Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features include: • Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. • Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. • Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.
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www.theAncientBible.com A site that explores the Bible’s ancient culture and context with video, maps, timelines, excerpts from critical scholarship and more! Visit hp://www.theAncientBible.com ZIBBCOT Video This short video lets you peak inside ZIBBCOT and get a glimpse of the 30 contributors who helped create this landmark commentary set. Visit hp://tinyurl.com/zibbcotvid John Walton Lives the Old Testament Video A tongue-in-cheek (or is it?) video about how John Walton lives the Old Testament, a lifestyle that helped him lead a team of 30 international scholars to write the ZIBBCOT. Visit hp://www.tinyurl.com/waltonvid Find out more about the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament
Transcript
www.theAncientBible.comA site that explores the Bible’s ancient culture and context with video, maps, timelines, excerpts from critical scholarship and more! Visit http://www.theAncientBible.com
ZIBBCOT VideoThis short video lets you peak inside ZIBBCOT and get a glimpse of the 30 contributors who helped create this landmark commentary set. Visit http://tinyurl.com/zibbcotvid
John Walton Lives the Old Testament VideoA tongue-in-cheek (or is it?) video about how John Walton lives the Old Testament, a lifestyle that helped him lead a team of 30 international scholars to write the ZIBBCOT.Visit http://www.tinyurl.com/waltonvid
Find out more about the
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament
Z o n d e r v a nI l l u s t r a t e d
B i b l eB a c k g r o u n d sC o m m e n t a r y
Vo lume 5The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
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Contributors to Volume 5
General Editor, Jonah, Zechariah • John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College), Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College and Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois
Hosea • J. Glen Taylor (PhD, Yale University), Associate Professor of Old Testament, Wycliffe College and the School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Joel and Zephaniah • Mark W. Chavalas (PhD, University of California at Los Angeles), Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Amos • Philip S. Johnston (PhD, Cambridge University), Senior Tutor, Huges Hall, Cambridge University, United Kingdom
Obadiah and Nahum • Alan R. Millard (MPhil, Oxford University; FSA), Emeritus Rankin Professor of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, University of Liverpool, England
Micah • Daniel M. Master (PhD, Harvard University), Associate Professor of Archaeology, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois
Habakkuk • Victor H. Matthews (PhD, Brandeis University), Professor of Religious Studies, Missouri State University, Springfi eld, Missouri
Haggai and Zechariah • Kenneth G. Hoglund (PhD, Duke University), Professor, Department of Religion, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Malachi • Andrew E. Hill (PhD, University of Michigan), Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College and Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois
Job • Izak Cornelius (DLitt, University of Stellenbosch), Professor of Ancient Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Maitland, South Africa
Psalms • John W. Hilber (PD, Cambridge University), Associate Professor of Old Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas
Proverbs • Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University), Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California
Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs • Duane Garrett (PhD, Baylor University), John R. Sampey Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky
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G E N E R A L E D I T O R
Z o n d e r v a nI l l u s t r a t e d
B i b l eB a c k g r o u n d sC o m m e n t a r y
G E N E R A L E D I T O R
John H. Walton
Vo lume 5The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
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ZONDERVAN
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Volume 5: The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The minor prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs. p. cm. — (Zondervan illustrated Bible backgrounds commentary ; v. 5) Edited by John H. Walton. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-310-25577-2 (hardcover, printed) 1. Bible. O.T. Minor Prophets — Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. O.T. — Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Hebrew poetry, Biblical — History and criticism. 4. Wisdom literature — Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Walton, John H., 1952-BS1560.M56 2009224’.906 — dc22 2009009778
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quota-tions in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
We are grateful for so many who have provided us photographs, some at reduced prices and others free of charge, to help make this work a visual resource on the ancient world. Credits appear by each photograph, but we would especially recog-nize the following:
Wikimedia Commons makes photographs available through commons.wikimedia.org under a variety of licenses. We have benefited greatly from those that have been released into public domain and have sought out appropriate permission for those that have creative commons licensing (cc-by or cc-by-sa). These photo-graphs are not copyright protected in this set but are available for use under the same terms that we used them.
In connection to Wikimedia, we have used a number of photographs from the Yorck Project, whose images are indicated as being in the public domain, but with compilation protected under the GNU Free Documentation License.
We would like especially to thank Marie-Lan Nguyen, who provided so many photos in public domain on Wikimedia, as well as Rama, who even went and took specific photos that we wanted. Others who provided numerous photographs through Wikimedia include Guillaume Blanchard and Keith Schengili-Roberts.
We are grateful to so many who posted their photographs on Flickr and made them available to us when we requested them. Lenka Peacock, Manfred Nader, and Peter White were particularly generous and gracious as they allowed us to use many of their photographs.
The Schøyen Collection supplied many photographs at no charge, and we are grateful to Elizabeth Sorenssen for her capable help.
Edward Loring, Research Fellow and Network Administrator Russian Academy of Sciences Centre for Egyptological Studies, Moscow (CESRAS), Russian Institute of Egyptology in Cairo (RIEC), provided photographs we could not have otherwise gotten.
Photography Suppliers were very helpful in our endless searches for photographs and we would especially like to acknowledge Todd Bolen (www.bibleplaces.com), Zev Radovan (www.biblelandpictures.com), Art Resource (www.artres.com, with thanks to Ann and Jennifer), Werner Forman (www.werner-forman-archive.com, with thanks to Themis), Jim Martin, Jack Hazut (www.israelimage.net), Richard Cleave (Rohr Productions), and Neal Bierling (www.phoenixdatasystems.com).
Thanks also to my colleagues who provided photographs: Fred Mabie, Steven Voth, John Monson, Jim Monson, Rami Arav, Scott Noegel, Aren Maier, Dan-iel Master, the Leon Levy Foundation, Alan Millard, Stephen Bourke, Constance Gane, and Randall Younker.
We are also grateful to those who supplied photographs from their personal collections: Michael Greenhalgh, Tim Bulkeley (eBibleTools.com/israel), Caryn Reeder, Christina Beblavi, Lisa Jean Winbolt, Brian McMorrow, Kim Walton, David
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viii
Hall, and the late Maurice Thompson (photographer of the Bible Scene Set), his sons Peter and Andrew, and Geoff Tucker, who scanned the slides for us.
Our gratitude also goes to Patti Ricotta, who provided helpful financing for Song of Songs pictures.
For artwork we are grateful to Susanna Vagt, Alva Steffler, and Jonathan Walton.
For help with the maps, we are most grateful to Carl Rasmussen, the author of the Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible.
Thanks also goes to Charlie Trimm for the preparation of the visuals index.We would like to thank the always helpful staff at Zondervan whose hard work
made this project possible: Katya Covrett, Verlyn Verbrugge, and Kim Zeilstra deserve special mention, as well as Jack Kuhatschek, who got the project started while he was still at Zondervan.
Finally, my entire family was involved in the project. Jill and Josh provided photos and Jonathan provided artwork. But far beyond those contributions, words cannot express the gratitude I owe to my wife, Kim, who for three years served as my research assistant in tracking down pictures with her consummate research skills. Without her perseverance, creativity, and companionship, the product here provided could not have been achieved. Through countless hours working by my side, going through the manuscript entry by entry to decide what visuals to provide and then painstakingly researching where they could be found, she became expert in iconography and art from the ancient world. But more than that, she stepped into my world as a cherished partner in my work and ministry, making every day “a day for a daydream.” To her these volumes are dedicated with love, respect, and admiration.
John H. WaltonGeneral Editor
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ixMethodology: An Introductory Essay
John H. Walton
Comparative StudiesFor over a century, studies comparing the OT and the ancient Near East have hov-ered on the fringe of hermeneutics and exegesis. Since these studies were at times exploited by critical scholars for polemical attacks against the biblical text, evangeli-cals were long inclined to avoid or even vilify them. They viewed the idea that the OT borrowed or adapted ancient Near Eastern ideas or literature as incompatible with Scripture’s inspiration. Even as evangelicals in recent decades have grown more interested in tapping into the gold mine of comparative data, the results have often been considered tangential to the ultimate theological task. The influence from the ancient world has been identified with all that Israel was supposed to reject as they received the revelation from God that would purge their worldview from its pagan characteristics. Comparative studies served only as a foil to the theological interpretation of the text.
Consequently, comparative studies have been viewed as a component of historical-critical analysis at best, and more often as a threat to the uniqueness of the litera-ture of the Bible. In contrast, today more and more biblical scholars are exploring the positive uses of comparative studies. As a result of half a century of the persis-tent scholarship of Assyriologists, Hittitologists, Egyptologists, and Sumerologists, we are now in a position to add significant nuances to the paradigms for studying the impact of the ancient Near East on the authors and editors of the Hebrew Bible. The end result is a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the text.
Ever since the discovery of the Babylonian flood and creation accounts, critical scholarship has been attempting to demonstrate that the OT is derivative litera-ture, a disadvantaged step-sister to the dominant cultures of the ancient Near East. These scholars have attempted to reduce the OT to converted mythology, whose dependency exposes its humanity. For confessing orthodoxy, however, there is no room for the conclusion that the OT is man-made theology. If the Flood is simply a human legend invented by people and borrowed into Israelite thinking, if the covenant is merely Israel’s way of expressing their optimism that God has specially favored them through a treaty agreement with them, if the prophets never heard the voice of God but simply mimicked their ancient Near Eastern counterparts, then Chris tians are greatly to be pitied for having been duped in what would have to be considered the greatest hoax in history. It is no surprise, then, that evangelicals have often rejected the claims of these critical schools of thought.
There is, however, nothing inherently damaging to orthodox theology and beliefs about the Bible if its authors were interacting at various levels with the literature current in the culture. All literature is dependent on the culture in which it arises — it must
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be, if it intends to communicate effectively. Even when a text engages in polemic and correction of culture, it must be aware of and interact with current thinking and literature.
If we think about the example of creation texts, we realize that if God were to reveal his work of creation in our modern culture, he would have to explain how it related to the Big Bang theory or to evolution. His revelation would focus on the origins of the physical structure of the universe because that is what is important in our cultural perspective. In the ancient world, though, physical structure was rela-tively insignificant. People at that time were much more interested in the aspect of bringing order out of chaos and the divine exercise of jurisdiction demonstrated in giving everything a role and a purpose. In this context, any account of origins would of necessity have to be presented with these ancient ideas in mind.
The biblical text, in other words, formulated its discussion in relation to the thinking found in the ancient literature. It should be no surprise, then, if areas of similarity are found. This is far different from the contention that Israelite literature is simply derivative mythology. There is a great distance between borrowing from a particular piece of literature (as has been claimed in critical circles) and resonat-ing with the larger culture that has itself been influenced by its literatures. When Americans speak of the philosophy of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” they are resonating with an idea that has penetrated society rather than bor-rowing from the writings of Epicurus.
Another area where we must be sensitive to cultural issues is in the way we understand literary genres. It should be no surprise that OT genres need to be com-pared to genres in the larger culture. Whether we are looking at wisdom literature, hymnic literature, historical literature, or legal literature, we find generous doses of both similarities and differences. Understanding the genre of a piece of litera-ture is necessary if we desire to perceive the author’s intentions. Since perceiving such intentions is essential to our theological interpretation of a text, we recognize that understanding genre contributes to legitimate theological interpretation. Some genres will operate differently in the ancient world than they do in our own culture, so we must become familiar with the mechanics of the genres represented in the ancient Near East.
Where there are similarities, they help us to understand the genre parameters and characteristics as they existed in the ancient mind. What defined historical writing in the ancient world? How close was it to the journalistic approach of today, which relies heavily on eyewitness accounts? How did genealogies function in OT times? Were they compiled for the same purpose that we compile them for?
Occasionally comparisons within genres reveal close similarities between the biblical and ancient Near Eastern literatures on the level of content. Such similari-ties do not jeopardize inspiration. Even if the OT had the very same law or the very same proverb that was found in the ancient Near East, inspiration would be involved in the author choosing to incorporate that law or proverb into the canonical collec-tion and to nuance it properly in appropriate context.
Where there are differences, it is still important to understand the ancient Near Eastern genres because the theological points will often be made by means of
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xicontrast. The theology behind the book of Job, for example, is built primarily on the distinctives of the ancient Near Eastern view (represented in the arguments of Job’s friends), which was based on an appeasement mentality. The book’s message is accomplished in counterpoint. If we are unaware of the contrasts, we will miss some of the nuances.
In fact, then, we must go beyond the simple identification of similarities and differences to articulate the relationships on a functional level. Similarities could exist because Israel adapted something from ancient Near Eastern culture or litera-ture, or, as previously mentioned, because they simply resonated with the culture. Differences could reflect the Israelites’ rejection of the ancient Near Eastern per-spective, or they might emerge in explicit Israelite polemics against the views of their neighbors. In all such cases, the theology of the text may be nuanced by the cultural context.
In light of all of this, it may be logically concluded that without the guidance of comparative studies, we are bound to misinterpret the text at some points. A text is a complex of ideas linked by threads of writing. Each phrase and each word commu-nicates by the ideas and thoughts that they will trigger in the reader or hearer. We can then speak of these underlying ideas as gaps that need to be filled with mean-ing by the audience. The writer or speaker assumes that those gaps will be filled in particular ways based on the common worldview he shares with his audience. Interpreters have the task of filling in those gaps, and when interpreting authorita-tive texts, it is theologically essential that we fill them appropriately.
For example, the Tower of Babel is described as being built “with its head in the heavens.” Without the benefit of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, early interpret-ers were inclined to provide the theological explanation that the builders were try-ing to build a structure that would allow them to launch an attack on the heavens. Comparative studies have allowed modern interpreters to recognize that this is an expression used to describe the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, which were intended to serve as a bridge or portal between heavens and earth. Such an understanding leads to an alternative, and arguably more accurate, interpretation of the text. In conclu-sion, then, as our interpretation of the text requires us to fill in the gaps, we have to be careful to consider the option of filling those gaps from the cultural context before we leap to fill them with theological significance.
As we make this transition in our thinking, we must expand the focus of our comparative studies. Too often in the past, comparative studies have been limited either to individual features (e.g., birds sent out from the ark) or to the literary preservation of traditions (e.g., creation accounts, vassal treaties) and have been conducted with either apologetics (from confessional circles) or polemics (against confessional traditions) in mind. As those interested in the interpretation of the text, we should recognize in addition the importance of comparative studies that focus on conceptual issues, conducted with illumination of the cultural dynamics behind the text in mind.
We can now create a spectrum to define the varieties of differences and simi-larities that can classify these nuances. The spectrum extends from differences to similarities while the matrix takes account of three categories: individual elements,
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worldview concepts, and literary preservation. This is represented in the following chart:
Relationships Elements Concepts Literature
Totally ignores and presents different view
Sexual activity of gods
Theogony Apotropaic rituals
Hazy familiarity leading to carica-ture and ridicule
Napping gods Making of idols Tammuz literature
Accurate knowl-edge resulting in rejection
Monogenesis/polygenesis
Divine needs Omen texts
Disagreement resulting in polem-ics, debate, or contention
Use of lots Netherworld conditions; temple ideology
Proverbs
In conclusion, there are ten important principles that must be kept in mind when doing comparative studies:
1. Both similarities and differences must be considered. 2. Similarities may suggest a common cultural heritage rather than borrowing. 3. It is common to find similarities at the surface but differences at the concep-
tual level and vice versa. 4. All elements must be understood in their own context as accurately as pos-
sible before crosscultural comparisons are made. 5. Proximity in time, geography, and spheres of cultural contact all increase the
possibility of interaction leading to influence. 6. A case for literary borrowing requires identification of likely channels of
transmission. 7. The significance of differences between two pieces of literature is mini-
mized if the works are not the same genre. 8. Similar functions may be performed by different genres in different cultures. 9. When literary or cultural elements are borrowed, they may in turn be trans-
formed into something quite different. 10. A single culture will rarely be monolithic, either in a contemporary cross-
section or in consideration of a passage of time.1
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xiiiSuccessful interpreters must try to understand the cultural background of the ancient Near East just as successful missionaries must learn the culture, language, and worldview of the people they are trying to reach. This is the rationale for us to study the Bible in light of the ancient Near East. What we contend, then, is that comparative studies has three goals in mind:
1. We study the history of the ancient Near East as a means of recovering knowledge of the events that shaped the lives of people in the ancient world.
2. We study archaeology as a means of recovering the lifestyle reflected in the material culture of the ancient world.
3. We study the literature of the ancient Near East as a means of penetrating the heart and soul of the people who inhabited the ancient world that Israel shared.
These goals are at the heart of comparative studies and will help us understand the OT better.
Comparative Studies and Prophetic Literature
One of the most characteristic features of the OT is the prophetic literature. Since prophecy concerns the communication of messages from God to human beings, it is easy to conclude that it can only occur with a God who is real, active and intent on revealing himself. Consequently, Chris tians today are naturally inclined to think that Israel was the only nation to experience prophecy because Yahweh is the only God who fills those qualifications. Nevertheless, even the Bible shows us that such is not the case. Elijah, for example, has to oppose the prophets of Baal and Asherah during the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 18).
Texts mostly from Mesopotamia also confirm that prophets were active in the rest of the ancient world.2 The largest corpus of material comes from the eighteenth-century kingdom of Mari. About fifty letters to the king from administrators of outlying districts report on prophetic messages delivered to them to send to the king. A smaller corpus is available from Assyria in the seventh century. There are no collections of oracles of particular prophets such as those found in Isaiah. The prophets of Mari and Assyria are more like the prophets we read about in the books of Kings and Chronicles, who appear on the scene to deliver a message to the king concerning what he should do to please deity. There is no parallel to the way that Israel’s classical prophets addressed the people about their behavior. Nor do we find most of the key prophetic themes addressed (e.g., impending exile, coming king, future kingdom). Despite these important differences, these texts aid us in learning much about the way Israelite prophecy operated and was perceived by the contem-porary audience.
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Comparative Studies and Wisdom and Psalms
In 1 Kings 4:30 we are informed that Solomon’s wisdom was greater than “all the men of the East.” This indicates that there was an international wisdom tradition and that the Israelites were aware of it. Such a tradition is confirmed by the texts that have been unearthed throughout the Near East.3 There are over a dozen texts from Egypt that are classified as “instruction” texts.4 Several literary works from Mesopotamia tackle the problem of the innocent sufferer, just as the book of Job does.5 Collections of proverbs from as early as Sumerian times can be fruitfully compared with the biblical book.6
Hymnic literature is also attested internationally. Comparative literature mostly from Egypt and Mesopotamia helps us to understand the genres, literary forms, and subject matter of the biblical Psalms.7 Hymns of praise are most common, but the biblical psalms of lament find some parallel in the incantation literature as well. There are a few examples in which a case can be made for biblical psalms being adapted from pieces known from the ancient Near East.8 Other comparisons sug-gest that compositions known in the ancient Near East were adapted from Israel’s psalms.9 Comparative study of the psalms will throw into sharp relief some of the key differences that can be identified in Israelite religious thought and practice by locating the biblical psalms along the continuum of the ancient Near Eastern literature.
Bibliography on Comparative Studies Methodology
Finkelstein, J. J. “Bible and Babel: A Comparative Study of the Hebrew and Babylonian Religious Spirit.” Pages 355 – 80 in Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. F. E. Greenspahn. New York: New York Univ. Press, 1991.
Hallo, W. W. “New Moons and Sabbaths: A Case Study in the Contrastive Approach.” HUCA 48 (1977): 1 – 18.
_____. “Biblical History in Its Near Eastern Setting: The Contextual Approach.” Pages 1 – 26 in Scripture in Context, ed. C. Evans, et al. Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1980.
_____. “Compare and Contrast: The Contextual Approach to Biblical Literature.” Pages 1 – 19 in The Bible In Light of Cuneiform Literature: Scripture in Context III, ed. W. W. Hallo, B. Jones, and G. Mattingly. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1990.
Huffmon, H. B. “Babel und Bibel: The Encounter between Babylon and the Bible.” Pages 309 – 20 in The Bible and Its Traditions, ed. M. P. O’Connor and D. N. Freedman. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1983.
Loewenstamm, S. E. “Biblical Studies in the Light of Akkadian Texts.” Pages 256 – 67 in From Babylon to Canaan. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1992.
Longman, Tremper III. Fictional Akkadian Autobiography. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1991.
Machinist, P. “The Question of Distinctiveness in Ancient Israel.” Pages 420 – 42 in Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. F. E. Greenspahn. New York: New York Univ. Press, 1991.
Malamat, A. “The Proto-History of Israel: A Study in Method.” Pages 303 – 13 in The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, ed. C. L. Meyers and M. O’Connor. Winona Lake: Eisen-brauns: 1983.
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xvMalul, M. The Comparative Method in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Legal Studies, AOAT 227. Kevelaer: Butzon und Bercker; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1990.
Millard, A. R. “Methods of Studying the Patriarchal Narratives As Ancient Texts.” Pages 35 – 51 in Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, ed. A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1983.
Ringgren, H. “The Impact of the Ancient Near East on the Israelite Tradition.” Pages 31 – 46 in Tradition and Theology in the Old Testament, ed. D. A. Knight. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1977/1990.
Roberts, J. J. M. “The Ancient Near Eastern Environment.” Pages 3 – 43 in The Bible and the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
_____. “The Bible and the Literature of the Ancient Near East.” Pages 44 – 58 in The Bible and the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
_____. “Myth Versus History: Relaying the Comparative Foundations.” CBQ 38 (1976): 1 – 13.
Rodriguez, A. M. “Ancient Near Eastern Parallels to the Bible and the Question of Revela-tion and Inspiration.” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 12 (2001): 43 – 64.
Saggs, H. W. F. The Encounter with the Divine in Mesopotamia and Israel. London: Athlone, 1978.
Selman, M. J. “Comparative Customs and the Patriarchal Age.” Pages 93 – 138 in Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, ed. A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman. Winona Lake: Eisen-brauns, 1983.
Talmon, S. “The Comparative Method in Biblical Interpretation: Principles and Problems.” VTSup 29 (1977): 320 – 56.
Tigay, J. “On Evaluating Claims of Literary Borrowing.” Pages 250 – 55 in The Tablet and the Scroll, ed. M. Cohen et al. Bethesda: CDL, 1993.
Toorn, K. van der. Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia. Assen: Van Gorcum, 1985.
Main Text Notes 1. J. Walton, “Cultural Background of the Old Testament,” in Foundations for Biblical Interpretation,
ed. D. Dockery, K. Mathews, and R. Sloan (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994), 256. See also J. Tigay, “On Evaluating Claims of Literary Borrowing,” in The Tablet and the Scroll, ed. M. Cohen et al. (Bethesda, MD: CDL, 1993), 250 – 55.
2. Some of the most important studies in ancient prophecy include: H. M. Barstad, “No Prophets? Recent Developments in Biblical Prophetic Research and Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy,” JSOT 57 (1993): 39 – 60; J. F. Craghan, “Mari and Its Prophets: The Contributions of Mari to the Understanding of Biblical Prophecy,” BTB 5 (1975): 32 – 53; M. deJong Ellis, “Observations on Mesopotamian Oracles and Prophetic Texts,” JCS 41 (1989): 127 – 86; Robert P. Gordon, “From Mari to Moses: Prophecy at Mari and in Ancient Israel,” in Of Prophets’ Visions and Wisdom of the Sages, ed. H. McKay and D. J. A. Clines (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1993), 63 – 79; J. H. Hayes, “Prophetism at Mari and Old Testament Parallels,” AThR 49 (1967): 397 – 409; J. S. Holladay, “Assyrian Statecraft and the Prophets of Israel,” HTR 63 (1970): 29 – 51; H. B. Huff-mon, “Prophecy in the Mari Letters,” in The Biblical Archaeologist Reader 3, ed. E. F. Campbell and D. N. Freedman (New York: Anchor, 1970), 199 – 226; idem, “The Origins of Prophecy,” in The Mighty Acts of God, ed. F. M. Cross, W. E. Lemke, and P. D. Miller Jr. (New York: Double-day, 1976), 171 – 86; A. Malamat, “A Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy: The Mari Documents,” in Ancient Israelite Religion, ed. P. D. Miller, P. D. Hanson, and S. D. McBride (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987), 33 – 35; idem, “Prophecy at Mari,” in The Place Is Too Small for Us, ed. R. P. Gordon (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1995), 50 – 76; W. L. Moran, “New Evidence from Mari on the History of Prophecy,” Bib 50 (1969): 15 – 56; M. Nissinen, References to Prophecy in Neo-Assyrian Sources (SAAS VII; Helsinki: Univ. of Helsinki Press, 1998); idem, Prophecy in Its Near Eastern Context (Atlanta: SBL, 2000); idem, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East (SBLWAW 12; Atlanta: SBL, 2003); S. Parpola, Assyrian Prophecies (SAA 9; Helsinki: Univ. of Helsinki Press, 1998); Helmer Ringgren, “Prophecy in the Ancient Near East,” in Israel’s Prophetic Tradition, ed. R. Coggins, A. Phillips, and M. Knibb (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1982), 1 – 11; J. J. M. Roberts, “The Mari Prophetic Texts in Transliteration and English Translation,”
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in The Bible and the Ancient Near East (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 157 – 253; J. F. Ross, “Prophecy in Hamath, Israel, and Mari,” HTR 63 (1970): 1 – 28; S. D. Walters, “Prophecy in Mari and Israel,” JBL 89 (1970): 78 – 81; J. H. Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 201 – 16; M. Weinfeld, “Ancient Near Eastern Patterns in Prophetic Literature,” VT 27 (1977): 178 – 95; R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980).
3. J. Day, “Foreign Semitic Influence on the Wisdom of Israel and Its Appropriation in the Book of Proverbs,” in Wisdom in Ancient Israel, ed. J. Day, R. P. Gordon, and H. G. M. Williamson (Cam-bridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995), 55 – 70; W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford: Clarendon, 1960); T. Smothers, “Biblical Wisdom in Its Ancient Middle Eastern Con-text,” in An Introduction to Wisdom Literature and the Psalms, ed. H. Wayne Ballard Jr. and W. Dennis Tucker Jr. (Macon, Ga.: Mercer Univ. Press, 2000), 167 – 80; Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context, 135 – 200.
4. M. V. Fox, “Two Decades of Research in Egyptian Wisdom Literature,” ZÄS 107 (1980): 120 – 34; K. Kitchen, “The Basic Literary Forms and Formulations of Ancient Instructional Writings in Egypt and Western Asia,” in Studien zu altägyptischen Lebenslehren, ed. E. Hornung and O. Keel (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979), 235 – 82; idem, “Biblical Instructional Wisdom: The Decisive Voice of the Ancient Near East,” Boundaries of the Ancient Near Eastern World, ed. M. Lubetski, C. Gottlieb, and S. Keller (JSOTSup 273; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998), 346 – 63; J. D. Ray, “Egyptian Wisdom Literature,” in Wisdom in Ancient Israel, ed. J. Day, R. P. Gordon, and H. G. M. Williamson (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995), 17 – 29; R. J. Williams, “The Sages of Ancient Egypt in the Light of Recent Scholarship,” JAOS 101 (1981): 1 – 19; idem, “A People Come out of Egypt,” VTSup 28 (1974): 231 – 52.
5. R. G. Albertson, “Job and Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature,” in Scripture in Context II, ed. W. W. Hallo, J. C. Moyer, and L. G. Perdue (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 213 – 30; Johannes de Moor, “Ugarit and the Origin of Job,” in Ugarit and the Bible: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Ugarit and the Bible, ed. G. J. Brooke et al. (UBL 11; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag,1994), 225 – 57; Robert Gordis, “Virtual Quotations in Job, Sumer and Qumran,” VT 31 (1981): 410 – 27; J. Gray, “The Book of Job in the Context of Near Eastern Literature,” ZAW 82 (1970): 251 – 69; B. Halpern, “Assyrian and Pre-Socratic Astronomies and the Location of the Book of Job,” in Kein Land für sich allein, ed. U. Hübner and E. Knauf (OBO 186; Freiburg: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vanderhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002), 255 – 64; G. L. Mattingly, “The Pious Sufferer: Mesopotamia’s Traditional Theodicy and Job’s Counselors,” in The Bible in the Light of Cuneiform Literature, Scripture in Context III, eds. W. W. Hallo, B. W. Jones, and G. L. Mattingly (Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1990), 305 – 48; G. von Rad, “Job xxxviii and Ancient Egyptian Wisdom,” in The Problem of the Hexateuch (London: SCM, 1966), 281 – 91; R. Albertz, “The Sage and Pious Wisdom in the Book of Job: The Friends’ Perspective,” in The Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. J. G. Gammie and L. G. Perdue (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 243 – 62.
6. Bendt Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, 2 vols. (Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 1997); G. Bryce, The Legacy of Wisdom (Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell Univ. Press, 1979); E. Gordon, “A New Look at the Wisdom of Sumer and Akkad,” BO 17:3/4 (1960): 122 – 52; K. Kitchen, “Proverbs and Wisdom Books of the Ancient Near East: The Factual History of a Literary Form,” TynBul 28 (1977): 69 – 114; J. Ruffle, “The Teaching of Amenemope and Its Connection with the Book of Proverbs,” TynBul 28 (1977): 29 – 68; N. Shupak, “The ‘Sitz im Leben’ of the Book of Proverbs in the Light of a Comparison of Biblical and Egyptian Wisdom Literature,” RB 94 (1987): 98 – 119; B. Waltke, “The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature,” BSac 136 (1979): 221 – 38; E. Würth-wein, “Egyptian Wisdom in the Old Testament,” in Studies in Ancient Israelite Wisdom Literature, ed. H. M. Orlinsky (New York: Ktav, 1976), 113 – 33.
