The Prosperity of the Wicked: A Theological Challenge in the Book of Job and in Ancient Near Eastern Literature

Dominick Hernández

Published by Gorgias Press 2022

The Prosperity of the Wicked

A Theological Challenge in the Book of Job and in Ancient Near Eastern Literature

Dominick Hernández

Volume 36 in the series Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and its Contexts

https://doi.org/10.31826/9781463244255

Overview
Contents

About this book

The book of Job has long been considered the biblical text that is most relevant to the question of theodicy. Therefore, much of its interpretational history has focused on considering theological explanations for the problem of innocent suffering. This emphasis on the “righteous sufferer” motif, though reasonable, has caused scholars to overlook what considerable sections of the first two rounds of dialogue communicate about the characters’ perceptions concerning the fate of the wicked. To Job’s friends, justice comes in the form of the wicked consistently suffering divinely appointed consequences for their sins, which is an outcome they eventually apply to Job as the conversation intensifies. According to Job, human experience blatantly contradicts his friends’ claims about uniformity in retribution. Job’s overt allegations about the inconsistency of God’s justice, coupled with the assertion that the wicked prosper with no divine restraint, are revolutionary when compared to other sections of the Bible. As one branches out from the Bible to other ancient Near Eastern compositions (i.e., from Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt), it is readily noticeable that several of the “righteous sufferer” compositions similarly exhibit the prevalence of the doctrine of just retribution, utilizing comparable language and imagery to communicate corresponding ideas to those in Job. Does Job convincingly argue against a fixed system of just retribution by proclaiming the prosperity of the wicked—an assertion that distinctly runs contrary to traditional biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom? This study addresses this question, giving careful consideration to the rhetoric, imagery, and literary devices used to treat the issue of the fate of the wicked in Job’s first two rounds of dialogue, where the topic is predominantly disputed. The analysis will glean from related biblical and non-biblical texts to illustrate that Job specifically counters five recurring arguments of his friends’ speeches that are based upon traditional wisdom.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xvii
1. The Prosperity of the Wicked and Divine Injustice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Conflict over the Fate of the Wicked Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
3. “Unequivocal Reiteration”: Eliphaz in Job 15:17–35 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
4. “Woe is the Way of the Wicked”: Bildad in Job 18 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
5. “The Destitute, the Dispossessed, and the Dead”— Zophar in Job 20:4–29 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
6. The Prosperity of the Wicked According to Job—Job 21 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221
7. Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Gorgias Press
Pages
- Main content: 358
Keywords: Bible; Criticism, Interpretation/Old Testament; Religion

eBook

Published: November 30, 2022
ISBN: 9781463244255