The Book of Job: Why Do the Innocent Suffer?

by Lawrence Boadt

Job is probably one of the best-known and most touching characters from the Bible. The Book of Job is the first great work of ancient literature to explore in depth the problem of undeserved suffering. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it is now commonplace to refer to "the patience of Job." This volume combines the text of the Book of Job with essays that show why the trials of Job still resonate so powerfully today.

120 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 1999

About the author

Lawrence Edward Boadt, C.S.P. (October 26, 1942 – July 24, 2010), was an American Paulist priest and Biblical scholar, who advocated on behalf of improved communication and understanding between Christians and Jews.

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This bible series is not a chapter and verse commentary. Pages 41 through 117 are a printing of the Book of Job. Pages 1-40 contain the forward, an introduction, and a section of characters and quotations of Job in literature.

Having read the book of Job, I only read the first 40 pages of this book.

I found the characters and quotations of Job in literature to be fascinating. Professors from universities such as St Louis Univ., Univ of CA, Univ of Ottawa, Johannes Gutenberg Univ, Mainz, Germany, and Hebrew Univ of Jerusalem discuss, in essays, the relationship of the Book of Job to characters by authors such as Byron, William Blake, Chaucer, Martin Luther, Shakespeare, Faust, Christopher Marlowe, and C.S. Lewis, to name a few. Through the evolution of literary characters we can see how man has taken the trials of Job and translated them into stories that show the pulse of that particular age.

The pages containing literary representation of the devil were the most prolific and also contained the most changes in appearance. There is the adversary or obstructor of the original Hebrew translation. Originally a common noun, Satan became the title of a particular being depicting evil within the Old Testament. Being the devil in a play at one time became synonymous with playing the fool as the "playwrights exploit(ed) the audience's knowledge that all of his posturings against the kingdom of God will be foiled." Skepticism in the late 17th and early 18th centuries eroded traditional beliefs and Satan was no longer a credible metaphor so the grotesque, decadent, wild and monstrous were favored for their horror. "The 19th century brought a revival of the occult producing a romantic sympathy for the devil. The horrors of the mid and late 20th century, which have contradicted liberal optimism about the essential goodness of human nature, have prompted the revival of the serious treatments of the traditional devil" as in C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters.

I do not consider this a book for bible study but a possible source to find literary topics, which relate to Job.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book of Job: Why Do the Innocent Suffer?

Reading scripture from the King James Bible has always been more of a chore than a pleasure for me. Although I enjoyed the foreword and the introduction, and especially the section on Job in literature, I grew weary reading The Book of Job. For mine eyen didst glazen o'er from “art thou,” “hast thou,” “dost thou,” “what knowest thou,” “wherefore hidest thou thy face,” “thinketh thou this,” “for thou saidst,” and on and on and on. The Jerusalem Bible translation of Job is much more readable and comprehensible than the KJV.

In regard to the story-line, Yahweh is an irascible, volatile storm god who enters into a wager with Satan (apparently one of the ”Sons of God”), using His faithful servant Job as a poker chip, with disastrous results for Job. And when He finally speaks to Job, does He offer words of consolation or lend a sympathetic ear? No, He launches a tirade of rhetorical questions:

Who is this that darkeneth counsel...?
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Who shut up [contained] the sea with doors [boundaries] when it brake forth
[burst out suddenly]...?
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion?

It is beyond me how anyone can reconcile Yahweh of the Old Testament with Jesus of the New Testament. I tend to agree with William Blake’s conception of the god of the Old Testament as a demiurge – a misguided creator whose purpose is flawed and whose world is broken.

In my opinion, Job emerges from the ashes as morally superior to Yahweh.