7. P. Craigie, “The Poetry of Ugarit and Israel,” TynBul 22 (1971): 3 – 31; J. F. Drinkard, “The Ancient Near Eastern Context of the Book of Psalms,” in Introduction to Wisdom Literature and the Psalms, ed. H. W. Ballard Jr. and W. D. Tucker Jr. (Macon, Ga.: Mercer Univ. Press, 2000), 67 – 92.
8. See discussions on Ps. 29 and 104. 9. See discussion on Ps. 20.
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xviiGeneral Bibliography
ReferenceAnchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.Ancient Near East in Pictures. Ed. J. B. Pritchard. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1954.Cambridge Ancient History. Ed. J. Boardman et. al. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1970 – .Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Ed. J. Sasson. New York: Scribners, 1995.Companion to the Ancient Near East. Ed. Daniel Snell. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Ed. K. van der Toorn et al. Leiden: Brill,
1995.Dictionary of the Ancient Near East. Ed. P. Bienkowski and A. R. Millard. Philadelphia: Univ.
of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Ed. S. Bertman. New York: Facts on File, 2003.IVP Dictionaries of the Old Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2003 – .New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Ed. E. Stern. New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1993.Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford Univ. Press,
2001.Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford
Univ. Press, 1997.Tübinger Bibelatlas. Ed. S. Mittmann and G. Schmitt. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft,
2001.Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Ed. G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren. Trans.
J. T. Willis, et al. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974 – .Views of the Biblical World. Ed. B. Mazar. Jerusalem: International, 1959.World History of the Jewish People. Ed. B. Mazar. Jerusalem: Massada, 1963 – 1979.
Translations of TextsAmarna Letters. W. L. Moran. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1992.Ancient Egyptian Literature. 3 vols. M. Lichtheim. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press,
1973 – 80.The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. Ed. M. Chavalas. Oxford: Black-
well, 2006.Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Ed. J. B. Pritchard. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1969.Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic. 2 vols. A. R. George. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.Babylonian Wisdom Literature. W. G. Lambert. Oxford: Clarendon, 1960.Before the Muses. Ed. B. Foster. 3rd ed. Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 2005.The Context of Scripture. 3 vols. Ed. W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger. Leiden: Brill, 1997.Harps That Once . . . T. Jacobsen. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1987.Literature of Ancient Sumer. J. Black et al. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004 (see www-etcsl.
orient.ox.ac.uk).Myths of Mesopotamia. Ed. S. Dalley. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1991.Near Eastern Religious Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Ed. W. Beyerlin. Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1978.
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xviii
Old Testament Parallels. Ed. V. Matthews and D. Benjamin. 2nd ed. New York: Paulist,
1997.Proverbs of Ancient Sumer. 2 vols. B. Alster. Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 1997.Readings from the Ancient Near East. Ed. B. Arnold and B. Beyer. Grand Rapids: Baker,
2002.SBL Writings from the Ancient World Series. Ed. T. Lewis. Atlanta: SBL, 1990 – . SBLWAW 2: H. A. Hoffner. Hittite Myths. SBLWAW 4: J. M. Lindenberger. Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters. SBLWAW 6: M. Roth. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. SBLWAW 7: G. Beckman. Hittite Diplomatic Texts. SBLWAW 9: S. Parker. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry. SBLWAW 11: I. Singer. Hittite Prayers. SBLWAW 12: M. Nissinen. Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. SBLWAW 16: N. C. Strudwick. Texts from the Pyramid Age. SBLWAW 19: J.-J. Glassner. Mesopotamian Chronicles. SBLWAW 20: H. Vanstiphout. Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta. SBLWAW 23: J. P. Allen. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.Wisdom of Ancient Sumer. B. Alster. Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 2005.
Books on Bible BackgroundsAssmann, J. The Search for God in Ancient Egypt. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Univ. Press, 2001.Baines, J., and J. Málek. Atlas of Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts on File, 1980.Bottéro, J. Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2001._____. Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2001.Braun, J. Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.Bryce, T. The Kingdom of the Hittites. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998.Coogan, M. D. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. New York: Oxford Univ. Press,
1998.Day, J. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
2000.Dearman, A. Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1992.Dorsey, D. A. The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ.
Press, 1991.Forbes, R. J. Studies in Ancient Technology. 9 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1964 – .Frankfort, H., et al. The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago
Press, 1946.Green, A. R. W. The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns,
2003.Hoerth, A. Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.Hoerth, A., G. Mattingly, and E. Yamauchi. Peoples of the Old Testament World. Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1994.Jacobsen, T. Treasures of Darkness. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1976.Keel, O. The Symbolism of the Biblical World. New York: Seabury, 1978.Keel, O., and C. Uehlinger. Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Minne-
apolis: Fortress, 1998.King, P., and L. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002.Kitchen, K. A. On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
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xixKuhrt, A. The Ancient Near East, 3000 – 330 B.C. London: Routledge, 1997.Marsman, H. J. Women in Ugarit and Israel. Leiden: Brill, 2003.Matthews, Victor. Manners and Customs in the Bible. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1988.Matthews, V., and D. Benjamin. The Social World of the Old Testament. Peabody, Mass.:
Hendrickson, 1993.Mazar, A. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1990.Miller, J. M., and J. Hayes. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Philadelphia: Westminster,
1986.Miller, P. D. The Religion of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000.Moorey, P. R. S. Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisen-
brauns, 1999.Morenz, S. Egyptian Religion. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Univ. Press, 1973.Nakhai, B. A. Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel. Boston: ASOR, 2001.Nemet-Nejat, K. R. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood,
1998.Olmo Lete, G., del. Canaanite Religion. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2004.Provan, I, V. P. Long, and T. Longman. A Biblical History of Israel. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox, 2003.Rainey, A., and R. S. Notley. The Sacred Bridge. Jerusalem: Carta, 2006.Redford, D. B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press,
1992.Roaf, M. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File,
1990.Saggs, H. W. F. The Greatness That Was Babylon. New York: Mentor, 1962._____. Encounter with the Divine in Mesopotamia and Israel. London: Athlone, 1978._____. The Might That Was Assyria. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1984.Snell, D. Life in the Ancient Near East. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1997.Sparks, K. L. Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson,
2005.Stern, E. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Vol. 2. New York: Doubleday, 2001.Thompson, J. A. Handbook of Life in Bible Times. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press,
1986.Toorn, K. van der. Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in
the Forms of Religious Life. Leiden: Brill, 1996.Van de Mieroop, M. The Ancient Mesopotamian City. New York: Oxford Univ. Press,
1999._____. Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History. London: Routledge, 1999._____. A History of the Ancient Near East: ca. 3000 – 323 B.C. London: Blackwell, 2003.Walton, J. H. Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1989._____. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World
of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.Walton, J. H., V. Matthews, and M. Chavalas. IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old
Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000.Westbrook, R. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. 2 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2003.Wiseman, D. J. Peoples of Old Testament Times. Oxford: Clarendon, 1973.Yadin, Y. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963.Yamauchi, E. Persia and the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.Zevit, Z. Religions of Ancient Israel. New York: Continuum, 2001.
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xx
Abbreviations
AAA . . . . . . . Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology
AASOR . . . . Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research
Chronicles. A. K. Grayson. TCS 5. Locust Valley, New York, 1975
ABD . . . . . . . Anchor Bible Dictionary. D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York, 1992
ABL . . . . . . . . Assyrian and Babylonian Let-ters Belonging to the Kouyun-jik Collections of the British Museum. R. F. Harper. 14 vols. Chicago, 1892–1914
ends. G. R. Driver. Edin-burgh, 1956. J. C. L. Gibson, 19782
CNI . . . . . . . . Carsten Niebuhr Institute ConBOT . . . . Coniectanea biblica: Old
Testament SeriesCOS . . . . . . . The Context of Scripture. W.
W. Hallo. 3 vols. Leiden, 1997–2002
CT . . . . . . . . Cuneiform Texts from Baby-lonian Tablets in the British Museum
CTA . . . . . . . Corpus des tablettes en cunéi-formes alphabétiques décou-vertes à Ras Shamra-Ugarit de 1929 à 1939. A. Herdner. Mission de Ras Shamra 10. Paris, 1963
Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani, and Other Places. M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, and J. Sanmartín. Münster, 1995
CU . . . . . . . . . Code of Ur-Nammu
CurTM . . . . . . Currents in Theology and Mission
DANE . . . . . . Dictionary of the Ancient Near East
DBAT . . . . . . Dielheimer Blätter zum Alten Testament
DBI . . . . . . . . Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. T. Longman and L. Ryken. Downers Grove, 1998
DCH . . . . . . . Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. D. J. A. Clines. Shef-field, 1993–
DDD . . . . . . . Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, and P. W. van der Horst. Leiden, 1995. 2nd ed., Grand Rapids, 1998
DISO . . . . . . Dictionnaire des inscriptions sémitiques de l’ouest. Ch. F. Jean and J. Hoftijzer. Leiden, 1965
DNWSI . . . . . Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions. J. Hofti-jzer and K. Jongeling. 2 vols. Leiden, 1995
DOTHB . . . . Dictionary of the Old Testa-ment: Historical Books
DOTP . . . . . . Dictionary of the Old Tes-tament: Pentateuch. T. D. Alexander and D. W. Baker. Downers Grove, 2003
DOTT . . . . . . Documents from Old Testa-ment Times. D. W. Thomas, London, 1958
to the edition of J. A. Knudt-zon. Die el-Amarna-Tafeln. Leipzig, 1908–1915. Reprint, Aalen, 1964. Continued in A. F. Rainey, El-Amarna Tablets, 359–379. 2nd revised ed. Kevelaer, 1978
EA . . . . . . . . . Epigraphica anatolicaEAEHL . . . . Encyclopedia of Archaeologi-
cal Excavations in the Holy Land. M. Avi-Yonah. 4 vols. Jerusalem, 1975
E. Kautzsch. Translated by A. E. Cowley. 2nd ed. Oxford, 1910
GM . . . . . . . . Göttinger MiszellenGTTOT . . . . The Geographical and Topo-
graphical Texts of the Old Tes-tament. J. J. Simons. Studia Francisci Scholten memoriae dicata 2. Leiden, 1959
HALOT . . . . The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm. Translated and edited under the supervi-sion of M. E. J. Richardson. 4 vols. Leiden, 1994–1999
HANEL . . . . . History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. R. Westbrook. 2 vols. Leiden, 2003
HAR . . . . . . . Hebrew Annual ReviewHAT . . . . . . . Handbuch zum Alten
zum Alten TestamentKTU . . . . . . . Die keilalphabetischen Texte
aus Ugarit. M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, and J. Sanmartín. AOAT 24/1. Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1976. 2nd enlarged ed. of KTU: The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani, and Other Places. M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, and J. Sanmartín. Münster, 1995 (= CTU)
ZNW . . . . . . . Zeitschrift für die neutesta-mentliche Wissenschaft
ZPEB . . . . . . . Zondervan Pictorial Encyclope-dia of the Bible. M. C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids, 1975
ZTK . . . . . . . . Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche
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JOBby Izak Cornelius
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Grieving Job and his friends (painting by Eberhard Wächter [1762–1852])Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Central to the book of Job is the question of human suffering and especially why people who are seemingly innocent suffer, which in turn raises the question about the righ teous-ness of a loving God. This book deals with the question of retribution, the popular theol-ogy according to which the righ teous prosper
but the wicked suffer, as well as the justice of the deity (the so-called question of theod-icy). Job’s suffering, along with his patience (see, e.g., Jas. 5:11), has become proverbial in everyday speech. The problems addressed by this book are truly part of universal human experience and therefore of world literature.1
Introduction
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JobDateThe date of the story remains a problem. Opinions range from the time of the patri-archs in the second millennium B.C. to the Persian period in the fourth century B.C.; the seventh to the fifth centuries B.C. have also been proposed. The differences between the main part and the prologue (chs. 1 – 2) and epilogue (ch. 42) make dating even more dif-ficult. Because the term s aa mt≥a mn occurs with the definite article and is not yet a proper name, the book of Job may be earlier than Chronicles.2
Job is mentioned as an ancient hero (with Noah and Daniel) in Ezekiel 14:14, 20. Noah is the flood hero from the time before the time Abraham (Gen. 6 – 10), and Dan-iel (Dan,el) is known from the Late Bronze Age (1350 – 1190 B.C.) Ugaritic story of Aqhat,3 which indicates that the story may
go back to the interna-tional lore of the Bronze Age or second millen-nium B.C.,4 although it could have been written down later and edited in (say) the sixth to fifth centuries B.C.
The Righ teous Sufferer in Ancient Near Eastern LiteratureTexts dealing with a righ teous person who suffers were widespread in the ancient world, especially in the ancient Near East.5 The Egyp-
tian “Dialogue of a Man with His Soul”6 describes
someone who asks in his misery whether it would not be
better to commit suicide. In texts such as Ipuwer and Merikare, the “discourse of theodicy” receives attention, and the question is asked: “Is a human being incapable of get-ting influenced against evil and injustice?”7
The Mesopota-mian material provides us with the closest analogies conceptually, and these texts were also known in a cul-tural center such as North-Syrian Ugarit.8
The Sumerian A Man and His God,9 which goes back to the beginning of the second millennium B.C., is a long, personal lament-ing monologue, in which a pious sufferer has a feeling of guilt. He asks for forgiveness, and the god turns his suffering into joy. The category closest to the book of Job is the Akkadian dialogue, such as the Babylonian Ludlul bel Nemeqi (“I will praise the lord of wisdom”) or the Babylonian Theodicy.10
The Ludlul, from the sixteenth to the twelfth centuries B.C., describes a pious but not necessarily innocent person who suffers from an illness, which is described in great detail. He is rejected by his fellow human beings, and even his brother has become his
enemy. Ignored by the gods, he summarizes his dilemma:
What seems good to one’s self could be an offence to a god,
What in one’s own heart seems abominable could be good to one’s god.11
The Babylonian Theodicy from around 1000 B.C. comes even closer to the book of Job. It is in the form of a dialogue, and the sufferer, like Job, is in dispute with his friends, although he has only one unnamed friend. There is not that harshness in the dispute that is found in Job. At the end the sufferer expresses the wish:
May the god who has cast me off grant help,May the goddess who has [forsaken me]
take pity.12
The Mesopotamian examples agree that no one is righ teous, that suffering is part and parcel of the human condition, and that it is not certain what is right or wrong in the eyes of the gods. Humans cannot fathom the divine mind (cf. Job 11:7 – 9). This idea was already seen in the part quoted from the Ludlul above. In the Babylonian Theodicy, “divine purpose is as remote as innermost heaven, it is too dif-ficult to understand.”13 And in the Dialogue of Pessimism we read, “Who is tall enough to ascend to the heavens? Who is broad enough to encompass the earth?”14
In the polytheistic religions of the ancient Near East, innocent suffering could be attributed to another deity, as is also
stated by some of the texts. There were protective deities to whom one could turn when the main deities could no longer be relied upon. For Job the situation is more complicated: If there is only one God, what if he has become your enemy? At the end Job comes to the insight:
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. (42:5 – 6)
Prologue (1:1 – 5)
In the land of Uz . . . Job (1:1). The main character of the story is an “Oriental” (1:3), who is placed in the land of Uz. The exact location of Uz is unknown (cf. Gen. 36:28; Lam. 4:21), but a region south of Palestine in Edom or Northwest Arabia has been pro-posed. The name Job (Heb. ,iyyôb) was a common name in the second millennium B.C., meaning “Where is father?”15
Seven sons and three daughters (1:2). The wealth, prosperity, and happiness of the blameless and upright Job are described with reference to his seven sons and three daughters and his many possessions. The number “seven” often occurs in ancient Near Eastern literature; it indicates the ideal fam-ily (1 Sam. 2:5; Ruth 4:15) and is therefore retained in Job 42:13. The gods Baal and Mot have seven assistants (“lads”), and Baal has three daughters called Pidray, Tallay,
Contents of the Book of Job
1:1 – 2:13 Prologue by the narrator3:1 – 11:20 First dialogue of Job with
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar12:1 – 21:34 Second dialogue of Job
with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar
22:1 – 26:14 Third dialogue of Job with Eliphaz and Bildad
27:1 – 23 Job’s conclusion28:1 – 28 Wisdom poem as interlude29:1 – 31:40 Job’s speeches32:1 – 37:24 Elihu’s speeches38:1 – 42:6 God’s and Job’s dialogues42:7 – 17 Epilogue by the narrator
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250
Job
and Arsay.16 The epic of King Keret from Ugarit, which has been compared to the book of Job, deals with the king’s calami-ties and states that he lost everything when a “seventh” son fell by the sword.17
Holding feasts (1:4). Job’s children attended feasts organized by his sons, where they ate and drank wine for seven days (v. 18). These feasts were not religious since such occasions would have been cel-ebrated at the house of their father, Job; some of them may have been birthday par-
ties. The banquet motif was well known in ancient times and is often depicted in art.18 Egyptian paintings depict lavish ban-quets where males and females mingle, are treated with delicacies, and are entertained by music and dance. Mesopotamian ban-quets appear on cylinder seals, on Assyr-ian reliefs, and on the “standard of Ur.”19
In the Old Testament itself it occurs in Psalm 23:5, where the Lord is the host. The Ugaritic hero Dan,el also gave the deities food.20
EdomTodd Bolen/www.
BiblePlaces.com
Standard of Ur pictures Sumer-
ians in variety of domestic activi-
ties. Caryn Reeder, cour-
tesy of the British Museum
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251
JobBurnt offering (1:5). Because he is afraid
his children may have sinned and cursed God, Job as the patriarchal priest repeatedly sacrifices a burnt offering (Heb. <o mlâ) in the morning on their behalf. He takes care of the welfare of his children, bringing expiatory offerings for their sins. In the Old Testament the burnt offering or “holocaust”21 means that everything was burnt (Ex. 29:38 – 41; Lev. 1; 6:8 – 13; Num. 15:1 – 16). In Job 42:8 Job’s friends are ordered by God to sacrifice seven bulls and seven rams as a burnt offering. Such a holocaust altar was found at the site of Arad.22
Job’s First Test (1:6 – 22)
Angels came to present themselves (1:6). “Angels” is (lit.) “sons of God” (also in 2:1; 38:7; see also Gen. 6:2, 4; Deut. 32:8; Ps. 29:1, 89:7).23 This verse sets a scene in heaven in the “divine council,” a concept well known in ancient Near Eastern literature. In polytheistic religions the divine beings meet as a council, with the chief deity as chair-person. In Mesopotamia, Namtar (vizier of the underworld goddess, Ereshkigal) appears in the divine council before Anu.24 This council is known especially from Ugaritic literature, where the other deities are called “sons of El” (the chief of the Ugaritic pan-theon) and there is an “assembly of the sons of El.”25 In the Ugaritic myths the deities Kothar, Anat, and Asherah appear in front of El, the chief deity,26 but this is a case of a
polytheistic pantheon in which the members compete with each other.27 The deities also meet as a council in the Deir <Alla texts.28
The divine entourage, which includes supernatural beings, is also described in 1 Kings 22:19 and Psalm 82:1, where God sits on his throne (cf. Dan. 7:9 – 14) among “the host of heaven,” presides in “the great assem-bly,” and judges among “the gods.” In Job there is not much of the original “divine council,” and the “sons of God” are his servants,29 pre-senting themselves (also in 2:1), standing before him, or serving authority.30
Ancient Near Eastern art depict “audience” scenes where deities and kings appear before enthroned deities31 or dignitaries before rulers on thrones such as Darius I of Persia.
Satan (1:6). At one of these meetings of the “sons of God” (NIV “angels”) in the “divine council,” “Satan” (NIV) appears and is interro-gated by God on his activities (as in ch. 2). In this context the fate of Job enters the story. The Hebrew is written with the definite article (lit., “the satan”), and it should not be translated “Satan” (with a capital S). It is not a proper name as in 1 Chron icles 21:1, but a title, or rather it describes a function. The meaning could be “adversary” or “accuser” (cf. NIV note). Many commentators explain that the meaning “accuser” is derived from the term for spies and agents of the Persian secret ser vice. It has been proposed that the term is related to the Egyptian word for a protective yet yielding figure in the court of Osiris.32
Procession of Assyrian deities. Artist representa-tion of rock carv-ing at Maltaya. Susanna Vagt
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[Job] is blameless (1:8). As is the case of the high priest Joshua in Zechariah 3:1 – 2, Job the blameless stands accused. The issue of the suffering of the innocent is also dealt with in other ancient Near Eastern texts. The flood in the Gilgamesh Epic destroys all living beings except the f lood hero Utnapishtim, who is saved by the god Ea-Enki. The god Enlil, who brought about the flood to destroy humankind, is angry with Ea, but this god argues that such a response is unreasonable; Enlil should rather have
imposed punishment on the sinners alone, but still have been lenient.33
Sabeans (1:15). The Sabeans are not the tribes from southern Arabia (Sheba), but rather from Tema in northern Arabia (cf. 6:19), although the southern Sabeans may have had commercial colonies in the north. Sabeans are mentioned by the Assyrian kings as giv-ing them gifts.34 Job’s servants are “put to the sword,” that is, they are slain, and the animals are taken away as booty. The Hebrew has (lit.) “by the mouth of the sword,” which may refer to swords with their blades set in the
mouth of a lion.35 Animals are often shown on Assyr-ian reliefs being taken away as war booty.36
Fire of God (1:16). The fire that fell from the sky, burned the sheep, and “ate” (not in NIV) the ser-vants may refer to lightning and thunder, as in 1 Kings 18:38, where the fire from the Lord devours (the same Heb. verb as in Job is used) the sacrifice of Elijah. Fire could be used by the deity as a form of judgment, as in the Hebrew Bible (Gen.
19:24; 2 Kings 1:10, 12, 14;
SatanA-1
Satan has an interesting, if only limited, history in the Hebrew Bible. The concept is not as developed in the Old Testament and it is not yet the devil or the demonic being as is found later in Judaism and Chris tian ity. The Hebrew word does not denote evil as such, but can merely denote an “opponent” (as in Num. 22:22; Ps. 109:6). The word occurs only in three contexts in the Old Testament as personified: fourteen times in Job 1 – 2, and in the postexilic texts Zecha-riah 3:1 – 2 and 1 Chron icles 21:1.
In Job as in Zechariah this indi-vidual is merely “the accuser” and not a proper name. The word is first used in 1 Chron icles 21:1 as a proper name (without the definite article), where David is incited by Satan to do a census of Israel. In Zechariah 3:1 – 2 the word refers to a member of the divine coun-cil, as in Job. In Job “the satan” acts as an accuser, a court prosecutor (Job 1 – 2). He is not bad as such, nor does he oppose God or act as leader of demonic forces.
Flocks captured from the Arabs
by the armies of Tiglath-pileser III
Todd Bolen/www.BiblePlaces.com
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JobPs. 21:9; Amos 1:4, 7; 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5; esp. 7:4 [also with the verb “eat”]) and other ancient Near Eastern texts.37 The god Ashur “ignited against the foes the deterring fire. . . . Enlil set the flame in the midst of the foe” and the goddess Ishtar, who is called “Flaming-Fire-of-Battle,” describes herself by saying, “I am the burning fire showered upon the land of the foe.”38
Chaldeans (1:17). The “Chaldeans” who raid and take the camels do not refer to the later seventh-century B.C. imperialistic Neo-Babylonian dynasty who destroyed Jerusa-lem in 587 B.C. Here it refers to the earlier unsettled tribes who (together with, but still a separate group from, Aramaean groups) infiltrated Mesopotamia at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and are mentioned in Assyrian sources in the tenth century as living in southern Mesopotamia. In contrast to urbanized societies, they lived in tribal groups and raided cities and caravans.39
A mighty wind swept in from the desert (1:19). This is not only the scorching eastern desert wind (sirocco or h.amsin — cf. 15:2), but a sudden mighty wind that brings total destruction. As described in Job, it strikes the four sides of the house at once.
Four calamities (Sabeans, lightning, Chaldeans, wind) are described in Job. Four calamities are also described in the Gil-gamesh Epic. When the god Ea-Enki argues with the chief god Enlil for bringing about destruction on all of humankind through the flood, he proposes other forms of pun-ishment instead of the flood: a lion, a wolf, famine, or pestilence.40
Tore his robe and shaved his head . . . fell to the ground (1:20). This is a gesture of extreme grief and mourning, comparable to the gesture undertaken by Job’s friends in 2:12 (cf. discussion there and the sidebar on “Mourning”). Tearing one’s clothes and shav-ing one’s head to indicate grief are known from the Bible (e.g., 2 Sam. 1:1 – 2; Amos 8:10) and were prevalent in the ancient Near East.41 The Mesopotamian king Merodach-Baladan II “threw himself to the ground,
he rent his [garmen]t, he shaved, and he uttered a lament.”42
Falling to the ground is a gesture of obei-sance before a king or deity.43 In the Amarna Letters vassals are described as falling seven times and seven times (i.e., “over and over”) on their bellies and backs.44
Job’s Second Test (2:1 – 10)
[The] Satan also came . . . to present him-self (2:1). Again we meet the divine council with “the satan” among the “sons of God” (NIV “angels”; see comments on 1:6).
Painful sores (2:7). Job suffers from a skin disease,45 but it is not exactly certain what kind.46 Leprosy has been proposed because of the resemblance with the description of skin diseases in Leviticus 13, but in Hebrew leprosy is indicated by a different word than the one used here. The same verb is used in the Ugaritic texts of the god Baal, who grew hot or feverish;47 it is also used in the Aramaic prayer of Nabonidus from Qumran, where it is said that the king was stricken with an inflammation.48 In Ishtar in the Underworld, the Mesopotamian goddess is struck with vari-ous diseases that affect her whole body.49
Scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes (2:8). Job sat among the “ashes” (,e mper, which is close to Heb. <a mpa mr, “dust”; on dust and mourning/death cf. 2:12; 17:16) and scraped his skin with a piece of broken pot-tery. This may have been to scratch his itching wounds, but perhaps it is a gesture of mourn-ing, at least a form of self-mutilation to express his grief, as was done by the Ugaritic god El (see sidebar on “Mourning” at 2:12).50
Ancient Near Eastern treaties refer to a curse of gleaning barley from a refuse pit as in the Aramaic-Akkadian text from Tell Fekheriyeh.51 In Akkadian the term “place/mound of potsherds” can designate the world of the dead.52 It may be that Job counts himself already as one dead, as do his friends in v. 12 when they sprinkle dust on their heads, which is connected with death (cf. 17:16!).
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Job’s Three Friends (2:11 – 13)
Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite . . . comfort him (2:11). Job’s friends come from regions that are impossible to identify with certainty but are presumably situated in the region of Edom. They are described as comforters.53
God comforts Jerusalem as a woman (Isa. 40:1 – 2), and David comforts Bathsheba when her child dies (2 Sam. 12:24).
Began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads (2:12). The friends weep aloud (cf. Lam. 1:16), tear their clothes, and sprinkle dust on their heads (in 42:6 Job also repents in dust and ashes); they then sit on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights
without saying a word (Job 2:13). A gesture of mourning was already described in 1:20, and comparative material occurs in the Old Testament and ancient Near East. By put-ting dust on one’s head the sufferer identifies with the dead, and Job’s friends want to say: He is basically dead! Dust (Heb. <a mpa mr54) is connected with death as shown in 17:16; in other parts of Job it refers to humans who have been made from clay returning to dust (10:8 – 9). Silence (2:13) forms part of mourning rites.55
Job Speaks (3:1 – 26)
Cursed the day of his birth (3:1). In 2:9 Job’s wife advises him to “curse God and die.” Instead, Job curses the day of his birth.
Job’s Illness and Health Care in the Ancient Near EastA-2
Job was inflicted with painful sores (2:7). Other texts describe him as suffering from sleeplessness (7:4), with scabs and worms in his skin (7:3 – 5), nightmares (7:14), emacia-tion (19:20), aching bones (30:17), his skin growing black and peeling (30:30), and fever (30:30).
In 5:18 God injures, but also heals. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Egypt was full of physicians, but there were none in Babylonia.A-3 However, this profession is well known, although it should not be forgot-ten that in the ancient Near East medicine was closely intertwined with magic and religion. Incanta-tions played just as important a role as treatment with herbs and drugs. Mesopotamian priests are depicted with a sick person on a Lamashtu amulet.A-4
Lamashtu amulet portrays the
demon as the large fi gure at
the bottom while the sick person
is just above his head fl anked by
physicians (in fi sh garb). The sym-
bols of the great gods are fea-
tured in the top register and the seven sebetti in
the next. Pazazu looks over the
whole scene from the top.
