Untitled Document

The Book of Job is an unmatched exploration of the toll that loss exacts on human life. Even though Job is given the "leading lines" of the drama, almost every verse of every speaker brings forth thought-provoking and often startling insights. I have set up this web site, with its 80 mini-essays, as a guide to help you begin to probe this most unsettling and comforting book.

[I have concluded, after writing these essays, that the Book of Job is probably the most intellectually rich and challenging book of the Bible to read. It is challenging not only because of the difficulty of the language, but because it will not let us go until it has fully probed our mental furniture and intellectual categories regarding God, hope and pain. It has, however, an "easy" message for those inclined to find easy messages in the Bible.]

The essays here are of two types. Those on the left seek to follow closely the tightly-packed flow of the argument or emotions of the Book of Job and are designed for you to use as you begin to master the content of the book. Those on the right are intended either to explore themes that cut across several chapters in the book or to focus on vividly-expressed compressed thoughts that might be missed on a more casual reading. In all of the essays I want to try to bring us to a sympathetic understanding of the mental world of Job. My commitment is to make no essay longer than 800 words (most of them are under 700). Thus, you ought to be able easily to read and absorb the leading points of each mini-essay in five to ten minutes of focused reading.

I believe this site makes at least three contributions to the study of the Book of Job. First, I provide a readily-accessible (and free!) means by which a serious student or even a casual reader can be launched into the depths of probably the most significant reflection on human loss in Western literature.

Second, with respect to my interpretation, I try to rehabilitate Elihu's reputation in my essays on him and "Vivid Verses" in Job 32-37. From the perspective of the psychology of one suffering great pain, I believe that Elihu's words are most important. In short, Elihu provides the wedge between Job's pain and Job's interpretation of his pain in such a way that Job is enabled to see his pain from a different "angle." The new "angle" prepares the way for Job to hear and to meet God as he never has done previously.

Third, I attempt to give a new and fresh reading of that most controversial verse, Job 42:6. My reading emphasizes Job's emotional depletion and terror, rather than his being overwhelmed by the goodness of "seeing" God.

My new book on Job, A Hard-Fought Hope: Journeying with Job through Mystery (Upper Room Books, Nashville, TN, 160 pages, co-written with Glandion Carney) is available beginning September 2004. I refer to the work of other students of the Book of Job throughout these essays.