vitality", also indicating "imminent death".[20]
  • "The giving up of breath": or "the breathing out of life".[21]Job stated that 'his days are speeding by without hope' (Job 7:6), and here Zophar rephrases it negatively to conclude his speech (in contrast to more hopeful conclusions of Eliphaz in Job 5:25–26 and Bildad in 8:20–22).[22]

See also

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  • RelatedBibleparts:Job 9,Job 16,Job 42

    • References

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    1. ^Halley 1965,pp. 244–245.
    2. ^Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
    3. ^Kugler & Hartin 2009,p. 193.
    4. ^Crenshaw 2007,p. 332.
    5. ^abCrenshaw 2007,p. 335.
    6. ^Wilson 2015,p. 18.
    7. ^Würthwein 1995,pp. 36–37.
    8. ^Würthwein 1995,pp. 73–74.
    9. ^Wilson 2015,pp. 17–23.
    10. ^Wilson 2015,pp. 18–21.
    11. ^abcdWilson 2015,p. 76.
    12. ^abcWilson 2015,p. 78.
    13. ^Wilson 2015,pp. 76–77.
    14. ^Job 11:3MEV
    15. ^Walton 2012,p. 175.
    16. ^Note on Job 11:3 inNKJV
    17. ^Note [a] on Job 11:3 inNET Bible
    18. ^Wilson 2015,p. 79.
    19. ^Job 11:20MEV
    20. ^Note [a] on Job 11:20 in NET Bible
    21. ^Note on Job 11:20 in NKJV
    22. ^Estes 2013,pp. 70–71.

    Sources

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    • Alter, Robert (2010).The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary.W.W. Norton & Co.ISBN978-0393080735.
    • Coogan, Michael David(2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.).The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48(Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195288810.
    • Crenshaw, James L. (2007). "17. Job". InBarton, John;Muddiman, John(eds.).The Oxford Bible Commentary(first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 331–355.ISBN978-0199277186.RetrievedFebruary 6,2019.
    • Estes, Daniel J. (2013). Walton, John H.; Strauss, Mark L. (eds.).Job.Teach the Text Commentary Series. United States: Baker Publishing Group.ISBN9781441242778.
    • Farmer, Kathleen A. (1998). "The Wisdom Books". In McKenzie, Steven L.; Graham, Matt Patrick (eds.).The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues.Westminster John Knox Press.ISBN978-0-66425652-4.
    • Halley, Henry H.(1965).Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary(24th (revised) ed.). Zondervan Publishing House.ISBN0-310-25720-4.
    • Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick J. (2009).An Introduction to the Bible.Eerdmans.ISBN978-0-8028-4636-5.
    • Walton, John H. (2012).Job.United States: Zondervan.ISBN9780310492009.
    • Wilson, Lindsay (2015).Job.United States: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.ISBN9781467443289.
    • Würthwein, Ernst(1995).The Text of the Old Testament.Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.ISBN0-8028-0788-7.RetrievedJanuary 26,2019.
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