Rama/Wikimedia Commons, courtesy
of the Louvre
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In 2:9 the word “curse” is the ambiguous brk (also trans. “bless”); here qll instead of the stronger ,rr is used. Job wishes he had never been born, an idea repeated in 10:18. The prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 20:14 – 18) does the same: “Cursed [,rr] be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed [brk]!” In the eighth-century B.C. Assyrian Myth of Erra and Ishmun a city governor says to his mother that it would
have been better if he had never been born or died with her.56 A lament in the first per-son occurs in a letter prayer addressed to the Mesopotamian god Ea-Enki.57
That day — may it turn to darkness (3:4). In contrast to “let there be light” as the first act of God’s creation (Gen. 1:3), Job wishes for darkness (cf. Amos 8:9 – 10). In Ezekiel 32:7 – 8 the defeat of the chaos monster (cf. Job 3:8) coincides with darkness.58 Creation
MourningA-5
In the Old Testament mourning is described in various texts:
Genesis 37:34 – 35: Jacob mourns over the presumed dead body of Joseph by tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth, and weeping
Genesis 50:3: friends mourn for seven days with Joseph.
2 Sam uel 1:2: clothes torn and dust on the head
2 Sam uel 13:19: Tamar puts ashes on her head, tears her mantle, puts her hand on her head, and weeps aloud
Psalm 35:13 – 14: sackloth and fastingIsaiah 47:1: sit in the dust (cf. Ezek.
26:16)Lamentations 1:1; 2:10: mourners sit
on the ground, sprinkle dust on their heads, and wear sackcloth
Amos 8:10: sackcloth and shaved heads
Jonah 3:6: sackcloth and sitting in the dust
Mourning is known from Egyptian sources, where there are many depic-tions of wailing women, throwing dust on their heads. Philistine clay figurines depict women with their hands on their heads as a gesture of wailing.A-6 The god El in the Ugaritic myths, when he hears of the death of Baal, leaves his throne and sits on the footstool; from there he sits on the ground. He pours
dust of mourning on his head, puts on a loin-cloth, and scratches his skin with a stone.A-7 In Ugarit the wailers mourn seven years over the dead Aqhat.A-8 Gilgamesh mourns seven days over his dead friend Enkidu,A-9 as was the case after the death of the mother of Nabonidus.A-10 In the Sumerian myth of Inanna in the Underworld, deities sit in the dust dressed in sackcloth and scratch their eyes and mouth.A-11
Mourning woman puts dust on headThe Yorck Project/Wikimedia Commons
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should be transformed into chaos,59 empha-sized by the use of words like “night” (v. 2), “no light” (v. 4), “darkness and deep shadow”
(v. 5), “blackness” (v. 5), and “thick darkness” (v. 6).60
Included among the days of the year, nor be entered in any of the months (3:6). The parallelism of year with months occurs only in Job and in a Ugaritic text.61 Calen-dars were important in the ancient Near East,62 both for agricultural activities for the common people and for religious festivals. Horoscopes, hemerologies and menologies, and lists of lucky and unlucky days from the ancient Near East are known. In Egypt the birthday of the god Seth was considered unlucky.63 The so-called “Cairo Calendar” has: “First month of the Inundation, day 1. Good, good, good: it’s the birthday of Re-Harakhte.”64 And in Mesopotamian texts we read: “On the third day he shall eat no fish, the crocodile shall attack him.”65
Curses and Blessings
Curse in the Old TestamentA-12 is indi-cated by ,rr, by qll (as in Job), but also by ,lh. The last word is used in oaths, the first as a ban or anathema, whereas qll is more a lack of respect. Blessing is indicated by brk or in the word ba mrûk (“blessed”). Humankind is blessed in Genesis 1:28, but the earth and the serpent are cursed (3:16 – 19), as is
Cain (4:11). Abraham is blessed by God (12:1 – 3). The curses of Deuteonomy 28:30 – 40 and in the prophets (Amos 5:11; Hag. 1:6) are countered by bless-ings (Deut. 6:11; Isa. 62:8 – 9; Amos 9:14 – 15). Curses and blessings also occur in extrabiblical Hebrew inscriptions, especially from tombs to protect the dead.A-13
. . . rouse Leviathan (3:8). In the ancient Near East the Leviathan66
is the primeval sea monster of chaos (cf. comments on 41:1) defeated at creation. It represents the raging floodwaters that can be destructive (22:16), and if it is aroused as part of a curse, it means that chaos will prevail. Such a magical technique may be reflected in later Jewish-Aramaic incantations.67 Because Leviathan lives in the sea, it has been proposed (as in NIV note) to read “sea” (ya mm) for “day(s)” (yôm), but this is unnecessary as days can be cursed.
Came from the womb (3:11). In 1:21 Job already referred to his mother’s womb, which is more than that of his natu-ral mother, because no one “returns” to the womb. It may therefore refer to the earth as a mother,68 as in Psalm 139:13, 15, where “mother’s womb” is parallel to “depths of the earth.” Keel connected the headrests in tombs in the form of the omega symbol with the earth as mother both in birth and death.69 Job wishes that
he had died at birth or after he was born and that he had been hidden in the ground like a stillborn child (Job 3:16; see also 10:18; Jer. 20:17 – 18).
Knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed (3:12). The knees may refer to Job’s father on whose knees he sat when he was born. In the Hittite myth of Ullikummi the god Kumarbi dandles the monster on his knee and gives it a name.70
The god Adad raised king Zimri-Lim in his lap.71 In Genesis 50:23 the grandchildren were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees, and in Isaiah
66:12 Jerusalem will be like a woman with a child on her knees, nursing it.
The most famous comparison is that of Isis lactans, which became in later times the icon of the Madonna and Child, nursing the young god Horus on her lap, which was applied in represen-
tations of the young pharaoh, but also with mortals.72 An Egyp-tian stela depicts a father with his child on his knees.73
Lying down in peace; I would be asleep (3:13). Job
would have had peace if he had died, but now he has none; he has no rest
(v. 26). An inscription in the tomb of the
Horus at the breast of IsisKim Walton, courtesy of the Field Museum
Various aspects of Egyptian beliefs about the after-life are illustrated in the Book of the Dead, Nebqed. Werner Forman Archive/The Louvre
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Assyrian king Sennacherib reads: “Palace of sleep, tomb of repose.”74
Places now lying in ruins (3:14). Job pre-fers to be with the deceased kings lying in what may refer to Egyptian pyramid tombs or elaborate tombs filled with treasures (v. 15).
Weary are at rest (3:17). In the Egyptian Book of the Dead the deceased are called “the weary”;75 the heart is weary when death is near, as stated in the Egyptian story of Sinuhe.76 In the underworld social relations are inverted because in death all are equal — “The captives
also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout. The small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his mas-ter” (vv. 18 – 19). This idea is also reflected in ancient Near East-ern texts such as the Egyptian Ipuwer: “Indeed the land turns around like a
potter’s wheel. Princes are hungry and perish, Servants are served. . . .
The serf becomes lord of serfs.”77
Eliphaz (4:1 – 5:27)
The lion perishes (4:11). Eliphaz describes the fate of the wicked: “Those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it” (4:8). One of his examples is the lion who perishes. The Babylonian Theodicy has: “For the atrocity that lion committed, the pit yawns for him.”78
In the ancient Near East lions were a symbol of self-assertion, as is known from Akkadian texts,79 but now they are destroyed.
Dreams in the night (4:13). Terrifying dreams also occur in 7:14 and 33:15 – 16. In the Babylonian Ludlul bel Nemeqi (see the introduc-tion), the righ teous sufferer also has terrifying dreams.80 Epiphanies or divine revelations in dreams are well known from the Old Testa-ment and the ancient Near East;81 they formed part of divination. There are dream visions in the Mari letters and a dream omen may come from Ugarit.82 In the Deir <Alla texts, “the gods came to him at night, and he beheld a vision.”83
Akkadian texts refer to a similar “hair-raising” experience” when someone in a night vision sees various deities in the underworld in hybrid form.84 Gilgamesh is wakened in the night with a feeling of terror and dreams a terrible dream. His friend Enkidu dreams of his death.85 In the Ludlul one reads: “When I lay down at night, my dream was terrifying.”86
Angels and MessengersA-14
The word “angel” in Job 4:18 (in the NIV) is “messenger” in Hebrew (ml,k, from the Semitic verb l,k, “to send”). It is to be dis-tinguished from the “angels” (Heb. “sons of God”) of 1:16 and 2:1, who were mem-bers of the divine council. The “angels” in Job 4:18 and 33:23 should also not be confused with the later idea of the angel of the lord and other supernatural (mostly winged) beings.
This word occurs two hundred times in the Old Testament, sometimes referring to supernatural beings. They are mighty
but have to praise God and obey him (Ps. 103:20). They warned Lot of the com-ing destruction (Gen. 19) and ascended and descended a ladder seen by Jacob (Gen. 28:12). Zechariah describes angels in his visions. The phrase “angel of the LORD” never occurs in Job. Messengers were important in the ancient Near East (Akkadian mar shipri), both human and divine. One such deity was Namtar, vizier and messenger of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal of Mesopotamian mythology, who traveled between heaven and hell.A-15
Clay houses were placed on tombs
and even marked the tombs as
a place for the souls (ka) to be housed. Kim Walton,
courtesy of the Field Museum
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Angels with error (4:18). “Angels” are in Hebrew “messengers” of God, as in Gen-esis 18 and Zechariah 1 – 2. The verse does not refer to “fallen angels” as in later litera-ture, but they are merely servants of God, divine messengers who cannot be trusted (cf. 1 Kings 22:19 – 23, where Ahab is lured into taking the wrong decision). In Job 33:23 they act as mediators. The sufferer of the Ludlul complains that his benevolent angel has been cut off, his protecting spirit frightened off.87
Houses of clay (4:19). Clay and dust refer to mortal humans (cf. sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9; see also 7:21; 17:16).
Holy ones (5:1). The Hebrew qedo mšîm88
(also “saints”) occur thirteen times in the Old Testament referring to God, divine beings, and people, but here they are heav-enly beings (see also Deut. 33:3; Ps. 89:5, 7; Dan. 8:13; Zech. 14:5), who are part of the heavenly council (Job 1 – 2). Like the messenger “angels” of 4:18 and 33:23, they function as mediators between God and humans. Some commentators have taken this as the rejection of the Mesopotamian concept of the “personal god,” but Eliphaz is merely emphasizing the difference between
God and the other divine beings as in 15:15, where God places no trust in them, as with the heavens, which are used as a parallel.
Crushed in court (5:4). The NIV “court” is in Hebrew the “city gate,”89 where legal cases were tried, contracts concluded, public meetings conducted, business deals made, social interaction made, and even religion practiced (as in Job 29:7; 31:21; cf. also Deut. 25:7; Ruth 4:1 – 12; Prov. 22:22; Isa. 29:21; Amos 5:10).
Sparks fly (5:7). This is a difficult verse in Hebrew; it literally reads “sons of Resheph fly high.” This may refer to the troubles humans suffer from in the form of sickness and war, which was believed to be the sphere of the Syro-Palestinian god Resheph, who brought pestilence (as in Deut. 32:24; Hab. 3:5). See comment on Resheph at Job 6:4.
Job (6:1 – 7:21)
Outweigh the sands of the sea (6:3). Job wants his misery to be weighed against the sands of the sea, which it would outweigh. Thus, although the sand is immeasurable and massive and cannot be counted (Gen. 22:17;
Almighty (šadday) and Other Divine NamesA-16
The divine name šadday (Shaddai) occurs forty-eight times in the Old Testament (e.g., Gen. 17:1; Ex. 6:2 – 3; Ps. 68:14; Ezek. 10:5), thirty-one times in Job. It is some-times connected with the Akkadian word for “mountain,” indicating the mountain as divine residence, or it may be linked with “fields” (cf. Job 5:23). An Astarte šad (“mistress of the field/wilderness/animals” or the “huntress”)A-17 is known from Ugarit. Shaddai deities also occur in the Deir <Alla texts.A-18 Knauf reads “God of the Wilderness”A-19 and makes it a “Lord of Animals” (see sidebar on “Lord of Animals” at 39:26 – 29). The Greek and Latin translate it with pantokrato mr/kyrios and omnipotens/Dominus, hence the NIV
translation “Almighty.”Other Hebrew names used for God in
Job are yhwh (Yahweh; NIV “LORD”), which only occurs in the prose parts and is never used in the dialogues and only twice by Job (1:21; 12:9). ,elo mhîm (NIV “God”) is used by God (1:8; 2:3), Job (1:5; 2:10), the satan (1:9), the messenger (1:16), and Job’s wife (2:9). Other names are ,e ml (fifty-five times in Job) and the rare Eloah (NIV “God”); of the fifty-seven uses of ,elôah in the Old Testament, forty-one occurrences are in Job The divine names are sometimes used in sequences like ,e ml-,elôah (12:6), ,e ml-,elo mhîm (20:29), šadday-,e ml (13:3), ,elôah šadday (5:17; 11:7; 31:2), šadday ,elôah (6:4; 22:26; 27:10; 40:2).
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Jer. 15:8), Job’s sufferings are even worse. The Wisdom of Ahiqar says (8.111): “I have lifted sand, and I have carried salt; but there is nothing which is heavier than [grief].”90
Arrows of the Almighty (6:4). The arrows of Shaddai, which are poisonous, can be compared with the arrows of the Syro-Palestinian god Resheph. The phrase “Resheph of the arrow” is known, and the deity is depicted in art as a menacing warrior armed with a quiver and a bow.91 The arrows refer to plagues and diseases; in a Ugaritic incantation the god Baal is invoked to stop the “arrows” of Resheph.92 God is described as an archer in the Old Testament (Deut. 32:23; Ps. 7:13 [flaming]; 38:2; 64:7; 144:6 [lightning]; Hab. 3:9; cf. Job 16:12).
My brothers are as unde-pendable as intermittent streams (6:15). Job’s friends are as treach-erous as the wadis of Palestine: dry in summer when water is needed (v. 17), but they can become tor-rents when it rains. Sudden flood-ing of watercourses is known, especially in the dry Negev, where the sand and rocks are not
so porous and there is no vegetation to stem the waters from the sudden downpours.
Caravans of Tema . . . traveling merchants of Sheba (6:19). Tema was an important oasis in Arabia (Jer. 25:23). The Sabean marauders of 1:15 are here traveling salesmen (as in Ezek. 27:22 – 23). The group of 1:15 was located in the north of Arabia, but could have formed part of a commer-cial colony of South Arabian Sabeans.
Does not man have hard ser vice on earth . . . like a hired man? (7:1). “Hard ser vice” (t≥a mba m,; lit., “army, warfare,” also in 14:14; Isa. 40:2) can refer to military ser vice, but here it is any kind of labor.93
According to Mesopotamian thought as reflected by the Epic of Atrahasis,
humans were made to serve the gods and do their work.94 Israelite kings conscripted people for forced labor (1 Sam. 8:11 – 17; 14:52; 1 Kings 5:13 – 14; 9:15 – 22). The hireling is a person or object hired for a wage (animal — Ex. 22:14; mercenaries — Jer. 46:21).
I toss till dawn (7:4). The sleeplessness of Job can be compared with an Akkadian text of a man who suffers from a sleeping disorder: “He does not sleep day and night” (see 4:13).95
The god Resheph with Min and Qedeshet to
his left. Rama/Wikimedia
Commons, courtesy of the Louvre
A woman holds a shuttle in her
hand while weav-ing on vertical
loom. Todd Bolen/www.
BiblePlaces.com
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My body is clothed with worms and scabs (7:5). Worms are linked with death in 17:14 and 21:26 (cf. Isa. 14:11). In the Gilgamesh Epic the hero weeps over his dead friend Enkidu seven days and seven nights until a worm drops from his nose.96 Here Job’s dis-eases (cf. 2:7) are described as clothing as was common in the ancient Near East, that is, the limbs could be clothed with leprosy like a garment.97
Weaver’s shuttle (7:6). The “weaver’s shuttle” is the device that carries the thread from one side of the loom to the other.98
This technique goes quite rapidly, but as a weaver’s shuttle can run out of thread, so Job is without thread or hope. The Heb. tiqwâ can be translated as “hope” (NIV) or “thread” (or “cord”; cf. Josh. 2:18). The same metaphor occurs in Isaiah 38:12: “Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom.”
He who goes down to the grave does not return (7:9). The grave (Heb. še,ôl; often rendered Sheol) is a “land of no return” (see 10:21; 16:22), a well-known concept in Akkadian99 (cf. also at 17:13, 16; 21:13;
Death and SheolA-20
The concept of death is central to this book (see 7:21; 10:21 – 22; 14:10 – 14; 21:21; 30:23; 38:17). In some cases clay and dust are used (7:21; 13:12; 20;11; 21:26; cf. Ps. 22:15, 29; Isa. 26:19) to indicate the mortality of humans. Sheol (Heb. še,ôl) is used parallel with death (see 2:12) in the Old Testament to indi-cate the grave or the underworld. This word occurs at least sixty-five times in the Old Testament (in Job, 7:9; 11:8; 14:13; 17:13, 16; 21:13; 24:19; 26:6). In Isaiah 5:14 Sheol (like death in other texts) has a mouth and swallows humanity.
This word is unique to the Hebrew Bible; it does not occur in Ugaritic, but the concept of the grave or underworld is well known in the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamian mythology the under-world is an inhospitable place from where no one returns; there is no light and the inhabitants eat clay or mud and drink unclean water.A-21 In the Mesopo-tamian myths of Ishtar in the underworld and Nergal and Ereshkigal the under-world is described as a place from which those who enter cannot leave and they see no light but dwell in darkness.A-22 In Enkidu’s vision of the netherworld in the Gilgamesh Epic it is a “House of Dust.”A-23
The concept of death in Egypt is not so gloomy, and the positive attitude
of the ancient Egyptians toward it is common knowledge. They developed a whole program to deal with death and even a complex geography of the underworld.A-24 But in the underworld, which is a world reversed (mundus inversus), there are also dangers and it is dark.A-25 See sidebar on “Death” at 18:13 for further Old Testament references and discussion of ancient Near East-ern material and the Ugaritic material related to death (Mot).
A detail of the painting of the 6th section of the Book of Caverns on the wall of the sarcophagus hall of the tomb of Ramsses VI. Above the dado of decapitated enemies, the journey of the sun disk through the underworld is depicted. Werner Forman Archive
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Job26:6; also going down to death, 17:16).
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep (7:12). The sea (yam),100 which is a cosmic power (Ps. 93:3 – 4) that has to be kept at bay (cf. 38:8 – 11), is described as a monster called the tannîn.101 The sea and the monster are in the deep (Heb. t ehôm; see comment on 38:16). In the Ugaritic texts the god Yam (the sea) is conquered by Baal,102
and the Tannin monster in the sea is defeated by Anat: “I have bound the dragon’s [tnn] jaws, have destroyed it, have smitten the twisting serpent, the closed-coiled one with seven heads.”103
Elsewhere Tannin has a double tail. It is a sea monster, symbol of chaos subdued by God (like the Leviathan and Rahab; cf. com-ments on 9:13, 41:1). In Job as in other parts of the Old Testament, it is used in connec-tion with cosmogony/creation (Gen. 1:21; Ps. 74:13; 148:7; Isa. 51:9; Hab. 3:8, 15). Else-where it is a metaphor of the enemies of Israel (Jer. 51:34; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2), the eschato-logical enemy of God (Isa. 27:1, where it is in the sea and used parallel with Leviathan), or
refers to natural serpents (Ex. 7:9, 12; Deut. 32:33; Ps. 91:13). However, here in Job the motif describes the sufferer’s protest against the deity’s relentless surveillance.104
Lie down in the dust (7:21). Cf. com-ment on 17:16.
Bildad (8:1 – 22)
Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh (8:11). The papyrus plant (cyperus papyrus) was common to the Nile Delta and could grow as high as six meters (nine-teen feet); it is a typical aquatic marsh plant that, like reeds, needs water to grow and can
Neo-Hittite orthostat
depicts the Sky god killing the chaos creature
Illuyankas. Georges Jansoone,
courtesy of the Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations
A scene from the tomb of Nebam-
un shows hunting in a papyrus
marsh. Werner Forman
Archive/The British Museum
g
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wither like grass (v. 12). It also grew in Pales-tine, especially in the (now drained) marshes of Huleh. Papyrus was used to make baskets, skiffs, and material for writing on.105
Job ( 9:1 – 10:22)
Be righ teous (9:2). Legal motifs and terms abound in Job; in fact, some have described the book as one big lawsuit, with God as plaintiff and Job as the one who stands accused.106 In Mesopotamia the gods, espe-cially the sun god, control justice, and gods can be adversaries in court. There is one comparable example where a king calls on Shamash, the sun god and god of justice, to judge him.107 “One time out of thousand” (9:3) refers to impossible odds (see also Deut. 32:30; Job 33:23).
Moves mountains (9:5). Chapter 9 (like chs. 26 and 38) describes God as the Creator. The Old Testament uses common ancient Near Eastern metaphors when describing creation, but God is the only Creator. He can move mountains and shakes the pillars of the earth (9:6). The ancient world believed that the earth rests on pillars (cf. Ps. 75:3; see also foundations in Job 38:4, 6; Ps. 18:15 [= 2 Sam. 22:16]; Ps. 82:5; 104:5). In Job 26:11 the pillars of the heavens quake. God shakes the heavens, earth, dry land, and sea (Hag. 2:6). On a Babylonian kudurru, which may depict the world, one can detect a large pillar.108
God controls the sun and makes the stars (Job 9:6 – 9). God stretches out the heavens (26:7; Ps. 104:2; Isa. 40:22)109 and treads on
the waves of the sea (Job 9:8). In the Baby-lonian creation epic the god Marduk creates and destroys the constellation to indicate his power. After defeating Tiamat, he split her in two; half of her he sets up and makes as a cover, heaven, and stretches out the hide. He then estab-lishes the constellation of the stars.110
Treading means to defeat or subjugate (Job 9:8; cf. Deut. 33:29). The image of the ocean as chaos has already been seen in 3:8 (there called Leviathan) and 7:12 (used parallel with Tannin), where it is put under guard, while in 38:8 – 11 it is shut up behind doors; its limits are set with doors and bars and halted from going any further. In the Ugaritic myths the god Baal defeats Yam, the sea god.111 On a stela from Baal’s temple at Ugarit the wavy lines on which the god Baal is standing have been interpreted as the waves of the sea and mountains. Treading on the sea is parallel to tread-ing on high places.112
Legal Motifs in JobA-26
In the Old Testament and Job some legal terms that occur are dîn (“case”; 35:14; 36:17), rîb (“dispute”; 9:3; 10:2; 13:19), ya mšar (“upright”; 4:7; 8:6), mišpat≥ (“judge”; 9:15),A-27 and s≥edeq (“righ-teous”; 9:2, 20; 11:2; 40:8). In 10:2 Job asks not to be condemned but to be
informed of the charges against him. In 13:22 Job is summoned (qr,) and he will answer (<nh); in 16:19 he has a wit-ness and an advocate. Job 9:33 refers to an arbitrator, the “redeemer” (go m,e ml), which is discussed in detail at 19:25.
Pillars of earth visible at the corners of the un-fi nished kudurruRama/Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the Louvre
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Job Creation and World PictureA-28
The concepts of creation and cosmos are common in Job and are described in detail in 9:5 – 10; 26:7 – 14; 38:4 – 41:34. The ancient Israelites shared many common cosmological (structure of the world) and cosmogonic (origin of the world) beliefs with the ancient Near East world, although for them there was only one Creator. According to the Hebrew Bible the cosmos consists of heaven, earth, and the underworld. In Genesis 1 it is heaven (sky, expanse), earth (land), and waters (sea, deep). Above are the heavens. The earth rests on pillars (Ps. 75:3) or foundations (1 Sam. 2:8). Below the ordered earth is the underworld or Sheol, a concept well attested in Job (sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9; cf. also 11:8 – 9).
In Egyptian thought the world was a disk resting on the primeval waters (Nun). Egypt was in the center, with the other countries on the periphery. Above was the sky goddess Nut, studded with stars. In Mesopotamian thought the cosmos was a spheroid with two parts: above was heaven (also called “on high”) and below the underworld (what we would call “hell”). In the center was earth (an island in the salt ocean) with apsu (fresh water) below it. At the western and eastern extremes were high moun-tains supporting the vault of heaven (cf. 26:11). The cosmos consisted of three (heaven, earth, underworld), four (heaven, underworld, sea, and earth), or even six parts (when dividing the heavens into three parts); see illustration at 11:7.
Modern artistic reconstruction
of an ancient Israelite view of the cosmos. The
sky, supported by mountains at the edges, holds back the waters
above as it arches over the fl at,
disk-shaped earth which is upheld
by pillars. Numer-ous graves lead
to the nether-world, Sheol,
and the cosmos waters surround the earth on the
horizontal plane, as well as the entire cosmos
on the vertical plane. Lurking
in the depths is mighty Leviathan
(here more in Medieval design).
The temple on earth is matched
by the temple in heaven, the dwelling place
of God. The skies are inhabited by
birds as well as celestial bodies
and rain is let through windows
of heaven. Stars are engraved on the underside of
the sky. John H. Walton, drawing by Alva
Steffl er
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The sun . . . does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars (9:7). God has the power to stop the sun from shining and to seal up the stars, which may refer to obscur-ing their light through eclipses. The NIV adds the word “light,” which does not occur in the Hebrew. Alternatively, the idea may be that God restrains the stars by establishing the stations of the stars, as is known from Meso-potamian astronomical texts. In the Meso-potamian series called MUL APIN the paths of the gods Anu, Enlil, and Ea are set.113
Bear and Orion, the Pleiades (9:9). The stars (cf. sidebar on “Stars” at 38:28) called Orion and Pleiades are always mentioned together (Amos 5:7 – 8), because the Pleia-des were believed to be seven sisters pursued by the hunter Orion. In 38:31 – 32 God chal-lenges Job to control the stars, but the order is Pleiades, Orion, and Bear. The Bear is also called the “Big Dipper” (or perhaps the “Lit-tle Dipper”) and is near the celestial North Pole. Orion is seen in the winter skies of the northern hemisphere. The Pleiades is a clus-ter of stars in the constellation Taurus.114
The cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet (9:13). Rahab115 is not known from the ancient Near East or in the cognate languages but is, like the Tannin (7:12) and Leviathan (3:8; 41:1), a sea monster representing chaos, who was destroyed at creation (see sidebar on “The Cosmic Battle with Chaos” at 41:1). Rahab also occurs in the cosmogony in Job 26:12, where it is cut to pieces. In Psalm 89:10 – 11 and Isaiah 51:9 – 10 God
cuts Rahab to pieces, pierces the monster (Heb. tannîn), and crushes it. Rahab is used paral-lel with the drying up of the sea and the waters of the deep (Heb. t ehôm) over which he rules. It is used for Egypt in Psalm 87:4 and Isaiah 30:7 in the sense of a political enemy.
I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life (9:21). This is a difficult phrase. Job is blameless but does not care for himself. The Hebrew “I do not
know myself” has been compared with the expression in Akkadian medical texts, “He does not know himself,” denoting a loss of consciousness.116
He destroys both the blameless and the wicked (9:22). This irony also occurs in the Mesopotamian Erra epic: “Like one who plunders a country, I do not distinguish just from unjust, I fell (them both).”117
Boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down (9:26). In ancient Egypt boats made of papyrus (cf. 8:11) were a common sight and are often depicted on Egyptian paint-ings; small models were placed in tombs.118
In the Ugaritic Aqhat epic the goddess Anat hovers among falcons and hawks and uses
Cylinder seal with Pleiades por-trayed as seven circles at top leftErich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, cour-tesy of the Louvre
Relief from the tomb of the vizier Pta h-hotep at Saqqara shows papyrus boats. Werner Forman Archive
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the mercenary Yatpan as one does with a falcon to swoop
down and slay Aqhat.119
Washed myself with soap and my hands with washing soda (9:30). Job tries to establish his innocence by referring to the strongest cleansing agents, soap-
wort, made of the roots of the plant leon-topetalon and the alkaline solution lye. In ancient times people did not wash
with soap as we do, but applied oil to the skin, which was then scraped off. Washing of hands was a ritual of purification (Deut. 21:6), but is done in vain (Ps. 73:13). This will
not cleanse Job (cf. Jer. 2:22).Moulded me like clay (10:9). God
is not only the creator of the universe as described in chapter 9, but also of humans and an individual like Job (10:8 – 9). The idea that humans are
made from clay also occurs in 33:6.120 A different Hebrew verb is used that indicates pinching off clay. Job 4:9 refers to “houses of clay” in the literal sense rather than to the creation of humans from clay. In Genesis 2:7 man (Adam) was formed from the dust of the ground, and the meta-phor of the potter is used in Isaiah 29:16; 45:9; 64:8, and Jeremiah 18:6 (also Rom. 9:20 – 21).121
In the ancient Near East, Egyp-tians believed that the god Khnum created on a potter’s wheel.122 In the Wisdom of Ani, “Man is clay and straw, the god is his builder.”123 In the Gilgamesh Epic Enkidu is made by the goddess Aruru from clay;124 in the Babylonian Theodicy the god Ea creates by pinching off their clay;125
and in Ugarit126 El creates a healer in the same way. According to the Atrahasis Epic, a human is created by mixing clay with the flesh and blood of a god.127 For this reason God can turn Job to dust, which indicates death (see Gen. 3:19; Ps. 90:3; also
sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9).128
Curdle me like cheese (10:10). This is another image for the creation of Job. He was formed in his mother’s womb like cheese from milk in a churn. Such churns are known from archaeology, even held by a female figure, who may be some goddess, from early sites (ca. 4000 B.C.) such as Gilat near Beersheba.129 The churn is depicted on Egyptian tomb paintings.130
To the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow (10:21). Cf. 7:9 – 10 for “place of no return.” Death (see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9) is a place of darkness (cf. also comment on 17:13).
Zophar (11:1 – 20)
Can you fathom the mysteries of God? (11:7). Humans are not capable of under-
The Egyptian god Khnum fashions
the pharaoh on his potter’s
wheel. Brian J. McMorrow
Chalcolithic cult vessel from Gilat
in the form of a woman with a churn on her
headZ. Radovan/www.
BibleLandPictures.com
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Jobstanding the mysteries of the divine mind. In verses 8 – 9 cosmologi-cal symbolism (see sidebar on “Creation and World Picture” at 9:7) is used. Here a fourfold cosmos is described: heavens and underworld (11:8; NIV
uses “grave” for Sheol), earth and sea (11:9; cf. Ps. 139:8 – 10 ; Amos 9:2 – 4). The limits of the Almighty (Heb. šadday ; see sidebar on “Almighty [šadday] and Other Divine Names” at 5:7) are higher than the heavens, deeper than the depths of the grave (Heb. še,ôl; see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9). Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. This idea is also found in Mesopotamian texts (cf. the introduction). In Ugarit there is mention of heaven, earth, the deep, and stars.131
Higher than the heaves . . . deeper than the depths of the grave (11:7). Egyptian cosmological texts also describe that the unfathomable quality of the deity and the creator god Amun is separate from the world he created by being higher than the sky and deeper than the nether world:
Amun is one, hiding himself from them.He is concealed from the gods, and his
aspect is unknown.He is farther than the sky, he is deeper
than the Duat.132
No god knows his true appearance.133
Stretch out your hands to him (11:13). The stretching out of the arms or hands, raising the hands with the palms outward at face level, is a gesture of prayer typical in the Old Tes-
tament (e.g., Ps. 28:2): “I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place” (cf. also Ps. 143:6; Ezra 9:5).134 It is also known from Meso-potamian sources135
and is depicted in Egyptian art.136 This gesture is illustrated on a carved ivory casket from Hazor in Palestine dating from the time of the Israelite kings.137 The gesture also occurs in Ugaritic literature, where the king lifts his hands to heaven to sacrifice.138 King Zakkur of Hamath
raises his hands to Baal Shamem.139 For other
hand gestures in Job, cf. 21:5; 29:9; 31:27; 40:4.140
Job (12:1 – 14:22)
Carry their god in their hands (12:6). The Hebrew is difficult but may be understood literally as referring to small effigies of gods (“idols”) carried in the hand, used to manip-ulate gods in the ancient Near East through magic.141 These were not life-size statues as with the cultic statues in the temples, but were small and could literally fit in the hand. Such idols were made of clay or bronze.142
Leads counselors away stripped (12:17).The Hebrew word used here is sometimes translated as “barefoot” (cf. v. 19). Ancient Near Eastern art shows prisoners of war being led away naked and barefoot (cf. Isa. 20:2 – 4; Mic. 1:8, where naked goes with barefoot).143
To go barefoot can be a sign of reverence (Ex. 3:5) and penitence (2 Sam. 15:30), but here it is shame, because stripping someone of clothes and shoes means a loss of honor (Job 19:9; cf. 22:6; 29:14; 40:10).144 Women can
Hands raised in worship before Re-HorakhtyGuillaume Blanchard/Wiki-media Commons, courtesy of the Louvre, GNU FOL CC-BY-SA 2.0
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be stripped (Lam. 4:21; Hos. 2:2), as are the dead (1 Sam. 31:8).
Takes off the shackles (12:18). This verse is not clear, but it may refer to bound captives. These are shown in ancient Near Eastern art, such as with the rebels on the Behistun relief, captives on a Mari inlay, a Megiddo ivory, and Sea Peoples shown as captives with their hands in shackles.145 Feet can also be fastened in shackles (13:27; cf. also 33:10; 36:8 for being bound in chains).
Proverbs of ashes . . . defenses of clay (13:12). On ash and clay and their connec-tion with death and the underworld, see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9. Here they refer to being worthless and weak.
Take my life in my hands (13:14). Pope146 connects the Hebrew nepeš147 (NIV
“life”) with the Akkadian phrase napishtam lapatum (“to touch the throat”) as part of a gesture linked with oath-taking.
Bring charges (13:19). In 13:22 – 23 Job asks to be summoned and his offenses made known (cf. comments on 9:2 and sidebar on “Legal Matters in Job” there).
Hide your face (13:24). The hiding of God’s face148 refers to God’s wrath (as in 34:29; Ps. 27:9), because he has become Job’s enemy. Job wants God to summon him and show him his sins (Job 13:22 – 23). In Mesopotamia seeing the face can refer to a deity, but it is also used in a legal context.
Feet in shackles . . . putting marks on the soles of my feet (13:27). For shackles see com-ment on 12:18.149 Some commentators have pro-posed that the “marks” refer to a slave owner marking his name on the soles of a slave, but such a custom is unknown; only marking on the hand or forehead is known.150
Garment eaten by moths (13:28). Human corruption is like a
garment eaten by moths and full of holes; examples of such garments are known from excavations in Palestine.151
Man’s days are determined (14:5). In 14:2 the image of the fleeting shadow is used (cf. 8:9). In Psalm 39:4 a mortal’s days are limited. The Gilgamesh Epic and the Epic of Aqhat from Ugarit make it clear that death is the fate of humankind and only the deities possess (eternal) life. For this reason the ale-girl Siduri advises the hero Gilgamesh:
Gilgamesh, whither rovest thou?The life thou pursuest thou shalt not find.When the gods created mankind,Death for mankind they set aside,Life in their own hands retaining.152
Aqhat provokes the goddess Anat by stating that he must surely die.153
If a man dies, will he live again? (14:14). It is debated whether Job teaches resurrec-tion.154 The Egyptians had a positive belief in life after death, whereas the Mesopota-mian view was very bleak (see the sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9). It is also disputed whether this is the case in the Ugaritic texts. But there is no evidence for a universal belief in individual resurrection and immortality for the just as developed in biblical thought.155
Sealed up in a bag (14:17). Pope refers to the custom of putting pebbles in a bag as
Relief from Medinet Habu
shows prisoners of Ramesses III. Z. Radovan/www.
BibleLandPictures.com
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a system of accounting,156 but the emphasis here is on sealing, which was an important cus-tom in the ancient Near East. A bag could be sealed by putting a piece of string around it and attaching a lump of soft clay, which was then stamped and allowed to harden. The text can also be connected with sealed documents and taken as referring to Job’s offenses that are written down.
Eliphaz (15:1 – 35)
The first man ever born (15:7). This does not refer to Adam, who was not born but fashioned (Gen. 1:26 – 27); rather, it refers to a concept known from the ancient Near East. The first sage was (according to Mesopotamian tradition) Oannes157 (as preserved by the Jewish historian Josephus), who taught humans civilization, writ-
ing, crafts, and science. Later came the apkal-lus, who lived before the time of the flood and were sages,158 perfect in wisdom.159 Adapa was the first of these semi-divine sages with supernatural wisdom, who served as counselor to the antediluvian rulers.160
Seals and SealingA-29
The custom of seals and sealing is well known from the ancient Near East, either as the objects themselves or the impressions in clay. There were two types of seals: the stamp-seal, the best-known form of which is the Egyptian scarab, which was pressed into clay, and the cylinder seal, which was rolled over clay. Clay tablets contain seal impressions, and a papyrus document from Elephantine has a string around it on which a piece of clay was placed and then sealed.A-30 Doors could be sealed as well as containers; these sealed lumps of clay are called bullae.A-31
Seals were more than simply bureaucratic devices; they
were also carried as amulets and talismans.
Thousands of seals are known from both legal and
clandestine excavations in Palestine (10,000 stamp seals and 500 cylinder seals have come from legal excavations).
Bulla from the City of David inscribed with “Elhanan, son of Belgi.” The reverse shows the imprint of the string that held together the document that was sealed. Z. Radovan/www.BibleLandPictures.com
Water basin from the Temple of Ashur shows two apkallu fl anking deity with fertile waters fl owing from vase. Katherine Thomp-son, courtesy of the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
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JobNo trust in his
holy ones (15:15). Cf. comments on 4:18 and 5:1.
Man, who is vile and corrupt (15:16). God does not trust humans because they are corrupt. In the Babylonian Theo-dicy it is said that the creator deities “gave twisted words to the human race, they endowed them in perpetuity with lies and falsehood.”161 By contrast, the Old Testament and Job believe in the justice and trustworthiness of God.
He wanders around — food for vultures (15:23). The Hebrew can be read as ,ayyâ (“vulture”) as in the LXX or ,ayye mh (“where?”; cf. NIV note). Barré connects the wandering around with depression and refers to exam-ples from Mesopotamia.162 The hero Gil-gamesh grieves over his dead friend Enkidu and wanders around “like a lioness deprived of her cubs he paced to and fro, this way and that.”163 Darkness is a symbol of evil (cf. 35:10 and sidebar on “Morning Light versus the Darkness of Night” at 38:14).
Like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms (15:33). Stripping a vine of unripe grapes means that the vine will not be able to bear fruit. The vine and olive tree are symbols of abundance and fertility in the Hebrew Bible,164 but they will not bear any fruit; in the same way the plans of the wicked will come to naught.
Job ( 16:1 – 17:16)
He has made me his target (16:12). In verses 12 – 14 the metaphor of God as a war-rior165 attacking Job is used (cf. 19:8 – 12; 30:12 – 14).166 In the ancient Near East the warrior god Resheph is depicted with a bow (see comment on 6:4). An even more vivid illustration is the scene of target practice on
a cylinder seal from Beth Shean, where Pharaoh Ramsses II is shooting arrows at an ingot with
captives fastened to it.167
Sewed sack-cloth over my skin and bur-ied my brow in
the dust (16:15). Sackcloth is used in
mourning (see sidebar on “Mourning” at 2:12).
The NIV “brow” is liter-ally “horn,”168 a symbol of power in the Old Tes-
tament (cf., e.g., 1 Kings 22:11) and in the ancient Near East. Asiatic deities and deified rulers wear horned head-dresses as symbol of their power.169 The horn has been debased to being in the dust in the same way that horns could be cut off (e.g., Zech. 1:21) to render them powerless.
Journey of no return (16:22). The jour-ney to death has no return passage (cf. 7:9).
The pledge you demand (17:3). Legal language (see sidebar on “Legal Motifs in Job” at 9:2) is used. A pledge was a piece of personal property given as a guarantee for later payment (cf. 24:9); this is known from ancient Near Eastern law as well as from Genesis 38, when Judah gave his seal and staff to Tamar. A pledge can also be a person (cf. Gen. 43:9; 44:32, Judah for Benjamin).170
If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness (17:13). The “grave” (Heb. še,ôl; see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9) is described as a home (lit., a “house,” as with death in 30:23). The tomb was the home or house of the dead, though bones were also kept in ossuaries in the form of houses; one such ossuary is inscribed with the word “Sheol.”171 In Psalm 139:8 a bed is made in Sheol (NIV “depths”).
Because tombs were dark, lamps (see sidebar on “Lamps” at 18:5) were placed
Stele of Vultures shows vultures devouring the
enemy. Eric Gaba/Wiki-
media Commons, CC-BY-SA
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in them to provide light;172 tombs at Ugarit have niches for oil lamps.173
Sheol is a place of darkness. In Mes-opotamian myths the underworld is described as a place of darkness and deprived of light.174 The Hebrew describes a posture of sleeping curled up.175
Go down to the gates of death . . . descend into the dust (17:16). In Genesis 37:35 Jacob wishes to “go down” to the grave (Sheol), as in Job 21:13. The same idea is found in Ugarit, when the deities El and Anat declare that, because Baal is dead, they will also descend into the earth.176
Dust is often linked with death or Sheol (see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9). In Mesopotamian myths the underworld has seven gates through which the goddess Ishtar and the god Nergal have to go; it is a place to where you “go down” and the inhabitants eat dust.177 This may be because when
False door where offerings to the dead were presented by this niche; the spirit of the dead was thought to have passage here. Kim Walton, cour-tesy of the Oriental Institute Museum
Lamps
Lamps (cf. 21:17) are vessels in which to burn a small fire that provides light. There are basically three elements: a container, something to burn (a wick), and a fuel to burn. Lamps were originally stone bowls; later they were made of clay by hand, later on the potter’s wheel, and finally in a mold. These are well known from excava-tions and developed over the centuries from an open bowl into a saucer with a pinched corner, to a closed lamp made in a mold.A-32 Lamps were filled with olive oil as fuel and could burn up to six hours. Such lamps were placed in niches or on recesses in houses but also in tombs (17:13).
The symbolism is that of light versus darkness (18:18; 24:13; 29:3; 38:15), the
light of a lamp standing for life and darkness for death (10:21; 17:13).A-33 The expression is also found in Proverbs 13:9; 20:20; 24:20.
Oil lampKim Walton, cour-tesy of the Joseph O. Free collection, Wheaton College
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people entered tombs, they were found to be full of dust. The Egyptian underworld also had gates, and the Egyptian tomb had a “false door” through which the spirit could enter.178
Bildad (18:1 – 21)
Lamp of the wicked is snuffed out (18:5). See sidebar on “Lamps.”
A trap seizes him (18:9). Various hunt-ing devices are mentioned in verses 8 – 10: “net, mesh, trap, noose, snare, trap.” A “trap” was used by ordinary people, especially to catch birds (Ps. 91:3; Amos 3:5).179 The “mesh” consisted of branches lightly woven together and placed over a hole into which the victim fell (cf. 19:6).
Death’s firstborn devours his limbs (18:13). There has been much discussion on this designation, which only occurs in the Old Testament in the book of Job.180 Three ancient Near Eastern candidates have been proposed for this demon: the Ugaritic per-
sonified Death (Mot), the Syro-Palestinian god of war and pestilence (Resheph), and the Mesopotamian messenger and vizier of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal (Namtar). None of these three bears the title “first-born,” although Resheph has sons (Job 5:7). Namtar is the “offspring” of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal, but not explicitly called her “firstborn.”
The general interpretation is to link the figure with that of Ugaritic Mot, the demon of death, who in Job is personified as having a firstborn son, disease, who is eating away Job’s skin. In Ugaritic mythology, Mot is a devourer who swallows the god Baal and humans.181
The king of terrors (18:14). This des-ignation too is unique to Job.182 The same idea may be reflected by 20:25; 24:17; 27:20; 30:15. The terrifying character of the Ugaritic Mot has been described under verse 13 and its sidebar (“Death”). In Mesopota-mia Nergal, the god of the underworld and pestilence (West Semitic Resheph), is called “king of the land of terror” and his abode
Traps
Various devices were used to catch ani-mals. Pits could be dug in the ground into which the victims fell; there were nets, but also mechanical devices like traps and snares. Such traps could jump up and shut (cf. Amos 3:5). Nets
were used to pull something in, such as fish and fowl, but also a net could be erected vertically into which a victim was driven (e.g., animals and birds). In Egypt the dead are also caught in
nets.A-34
Neo-Assyrian hunting scene from Ashurba-
nipalWerner Forman
Archive/The British Museum
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“the terrible house.”183 The underworld is described as “filled with terror.”184
Burning sulfur (18:15). The sulfur is brimstone, which burns to produce acid gas and was found in the regions of volcanic activity and the Dead Sea. It was used for fire, for fumigation, and for medicinal pur-poses (as is known from Akkadian texts).185
In Genesis 19:24 and Revelation 14:10 it refers to divine judgment.
Roots dry up (18:16). Here the state of the wicked is described: Their roots dry
up and wither and they have no offspring (v. 19). This destruction occurs in the curses of tomb inscriptions; for example, whoever desecrates the coffin of Eshmunazar, “let him have no root below or fruit above.”186
Light into darkness (18:18). Cf. 18:5.Men of the west . . . men of the east
(18:20). These expressions refer to people from both directions, all of humankind. The Ugaritic goddess Anat smites people on the seashore (west) and to the east,187 that is, all of humankind.
DeathA-35
In the Old Testament death is indicated by the Hebrew ma mwet/môt and often appears parallel with grave or Sheol (see sidebar on “Death
and Sheol” at 7:9). In Job it is
also described in 3:21; 7:15; 5:20; 27:15; 28:22; 30:23; 33:22; 38:17 (the concept occurs twenty-four times; as a noun eight times). Death is personified in Hosea 13:14: “Where, O death [ma mwet], are your plagues? Where, O grave [še,ôl], is your destruction,” and people can make a cove-nant with death and Sheol (Isa. 28:15, 18).
Habakkuk 2:5 describes Sheol as greedy and death as never satisfied (cf. Prov. 30:16), and humans are like sheep on which death feeds (Ps. 49:14), but the Lord will swallow up death forever (Isa. 25:8). Death like a demon can climb through a window to kill children and young men (Jer. 9:21), or love is as strong as death (Song 8:6).
The most important comparative mate-rial comes from Ugarit, because there is
a god called Môt, who is a bn ilm (“son of [the] god[s]”), but
he does not appear in the lists of deities and has no cult. He is the enemy of the god Baal, who defeats him by swallow-ing him, described as living underground and with a massive throat and crushing jaws:A-36 Mot is finally defeated by Baal’s companion Anat.A-37
Baal Epic, CTA 6, the account of Baal’s death and his victory over MotRama/Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the Louvre
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Net (19:6). God has drawn a net around Job (cf. Ezek. 17:20). Clines188 links the metaphor with the siege of a city, but in the light of 18:8 it is rather related to the hunt and the idea of the “divine net.” The Vulture Stela of the Sumerian king Eannatum of
Lagash shows enemies caught in a net. The figure holding it may be the king or perhaps the god Ningirshu.189 He claims in his inscriptions, “Over the people of Umma I Eannatum threw the net of the god Enlil.”190
The Babylonian god Marduk catches Tiamat and the other monsters with a net, and the
god of pestilence, Erra, also has a net.191 In a hymn of praise to Hammurabi of Babylon, the
king is a net over the enemy, evil, and offenders.192 The Sumerian ideogram for hunting indicates
an enclosed space (cf. v. 8).193
Stripped me of my honor (19:9). Cf. comments on 12:7 and 29:14.
Siege ramp (19:12). The war imagery was already used in 16:12 – 14. Here Job feels attacked by troops advancing in force, who build a siege ramp (cf. 30:12) and encamp around his tent. In wartime in the ancient Near East, the defenders protected them-selves behind massive city walls, while the city was encircled and attacked by siege troops with siege machines. The Assyrians were masters in siege warfare, as is known from their war reliefs. The reference to the “tent” instead of a city is grim humor.194
Does not answer (19:16).Job calls on his servant, but he does not answer. This has been interpreted as referring
to pathological anxiety, known from ancient Near Eastern texts where someone gives orders but no one answers him.195
Breath is offensive (19:17). Job’s breath is offensive to his wife. In the Egyptian Dia-logue of a Man with His Soul, the image of the unpleasant smell is used, and in the Instruction of Ani a name can stink.196 The dead also suffer from bad breath.197
Nothing but skin and bones (19:20).The Hebrew is difficult to translate. If it is indeed emaciation, it is illustrated by the scene of starving people on the causeway near the pyramid of Unas.198
Oh, that my words were recorded (19:23). Job wishes that his words were recorded on a scroll, inscribed with iron and (NIV “on”) lead or engraved in rock forever. Scrolls could be of papyrus or leather (vel-lum). Iron styli or chisels were used to make engravings in stone. Lead tablets are known, or perhaps this refers to letters filled in or inlaid with lead. Ancient Near Eastern rulers inscribed their deeds in stone on cliffs.199
In the ancient Near East and Old Tes-tament world, memory and remembrance were important,200 also after death. For this reason the Ugaritic hero Dan,el wants some-one to set up the monument of the clan.201
Letters were even written to the dead in Egypt and Mesopotamia asking for their help.202 Someone who passed a commemo-
Defeated soldiers captured in net
Jill Walton, courtesy of the Louvre
Emaciated people portrayed on the causeway to the pyramid of VnasSebastian Niedlich,
courtesy of the Imhotep Museum
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rative funerary stela in Egypt had to say a prayer or bring an offering.
I know that my Redeemer lives (19:25). This phrase has been made famous by Han-del’s setting, “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth,” reflecting the popular Chris tian
messianic inter-
pretation. There are two interpretations:203
(1) that the Hebrew gô,e ml refers to a vindi-cator or defender (NIV note) of Job’s action against God, who is his adversary, or (2) that God is his Redeemer. Since gô,e ml appears in a context where there is a dispute between God and Job, it is more likely that it does not refer to God as the redeemer. It may be a personal independent deity,204 or com-pared with the intercessor/advocate of 9:33; 16:19 – 21; and 19:25 and the messenger (NIV “angel”), it may be a mediator (as in 33:23 – 24). Job asks for deliverance not by God but from God,205 and the “redeemer” is Job’s defense attorney. It is still disputed whether Job refers to resurrection.206
Zophar (20:1 – 29)
The venom of serpents (20:14). In verse 16 it is serpent’s poison, the fangs of an adder that will kill him. The serpent (Heb. peten) in verses 14 and 16 is a
large snake and the “adder” in verse 16 the carpet viper.207 In ancient texts “gall” was understood not only as tasting bit-ter, but also as a poisonous and deadly venomous substance.208
Spit out the riches . . . his stomach vomit them up (20:15). This idea is comparable to the Egyptian Wisdom of Amenemope, where goods taken from
the poor are “a block in the throat, it makes the gullet vomit.”209
Kings of old inscribed their deeds in stone as a legacy, as on the so-called “Colossi of Memnon” statues once part of the Temple complex of Amenhotep III. Lenka Peacock
Redeemer
In ancient Israelite law the “redeemer” (gô,e ml)A-38 was someone who protected the interests of his kin by buying prop-erty or paying debt and ensuring that the name of a deceased person lived on (Lev. 25:25, 47 – 49; Deut. 25:5 – 10; Ruth 4:3 – 6). It was usually a near relative (brother, uncle, cousin) or some other kinsman. Yahweh was Israel’s Redeemer
from Egypt (Ex. 6:6) and the exile (Isa. 44:22 – 23), but also of the needy, wid-ows, and orphans (Ps. 103:4; 107:2).
By contrast, in the Egyptian Instruc-tions of Amenemope the advice is given that one should not ask for an advocate: “Do not say: ‘Find me a protector, for one who hates me has injured me.’ Indeed you do not know the plans of god.”A-39
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JobAn iron weapon (20:24). The iron weapon
may be a sword, a weapon used in close com-bat. If Job is able to flee from this, the long-range “arrow” (NIV; Heb. is lit. “bow”) will get him. Bows of metal or with metal covering were not used; arrows were made of wood or reeds with metal tips or points.210
Fire . . . will consume him (20:26). On divine fire that “eats,” see 1:16.
The heavens . . . the earth (20:27). In ancient Near Eastern treaties,211 heaven and earth (in addition to deities) are called as witness (cf. Deut. 32:1; Isa. 1:2).
Job ( 21:1 – 34)
Clap your hand over your mouth (21:5). To clap/put one’s hand over ones’s mouth (i.e., to cover the mouth with the hands as in 29:9 and 40:4) can be a gesture (cf. Prov. 30:32) of awe and astonishment or of silence (Judg. 18:19; Mic. 7:16).212 It may be depicted on a seal showing the hero Etana, who went to heaven on the back of an eagle, where one astonished onlooker holds his hand to his mouth.213
Their bulls never fail to breed (21:10).The prosperity of the wicked is described in terms of fertile bulls and calves. In contrast, in the curses of the ancient Near Eastern treaty of Sefire, “seven rams will cover a ewe, but she will not conceive.”214
Sing to the music (21:12). The “harp” had a wooden frame with strings and is shown on the Ur Standard and a Megiddo ivory.215 The “tambourine” is a small hand drum and the “flute” a double pipe of reed or metal.
Go down to the grave (21:13). See com-ment on Sheol at 17:16.
Lamp (21:17). See comment on 18:5.Worms (21:26). See comments on 7:5.Watch is kept over his tomb (21:32).
Because of riches buried with the dead, tombs were concealed but also guarded, as is known from ancient Egypt. Tombs were usually sealed, such as the door of the tomb of Tutankh-Amen.216 In Egypt the guardian of the dead was the jackal god Anubis, assistant of Osiris, the lord of death.217 The seal impression depicts Anubis with nine bound prisoners.
Eliphaz (22:1 – 30)
You demanded security (22:6). In the Old Testament a creditor could demand security in the form of clothing, but he was supposed to give back a cloak at night (Ex. 22:26 – 27; Deut. 24:12 – 13, 17; cf. Amos 2:8). A Hebrew letter on an ostracon from Yavneh Yam may refer to this custom, where someone complains that his garment was taken and he wants it back.218
Sent widows away (22:9).In 24:3 the orphan’s donkey and the widow’s ox are taken. In the ancient Near East and the Old Testament widows and orphans were supposed to be taken care of (see comments on 29:16; 31:13 – 18).
Detail from the coffi n of Nespaw-
ershepi, chief scribe of the
Temple of Amun. Creation scene: the air god Shu separating the
sky goddess Nut from the earth
god Geb, assisted by two ram-
headed gods. Werner Forman
Archive/Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
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Vaulted heavens (22:14). In the ancient Near East heaven was seen as a dome and a kind of disk (see sidebar on “Creation and World Pictures” at 9:7). Isaiah 40:22 has a “circle.” According to Egyptian cosmology, the sky was the goddess Nut, who formed an arch above.219
Gold of Ophir (22:24). An eighth-century B.C. ostracon found at Tell Qasile mentions “gold of Ophir,”220 but its loca-tion is still unknown (East Africa, Arabia, India?); it may have been reached via the harbor of Ezion Geber at Elath in the Red Sea.221
Music and DancingA-40
Music and musical instruments in the ancient Near East are known from depictions in art of musicians and their instruments,A-41 as well as from the remains of instruments and even texts dealing with the tuning of the harp, and musical scores such as on a clay tablet from Ugarit.A-42 There are four main types of instruments: self-sounding idiophonic instruments (e.g., rattles or bells); percussion or membraphonic instruments (e.g., tambourine); strings
or chordophonic instruments (e.g., harp); and woodwind or aerophonic instruments (e.g., flute).
Music was used for entertainment, but it also had a religious-cultic function and was used in time of war. Dancing is known for cultic rituals but also for entertainment. David danced before the ark of the Lord (2 Sam. 6:14), and in Egypt banquet scenes show musicians with dancers, mostly female, and some-times acrobats.A-43
A banquet scene from the tomb of Nebamun shows dancers and musi-cians. The Yorck Project/Wikimedia Commons
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Job ( 23:1 – 24:25)
When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold
(23:10). Gold is used as a symbol of testing because
of the process of purification it went
through.222 Job will be tested by God just as
the faithful are tested in Psalm 26:2 and 66:10.
In the Amarna Letters (#7, 10), the Babylonian
king writes that the gold brought to him was not
pure enough.223 On metals in Job see comments on 28:1; see also sidebar on “Metals and Mining” at 28:1.
Boundary stones (24:2). Moving a boundary stone was regarded as an offense (see Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 22:28 ; 23:10). The “boundary stone” or “boundary marker” (cf. also the Babylonian kudurru) was not so much a marker of property as a legal docu-ment that contained an inscription describing the owner of the property and offered curses on those trans-gressing this legal right.224 On
an Egyptian painting, an official bows down to a small standing stone, puts his hand to his mouth to take an oath, and swears: “As surely as the great god endures in the heaven, this boundary stone is properly erected.”225
The Wisdom of Amenemope advises not to move the markers on the borders of the fields.226
Lacking clothes (24:7). See comment on 22:6.
Infant of the poor is seized for a debt (24:9). See comment on 17:3.
Crush olives . . . tread the winepresses (24:11). Olives were crushed in spe-
cial presses such as the one found at Ekron. A huge stone crush-ing wheel was rolled over the olives placed on a basin. Stone weights (average of 300 kg. or 660 lbs.) were attached to a beam and the oil was squeezed out and ran into a vat.227 The NIV has a note on the translation of the uncertain Hebrew word behind “terraces,” read-ing it as “millstones,” which makes sense as millstones could also have been used to crush the olives.
Wine228 was made by treading the grapes with
the feet in stone troughs in earlier times, as is known
from Egyptian paintings. The
Ostracon refer-ring to the gold
of Ophir found at Tel Qasile
Z. Radovan/www.BibleLand
Pictures.com
Kassite period kudurru known as the Michaux
stoneMarie-Lan Nguyen/
Wikimedia Com-mons, courtesy of the Bibliotheque Nation-
ale de France
Social Justice in the Ancient Near EastA-44
Widows, orphans, and the needy were protected by ancient Near Eastern laws and customs (see Ex. 22:22; Ps. 68:5; Isa. 1:23; see also the Laws of Hammu-rabi). In Ugaritic literature king Dan,el sits at the gate and judges the widow’s case and takes care of the orphan. The
sick King Keret is accused by his son of neglecting to do this. King Kulamuwa calls himself a father, a mother, and a brother to the oppressed, who were disposed toward him as an orphan to his mother.A-45 Sumerian and Egyptian literatures also deal with this issue.A-46
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juice was then collected in a smaller vat before it was stored in wine jars.
Bildad ( 25:1 – 6)
Man . . . only a worm (25:6). The maggot and the worm are images related to the mor-tality of humans and death (see comment on 7:5).
Job ( 26:1 – 31:40)
The dead are in deep anguish (26:5). The Hebrew term for “the dead” is repa m,îm (some-times transcribed as “Rephaim”), which refers to the inhabitants of the underworld (Ps. 88:10; Isa. 14:9; 26:14, 19). They live
beneath the waters of the underworld (water was sometimes associated with the underworld229). In Ugarit and in Phoenician tomb inscriptions like Tab-nit and Eshmunazar, this term applied to the blessed and beatified dead and the deified ancestors and rul-ers.230 In other parts of the Hebrew Bible the r epa m,îmare “giants” (Gen. 14:5; 15:20; Deut. 2:11, 20).
Death is naked . . . Destruction lies uncov-ered (26:6). When the
Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar went to the underworld, she was stripped naked, per-haps referring to the dead who are naked.231
“Destruction” (,abaddôn)232 is used together with “Death” (še,ôl — cf. comments on 7:9; 17:14; also sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9). In 28:22 ,abaddôn is used with the per-sonified “Death” (ma mwet), and in 31:12 it is more of a state.
Spreads out the northern skies (26:7). Another cosmogony (cf. 9:5 – 10; see sidebar on “Creation and World Pictures” at 9:7) is described in 26:7 – 14. In 9:8; Psalm 104:2; and Isaiah 40:22, the Creator “stretches out the heavens”233 like a tent. “Northern” is s.a mpôn(cf. 37:22; see accompanying sidebar). The god Marduk in the Babylonian creation epic, after
Stone basin for crushing the olivesKim Walton
ZaphonA-47
Zaphon (Heb. s.a mpôn) designates “north” and is the cosmic mountain par excellence.A-48 Here it is synonymous with heaven (cf. 37:22; Isa. 14:13), where the Deity resides. It was originally the deified holy cosmic mountain of Ugaritic mythol-ogy (identified with the Jebel al-Aqra, 1700 m. [5700 ft.] high and 40 km. [25 mi.] north of Ugarit),A-49 where the deities
of the Northwest Semitic pantheon and especially the god Baal assembled. The concept goes back to the Hittite-Hurrian Hazzi and lives on in the Aramaic Amherst papyrus from the first millennium.A-50 Philo of Byblos calls the mountain Kas-sion, as do other Greek texts. The cult of Zeus Kasios lived on until the time of Julian Apostata in A.D. 363.
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splitting Tiamat in two, sets half of her up as a cover.234 The Mesopotamian sun god holds the ends of the earth suspended from the midst of heaven.235
He marks out the horizon (26:10). In 38:5 a measuring line is mentioned. This is the outer limits of the cosmos, beyond
which no mortal can go. A “world map” with boundar-ies is drawn on a seventh-century B.C. clay tablet in the British Museum with Babylon in the center.236
In Job there is a boundary between light and darkness (see sidebar on “Morning Light versus the Dark-ness of Night” at 38:14).
In ancient Near Eastern thought there were depressions at the western and eastern hori-zons with cosmic gates through which the sun entered the sky during daytime and again passed through into the underworld at nighttime.237
Cylinder seal de-picts Utu, the sun
god, emerging from depression between moun-
tains and Enki, the Sumerian god from the waters. Scala/Art Resource, NY, courtesy of the
Iraq Museum, Bagh-dad, Iraq
Metals and MiningA-51
Seven metals are known from the ancient Near East: three precious met-als — gold, silver, and electrum; and four base metals — copper, tin, lead, and iron. Bronze was an alloy made from copper and tin. Various sources are available to study ancient Near Eastern metallurgy — textual references, excavated objects, and metallur-gical analysis.
The countries of origin of these metals are still a matter of dis-pute among scholars, but the ancient Near East was the homeland of metallurgy. Gold was mined in Southern Arabia and especially in Kush (Nubia) in the Sudan. Silver came from Anatolia and
Iran and copper from Cyprus and Iran. Iron came from Anatolia, Cyprus, and Palestine, and tin from Afghanistan. Mining is known from excavations at the copper and turquoise mines of
Egyptian metal production
Mary Evans Picture Library
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281
JobThe pillars of the heavens quake (26:11).
See comments on 9:5 for the pillars of the earth. According to Egyptian thought the god Shu held up the sky, who was his daugh-ter, the goddess Nut.238 The pillars of heaven may also refer to the Mesopotamian idea of a chain of large mountains at the edges of the world, supporting the heavens or celes-tial vault.239
Churned up the sea . . . cut Rahab to pieces . . . pierced the gliding serpent (26:12 – 13). On the mythological motif of the chaotic sea subdued at creation — here used parallel with Rahab (cf. comment on 9:13) and the gliding serpent — see com-ments on 3:8; 7:12; 41:1. According to Isa-iah 27:1, “the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword,
Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the mon-ster of the sea.”
Claps its hands in derision (27:23). The clapping of hands can indicate joy (Ps. 47:2), but clapping in derision is a gesture of scoff-ing (cf. Lam. 2:15 – 16), also known from Mesopotamia.240 See 34:37 for clapping the hands scornfully in contempt of God.
Sources of the rivers (28:11). The met-allurgist searches the “sources of the riv-ers,” a mysterious and hidden place situated between the two oceans. According to a Ugaritic myth, the abode of the chief god El was “at the source of the rivers.”241
The deep . . . the sea (28:14). The hid-den wisdom cannot even be found in the primeval oceans, described as “the deep” or
A map of the gold mining area and basanite caves at Wadi Hammamat. Werner Forman Archive/The Egyp-tian Museum, Turin
Serabit el-Qadêm in Sinai. A map of an Egyptian gold-mining district in the Wadi Hammamat can be found on a
thirteenth-century papyrus and the smelting of metals is depicted on Egyp-tian paintings.A-52
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“the abyss” (t ehôm; cf. 38:16, 30). In Meso-potamian thought the Apsu — the deified subterranean water — was the abode of the antediluvian sages, the apkallu (see com-ment on 15:7) and the realm of the crafty god, the god of wisdom, Ea-Enki.242
Crystal (28:17). The Hebrew word used here (its only occurrence in the Old Testa-ment) probably refers to glass, which was known as an article of luxury. Glassware in the form of vessels was manufactured by the Phoenicians, and the Egyptians used it for inlays in jewelry.243
Destruction and Death say (28:22). Here the forces of destruction (,abaddôn) and death (ma mwet) are personified (see comments on 18:13 for Death, and 26:6 and 31:12 for Destruction).
The fear of the Lord — that is wis-dom (28:28). The Lord is the only one who knows where to find wisdom, which is objectified in verse 27. As in Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, real wisdom is the “fear of
the LORD.”244 In the ancient Near East the Mesopotamian god Ea-Enki was the god of immense wisdom; Marduk had the title “Lord of Wisdom,” and the sun god Shamash grants wisdom.245
Lamp (29:3). See comment and sidebar on “Lamps” at 18:5. God is a lamp in 2 Sam-uel 22:29. For the contrast light and dark-ness, see sidebar on “Morning Light versus the Darkness of Night” at 38:14.
Drenched with cream . . . streams of olive oil (29:6). In Ugaritic texts the god El has a dream and a vision that when the god Baal becomes alive again, the heavens will rain down oil, and the wadis will run with honey; this describes the abundance and fer-tility.246 In other parts of the Hebrew Bible, the Promised Land “flows with milk and honey,” referring to its fertility and abun-dance in produce — more precisely, dairy farming and agriculture.247
Gate of the city (29:7). See comments on 5:4 and 31:21.
Gems and JewelsA-53
Various jewels and gemstones are mentioned in Job 28 and in biblical texts such as Exodus 28:17 – 21; 39:10 – 14 (stones in the breastplate of the high priest); Ezekiel 28:13 (ornaments of the king of Tyre); and Revelation 21:19 – 21 (stones of the new Jerusalem). The Gilgamesh Epic describes the trees of the gods with carnelian fruit, lapis lazuli
foliage, coral, agate, and haematite.A-54 These stones and jewels are sometimes difficult to identify and originated from various parts of the ancient world. The sapphire is identified with the deep blue stone lapis lazuli, which came from the province of Badakhshan in Afghanistan. Many stones were found in Egypt and the nearby regions.
WisdomA-55
The wisdom literature of the Old Testa-ment includes books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Wisdom (Heb. h≥ okmâ) in the Hebrew Bible is used for the skills of the artisan (Ex. 36:8), intel-ligence (2 Sam. 14:2), and practical skills
in life or an ethical lifestyle (Prov. 1 – 2; 5; 11; 14). The word is feminine in Hebrew, and wisdom is even personified as a woman (Prov. 1; 3; 8 – 9). Wisdom is sometimes linked with creation (8:22 – 31).
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Covered their mouths with their hands (29:9). See also comments on 21:5 and 40:4. This phrase means “refrained from speak-ing,” indicating what Job enjoyed in earlier times when he was still a local chief.248
When he went to the city gate (29:7), the center of social interaction (cf. 5:4), and sat in the public square, young men stepped aside and old men rose (29:8). The chiefs and nobles did not speak in his presence. Now, however, he is shamed.249
In the ancient Near East people of greater importance sat, while standing and kneeling was a gesture for greeting persons of high status. It is prescribed in Leviticus 19:32, and Solomon greeted his mother in this way (1 Kings 2:19).250 In Ugaritic literature Baal stands in attendance to El; in contrast, the arrogant messengers of the Ugaritic god Yam do not pay respect to the chief deity by pros-trating themselves.251
Justice my robe and my turban (29:14). Justice and righ teous ness can be a garment (see Ps. 132:9; Isa. 61:10). In Job 30:18 Job wears a collared tunic. A turban was a head covering formed by a wrapped piece of cloth kept in place by a headband.252
I was a father to the needy (29:16). In 22:9 Eliphaz charged Job with neglecting the needy. Here Job longs for the days when he was still respected and appeared as the
ideal patriarch administering social justice (29:12 – 16; see sidebar on “Social Justice in the Ancient Near East” at 22:19) by looking after the needy, the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the lame, the blind, and the stranger. This is repeated in 31:13 – 18.
I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as grains of sand (29:18). The Hebrew is difficult here but literally reads, “I shall die with my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the h≥ôl.” This last word has been read as “sand” or as “phoenix”253 — the latter referring to the popular tradition (also found with the rabbis) according to which the phoe-nix bird burns itself on its nest and from the ashes a new bird arises. The problem is that the word never occurs in the Old Testament; moreover, the tradition dates from the period after the book of Job, and Job does not clearly believe in resurrection. The point of the text (whether it is related to the phoenix or not) is the idea of a long life.
The bow ever new in my hand (29:20). The bow is a symbol of “glory” (ka mbôd)254
and power. In 30:11 the unstrung bow is part of Job’s affliction.
Waited for me as for showers (29:23). Job’s words are awaited like showers and spring rain. In the Ugaritic Keret Epic the farmers wait for the rains of the god Baal and express their joy over the coming rain:
Clothes Make the PersonA-56
Clothing in the Bible and its world is known from artistic depictions, archaeo-logical remains of original textiles, and texts dealing with textiles. But clothes also had symbolic meaning, indicat-ing group identity, gender, and social status. After the defeat of the monster Humbaba, the hero Gilgamesh is properly clothed, and later Utnapishtim orders that he be properly clothed.A-57 It is a symbol of civilization, and the sav-age Enkidu is dressed before he enters
civilization.A-58 Adapa is dressed in mourning; he refuses the water and food of life, but is brought a garment.A-59
In texts clothes are used metaphori-cally, as is also known from the book of Job. When a person was in mourning, the clothes were torn (Job 1:20; 2:12). There were different kinds of garments: outer garments (cloaks, mantles and tunics), undergarments (kilt), headgear (turbans for men and veils for women), and footgear (sandals).
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A spring for the earth is the rain of Balu, even for the field the rain of the High One;
Good for the earth is the rain of Balu, even for the field the rain of the High One.
Good it is for the wheat in the gardens, in the tilled land (for) the emmer. . . .
The ploughmen lifted (their) heads, on high those who work the grain.255
The light of my face (29:24). This facial expression of joy is known from Ugaritic and Akkadian sources.256 When the Ugaritic hero Dan,el hears that a son will be born, “his face lit up with joy, his countenance glowed. Signs of worry disappeared from his forehead as he laughed.”257
After eating and drinking, Enkidu in the Gilgamesh Epic becomes merry and his face lights up.258 In contrast the innocent suf-ferer in the Ludlul bel nemeqi (“I will praise
the lord of wisdom”) complains, “When my ill-wisher heard, his face lit up, when the tidings reached her, my ill-wisher, her mood became radiant.”259
Sheep dogs (30:1). Dogs (canis familiaris) are the oldest domesticated animals and were valued and even worshiped in
BowA-60
The bow (cf. 20:24) is often depicted in scenes of military assault in ancient Near Eastern art.A-61 The Ugaritic Aqhat received a bow from the craftsman god Kothar, but it was coveted by the war-rior goddess Anat, and he is murdered for it and the bow destroyed.A-62 When a bow was broken (Jer. 49:35; Hos 1:5), it meant destruction. One treaty reads “May Astarte break your bow in battle.”A-63 The traditional iconography of the pharaoh of Egypt shows him trampling on nine bows (the traditional enemies of Egypt) and the
defeated enemy snaps his bow. An Assyrian relief shows a defeated Elamite cutting his bow as a gesture of defeat and loss of power.A-64
Assyrian hunting scene
H. Modica
A cylinder seal of the twenty-third
century B.C. shows Etana ascending
on an eagle’s back.
Z. Radovan/www.BibleLand
Pictures.com
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JobMesopotamia (goddess Gula) and Egypt (god Anubis).260 In Egypt dogs were mummified and formed part of the animal cult. A large dog burial place was found at Ashkelon, pre-sumably linked with some healing cult.261
Dogs were regarded as pets in ancient Egypt and are depicted in Egyptian paintings with collars and sitting under their masters’ chair. One beloved pet was buried in a wooden cof-fin. On Egyptian paintings they are also used in war and on Assyrian reliefs they are shown being used for hunting.262 Shepherd dogs are shown on the cylinder seal depicting Etana.
However, “man’s best friend” is not highly regarded in the Old Testament (cf. 1 Sam. 17:43; Isa. 56:10 – 11; Rev. 22:15). Dogs were not pampered household pets as today; they were dangerous scavengers, and they ate corpses and the refuse of ancient cities and towns. In the Amarna letters the vassal calls himself the “dog” of the pha-raoh, as does the servant in the Lachish let-ters.263
Their food was the root of the broom tree (30:4). The prophet Elijah sat under a “broom tree” (1 Kings 19:4 – 5). The word for “food” can be read as “fuel” (see NIV
note). The roots of the broom tree make good charcoal (Ps. 120:4).264
God has unstrung my bow (30:11). See comments on 29:20.265
Snares . . . siege ramps (30:12). See com-ments on 18:9 and 19:12.
Drive me before the wind (30:22). Cf. 27:21. On God as a storm god (cf. 37:4 and its sidebar, “Thunder and Thunder Gods”) who rides on the wind, see Psalm 18:10.
You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living (30:23). Death (ma mwet; see sidebar on “Death” at 18:13) is a house (bêt; NIV “place”), as with Sheol in 17:13 (see comment on 7:9 for going down to Sheol).
Light . . . darkness (30:26). See com-ments on 18:5; 29:3; 38:15.
I go about blackened, but not by the sun (30:28). This is a difficult verse and has been understood as referring to Job’s skin,
which has turned black because of disease (cf. 2:7; 30:30). In the diagnostic medical texts and omen texts from Mesopotamia, black skin lesions (evidence of necrosis) are observed and remedies suggested.266
Jackals . . . owls (30:29). Owls are some-times translated as “ostriches,” but owls as nocturnal and feared animals make better sense in this context. In ancient Egypt, the god connected with the dead, the protector of the necropolis and the god of embalm-ing the dead, was Anubis.267 He was rep-resented in the form of a jackal or canine. The reason for the link with these animals may be because canines or jackals often roam between tombs, even scavenging on the corpses. In Job the metaphor of the jackal is used because of the wailing sounds they make. Wailing and howling are linked with the jackal and the owl (cf. Mic. 1:8, where God wails and howls like a jackal and moans like an owl). When cities are cursed in treaties like that of Sefire, they become a mound for foxes and owls, that is, desolate places.268
Skin grows black (30:30). See comment on 30:28; see also sidebar on “Job’s Illness
A detail of a vignette from the Book of the Dead of Lady Cherit-webeshet. The dead lady prays before the barge of the Sun-god which is drawn by jackals & uraea with human arms. “Worship of Re-Harachte, the Great God, Lord of the Skies by the righ teous Cheritwebeshet.” Werner Forman Archive/The Egyp-tian Museum, Cairo
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and Health Care in the Ancient Near East” at 2:7.
Mourning (30:31). See comment on 2:8, 12 with the sidebar “Mourning.” On the harp and flute, see the sidebar on “Music and Dancing” at 21:12.
Not to look lustfully at a girl (31:1). Job acknowledges that he was not enticed by other women (31:9), nor did he look lustfully at a girl (betûlâ), a young unmar-ried woman still under the protection of her father (something different from being enticed by another man’s wife).269 Some have linked betûlâ with a title of the Ugaritic goddess Anat (btlt) and interpret the verse as referring to the worship of other gods. Such an interpretation has been challenged and the context (esp. vv. 9 – 12) rather refers to unfaithfulness and lust, as in Sirach 9.270
Let God weigh me in hon-est scales (31:6). Job 31 con-
tains what has been called “Job’s declara-
tion of innocence.” He lists a catalogue of crimes: lust (v. 1); falsehood (v. 5); adultery (v. 9); injustice to servants (v. 13); indif-ference to the poor, widow, fatherless, and naked (vv. 16 – 20); injustice to the fatherless (v. 21); trust in wealth (vv. 24 – 25); worship of sun and moon (vv. 26 – 27); rejoicing over the enemy’s misfortune (vv. 29 – 30); inhos-pitality (v. 32); and hypocrisy (v. 34).
According to ancient Egyptian belief, the deceased appeared before a tribunal of divine judges consisting of the underworld god Osiris and forty-two judges. The heart of the deceased was weighed on a scale against the feather of Ma<at, which represented jus-tice, to determine whether it was pure.271
The weighing was done by the jackal-headed Anubis, the assistant of Osiris, and the result was recorded by the scribal god Thoth (repre-sented as an Ibis-headed figure or a baboon) and reported to the enthroned Osiris. In order for the heart not to speak against the deceased, a spell was recited:
O my heart of my mother,O my heart of my mother,O my heart of my being!Do not rise up against me as witness,Do not oppose me in the tribunal,Do not rebel against me before the
guardian of the scales!272
The deceased individual was interrogated by the divine tribunal and on this occasion
Weighing scene from a Book of
the DeadAllan Hise, courtesy
of the Agyptisches Museum, Berlin
5 mina weight in shape of a duck
Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Com-
mons, courtesy of the Louvre
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“Spell 125” from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, called the “declaration of innocence” (or “negative confession”), was recited:
I have not committed evil against men;I have not blasphemed a god;I have not done violence to a poor man;I have not defamed a slave to his
superior.273
Many commentators draw attention to this comparative material.274
During the Babylonian Akitu Festival the king also uttered a confession:
I have not sinned . . .I have not struck the privileged citizens in
the faces,I have not humiliated them. . . .275
A “declaration of innocence” also occurs in Akkadian legal texts, and in a seventh-century Israelite legal ostracon from Yavneh
Negative confes-sion, Book of the Dead, spell 125Mary Evans Picture Library
Scales and Weighing
Scales and weights in various forms (lions, ducks, or cattle) are known from ancient Near Eastern art.A-65 These were used to weigh metals such as gold and products for trading. According to Egyp-tian belief, the heart of the deceased was weighed on a scale to determine whether it was pure (as with metals). Just balances or honest scales were important in the ancient Near East and are described in the Bible (Lev. 19:36; Prov. 16:11; Ezek. 45:10; cf. Amos 5:8; Mic. 6:11). The problem of false scales is
dealt with in Mesopotamian texts such as the hymn to Nanshe.A-66
Ancient Near Eastern kings deter-mined the standard of weights to prevent corruption and cheating done by using false weights. The weights were standardized by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu.A-67 In the Egyptian Wisdom of Amenemope the student is advised not to alter the weights.A-68 God hates scales that are false (e.g., Prov. 11:1), and in the hymn to the sun god Shamash, merchants who switch weights lose capital.A-69
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JobYam the plaintiff claims to be without guilt.276 Egyptian autobiographies, on the other hand, deal with the positive confession of innocence.277
Finally, in a Hittite prayer of the mid- second millennium B.C., there is an intrigu-ing declaration of innocence by King Kantuzzili.278 He claims that he has not sworn falsely, eaten forbidden food, or stolen oxen or sheep, and that he has not been self-ish (phrased in terms of sharing his food and water). This example has an additional simi-larity because Kantuzilli is using his declara-tion to try to bring an end to a plague. Like Job, he insists that his record be tested to show that he is innocent.
May my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her (31:10). In Old Testament times grain was ground by women using a stone millstone, many examples of which have been found in Palestine. A millstone consisted of a sad-dle quern and a hand-operated grinding stone: it was one of the most important implements in the ordinary ancient Isra-elite home.279 The law prohibited anyone from taking it as collateral (Deut. 24:6), and it was also a symbol of destruction (Jer. 25:10). Millstones could be used as a weapon (Judg. 9:53; 2 Sam. 11:21). In Job 41:24 it is used to describe the strength of the chest of the Leviathan.
The NIV “sleep with her” is in Hebrew “bow down to her.” In ancient Near Eastern treaty curses the same idea occurs, as in the treaty of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon.280
In Egypt young men are warned: “Do not fornicate with a married woman. He who fornicates with a married woman on her bed, his wife will be copulated with on the ground.”281
Destruction (31:12). See comment on 26:6.
If I had denied justice (31:13). See com-ment on 22:9 and the sidebar “Social Justice in the Ancient Near East”; see also comment on 29:16.
If I have regarded the sun . . . or . . . the moon (31:26). Job refers to the worship of the sun and moon, which was common in the ancient Near East (Mesopotamian deities like Utu-Shamash and Nanna-Sin; Egyptian Ra, Aten, and Thoth; and Ugaritic Shapshu and Yarikh), but is forbidden by Deuteronomy 4:19: “And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars — all the heavenly array — do not be enticed into bow-ing down to them.” In Psalm 84:11 the Lord God himself is a sun.
The importance of the sun and moon is indicated by some Ugaritic texts.282 Solar and lunar worship in ancient Israel283 is evi-dent from texts such as 2 Kings 23:5, 11; Jeremiah 8:2; and Ezekiel 8:16. The reform-
Seal depicts the moon god Sin standing on a crescent and
receiving a prayer by the man stand-
ing before him. To the right an-
other man prays before the mush-chushu or sirrush,
the symbol of Marduk, the chief of the Babylonian
pantheon. Werner Forman
Archive/The British Museum
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289
Jobing king Josiah got rid of the sun and moon worshipers (1 Kings 23:5). Palestinian iconography indicates the importance of astral symbol-ism in the Assyrian period.284
However, the book of Job here rejects any cult of the sun or moon as unacceptable in mono-theistic thought.
My hand offered them a kiss of homage (31:27). Kiss-ing can be a form of worship; in Hosea 13:2 calf idols are kissed and in 1 Kings 19:18 Baal is kissed by his followers. The gesture of putting the hand to the mouth and throwing a kiss to the deity was known in Mesopotamia, as is shown on a statuette of a worshiper from Larsa. This figure has his hand before his mouth without touching it, the thumb and index finger are extended, and the three other fingers curled.285 For other gestures, see Job 21:5 and 29:9.
No stranger had to spend the night in the street (31:32). A “stranger” (ge mr)286 is a foreigner who does not own land and has no home (as in 19:15); such a person should not be mistreated (cf. Lev. 19:33 – 34) or left in the street (cf. Gen. 19), because the Isra-elites themselves and their ancestors used to be strangers in Egypt (Ex. 22:21) and in Palestine (Gen. 15:13). In contemporary terms, this word describes the landless and the disfranchised.
If my land cries out against me (31:38 – 39). Job denies that he has failed to pay the labor-ers their wages.287 In Deuteronomy 24:14 – 15 it is commanded: “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy. . . . Pay him his wages, . . . Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”288 In the year 1152 B.C., the artisans of Deir el-Medina in Egypt went on strike because they were not paid.289
Elihu (32:1 – 37:24)
Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry with Job (32:2). The “angry young man” Elihu
enters the scene for the first time and is like a young theological student “who knows all the answers.”290 Elihu (“He is my God”) was a common name in
the Bible, esp. in the time of David. The name of his father and even his clan (Heb. mišpah≥ â — “fam-ily” in NIV) are mentioned. Buz
was a nephew of Abraham (Gen. 22:20 – 21) and Ram may be related
to the Arameans. Jeremiah 9:25 and 49:32 mentions Buz in
connection with Sheba and Dedan, located in
Arabia.New wineskins (32:19).
Wine was kept in bottles of clay (Jer. 19:1), some even
with stoppers (as is known from Egypt),291 or in wineskins (Jer. 13:12), which were made of animal skins and of which physical examples from ancient times have survived.292 Elihu himself is so
Statuette of a kneeling man, known as the “worshipper of Larsa,” has sometimes been identifi ed as Hammurabi. Dedicated by an inhabitant of Larsa to the god Amurru for the life of Hammu-rabi. Bronze and gold, early 2nd millennium B.C. Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Com-mons, courtesy of the Louvre
Relief of a man carrying wineskin from the Apa-dana staircase at PersepolisGlenn Gulley, cour-tesy of the Metrop-loitan Museum of Art, NY
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full of words (v. 18) that if he does not get the chance to speak, he will burst (cf. Jer. 20:9). The image is that of bottled-up wine, with new wine forming gases as it ferments, which may make the skins burst if they can-not escape. In the New Testament parable of new wine in old wineskins (Matt. 9:17), old skins become dried up and are unusable because the expanding gases of the ferment-ing new wine will tear them.
Taken from clay (33:6). See comment on 10:9.
My feet in shackles (33:11). See com-ments on 12:18; 13:27; 36:8.
In a dream (33:15). On dreams and visions, see comment on 4:13.
Pit (33:18). On the pit (also vv. 22, 30), see comment on 17:14. The Mesopotamian underworld was reached by way of a down
staircase, or the pit may refer to the hole dug in the ground to make a grave. The second part of verse 18 (cf. 36:12) is traditionally translated “[preserve] his life from perish-ing by the sword” (NIV), but it can also be translated as “from crossing the River” (see NIV note), which may refer to the river of death — that is, preserve him from death.
Messengers of death (33:22). “Pit” is parallel with “death” in this verse (cf. side-bar on “Death” at 18:13), but the NIV’s “messengers” does not occur in the Hebrew text. In Mesopotamian mythology, however, Namtar was the “messenger” of the under-world goddess Ereshkigal.
Angel . . . as a mediator (33:23). The text refers to “one [angel] out of a thousand”; note Daniel 7:10, which has “thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times
River of DeathA-70
In the ancient world it was believed that the border of the underworld was marked by a river, that the dead had to cross this “river of death” by boat, and that they had to pay a ferryman. This is the river Styx of classical mythology and the deified Hubur in Mesopotamia.A-71
In the Gilgamesh Epic the “Waters of Death” are crossed with the help of the ferryman Ur-shanabi,A-72 and in the Babylonian Theodicy mention is made of the river of the dead.A-73 Bitumen boats found in royal tombs at Ur may be related to this belief.A-74 Models of boats found in tombs and full-scale boats bur-ied next to the pyramids reflect Egyptian
beliefs. The deceased traveled to Abydos and used boats in the underworld.A-75 A Ugaritic word related to the Hebrew word ša mlah≥ in Job 33:18 (NIV “sword”) is used for the deified river.
The place where the underworld god Mot (Death) dwells is called “watery.”A-76 Such a deity occurs in Phoenician personal names, and one name may even be linked with the Egyptian underworld god Osiris.
Detail from the fl oor of one of
the coffi ns of Gua, chief physi-cian of Djehuty-hotep, governor
of Bersha. The paintings recall
the “Book of Two Ways,” the mod-ern name for the map and accom-panying texts of the passage past the obstacles of
the afterlife. The path of the river (across the top)
goes through the inner heavens
and the path by land (winding
black path) goes through the outer
heavens. The river of fi re runs between them.
Werner Forman Archive/The Egyp-tian Museum, Cairo
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ten thousand.” In the past this angel has been interpreted as referring to a guardian angel (cf. Ps. 91:11) or an interceding saint, while others took it as the Mesopotamian idea of the personal god who acted on behalf of the mortal in the divine assembly.293 The angel here (cf. 1:6; 4:18 and the sidebar on “Angels and Messengers” at 4:18) is merely an advocate or defense attorney who acts on his behalf and pleads his case as a mediator.
Renewed . . . restored as in the days of youth (33:25). Restored youth and physical regeneration have always been the wish of humankind. In the Gilgamesh Epic the hero receives a magical plant called “Old Man Grown Young,” the plant of regeneration, but he loses it to a snake.294
Songs in the night (35:10). Because the night295 was a time of danger and feared by ancient people (cf. 4:13; 33:15; Ps. 77:6; 91:5), such songs296 served the purpose of calming the distressed. In 38:7 the morning stars sing. Some commentators read “gives strength in the night.”297
Bound in chains (36:8). See comment on 12:18.
Perish by the sword (36:12). See the NIV
note here, “will cross the River” (see com-ment on 33:18).
Male prostitutes (36:14). The Hebrew qede mšîm need not be translated as in NIV by “male prostitutes” or be understood as homo-sexuals or perverts. The existence of the insti-tution of “sacred prostitution” with its class of “sacred prostitutes” — where sacred personnel
took part in rites that included sexual acts to strengthen the fertil-ity of the land — have been rejected by recent scholarship. The Job text is in general too difficult to understand and is best left untrans-lated.298
Fills his hands with lightning (36:32). As in Habakkuk 3:4 – 6, God appears as the bringer of lightning and thunder (cf. Job 36:29; 37:3 – 5, 11, 15). Thun-der gods are shown in the ancient Near East brandishing thunder-bolts and lightning in a menacing way as a gesture of absolute power.299 The god Baal carries lightning when he goes to the realm of the under-world god Mot. Else-where he is described as enthroned, holding lightning.300
He thunders (37:4). The Lord is described as a thunder god in 36:29 – 38:1 (cf. 37:5; 40:9). In 38:1 (cf. 40:6) God answers Job out of the storm or perhaps the “whirlwind” (as
Thunder and Thunder GodsA-77
Thunder gods appeared in various mani-festations and forms as well as under different names in the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamia it was Ishkur and Adad (or Hadad), although Marduk also uses thunder and wind to defeat Tiamat.A-78 The Syro-Palestinian thunder god was called Baal (Ugarit and Phoenicia) or Hadad (esp. among the Arameans). In the Ugaritic
myths Baal was a thundererA-79 and carried the title “rider of the clouds.” The Egyptian god Seth was also a god of thunder. He was identified with Baal, and the name “Baal” in hieroglyphs was written with the Seth animal determinative. The Egyptian word for “thunder” is written with the Seth animal determinative.
Storm god Hadad mounted on a bullRama/Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the Louvre
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Jobin the vision of Ezek. 1). Ancient Near Eastern texts often refer to thunder as the manifestation of the power of deities in time of war (see 1 Sam. 7:10; cf. Ps. 18:14, 29, where the voice of God is compared to thunder and lightning.).301 In Ugarit the voice of Baal is synonymous to thunder, and he makes the earth shake.302
The skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze (37:18). It was thought that the sky was a solid dome or a flat roof. The idea of the sky as a metal dome appears in Persian cosmogonic texts.303 In the ancient Near East mirrors were not made of glass but were mostly beaten and polished bronze. Many such mirrors with a bronze reflecting surface are known, espe-cially from Egypt.304
The Lord Speaks (38:1 – 41:34)
Then the LORD answered (38:1). Divine speech in Job 38 has been compared with the Egyptian name lists or catalogues of things (Onomastica).305 These start with
heaven and the stars, deal with meteorological phenomena like rain and thunder, the earth and water, persons and their occupations, towns and buildings, land and products,
and end with parts of animals. This tradition is also known from Mesopotamia, where there are lists of trees, domestic and wild animals, birds and fish, and food
and drink;306 but the order in Job is closer to that of Egypt.
Where were you? (38:4). Whereas the emphasis in Job 9 was on Job as part of creation (cf. the sidebar on “Creation and World Pictures” at 9:7), chapter 38 empha-
sizes that God is the Creator and Job was not present at time of creation. In the Mesopota-mian poem to Erra, rhetorical questions are also used by the creator god Marduk.307
When I laid the earth’s foundation (38:4). Creation is described like the construction of a building, and the foundations and cor-nerstone are laid. The link between creation and building terminology is reflected in the ancient Near Eastern temple, which was seen
Bronze mirrorKim Walton, cour-
tesy of the Oriental Institute Museum
Approaching clouds in moun-
tains of LebanonJohn Monson
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as a reflection of the cosmos. The Egyptian temple, for example, had pillars in the form of plants, a roof decorated with stars represent-ing heaven, the shrine that represented the primeval hill of creation, and a sacred lake called the “divine pool.”308
Measuring line (38:5). The earth’s dimensions are marked off by extending a measuring line (cf. comments on 26:10). Marduk measured and found the area for building his temple.309 In ancient Near East-ern art, deities are often depicted holding a measuring rod and line as symbols of author-ity, because they are builders of temples, palaces, and kingdoms.310
Morning stars sang together . . . angels shouted (38:7). The stars singing together at creation are here divine beings, who are used parallel with “sons of the gods” (NIV
“angels” — cf. comment on 1:6), as in a Ugaritic text, where “sons of El/the gods” occurs par-allel with “assembly of the stars.”311
Shut up the sea (38:8). The battle with and control of the sea312 as a symbol of chaos (see the sidebar on “The Cosmic Battle with Chaos” at 41:1) is typical of ancient Near Eastern and Old Testament cosmogonies (see also 7:12, 9:8, 13, 26:12; Ps. 65:7; 74:12ff.; Prov. 8:29; Isa. 51:10). In the Babylonian cre-ation epic Enuma Elish (4:139 – 40) it is said that Marduk, after smashing Tiamat, assigns watchmen and orders them not to let her waters escape.313 The image of a baby is used
in Job 38:8 – 11, as described by Habel as “born from a womb, wrapped in baby clothes, placed in a playpen, and told to stay in its place.”314
Morning dawn (38:12). Dawn (šah≥ar)315 is personified as in Psalm 57:8 and 108:2, where it is woken up. In Ugaritic literature Shahar is
Ugaritic text: Birth of the Gra-cious Gods (Dawn and Dusk) Rama/Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the Louvre
Morning Light versus the Darkness of Night
The symbolism of light (the sun) versus darkness was common in the ancient Near East.A-80 The sun is not mentioned as such in Job 38, but it is a symbol of righ teous ness (Mal. 4:2). Darkness is a time of danger, but when light appears or the sun rises, then dangerous animals such as lions disperse (Ps. 104:20 – 22).
In the hymn of Pharaoh Akhenaten to the sundisk Aten, the rising of the sun
introduces life. Darkness is compared to death and night is a time when robbers, lions, and serpents harm people. When the Aten shines, darkness is dispelled and there is life.A-81 Ancient Near East-ern iconography shows the destruction of evil by the sun: When the sun rises, dangerous forces are dispersed and their arms are broken.A-82
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a deity, the child of El, who acts with other deities such as the sun goddess.316 In 41:18 it refers to the eyes of the Leviathan.
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal (38:14 – 15). The image of a seal pressed on clay is used (see sidebar on “Seals and
Sealing” at 14:17). In the same way as the
image on the clay stands out, the
earth takes shape in the growing light and the landscape becomes clearer. When the light appears, the wicked are denied light and the upraised arm is broken (v. 15); this is the time of the manifestation of God’s power, as was common in the ancient Near East.317
Gates of death (38:17). Death (ma mwet; see sidebar on “Death and Sheol” at 7:9) has gates like Sheol in 17:16; so does “the shadow of death” (s≥alma mwet — another word for death (cf. 24:17). Mesopotamian descriptions of the underworld tell about the seven gates, and there is even a divine gatekeeper.318
Who fathers the drops of dew? (38:28). Does the rain have a father? According to Ugaritic mythology, Baal had three daugh-ters; the third one’s name was Tallay, mean-ing “dew,” or even better, “dewy.”319
Count the clouds . . . tip over the water jars of the heavens (38:37). An enamel
StarsA-83
Stars and the worship of stars were important in ancient Near Eastern cul-ture (cf. Deut. 4:19; 2 Kings 17:16). God made the stars (Gen. 1:16). Stars were worshiped as deities (Jer. 8:2), but this is rejected by the Old Testament (Amos 5:26). They played an important role in predict-ing the future (Isa. 47:13).
Mesopotamian constel-lations included: animal figures such as a goat (= Lyra) and snake (= Hydra); objects such as an arrow (= Sirius) and a wagon (= Big Dipper); and char-acters such as Anu (= Orion).A-84 The most popular of the con-stellations was Pleiades. Neo-Assyrian texts preserve sketches of stars in constellations.A-85 A
prayer to the gods of the night from about 1700 B.C. invokes the constellations by name, calling on them to give answers to the diviner seeking an omen.A-86 The first constellation mentioned in this verse is uncertain. Leo and Ursa Major are the two prime candidates.A-87
tile (with color glaze) from the time of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta II (888 B.C.) shows a god (Ashur?) in a winged sundisk with drawn bow, with stylized rain and hail hanging in “bags” or water containers (RSV
waterskins), as in Job, on the sides.320
Clods of earth (38:38). Regions like Syria and Palestine, where there are no large rivers as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, are dependent on rain, without which the earth becomes dry and the clods of earth literally stick together. This idea is known from the myths of Ugarit, where when Baal is dead, the furrows of the fields are dried up.321
The wild donkey (39:5 – 8). The don-key/ass or onager can be differentiated from the horse because of the much shorter tail of the donkey, the shorter standing mane, and the typical larger ears.322 Here the donkey is not the dumb and lazy animal of the popu-lar Western image but a symbol of the wild, for it cannot be tamed (v. 7; cf. Gen. 16:12; Isa. 32:14; Jer. 2:24; 14:6). Assyrian reliefs depict the hunting of such wild donkeys.323
People who break treaties are cursed to roam the desert like the wild ass, the desert sym-bolizing the periphery of civilization.324
The wild ox (39:9 – 12). This is a strong animal and difficult to tame (cf. Deut. 33:17; Ps. 92:10). In the Ugaritic texts the goddess Astarte hunts a bull, as did the Assyrian kings.325 Ox-hunting is also depicted on Assyrian reliefs, and a beautiful golden dish from Ugarit shows a king in his chariot hunt-ing wild bulls.326
The ostrich (39:13 – 18). The behav-ior of this running but not flying bird has always fascinated humans. It flaps its wings joyfully, and ancient people thought that the ostrich leaves its young after laying the eggs out of cruelty (cf. Lam. 4:3: “heartless like ostriches”). An ostrich egg is the size of twenty-four chicken eggs. The ostrich “laughs at horse and rider” (v. 18); this ani-mal can outrun a horse, as already observed by Xenophon.327 Ostriches are depicted in Egyptian paintings, and the ostrich feather was the symbol of the goddess Maat. Tut-ankhamen is shown hunting ostriches, and an Assyrian hero pursues an ostrich.328
The horse (39:19 – 25). The horse was a war animal used for carrying a quiver, spear,
AnimalsA-88
In the ancient Near East the names of animals are often listed. The list of ani-mals in Job starts with the “king of the animal kingdom,” the lion (panthera leo, 38:39 – 40), followed by the raven (corvidae, 38:41). The mountain goat or ibex (39:1 – 3) is the capra nubiana; the doe belongs to the cervidae. The
wild donkey (39:4 – 8) is the Syrian wild ass, equus hemionus, and the wild ox (39:9 – 12) is the bos primigenius. Next come the ostrich (39:13 – 18), the struthio camelus, the horse (39:19 – 25) or equus caballus, and finally the hawk (accipiter) and eagle (aquila) (39:26 – 29).
Gold plate from Ugarit depicts a hunting scene featuring wild bulls. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, cour-tesy of the Louvre
war animal used for carrying a quiver, spear, bulls. Erich LLeResourrctesy off t
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and lance; it was familiar with the scent and cry of battle.329 Horses were used to pull chariots; riding came later. Assyrian reliefs show soldiers on horseback, but cavalry was applied on a large scale only by Alexander the Great, the Scythians, and the Parthians. In verse 20 the horse leaps like a locust, and in Joel 2:4 locusts are compared to running horses (cf. Rev. 9:7).
The hawk . . . the eagle (39:26 – 29). The last two animals described are birds of prey and large meat eaters. They have mighty wings (v. 26) extending two meters (more than six feet) in length. The young birds drink blood and, like vultures, eat corpses on the battlefield (cf. Matt. 24:28).
The thrust of the argument here is this: Does Job know how animals hunt and give birth and where their strength and movement come from? Only God as Lord-of-Animals can control them. But as Lord-of-Animals (related to šadday; see sidebar on “Almighty [šadday] and Other Divine Names” at 5:7), he does not destroy the ani-
mals but takes care of them330 — even the lion is fed (38:39).
How can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth (40:4 – 5). Job refrains from answering such a powerful God by putting his hand on his mouth (cf. 21:5; 29:9). On a relief of the Persian king Darius I a Mede stands with his hand raised to his mouth as a gesture of respect in the presence of some-one greater than he.331
An arm like God’s (40:9). The arm (like the hand) can indicate power and strength, as in 22:8 (lit., “man of arm”; NIV “powerful man”). In Exodus 6:6 God saves Israel with an outstretched arm. In a letter from Ugarit the hands of the gods are strong like death, and in Mari a god’s hand destroys cattle and men.332 The visual representation of deities brandishing weapons in a menacing way also reflects the power of the arm.333
Clothe yourself in honor and majesty (40:10). God challenges Job to dress him-self in glory, which is ironic since only God can do this.334 God is clothed in splendor
Lord-of-AnimalsA-89
A motif common in ancient Near Eastern art is that of a figure hold-ing or controlling animals.A-90 On cylinder seals the figure grapples with lions, horned animals, and mythological beings. In later periods this motif even became part of royal ideology, iconography, and propa-ganda. Keel used ancient Near Eastern art to study Job 38 – 41 and argues that this idea lies behind Job, where God controls various animals, including the
mythological Leviathan and Behemoth of Job 40 – 41.A-91 An iconographic motif that occurs in Palestinian art is that of the “master-of-the-ostriches” — a figure grabbing ostriches as shown on seal-amulets.A-92
Cylinder seal fea-turing the lord of
the ostrichesWerner Forman
Archive/The British Museum
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and majesty (Ps. 104:1; cf. Job 37:22). The Mesopotamian deities had power or glamor, called melammu; divine statues in the ancient Near East were clothed and deities are represented covered in light or stars.335
Marduk “wore” the auras of seven gods, and the monsters of Tiamat were again “clad” with glories.336
Behemoth (40:15). The last two animals encountered in Job are the enigmatic Behe-moth (40:15 – 24) and the Leviathan (ch. 41). The million-dollar question that has been hotly debated and still intrigues read-ers and commentators alike is whether these are real and natural animals or metaphori-cal and symbolic animals, as the monsters and supernatural beings known from ancient Near Eastern mythology.
Related to this problem is whether they are two separate animals.337 Etymologically behe mmôt is the plural of the Hebrew word for “creature” (i.e., “the beast par excel-lence”);338 liwya mta mn is related to “twist, curl, coil, wreath, the circular,” linking it to a serpent-like creature.339 In some cases the Leviathan occurs with the other sea mon-ster, the tannin, in both the Old Testament and the Ugaritic texts.
There have been three interpretations for the Behemoth:340
• It is a natural animal, such as the hippo, elephant, or even a water buf-falo.341
• There is no Behemoth, but it is merely a creation of the book of Job.342
• It is a mythological being.343
Behemoth
According to later Jewish tradition, the Behemoth and Leviathan were created on the fifth day (2 Bar. 29:4; 4 Ezra 6:49 – 54). The word behe mmôt does not occur outside the Hebrew Bible.
John DayA-93 proposes that the Arish and Atik of El in the Ugaritic texts,A-94 which are smitten by Anat (like the sea
monster Tannin), are to be linked with the Behemoth. The link with the sea monster (and therefore Leviathan) may be clear, and Atik is called a calf, but Arish is not given bovine characteristics. Elsewhere Arish is in the sea and men-tioned with the other sea monster, the Tannin.A-95
Hippopotamus and Crocodile, traditionally associated with Behemoth and Leviathan, were commonly pictured in Egyptian reliefs such as this one from the tomb of Mereruka in Sakkara.Werner Forman Archive
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is realistic and compares well with what is known of the hippopotamus (hippopotamus amphibius) and the crocodile (crocodilus niloticus); for this reason the translations “hip-popotamus” (even “elephant”) for the Behe-moth and “crocodile” for the Leviathan have been proposed (cf. notes to NIV). The NIV has a tail on Behemoth in 40:17 (but see “pos-sibly trunk” in a text note, linking it with the elephant). Whereas the Behemoth is created by God (just as he created Job) and eats grass like an ox (40:15), the Leviathan spits fire (41:19), which surely makes it more than an ordinary animal. It also seems that the Behe-moth is a being separate from the Leviathan, but more difficult to describe and identify, because it is disputed whether Behemoth occurs in other parts of the Bible. The Behe-moth cannot be captured; only his Maker can approach him with his sword (40:19, 24).
Limbs like rods of iron (40:18). Egyp-tian texts refer to the god Seth, whose bones are like iron.344
Leviathan (41:1). Job 3:8 has already referred to the Leviathan as a cosmic mon-ster. In the Hebrew Bible the Leviathan345
is a mythological sea monster defeated by Yahweh, as in Psalm 74:13 – 14:
It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.
In Amos 9:3 Leviathan is a snake at the bottom of the sea and in Psalm 104:26 a mere plaything of the Lord. But in the future there will again be battle with the Leviathan (Isa. 27:1 — used parallel with the Tannin; see comment on Job 7:12). In Revelation 20:2 – 3 the ancient serpent, “who is the devil or Satan,” is thrown into the Abyss. The Leviathan in Job 41 may be a natural animal as he is described, and croco-
dile (also hippopotamus) hunting is well known from Egyptian paintings.346 Hippos also occurred on the Syrian coast and were hunted for their ivory, as is known from the art of Ugarit.347
However, because God is the only one that can control the Leviathan and Behe-moth, as argued by Job, they can only be supernatural and should best be understood against the mythological background of the book of Job.348 The Leviathan embod-ies cosmic evil par excellence,349 and the combination of these two animals is also important. The hippopotamus and croco-dile occur together as forces of chaos in Egyptian mythology, representing the god of confusion, Seth, who is defeated by the god Horus. This may indicate the mythologi-cal symbolism behind the texts.350
The seven-headed serpent Ltn (parallel with Yam, the chaotic ocean) is described in Ugaritic texts as being smitten by Baal:
When you smote Leviathan, the slippery serpent,
finish off the twisting serpent,close-coiling-with-seven-heads.351
Egyptian art depicts the defeat of the god Seth by Horus, and Palestinian seal-amulets show a “master-of-crocodiles.”352
Sight of him is overpowering (41:9).Leviathan is so powerful that his very appear-ance makes one lie low or fall to the ground (TEV). The idea of fear is known from ancient Near Eastern mythology. In the Babylonian creation epic the gods were powerless against the might of Tiamat.353 In Ugarit when the messengers of the sea god Yam appeared, the gods lowered their heads onto their knees.354
In verse 25 when the Leviathan rises, “the mighty” (lit., “gods”) are afraid of him and retreat. This recalls cases from the ancient Near East where deities become afraid. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the deities are afraid when the flood comes.355
Firebrands . . . sparks of fire (41:19). The Leviathan spits fire. In the Gilgamesh Epic the monster Huwawa’s speech is fire.356
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Job The Cosmic Battle with ChaosA-96
In the ancient Near East a central idea was that of the battle with a monster of chaos at creation, which is usually described as a serpent or a dragon. These monsters are known by names as Rahab (Job 9:13; 26:12; cf. Ps. 89:10 – 11; Isa. 51:9 – 10), Tannin (Job 7:12; cf. Isa. 51:9), and Leviathan (Job 3:8; cf. Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1) in the Old Testament. In many cases these beings are connected with the sea (Job 7:12; 26:12) as symbol of chaos (cf. also 38:8 – 11).
In the Babylonian creation myth (Enuma Elish), Marduk battles with the primeval monster Tiamat.A-97 The Hittite
storm god and the serpent Illuyanka are in conflict.A-98 In Syro-Palestinian mythology the weather god, Baal, slays LotanA-99 (Heb. Leviathan), and Anat claims to have destroyed various monsters.A-100 This idea is already found in the third-millennium Ebla and second-millennium Mari texts and is presumably of West Semitic origin.A-101 In iconogra-phy the battle between them is often depicted.A-102 In Palestine itself the visual image is found on seal amulets from the Late Bronze Age depicting a god slaying a serpent, and the slayer has been identi-fied as the god Baal-Seth.A-103
Artist rendition of LeviathanJonathan Walton
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Slingstones (41:28). Stones could be pro-jected in a slingshot (catapult) made from two cords with a pouch, as David used when he defeated Goliath (1 Sam. 17:49 – 50).357
This was not a primitive weapon and was still used by the Assyrian soldiers.
His undersides are jagged potsherds . . . like a threshing sledge (41:30). The pot-sherds are like the one used by Job in 2:8. The scales on the belly of the Leviathan leave marks like a threshing sledge — made of parallel boards with sharp stones — when it is dragged over the grain.358
Epilogue ( 42:1 – 17)
Repent in dust and ashes (42:6). Typical to ancient Israel, the idea of the link between honor and shame is at play here. Job hon-ors God and acknowledges his shame359
by repenting in dust and ashes, which are linked with mourning in 2:8, 12 (cf. sidebar on “Mourning” at 2:12).
The LORD made him prosperous again (42:10). The Ugaritic king Keret loses seven
sons, and he is promised seven, even eight, as with Job (who lost seven sons and three daughters); his calamity will be reversed.360
A piece of silver and a gold ring (42:11). The relatives and friends give Job money in the way that was custom-ary in ancient times before the days of coins and notes.361 “Piece of silver” is qes aît≥â; these are not coins but pieces of silver used in business transactions. Gold is depicted as rings in Egyptian art and worn as jewelery.362 Achan’s loot included a wedge of gold (Jos. 7:20 – 21).
The first daughter he named (42:14). Interestingly enough, the names of Job’s sons are not given, but only those of his daughters. The names of very beautiful daughters are Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch, meaning “dove,” “cas-sia,” and “horn of eye paint.” The NJB
translates these as “Turtledove, Cassia and Mascara” and the TOB363 as “Turtledove, Cinnamon Bloom and Eyeshadow.”364 Cas-sia is a variety of cinnamon used as perfume. The Keren (“horn”) in Keren-Happuch is a container used for eye make-up; in other texts the horn is used as a container for oil (1 Sam. 16:1).
Inheritance (42:15). That daughters inherited is not common in the Semitic world; according to Numbers 27, a daugh-ter only inherited when there was no son, whereas Job has seven sons. The inheritance by daughters does, however, occur in some cases, but it is rather additional inheritance to the normal dowry.365
Fourth generation (42:16). Job’s 140 years may be a doubling of the perfect num-ber of seventy years. Joseph reached an age of 110; in Egyptian texts this is the ideal age.366Joseph (Gen. 50:23) saw his grand-children to the third generation, Job to the fourth! The phrase “and so he died, old and full of years” (Job 42:17) is also used for Abraham, Isaac, and David (Gen. 25:8; 35:29; 1 Chr. 29:8).
Slinger on orthostat from
Tell HalafCaryn Reeder, cour-
tesy of the British Museum
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Andersen, F. I. Job. An Introduction and Com-mentary. TOTC. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1976. Excellent user-friendly com-mentary in a small book.
Beuken, W. A. M., ed.. The Book of Job. Col-loquium Biblicum Lovaniense 42. Leu-ven: Leuven Univ. Press, 1993. Collection of technical essays on Job by leading inter-national scholars.
Clines, D. J. A. Job 1 – 20. WBC 17. Dallas: Word, 1989. Job 21 – 37. WBC 18A. Nash-ville: Nelson, 2006. Best commentary on Job with detailed bibliographies; strong on philological and background notes.
Habel, N. The Book of Job. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985. Detailed commen-tary, strong on literary aspects and design of the book.
Hartley, J. E. The Book of Job. NICOT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991. Well-balanced commentary.
Janzen, J. G. Job. Interpretation. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985. Contemporary practi-cal commentary written in narrative style.
Newsom, C. A. “The Book of Job.” Pages 317 – 637 in vol. 4, The New Interpreter’s Bible: Introduction to Hebrew Poetry, Job, Psalms, 1 & 2 Maccabees. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996. Commentary based on the NIV and NRSV, which includes a close reading of the text.
Perdue, L. G., and W. C. Gilpin, eds. The Voice from the Whirlwind: Interpreting the Book of Job. Nashville: Abingdon, 1992. Collection of essays on various aspects of Job and associated problems.
Pope, M. H. Job. AB. New York: Doubleday, 1965. Older commentary with Pope’s own translation, but contains valuable (sometimes outdated) notes on the back-ground by an expert on Ugarit ic literature.
Reyburn, W. D. A Handbook on the Book of Job. New York: UBS, 1992. Exegetical information for translators, with some remarks on the background and some illustrations.
Bibliography
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Main Text Notes 1. J. L. Crenshaw, “Theodicy,” ABD, 6:444 – 47; U.
Berner, “Theodizee,” Handbuch religionswissen-schaftlicher Grundbegriffe, ed. H. Cancik et al. (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1988), 5:169 – 72; M. Green, “Theodicy,” Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. M. Eliade (New York: Macmillan, 1986), 14:438 – 41; J. Assmann, “Theology, Theodicy, Philosophy,” in Religions of the Ancient World, ed. S. I. Johnston (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 2004), 531 – 46; Theodicy in the World of the Bible, ed. A. Laato and J. C. de Moor (Leiden: Brill, 2003).
2. J. J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Min-neapolis: Fortress, 2004), 507.
3. Cf. translation in COS, 1.103: 343 – 56. For a pos-sible more southern link, such as in Galilee or the city of Udumu as Edom, cf. J. C. de Moor, “Theo-dicy in the Texts of Ugaritic,” in Theodicy, 117.
4. For the idea that the Job figure goes back to a Late Bronze Age ruler, cf. J. C. de Moor, “Ugarit and the Origin of Job,” in Ugarit and the Bible: Proceed-ings of the International Symposium on Ugarit and the Bible, ed. G. J. Brooke et al. (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1994), 246 – 57.
5. For more information see R. G. Albertson, “Job and Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature,” in Scripture in Context II, ed. W. W. Hallo, J. C. Moyer, and L. G. Perdue (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 213 – 30; D. P. Bricker, “Innocent Suffering in Mesopotamia,” TynBul 51 (2000): 193 – 214; idem, “Innocent Suffering in Egypt,” TynBul 52 (2001): 83 – 100; G. L. Mat-tingly, “The Pious Sufferer: Mesopotamia’s Tra-ditional Theodicy and Job’s Counselors,” in The Bible in the Light of Cuneiform Literature, Scripture in Context III, ed. W. W. Hallo, B. W. Jones, and G. L. Mattingly (Lewiston, N.Y.: Mellen, 1990), 305 – 48; D. Sitzler, Vorwurf gegen Gott: Ein religiöses Motiv im alten Orient (Ägypten und Mes-opotamien) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1995); K. van der Toorn, “Theodicy in Akkadian Litera-ture,” in Theodicy, 57 – 89; J. H. Walton, AncientIsraelite Literature in Its Cultural Context (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 170 – 71, 179 – 87; M. Weinfeld, “Job and Its Mesopotamian Paral-lels — A Typological Analysis,” in Text and Con-text: Old Testament and Semitic Studies for F. C. Fensham, ed. W. Claassen (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1988), 217 – 26.
6. COS, 3.146: 321 – 25; Loprieno, in Theodicy, 36 – 37, and V. H. Matthews and D. C. Benjamin, Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East (New York: Paulist, 1991), 206.
7. Assmann, “Theology,” 532. 8. For the tradition in Ugarit cf. COS, 1.152: 486.
Although not a “theodicy”, the Ugaritic epic of King Keret (CAT, 1.14:I:7 – 25 = COS, 1.102: 333) also deals with a just king who lost his fam-ily; see M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, “Keret, der
leidende ‘König der Gerechtigkeit,’ ” UF 31 (1999): 133 – 64; O. Loretz, Götter, Ahnen, Könige als gerechte Richter: Der “Rechtsfall” des Menschen vor Gott nach altorientalischen und bib-lischen Texten (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2003), ch. 6. For other comparisons with Ugaritic litera-ture, cf. de Moor, “Ugarit.”
17. COS, 1.102: 335; cf. Matthews and Benjamin, Parallels, 201.
18. Cf. J.-M. Dentzer, Le motif du banquet couché dans le Proche-Orient et le monde grec du VIIe au IVe siècle avant J.-C. (Rome: École française de Rome, 1982); R. Gyselen, ed., Banquets d’Orient (Bures-sur-Yvette: Group pour l’Étude de la Civilisation du Moyen-Orient, 1992); for Egypt see S. Ikram, “Banquet”, OEAE, 1:162 – 64.
19. ANEP, 304, 679. 20. CAT, 1.17:I:1 – 13 = COS, 1.103: 343 – 44. 21. D. Kellerman, “hl;[ø,” TDOT, 11:96 – 113; R. E.
Averbeck, “hl;[ø I,” NIDOTTE, 3:405 – 15. 22. Photo in R. Amiran, “Arad,” NEAEHL2, 1:79; O.
Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1997), Pl. XI.
23. C. A. Newsom, “Angels,” ABD, 1:248 – 53; S. A. Meier, “Angel” DDD, 45 – 50; S. B. Parker, “Sons of (the) God(s),” DDD, 794 – 800, esp. 797 – 98; W. Schlisske, Gottessöhne und Gottessohn im Alten Testament (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1973); H. Haag, “ˆBe,” TDOT, 2:157 – 58. For reading it as a family metaphor, cf. Nielsen, Satan, 83 – 89.
= COS, 1.86: 258a; cf. S. B. Parker, “Council,” DDD, 204 – 8; L. K. Handy, “The Authorization of Divine Power and the Guilt of God in the Book of Job: Useful Ugaritic Parallels,” JSOT 60 (1993): 107 – 18; idem, Among the Host of Heaven (Win-ona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1994); T. Mullen, The Divine Council in Canaanite and Early Hebrew Literature (HSM 24; Chico: Scholars Press, 1980); M. Tsevat, “God and the Gods in Assem-bly. An Interpretation of Psalm 82,” in The Mean-ing of the Book of Job and Other Biblical Studies(New York: Ktav, 1980), 131 – 48.
27. R. N. Whybray, “The Immorality of God: Reflec-tions on Some Passages in Genesis, Job, Exodus and Numbers,” JSOT 72 (1996): 89 – 120.
CHAPTER NOTES
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303
Job 28. COS, 2.27: 142b. 29. Haag, “ˆBe,” TDOT, 2:157 – 58. 30. M. I. Gruber, Aspects of Nonverbal Communica-
tion in the Ancient Near East (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1980), 149 – 50.
31. Keel, Symbolism, figs. 239, 285 – 86, 414; M. Haussperger, Die Einführungsszene: Entwicklung eines mesopotamischen Motivs von der altakkadis-chen bis zum Ende der altbabylonischen Zeit(München: Profil-Verlag, 1991).
32. M. Görg, “Der ‘Satan’ — der ‘Vollstrecker’ Gottes?” BN 82 (1996): 9 – 12.
33. COS, 1.132: 460. 34. I. Eph<al, The Ancient Arabs (Jerusalem: Magnes,
1982), 8 8 – 89, 227 – 29. 35. T. J. Meek, “Archaeology and a Point in Hebrew
Syntax,” BASOR 122 (1951): 31 – 33. 36. ANEP, 367. 37. J. A. Naudé, “vae,” NIDOTTE, 1:534; S. Paul,
Amos (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991), 48 – 49; TDOT, J. Bergman, J. Krecher, and V. Hamp, “ vae,” 1 :418 – 28 (425).
38. CAD, 7:229; S. Parpola, Assyrian Prophecies(Helsinki: Helsinki Univ. Press, 1997), 24; M. Weinfeld, “Divine Intervention in War in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East,” in History, Historiography and Interpretation, ed. H. Tadmor and M. Weinfeld (Leiden: Brill, 1986), 132, 140.
39. R. S. Hess, “Chaldea,” ABD, 1:886 – 87; J. A. Brinkman, A Political History of Post-Kassite Bab-ylonia 1158 – 722 B.C. (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1968), 260 – 67; W. Orthmann, “Kaldu”, RlA, 5:291 – 97; A. L. Oppenheim, “Chaldea,” IDB, 1 :549 – 50.
40. COS, 1.132: 460b. 41. G. A. Anderson, A Time to Mourn, a Time to
Dance: The Expression of Grief and Joy in Israelite Religion (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 1991); Gruber, Aspects, 464 – 76; X. H. T. Pham, Mourning in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible (Sheffield: Sheffield Aca-demic Press, 1999), 24 – 25.
esp. 263 – 64. 55. Pham, Mourning, 29. 56. COS, 1.113: 414a. For reading Job’s situation as
depression cf. F. T. de Villiers, “Symptoms of Depression in Job — A Note on Psychological Exegesis,” OTE 17/1 (2004): 9 – 14.
57. P. Miller, They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994), 10 – 13.
58. T. J. Lewis, “CT 13.33 – 34 and Ezekiel 32: Lion-Dragon Myths,” JAOS 116 (1996): 23.
59. Cf. D. Cox, “The Desire for Oblivion in Job 3,” SBFLA 23 (1973): 37 – 49; M. Fishbane, “Jer. 4 and Job 3: A Recovered Use of the Creation Pat-tern,” VT 21 (1971): 151 – 67; Nielsen, Satan, 61 – 63.
60. H. Lutzmann et al., “Ëv/j;,” TDOT, 5:245 – 59. 61. CAT, 1.17:6:28 – 29; COS, 1.103: 347a. 62. J. C. VanderKam, “Calendars,” ABD, 1:810 – 20;
A. J. Spalinger, “Calendars,” OEAE, 1:224 – 27; H. Hunger, “Kalender,” RlA 5:297 – 303; F. Roch-berg, “Astronomy and Calendars in Ancient Mesopotamia,” CANE, 1925 – 40.
63. H. te Velde, Seth: The God of Confusion (Leiden: Brill, 1977), 67.
64. A. Loprieno, “Theodicy in Ancient Egyptian Texts,” in Theodicy, 34; R. A. Wells, “Horo-scopes,” OEAE, 2:117 – 19.
65. T. C. Vriezen, “Hemerologien,” JEOL 6 (1939): 119. Cf. R. Labat, “Hemerologien,” RlA, 4:317 – 23; A. Livingstone, “Menologien,” RlA, 8:59 – 60.
66. C. H. Gordon, “Leviathan: Symbol of Evil,” in Biblical Motifs: Origins and Transformations, ed. A. Altmann (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1966); C. Uehlinger, “Leviathan,” DDD, 511 – 15; E. Lipin aski, “ˆt;y:w“li,” TDOT, 7:504 – 9.
67. Uehlinger, “Leviathan,” 514. 68. G. Vall, “The Enigma of Job 1,21a,” Bib 76 (1995):
325 – 42. 69. O. Keel, “The Peculiar Headrests for the Dead in
First Temple Times,” BAR 12/4 (1987): 50 – 53; Keel and Uehlinger, Gods, 367 with figs. 356 – 57b.
70. Gaster, Myth, 788. 71. M. Nissinen, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient
Near East (Atlanta: SBL, 2003), 18 – 19. 72. ANEP, 545; Keel, Symbolism, figs. 265, 341 – 42;
F. J. Yurco, “Mother and Child Imagery in Egypt and Its Influence on Chris tian ity,” in Egypt in Africa, ed. T. Celenko (Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1996), 43 – 45.
73. F. Tiradritti, ed., Egyptian Treasures from the Egyp-tian Museum in Cairo (New York: Abrams, 1999), 96.
Job 78. COS, 1.154: 493b. 79. J. J. M. Roberts, “The Young Lions of Psalm 34,
11,” Bib 54 (1973): 265 – 67. 80. COS, 1.153: 487b. 81. A. Jepsen, “hz:j;,” TDOT, 4:280 – 90; S. A. Butler,
Mesopotamian Conceptions of Dreams and Dream Rituals (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1998); J.-M. Husser, Dreams and Dream Narratives in the Bib-lical World (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), esp. 155 – 64. On sleep cf. T. H. McAlpine, Sleep, Divine and Human in the Old Testament(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1987).
82. COS, 1.93: 293 – 94. 83. COS, 2.27: 142a. 84. ANET, 109 – 10; cf. S. M. Paul, “Job 4:15: A Hair-
Raising Encounter,” ZAW 95 (1983): 119 – 21. 85. Gilgamesh 4:15 – 25 and 7:165 – 255 = A. George,
The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Sumerian and Akkadian (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999), 30 – 31, 59 – 62.
86. COS, 1.153: 487b. 87. Ibid. 88. S. B. Parker, “Saints,” DDD, 718 – 20 (esp. 719);
H. Ringgren, “vdq,” TDOT, 12:541. 89. T. H. Blomquist, Gates and Gods: Cults in the City
Gates of Iron Age Palestine; An Investigation of the Archaeological and Biblical Sources (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1999); C. H. J. de Geus, Towns in Ancient Israel and in the Southern Levant(Leuven: Peeters, 2003), 28 – 39, esp. 34; E. Otto, “r[/v/,” TWAT, 8:358 – 403.
90. ANET, 429. 91. I. Cornelius, The Iconography of the Canaanite
Gods Reshef and Ba<al c. 1500 – 1000 B.C.E. (OBO 140; Freiburg Schweiz: Universitätsverlag; Göt-tingen: Vanderhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), Pl. C; cf. P. Xella, “Resheph,” DDD, 700 – 703; H. Niehr, “Zur Entstehung von Dämonen in der Religionsgeschichte Israels: Überlegungen zum Weg des Rešep durch die nordwestsemitische Religionsgeschichte,” in Die Dämonen/Demons, ed. A. Lange, H. Lichtenberger, and K. F. D. Römheld (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 84 – 107; M. J. Mulder, “πv,r,,” TDOT, 14:10 – 16.
92. CAT, 1.82. 93. On labor in the ancient Near East cf. R. Englund,
“Hard Work — Where Will It Get You?” JNES 50 (1991): 255 – 80; M. A. Powell, ed., Labor in the Ancient Near East (New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1987); H. Ringgren, “ [b;x;,” TDOT, 12:211 – 15, esp. 214; D. Warburton, “Working,” Companion, ch. 12; A. M. Roth, “Work Force,” OEAE, 3:519 – 24.
94. COS, 1.130: 450 – 51. 95. P. A. Krüger, “On Emotions and the Expression
of Emotions in the Old Testament: A Few Intro-ductory Remarks,” BZ 48 (2004): 224 – 25; M. Stol, “Psychosomatic Suffering in Ancient Meso-potamia,” in Mesopotamian Magic, ed. T. Abusch and K. van der Toorn (Groningen: Styx, 1999), 65.
96. Abusch, “Request,” 38. 97. Clines, Job, 185.
98. P. J. King and L. E. Stager, Life in Biblical Israel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001), 153 – 55, illus. 76.
99. ANET, 106 = COS, 1.108: 381a. 100. E. R. Follis, “Sea,” ABD, 5:1058 – 59; F. Stolz,
1.86: 252a, 273b; N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 368 – 69.
104. D. A. Diewert, “Job 7:12: YAM, TANNIN and the Surveillance of Job,” JBL 106 (1987): 203 – 15.
105. ANEP, 109; B. F. Harris, “Papyri,” IBD, 2:1144 – 45; B. Leach and J. Tait, “Papyrus,” OEAE, 3:22 – 24; “Practical Papyrus,” Archaeol-ogy Odyssey 8/1 (2005): 56; Fauna and Flora of the Bible (New York: UBS, 1972), 125, 171 – 72; M. Zohary, Pflanzen der Bibel (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1982), 137.
106. M. B. Dick, “The Legal Metaphor in Job 31,” CBQ 41 (1979): 37 – 50; Habel, Job, 54 – 57; G. W. Harrison, “Legal Terms in Job,” Biblical Illus-trator 13 (Spring 1987): 13 – 15; Nielsen, Satan, 71 – 79; J. J. M. Roberts, “Job and the Israelite Religious Tradition,” ZAW 89 (1977): 107 – 14; idem, “Job’s Summons to Yahweh: The Exploita-tion of a Legal Metaphor,” RestQ 16 (1973): 159 – 65. See also M. F. Rachel, The Scales of Righ teous ness: Neo-Babylonian Trial Law and the Book of Job (BJS 348; Providence, R.I.: Brown Judaic Studies, 2007).
107. CAD, D: 151 – 52, 155 – 56; Dick, “Legal,” 49; A. Gamper, Gott als Richter in Mesopotamien und im Alten Testament (Innsbrück: Universitätsverlag Wagner, 1966).
108. I. Cornelius, “The Visual Representation of the World in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible,” JNSL 20 (1994): 198, 201 with fig. 4.
109. N. Habel, “He Who Stretches out the Heavens,” CBQ 34 (1972): 421 – 22.
110. COS, 1.111: 397a, 398b – 99. 111. CAT, 1.2 = COS, 1.86: 245 – 49. Cf. also the side-
bar “The Cosmic Battle with Chaos” at 41:1. 112. Amos 4:13; Mic. 1:3. Cf. for the Baal stela, see
ANEP, 490; Cornelius, Iconography, 136 with Pl. 32:BR1; Keel, Symbolism, fig. 291; for Baal tread-ing over mountains cf. M. Dijkstra, “The Weath-er-God on Two Mountains,” UF 23 (1991): 127 – 40.
113. W. Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography(Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1998), 146 – 47, 170.
114. For illustrations cf. Reyburn, Job, 781 – 83. On astronomy see F. Rochberg-Halton, “Astrology in the Ancient Near East,” ABD, 1:504 – 7; M. Alani, “ ‘Der das Siebengestirn und den Orion macht’ (Am 5,8): Zur Bedeutung der Pleijaden in der isra-elitischen Religionsgeschichte,” in Religionsge-
0310255775_13_Job.indd 304 6/23/09 10:46:28 AM
305
Jobschichte Israels: Formale und materiale Aspekte, ed. B. Janowski and M. Köchert (Gütersloh: Kaiser, 1999), 139 – 241; R. A. Wells, “Astrology” and “Astronomy,” OEAE, 1:142 – 44, 145 – 51; T. Bar-ton, Ancient Astrology (London: Routledge, 1994); D. Brown, Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology (Groningen: Styx, 2000); B. Halpern, “Assyrian and Pre-Socratic Astronomies and the Location of the Book of Job,” in Kein Land für sich allein, ed. U. Hübner and E. A. Knauf (Freiburg: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vanderhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002), 255 – 64; H. Hunger and D. Pin-gree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (Leiden: Brill, 1989); U. Koch-Westenholz, Mesopotamian Astrol-ogy: An Introduction to Babylonian and Assyrian Celestial Divination (Copenhagen: Museum Tus-culanum Press, 1995); Horowitz, Geography; S. Noegel et al., ed., Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique W orld (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2003); G. Robins, “Mathematics, Astronomy, and Calendars in Pharaonic Egypt,” CANE, 1799 – 813; F. Roch-berg, “Astronomy and Calendars in Ancient Meso-potamia,” CANE, 1925 – 40; idem, “Cosmology,” 326 – 29; idem, The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Cul-ture (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004); F. Lelli, “Stars,” DDD, 809 – 15; I. Zatelli, “Astrol-ogy and the Worship of the Stars in the Bible,” ZAW 103 (1991): 86 – 99.
115. J. Day, “Rahab,” ABD, 5:610 – 11; K. Spronk, “Rahab,” DDD, 684 – 86; U. Rüterswörden, “bh/r;,” TDOT, 13:351 – 57, esp. 355 – 56.
116. S. M. Paul, “An Unrecognized Medical Idiom in Canticles 6,12 and Job 9,21,” Bib 59 (1978): 545 – 47.
117. Tablet V: 10 = COS, 1.113: 415; cf. P. E. Dion, “Formulaic Language in the Book of Job: Interna-tional Background and Ironical Distortions,” Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses 16 (1987): 187 – 93.
118. A. M. J. Tooley, “Models,” OEAE, 2:426 – 27 with ANEP, 109; Taylor, Death, 103 – 5.
119. CAT, 1.18:IV:18 – 36 = COS, 1.102: 349b – 50a. On connecting this with falconry cf. W. G. E. Watson, “The Falcon Episode in the Aqhat Tale,” JNSL 5 (1977): 71 – 72; cf. also J. V. Canby, “Fal-conry (Hawking) in Hittite Lands,” JNES 61/3 (2002): 161 – 201.
121. Cf. D. J. Moo, “Romans,” in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, ed. C. E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 3:59 – 60.
122. ANEP, 569; Keel, Symbolism, fig. 334. 123. M. Lichtheim, Moral Values in Ancient Egypt (Fri-
bourg: Fribourg Univ. Press, 1997), 40. 124. Tablet 1:101 – 4 = George, Gilgamesh, 5. 125. COS, 1.154: 495a. 126. CAT, 1.16:V:30 = COS, 1.102: 341b. 127. COS, 1.130: 451a. 128. On the use of clay in Mesopotamia cf. T. Abusch,
“Ghost and God: Some Observations on a Baby-
lonian Understanding of Human Nature,” in Self, Soul and Body in Religious Experience, ed. A. Baumgarten, J. Assmann, and G. Stroumsa (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 363 – 83.
129. R. Amiran, Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land(Camden, N.J.: Rutgers Univ. Press, 1970), 33 – 34; T. E. Levy and D. Alon, “Gilat,” NEAEHL, 514. On the lady as a “goddess,” cf. B. Margalit, “The History of El (ca. 3500 – 500 B.C.E.),” Amurru 3 (2004): 369 – 71.
130. J. Romer, Ancient Lives (London: Weidenfeld & Nicols, 1984), fig. 4.
131. CAT, 1.3:III:24 – 25 = COS, 1.86: 251b. 132. The Egyptian underworld, in Heb. še,ôl. 133. COS, 1.16: 25b 134. Gruber, Aspects, 25 – 50; M. I. Bruber, “Gestures,”
HBD, 341; H. Ringgren, “cr/P;,” TDOT, 12:123. 135. Gruber, Aspects, 50 – 89; S. Langdon, “Gesture in
Sumerian and Babylonian Prayer,” JRAS 50 (1919): 531 – 56; A. Parrot, “Gestes de la prière dans le monde mésopotamien,” in Maqqel Shâqédh: Hommage à Wilhelm Vischer (Montepel-lier: Causse, 1960), 177 – 80.
136. R. H. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art: A Hiero-glyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture (London: Thames & Hudson, 1992), 28 – 29.
139. COS, 2.35: 155a. 140. P. R. Ackroyd, “dy:,” TDOT, 5:414. 141. K. van der Toorn, “Israelite Figurines: A View
from the Texts,” in Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, ed. B. M. Gittlen (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 45 – 70.
142. P. R. S. Moorey, Idols of the People: Miniature Images of Clay in the Ancient Near East (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003); O. Negbi, Canaanite Gods in Metal (Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology, 1976).
143. ANEP, 332, 358; Keel, Symbolism, figs. 321, 316, 315.
144. A. Baumann, “hb;K;,” TDOT, 7:27; D. R. Edwards, “Dress and Ornamentation,” ABD, 2:232 – 38. On the symbolism of clothing cf. S. Rummel, “Clothes Maketh the Man — An Insight from Ancient Ugarit,” BAR 2 (May – June, 1976): 6 – 8; V. H. Matthews, “The Anthropology of Clothing in the Joseph Narrative,” JSOT 65 (1995): 25 – 36. Cf. literature under 29:14.
145. ANEP, 305, 332; I. Cornelius, “The Iconography of Divine War in the Pre-Islamic Near East: A Survey,” JNSL 21/1 (1995): fig. 13; S. Mittmann, “Die ‘Handschelle’ der Philister,” in Fontes Atque Pontes. Eine Festgabe für Hellmut Brunner (Wies-baden: Harrassowitz, 1983), 327 – 34.
146. Pope, Job, 99. 147. H. Ringgren, “vp,n<,” TDOT, 11:512. 148. S. E. Balentine, The Hidden God: The Hiding of
the Face of God in the Old Testament (London:
0310255775_13_Job.indd 305 6/23/09 10:46:28 AM
306
JobOxford Univ. Press, 1983); F. Hartenstein, Das “Angesicht JHWH”: Studien zu seinem höfischen und kultischen Bedeutungshintergrund in den Psal-men und in Exodus 32 – 34 (Habilitationschrift; Philipps-Universität Marburg, 2000); J. S. Bur-nett, “The Question of Divine Absence in Isra-elite and West Semitic Religion,” CBQ 67 (2005): 215 – 35.
149. These are not “stocks,” i.e., wooden blocks in which a prisoner’s feet were locked as in Rey-mond, Job, 263, because such a custom is unknown in the ancient Near East.
150. I. Mendelsohn, Slavery in the Ancient Near East(Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1949), 42 – 50.
152. Tablet 10 = ANET, 90. Cf. T. Abusch, “Gil-gamesh’s Request and Siduri’s Denial,” in The Tablet and the Scroll: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of William W. Hallo, ed. M. E. Cohen et al. (Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 1993), 1 – 14. This is rem-iniscent of Eccl. 9:7 – 9; cf. K. van der Toorn, “Did Ecclesiastes Copy Gilgamesh? ” BRev 16/1 (2000): 22 – 30.
153. CAT, 1.17:VI:38 = COS, 1.103: 347b. 154. L. M. Muntingh, “Life, Death and Resurrection
in Job,” in Studies in the Pentateuch, ed. W. C. van Wyk (OTWSA 17 & 18 — Old Testament Essays; Pretoria: Dept. of Semitic Languages, 1976), 32 – 44.
155. Cf. Johnston, Sheol, 218 – 39; A. F. Segal, Life after Death: A History of the Afterlife in the Religions of the West (New York: Doubleday, 2004).
156. Pope, Job, 109 – 11. 157. M. P. Streck, “Oannes,” RlA, 10/1 – 2: 1 – 3. 158. J. c. Greenfield, “Apkallu,” DDD, 72 – 74; Black
and Green, Gods, 163; F. A. M. Wiggermann, “Theologies, Priests, and Worship in Ancient Mesopotamia,” CANE, 1865.
159. COS, 1.113: 408a. 160. Black and Green, Gods, 27. He is also known from
a myth, see COS, 1.129: 449. 161. COS, 1.54: 495a. 162. M. Barré, “ ‘Wandering about’ as a Topos of
Depression in Ancient Near Eastern Literature and in the Bible,” JNES 60/3 (2001): 177 – 87, esp. 187.
167. ANEP, 338; Cornelius, Iconography, Pl. 30: RM16.
168. B. Kedar-Kopstein, “ ˆr,q,,” TDOT, 13:173; M. L. Süring, The Horn-Motif in the Hebrew Bible and Related Ancient Near Eastern Literature and Ico-nography (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews Univ. Press, 1980), 433 – 35.
169. ANEP, 475, 490, 493, 498, 513 – 16, 529, 538. 170. G. A. Barrois, “Debt,” IDB, 1:809.
171. E. M. Meyers, “Secondary Burials in Palestine,” BA 33 (1970): 20 – 29; L. Y. Rahmani, “Jerusalem Tomb Monuments on Jewish Ossuaries,” IEJ 18 (1969): 222, Pl. 23.
172. C. H. J. de Geus, “Signum Ignis Signum Vitae: Lamps in Ancient Israelite Tombs,” Scripta Signa Vocis: Studies about Scripts, Scriptures, Scribes and Languages in the Near East, Presented to J.H. Hos-pers by his Pupils, Colleagues and Friends, ed. H. L. J. Vanstiphout et al. (Groningen: Forsten, 1986), 65 – 75; King and Stager, Life, 375; cf. E. Bloch-Smith, Judahite Burial Practices and Beliefs about the Dead (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992).
173. I. Cornelius and H. Niehr, Götter und Kulte in Ugarit: Kultur und Religion einer nordsyrischen Königsstadt der Spätbronzezeit (Mainz: von Zab-ern, 2004), 79 with figs. 127 and 135.
Hebrew God, 47 – 49; I. Winter, “After the Battle Is Over: The Stele of the Vultures and the Begin-ning of Historical Narrative in the Art of the Ancient Near East,” in Pictorial Narrative in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, ed. H. L. Kessler and M. S. Simpson (Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1985), 11 – 32; idem, “Eannatum and the ‘King of Kish’?: Another Look at the Stele of the Vultures and ‘Cartouches’ in Early Sumerian Art,” ZA 76 (1986): 206. On the divine net cf. also J.-G. Heintz, Le filet divin (Jerusalem, 1965); in Egypt see Keel, Symbolism, fig. 111.
190. Keel, Symbolism, 89. 191. COS, 1.111: 398 and 1.113: 412b. 192. M. van de Mieroop, King Hammurabi of Babylon
(Malden: Blackwell, 2005), 126 – 27. 193. Keel, Symbolism, 89. 194. Clines, Job, 445. 195. E. K Ritter and J. V. Kinnier-Wilson, “Prescrip-
tion for an Anxiety State: A Study of BAM 234,” Anatolian Studies 30 (1980): 23 – 30.
Job 199. ANEP, 335. 200. B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel (Lon-
don: SCM, 1962); W. Schottroff, “Gedenken” im Alten Orient und im Alten Testament (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1964); H. Eising, “ rk/z:,” TDOT, 4:64 – 82; cf. D. Bonatz, Das syro-hethitische Grabdenkmal: Untersuchungen zur Ent-stehung einer neuen Bildgattung in der Eisenzeit im nordsyrisch-südostanatolischen Raum (Mainz: Von Zabern, 2000); idem, “Mnemohistory in Syro-Hittite Iconography,” in Historiography in the Cuneiform World, ed. T. Abusch (Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 2001), 65 – 77.
201. CAT, 1.17:II:27 = COS, 1.103: 345a. 202. L. H. Lesko, “Death and Afterlife in Ancient
Egyptian Thought,” CANE, 1765. 203. For a detailed analysis cf. Clines, Job, 459 – 66;
also Johnston, Sheol, 209 – 14. 204. J. B. Curtis, “On Job’s Witness in Heaven,” JBL
6 – 9. 211. ANET, 201, 205. 212. Gruber, Aspects, 289. 213. ANEP, 695; M. P. Baudot, “Representations in
Glyptic Art of a Preserved Legend: Etana, the Shep-herd, Who Ascended to Heaven,” in Studia Paulo Naster Oblata II (Leuven: Peeters, 1982), 1 – 8.
214. COS, 2.82: 214a. 215. ANEP, 304, 332. 216. Keel and Uehlinger, Miniaturkunst, fig. 119. 217. D. M. Doxey, “Anubis,” OEAE, 1:97 – 98. 218. COS, 3.41: 77 – 78. 219. Allen, “World,” 28, fig. 2:2; Keel, Symbolism, fig.
33. 220. T. Dothan and I. Dunayevsky, “Tell Qasile,”
NEAEHL, 1206. 221. D. W. Baker, “Ophir,” ABD, 5:26 – 27. 222. K. H. Singer, Die Metalle Gold, Silber, Bronze,
Kupfer und Eisen im Alten Testament und ihre Sym-bolik (Würzburg: Echter, 1980); B. Kedar-Kop-stein, “bh;z:,” TDOT, 4:32 – 40.
223. Keel, Symbolism, 183; W. L. Moran, The Amarna Letters (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1992), 14, 19.
224. Black and Green, Gods, 113 – 14; U. Seidl, “Kudurru,” RlA, 6:267 – 77; K. E. Slanski, The Babylonian Entitlement narûs (kudurrus): A Study in Their Form and Function (Boston: ASOR, 2003), cf. ANEP, 518 – 21.
225. A. R. Millard, “Landmark,” IBD, 873; Keel, Sym-bolism, fig. 124.
226. COS, 1.47: 117b. 227. King and Stager, Life, 95 – 98, ill. 37 – 38; R. Fran-
kel, “Olives,” OEANE, 4:179 – 84; M.-C. Amouretti and J.-P. Brun, eds., Oil and Wine Pro-duction in the Mediterranean Area (Athènes: École Française d’Athènes, 1993); M. Heltzer, and D.
Eitam, eds., Olive Oil in Antiquity (Haifa: Univ. of Haifa, 1987); R. Frankel, ed., The Technology of Oil and Wine Production in Antiquity in Israel and other Mediterranean Countries (Sheffield: Shef-field Academic Press, 1994); idem, Wine and Oil Production in Antiquity in Israel and Other Medi-terranean Countries (Sheffield: Sheffield Aca-demic Press, 1999); L. Lesko, King Tut’s Wine Cellar (Berkeley, Calif.: Scribe, 1977).
228. ANEP, 155 – 56; M.-C. Poo, “Wine,” OEAE, 3:502 – 3; N. F. Miller, “Viticulture,” OEANE, 5:304 – 5; M. Dayagi-Mendels, Drink and Be Merry: Wine and Beer in Ancient Times (Jerusa-lem: Israel Museum, 1999); King and Stager, Life, 98 – 101, ill. 39 – 41; Lesko, King Tut’s Wine Cel-lar; P. E. McGovern, Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 2003).
229. Johnston, Sheol, 124. 230. P. J. Williams, “Are the Biblical Rephaim and the
Ugaritic RPUM Healers?” in The Old Testament in Its World, ed. R.P. Gordon and J. de Moor (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 266 – 75; M. S. Smith, “Rephaim,” ABD, 5:674 – 76; Johnston, Sheol, 128 – 42; H. Rouillard, “Rephaim,” DDD, 692 – 700; CAT, 1.6:VI:46 – 52 and 1.161 = COS, 1.86: 273b; 1.105: 357 – 58 (cf. Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, 86 with fig. 137); R. Liwak, “µyaip;r],” TDOT, 13:602 – 11; see also COS, 2.56 – 57: 182b – 183a.
231. COS, 1.108: 382. 232. M. Hutter, “Abaddon,” DDD, 1. 233. Habel, “Stretches out the Heavens,” 421 – 22. 234. COS, 1.111: 398 – 99. 235. ANET, 387b. 236. Black and Green, Gods, fig. 46. 237. Keel, Symbolism, figs. 9 – 13. 238. Allen, “World,” 25, fig. 2:1; cf. ANEP, 542; Keel,
Symbolism, figs. 21, 26 – 29. 239. Bottéro, Religion, 78, 80. 240. N. S. Fox, “Clapping Hands as a Gesture of
Anguish and Anger in Mesopotamia and Israel,” JANES 23 (1995): 49 – 60, esp. 54.
241. CAT, 1.3:V:6 – 7; 1.4:IV:21 – 22 = COS, 1.86: 247a, 259a; cf. Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, 55; H. Niehr, “Die Wohnsitze des Gottes El nach den Mythen aus Ugarit,” in Das biblische Weltbild, 325 – 60.
242. Black and Green, Gods, 27; B. Becking, “Ends of the Earth,” DDD, 300 – 301.
243. B. Schlick-Nolte, “Glass,” OEAE, 2:30 – 34; D. Whitehouse, “Glass,” OEANE, 2:413 – 15; H. Kühne, “Glas, Glasuren,” RlA, 3:407 – 27; P. T. Nicholson, Egyptian Faience and Glass (Princes Risborough: Shire, 1993).
244. M. V. Fox, Proverbs 1 – 9 (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 67 – 71.
245. COS, 1.159; 516a; 1.153: 487a and 1.117: 419b. 246. CAT, 1.6:III:12 – 13 = COS, 1.86: 271a. 247. H. Olivier, “A Land Flowing with Milk and
Honey — Some Observations on the Modes of Existence in Ancient Israel,” NGTT 29/1 (1988): 2 – 13; A. Caquot, “vb;D],” TDOT, 3:131.
248. K. van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 193.
0310255775_13_Job.indd 307 6/24/09 11:10:11 AM
308
Job 249. On the shaming of Job, cf. L. M. Bechtel, “Shame
as a Sanction of Social Control in Biblical Israel: Judicial, Political, and Social Shaming,” JSOT 49 (1991): 72 – 74.
250. Gruber, Aspects, 304 – 5; M. I. Gruber, “Ges-tures,” HBD, 342.
252. Zwickel, Edelsteine, 31. 253. Habel, Job, 404, 412; Pope, Job, 214 – 16; R. van
den Broek, “Phoenix,” DDD, 655 – 57. 254. Cf. M. Weinfeld, “ d„bK;,” TDOT, 7:25; L. Schwie-
nhorst, “ hg:n:,” 9:207; O. Keel, “Der Bogen als Herrschaftssymbol,” in Studien zu den Stempel-siegeln aus Palästina/Israel Band 3 (Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vanden-hoeck & Ruprecht, 1990), 27 – 65; RlA 10/5 – 6: 458 – 469; Wilkinson, Reading, 184 – 85, and Sym-bol, 200 – 203, ill. 155 – 59; C. Zutterman, “The Bow in the Ancient Near East,” IrAnt 38 (2003): 119 – 65.
(esp. 1143 – 44); P. F. Houlihan, “Canines,” OEAE, 1:229 – 31; Black and Green, Gods, 70; Fauna and Flora, 21; W. Heimpel and U. Seidl, “Hund,” RlA, 4:494 – 97; D. J. Brewer, Dogs in Antiquity: Anubis to Cerberus: The Origins of the Domestic Dog (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 2001); F. E. Deist, The Material Culture of the Bible: An Introduction (Sheffield: Sheffield Aca-demic Press, 2000), 131; R. and J. Janssen, Egyp-tian Household Animals (Buckinghamshire: Shire, 1989), 9 – 13; Keel, Orte, 106 – 9; Riede, Jägers, 195 – 99; G. J. Botterweck, “bl,K,,” TDOT, 7:146 – 57; C. E. Watanabe, Animal Symbolism in Mesopotamia — A Contextual Approach (Vienna: Instut für Orientalistik, 2002), 119 – 20.
261. King and Stager, Life, 83, 118 – 19. Cf. COS, 2.143: 395 on the healing goddess Gula with Black and Green, Gods, 101; R. Frankena, U. Seidl, and E. Sollberger, “Gula,” RlA, 3:695 – 97.
264. Fauna and Flora, 21 – 22. 265. For archers shown stringing their bows, cf. Par-
tridge, Fighting, fig. 55. 266. J. Scurlock and B. Andersen, Diagnoses in Assyr-
ian and Babylonian Medicine (Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Press, 2005), 231 – 41.
267. D. M. Doxey, “Anubis,” OEAE, 1:97 – 98. 268. COS, 2.82: 214a. 269. J. Walton, “ hl;WtB],” NIDOTTE, 1:781 – 84; J.
Bergman, H. Ringgren, and M. Tsevat, “hl;WtB],” TDOT, 2:338 – 43.
270. See P. L. Day, “Anat,” DDD, 36 – 43 (42). 271. ANEP, 639; Keel, Symbolism, fig. 83; cf. J. G.
Griffiths, The Divine Verdict: A Study of Divine
Judgement in the Ancient Religions (Leiden: Brill, 1991); C. Seeber, Untersuchungen zur Darstellung des Totengerichts im alten Ägypten (München: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1976).
272. AEL, 2:121. 273. ANET, 34; COS, 2.12: 59 – 64; AEL, 2:125. 274. E.g., G. Fohrer, “The Righ teous Man in Job 31,” in
Essays in Old Testament Ethics, ed. J. L. Crenshaw and J. T. Wills (New York: Ktav, 1974), 9 – 10.
275. J. A. Black, “The New Year Ceremonies in Ancient Babylon: ‘Taking Bel by the Hand’ and a Cultic Picnic,” Religion 11 (1981): 44.
276. Dick, “Job 31”; for the ostracon see COS, 3.41: 78a.
277. Lichtheim, Moral Values ; see also sidebar “Redemption” at 19:25.
278. CTH 373 translated in I. Singer, Hittite Prayers(SBLWAW; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Litera-ture, 2002), 32 (4a).
279. J. R. Ebeling and Y. M. Rowan, “The Archaeology of the Daily Grind,” NEA 67 (2004): 108 – 17; King and Stager, Life, 94 – 95; Reyburn, Job, 567.
280. Hillers, Treaty-Curses, 63. 281. J. A. Tyldesley, Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient
Egypt (London: Viking, 1994), 60. 282. For example, CAT, 1.24 and 161 283. K. van der Toorn, “Sun,” ABD, 6:237 – 39; B. B.
Schmidt, “Moon” DDD, 585 – 93; E. Lipin aski, “Shemesh,” DDD, 764 – 68; J. G. Taylor, Yahweh and the Sun: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sun Worship in Ancient Israel (Sheffield: Shef-field Academic Press, 1993); G. Theuer, Der Mondgott in den Religionen Syrien-Palästinas: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von KTU 1.24(Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag, 2000); R. E. Clements, “j÷rey:,” TDOT, 6:355 – 62, esp. 360; and E. Lipin aski, “vm,v,,” TWAT, 8:306 – 14.
284. Keel and Uehlinger, Goddesses, 367, 369 – 72. 285. ANEP, 622; Gruber, “Gestures,” HBD, 342; Keel,
286. D. Kellerman, “rWG,” TDOT, 2:439 – 49. 287. See A. van Selms, “Job 31:38 – 40 in Ugaritic
Light,” Semitics 8 (1982): 30 – 42. 288. Note Jas. 5:4, where James writes that the wages
a land owner has failed to pay are crying out and the cries have reached the ears of the Lord, the Almighty.
289. A. G. McDowell, Village Life in Ancient Egypt:Laundry Lists and Love Songs (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999).
290. Gaster, Myth, 784. 291. Lesko, King Tut’s Wine Cellar; cf. comments on
wine at 24:11. 292. For a waterskin made of goat’s hide cf. Yadin, Bar-
Kochba, 115; cf. Dayagi-Mendels, Drink, 41 – 43. 293. T. Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History
of the Mesopotamian Religion (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1976), 147 – 64.
294. George, Gilgamesh, 99; cf. R. A. Veenker, “Gil-gamesh and the Magic Plant,” BA 44 (1981): 199 – 205.
295. A. Stigmair, “lyIl// hl;yl/,” TDOT, 7:535. 296. C. Barth, “rmz,” TDOT, 4:94.
0310255775_13_Job.indd 308 6/23/09 10:46:28 AM
309
Job 297. Pope, Job, 263 – 64. 298. P. A. Bird, “The End of the Male Cult Prostitute:
A Literary-Historical and Sociological Analysis of Hebrew qadeš-qedešîm,” in Congress Volume, Cam-bridge 1995, ed. J. A. Emerton (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 37 – 80, esp. 75 – 77; C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschliesslichkeitsanspruch YHWHs: Beiträge zu literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikono-graphischen Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion (Wein-heim: Beltz Athenaum, 1995), 629 – 737, esp. 709 – 10; R. A. Oden, The Bible without Theol-ogy (Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, 2000), 131 – 54; H. Ringgren, “vdq,” TDOT, 12:542.
299. ANEP, 500 – 501, 531 – 33, 537 – 38; Cornelius, Iconography, 255 – 58; Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, fig. 74; Keel, Symbolism, figs. 292, 294.
301. Weinfeld, “War,” 121 – 22, 141 – 42; cf. also P. E. Dion, “YHWH as Storm-God and Sun-God: The Double Legacy of Egypt and Canaan as Reflected in Psalm 104,” ZAW 103 (1991): 43 – 71. On the “voice” of God, see B. Kedar-Kopfstein, “l„q,” TDOT, 12:586.
302. CAT, 1 .4:VII:30 – 37 = COS, 1.86: 262b. 303. V. Curtis, Persian Myths (London: British
Museum, 1993), 18. 304. C. Derricks, “Mirrors,” OEAE, 2:419 – 20. 305. A. H. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomastica
(London: Oxford Univ. Press); W. K. Simpson, “Onomastica,” OEAE, 2:605; G. von Rad, “Hiob 38 und die altägyptische Weisheit,” Gesammelte Studien zum Alten Testament (München: Kaiser, 1971), 2 62 – 71.
306. M. Civil, “Ancient Mesopotamian Lexicography,” CANE, 2311; D. O. Edzard et al., “Name, Namengebung (Onomastik),” RlA, 9:94 – 134.
307. COS, 1.113: 408. 308. D. O’Connor, “Architecture of Infinity — the
Egyptian Temple,”Archaeology Odyssey 2/4 (1999): 42 – 551; R. B. Finnestad, Image of the World and Symbol of the Creator: On the Cosmo-logical and Iconological Values of the Temple of Edfu(Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1985); Wilkinson, Symbol, 36 – 37.
Keel, Symbolism, figs. 180, 191; cf. fig. 311. Cf. T. Jacobsen, “Pictures and Pictorial Language (The Burney Relief ),” in Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East, ed. M. Mindlen et al. (London: Univ. of London, Press 1987), 4; Black and Green, Gods, 156.
316. Cf. CAT, 1.23:49 – 54 and 1.100:52 = COS, 1.87: 281b and 1.94: 297b.
317. I. Cornelius, “The Sun Epiphany in Job 38:12 – 15,” Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 16 (1990): 25 – 43; B. Janowski, Rettungsgewissheit und Epiphanie des Heils: Das Motiv der Hilfe Gottes “am Morgen” im Alten Orient und im Alten Testa-ment (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1989).
318. COS, 1.108 – 9, 381 – 89. 319. S. A. Wiggins, “Pidray, Tallay and Arsay in the
Baal Cycle,” JNSL 29 (2003): 83 – 101. 320. ANEP, 536; Keel, Symbolism, fig. 295; in color in
AOB, 303. 321. CAT, 1.6:IV = COS, 1.86: 271b. 322. S. Redford, “Equines,” OEAE, 1:478 – 79; F. Hil-
323. ANEP, 186. 324. F. C. Fensham, “Common Trends in Curses of the
Near Eastern Treaties and Kudurru-Inscriptions Compared with Maledictions of Amos and Isa-iah,” ZAW 75 (1963): 163 – 64; idem, “The Wild Ass in the Aramaean Treaty between Bar-ga,ayah and Matti<el,” JNES 22 (1963): 185 – 86; K. Watanabe, Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths (Helsinki: Helsinki Univ. Press, 1988), 45.
325. CAT, 1.92 = Wyatt, Texts, 270 – 72. 326. ANEP, 183 = Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, fig.
41. 327. Xenophon, Anabasis 1.5.2. 328. ANEP, 190, 706. 329. M. Weszeli et al., “Pferd,” RlA, 10/5 – 6 :
469 – 503. 330. Cf. ANEP, 672. 331. ANEP, 463. 332. J. J. M. Roberts, “The Hand of Yahweh,” VT 21
(1971): 247 – 48; cf. J. K. Hoffmeier, “The Arm of God versus the Arm of Pharaoh in the Exodus Narratives”, Bib 67 (1986): 378 – 87; K. Martens, “With a Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm,” SJOT 15 (2001): 123 – 45; F. J. Helfmeyer, “[?„rz“],” TDOT, 4:133 – 40.
333. Cornelius, Iconography, 306; cf. R. Wilkinson, “Ancient Near Eastern Raised-Arm Figures and the Iconography of the Egyptian God Min,” BES11 (1991): 109 – 18.
334. G. Warmuth, “d„h,” TDOT, 3:353 – 54. 335. Black and Green, Gods, 130 – 31; E. Cassin, La
splendour divine: Introduction à l’étude de la men-talité mésopotamienne (Paris: Mouton, 1968); T. Podella, Das Lichtkleid JHWHs: Untersuchungen zur Gestalthaftigkeit Gottes im Alten Testament und seiner altorientalischen Umwelt (Tübingen: Mohr, 1996), esp. 240 – 42; CAD, M/II: 10; M. Krebernik, “Melam,” RlA, 8/1 – 2:35.
336. COS, 1.113: 392a, 395a. 337. E. Ruprecht, “Das Nilpferd im Hiobbuch:
Beobachtungen zu der sogenannten zweiten Got-tesrede,” VT 21 (1971): 209 – 31, argues that in both cases it is the hippo.
338. B. F. Batto, “Behemoth,” DDD, 165 – 69; Met-tinger, God, 195.
Job 340. Batto, “Behemoth,” 165 – 69; Fauna, 11 – 12; G. J.
Botterweck, “hm;heB],” TDOT, 2:6 – 20. 341. Ruprecht, “Das Nilpferd.” According to B. Cou-
royer, “Qui est béhémoth? Job, XL, 15 – 24,” RB82 (1975): 418 – 43, it is the wild buffalo that roamed the area of Lake Hûhleh.
342. Habel, Job, 559. 343. V. Kubina, Die Gottesreden im Buche Hiob: Ein
Beitrag zur Diskussion um die Einheit von Hiob 38,1 – 42,6 (Freiburg: Herder, 1979), 68 – 76.
344. B. Lang, “Job xl 18 and the ‘Bones of Seth,’ ” VT30 (1980): 360 – 61.
345. Uehlinger, “Leviathan,” 511 – 15. 346. Keel, Ijob, Abb. 73 – 76; T. Säve-Söderbergh, On
Egyptian Representations of Hippopotamus Hunting as a Religious Motive (Lund: Gleerup, 1953); D. Wildung, Nilpferd und Krokodil: Das Tier in der Kunst des alten Ägypten (München: Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst, 1987); A. Beh-rmann, Das Nilpferd in der Vorstellungswelt der Alten Ägypter (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1996); cf. O. Keel, “Königliche Nilpferdjagd: Eine ungewöhnliche Darstellung auf einem Skarabäus des Mittleren Reiches,” GM 134 (1993): 63 – 68.
347. A. Caubet and F. Poplin, “Behemoth, Like You, Job, My Creature!” Monde de la Bible 48 (March-April 1987): 22.
348. Day, Conflict; Fuchs, Mythos. 349. J. C. L. Gibson, “A New Look at Job 41.1 – 4 (Eng-
lish 41.9 – 12),” in Text as Pretext: Essays in Hon-our of Robert Davidson, ed. R. P. Carroll (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 129 – 39.
350. Amply illustrated by Keel, Ijob, Abb. 77 – 82; summarized by Mettinger, God, 196; Uehlinger, “Leviathan,” 514.
351. CAT, 1.5:I:1 – 3, cf. 27 – 29 = COS, 1.86: 265a. 352. Keel, Ijob, Abb. 83a – 93; Keel and Uehlinger,
Yadin, Warfare, 9 – 10, 296 – 97, 436 – 37. 358. King and Stager, Life, Ill. 34 – 35. 359. C. Muenchow, “Dust and Dirt in Job 42:6,” JBL
108 (1989): 597 – 611. 360. CAT, 1.14 – 15: = COS, 1.102: 333b, 337b. 361. J. W. Betlyon, “Coinage,” ABD, 1:1076 – 89; J. W.
Betlyon, “Money,” HDB, 647 – 51; P. F. O’Rourke, “Coinage,” OEAE, 2:41 – 52; A. D. H. Bivar, “Coinage,” OEANE, 2:327 – 28; C. M. Monroe, “Money and Trade,” in Companion, ch. 11; D. C. Snell, “Methods of Exchange and Coinage in Ancient Western Asia,” CANE, 1487 – 97; King and Stager, Life, 198 – 99.
362. ANEP, 72; Y. J. Markowitz, “Jewelry,” OEAE, 2 :201 – 7; B. Sass, “Jewel ry,” OE A NE , 3:238 – 46.
363. Traduction oecuménique de la Bible. 364. Cf. Reyburn, Job, 778. 365. Z. Ben-Barak, “Inheritance by Daughters in the
Ancient Near East,” JSS 25 (1980): 22 – 33; West-brook, Property, 161.
366. J. and R. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt(London: Rubicon, 1996), 68.
Sidebar and Chart Notes A-1. V. P. Hamilton, “Satan,” ABD, 5:985 – 86; P. L.
Day, An Adversary in Heaven (Atlanta: Schol-ars Press, 1988); C. Breytenback and P. L. Day, “Satan,” DDD, 726 – 32, esp. 727 – 29; H.-J. Fabry, “ ‘Satan’ — Begriff und Wirklichkeit: Untersuchungen zur Dämonologie der alt-testamentl ichen Weisheitsl iteratur,” in Demons/Die Dämonen: Die Dämonologie der israelitisch-jüdischen und frühchristlichen Lit-eratur im Kontext ihrer Umwelt, ed. A. Lange (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 269 – 91; H. Haag, Teufelsglaube (Tübingen: Katzmann, 1974); N. Forsyth, The Old Enemy: Satan and the Combat Myth (Princeton: Princeton Univ., 1987) ; B. Baloian, “ˆf ;c ;,” NIDOT TE , 3:1231 – 32; S. Japhet, I and II Chronicles (Lou-isville: Westminster John Knox, 1993), 373 – 75; F. Lindström, God and the Origin of Evil (Lund: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1983); C. and E. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1 – 8 (AB; Gar-den City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1987), 183 – 86; Nielsen, Satan; S. H. T. Page, Powers of Evil(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); J. B. Russell, The Devil (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1977); W. Foerster and G. von Rad, “dia vboloß,” TDNT, 2:72 – 81; K. Nielsen, “ˆf;c;,” TWAT, 7:745 – 51; M. Weiss, The Story of Job’s Beginning (Jerusa-lem: Magnes, 1983), 32 – 42.
A-2. On “physicians” and health care in the ancient Near East, cf. H. C. Kee, “Medicine and Heal-ing,” ABD, 4:659 – 64; Sussman, “Sickness and Disease,” ABD, 6:6 – 15; Illness and Health; R. D. Biggs, “Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health in Ancient Mesopotamia,” CANE, 1911 – 24; B. Böck, “When You Perform the Ritual of ‘Rub-bing’: On Medicine and Magic in Ancient Mes-opotamia,” JNES 62/1 (2003): 1 – 16; M. Haussperger, “Die mesopotamische Medizin und ihre Ärzte aus heutiger Sicht,” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 87 (1997): 196 – 218; J. V. Kinnier- Wilson, “Medicine in the Land of the Bible and Times of the Old Testament,” in Stud-ies in the Period of David and Solomon and Other Essays, ed. T. Ishida (Tokyo: Yamakawa- Shuppansha), 337 – 65; R. D. Biggs and G. Beckman, “Medizin,” RlA, 7: 623 – 31; R. K. Ritner, “Medicine,” OEAE, 2:353 – 56; J. F. Nunn, Ancient Egyptian Medicine (London: British Museum, 1996); O. Rimon et al., Illness and Healing in Ancient Times (Haifa: Hecht Museum, 1996); J. Scurlock, “Mesopotamian Medicine,” in A Companion to the Ancient Near East, ed. D. Snell (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), ch. 22; M. L. Brown, “ap…r;,” TDOT, 13:593 – 602; K. R. Weeks, “Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health in Ancient Egypt,” CANE, 1787 – 98.
A-3. Histories 1:197; 2:84. A-4. Keel, Symbolism, fig. 91 = J. A. Black and A.
Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient
0310255775_13_Job.indd 310 6/24/09 11:11:26 AM
311
JobMesopotamia (London: British Museum, 1992), fig. 151, with reconstruction fig. 104.
A-5. Anderson, Mourn; Pham, Mourning; B. A. Levine, “Silence, Sound, and the Phenomenol-ogy of Mourning in Biblical Israel,” JANES 22 (1993): 89 – 106.
A-6. O. Keel and C. Uehlinger, Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), fig. 150.
A-7. CAT, 1.5:VI:11 – 22 = COS, 1.86: 267b – 268a; cf. P. A. Kruger, “On Non-Verbal Communica-tion in the Baal Epic,” Journal for Semitics 1 (1989): 64 – 66.
A-8. CAT, 1.19:IV:172 – 73; COS, 1.103: 354b. A-9. T. Abusch, “Gilgamesh’s Request and Siduri’s
Denial: Part II: An Analysis and Interpretation of an Old Babylonian Fragment about Mourn-ing and Celebration,” JANES 22 (1993): 4.
A-10. Anderson, Mourn, 78. A-11. ANET, 57. A-12. W. J. Urbrock, “Blessings and Curses,” ABD,
1:755 – 61; D. Stuar t , “Curse,” ABD, 1:1218 – 19; D. P. Silverman, “Curses,” OEAE, 1:348 – 50; C. W. Mitchell, The Meaning of brk “to Bless” in the Old Testament (Atlanta: Schol-ars Press, 1987); K. Nordh, Aspects of Ancient Egyptian Curses and Blessings: Conceptual Background and Transmission (Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 1996); W. Schot-troff, Der altisraelitische Fluchspruch (Neu-kirchen: Neukirchener Verlag, 1969); J. Scharbert, “ hl;a;,” TDOT, 1:261 – 66; idem, “ rr[,” 405 – 18; idem, “ ˚rb,” 2:279 – 308; idem, “ llq,” 13:37 – 44, esp. 43 – 44.
A-13. T. G. Crawford, Blessing and Curse in Syro-Palestinian Inscriptions of the Iron Age (New York: Lang, 1992) with texts in COS, 2.47A-B; 2.52; 2.54 – 2.64; 2.83: 171 – 72, 179 – 90, 221.
A-14. D. F. Watson, “Angels,” ABD, 1:248 – 53; Meier, “Angels,” 45 – 50; S. A. Meier, The Messenger in the Ancient Semitic World (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988); S. Olyan, A Thousand Thousands Served Him: Exegesis and the Naming of Angels in Ancient Judaism (Tübingen: Mohr, 1993); K. P. Sullivan, Wrestling with Angels: A Study of the Relationship between Angels and Humans in Ancient Jewish Literature and the New Testa-ment (Leiden: Brill, 2004).
A-15. COS, 1.108 – 1.110: 381 – 90. A-16. See B. J. Lillie, “Almighty,” ABD, 1:160; M.
Rose, “Names of God in the OT,” ABD, 4:1001 – 11; F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1973), 52 – 60 (Shaddai); W. Herrmann, “El,” DDD, 274 – 80; D. Pardee, “Eloah,” DDD, 285 – 88; K. van der Toorn, “God (I),” DDD, 352 – 65; E. A. Knauf, “Shaddai,” DDD, 749 – 53; K. van der Toorn, “Yahweh,” DDD, 910 – 19; B. Lang, The Hebrew God: Portrait of an Ancient Deity (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 2002), 202 – 8; T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names (Philadelphia: Fortress,
1988); W. D. Reyburn, A Handbook on the Book of Job (New York: United Bible Societies, 1992), 21 – 22; F. M. Cross, “lae,” TDOT, 1:242 – 61; H. Ringgren, “μyhiløa‘,” TDOT, 1:267 – 84; D. N. Freedman, M. P. O’connor, and H. Ringgren, “ hwhy,” TDOT, 5:246 – 53; G. Stein, “yD/v;,” TWAT, 7:1078 – 104; M. Weip-pert, “YHWH,” RlA, 5:246 – 53.
A-17. Knauf, “Shaddai,” 752. A-18. COS, 2.27: 142b. A-19. Knauf, “Shaddai,” 749. A-20. T. J. Lewis, “Dead, Abode of the,” ABD,
2:101 – 5; T. J. Lewis, “Dead,” DDD, 223 – 31; H. M. Barstad, “Sheol,” DDD, 768 – 70; “Death, the Afterlife, and Other Last Things,” in Reli-gions, 470 – 95; L. Wächter, “l„av],” TDOT, 14:239 – 48; R. S. Hallote, Death, Burial, and Afterlife in the Biblical World (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001); P. Johnston, Shades of Sheol: Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament (Leicester: Apollos, 2002); N. J. Tromp, Primitive Concep-tions of Death and the Netherworld in the Old Testament (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969); P. Xella, “Death and the Afterlife in Canaanite and Hebrew Thought,” CANE, 2059 – 70; S. U. Gulde, Der Tod als Herrscher in Ugarit und Israel (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007).
A-21. Black and Green, Gods, 27 – 28, 57 – 62, 180 – 82; D. Katz, The Image of the Netherworld in the Sumerian Sources (Bethesda: CDL, 2003); J. A. Scurlock, “Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Mesopotamian Thought,” CANE, 1883 – 93.
A-22. COS, 1.108: 381a and 1.109: 386a (cf. now in N. Walls, Desire, Discord and Death: Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Myth [Boston: ASOR, 2001], ch. 3).
A-23. George, Gilgamesh, 61. A-24. M. Müller, “Afterlife,” OEAE, 1: 32 – 37; L. H.
Lesko, “Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egyptian Thought,” CANE, 1763 – 74; J. Tay-lor, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt(London: British Museum Press, 2001).
A-25. J. Zandee, Death as an Enemy according to Ancient Egyptian Conceptions (Leiden: Brill, 1960), 73 – 78, 88 – 91.
A-26. On law in Old Testament and ancient Near East, see S. Greengus, “Law,” ABD, 4:242 – 52; H. Avalos, “Legal and Social Institutions in Canaan and Ancient Israel,” CANE, 615 – 31; P. Bovati, Re-establishing Justice: Legal Terms, Concepts and Procedures in the Hebrew Bible(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994); K. Nielsen, Yahweh as Prosecutor and Judge: An Investigation of the Prophetic Lawsuit (Rib- Pattern) (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1978); R. Westbrook, ed., A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law (Brill: Leiden, 2003); B. Wells, “Law and Practice,” in Companion to the Ancient Near East, ed. D. Snell (Oxford: Black-well, 2005), 183 – 95; V. Hamp and G. J. Bot-terweck, “ˆDi,” TDOT, 3:187 – 94; H. Ringgren, “byri,” TDOT, 13:473 – 79.
0310255775_13_Job.indd 311 6/23/09 10:46:28 AM
312
Job A-27. The NIV translates as “judge,” but Clines, Job,
228, takes it as “opponent.” A-28. R. A. Oden Jr., “Cosmogony, Cosmology,”
ABD, 1:1162 – 71; R. Albertz, Weltschöpfung und Menschenschöpfung: Untersuchungen bei Deutero-Jesaja, Hiob und in den Psalmen (Stut-tgart: Calwer, 1974), 132 – 50; J. P. Allen, Genesis in Egypt: The Philosophy of Ancient Egyptian Creation Accounts (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1988); idem, “The Egyptian Concept of the World,” in Mysteri-ous Lands, ed. D. O’Connor and S. Quirke (London: UCL, 2003); Ancient Cosmologies, ed. C. Blacker and M. Loewe (London: Allen & Unwin, 1975); K. W. Bolle, “Cosmology,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, 4:100 – 107; J. Bot-téro, Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (Chi-cago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2001), 77 – 90; R. J. Clifford, Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible (Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1994); J. J. Collins, “Cosmology: Time and History,” Religions, 59 – 70 ; Cornel ius, “World,” 193 – 218; V. A. Tobin, “Creation Myths,” OEAE, 1:469 – 72; M. Hutter, “Earth,” DDD, 272 – 73; M. Hutter and M. De Jonge, “Heaven,” DDD, 388 – 90 ; H. M. Barstad, “Sheol,” DDD, 768 – 70; Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography; C. Hout-man, Der Himmel im Alten Testament: Israels Weltbild und Weltanschauung (Leiden: Brill, 1993); J. T. Pennington, “Dualism in Old Tes-tament Cosmology: Weltbild and Weltan-schauung,” SJOT 18 (2004): 260 – 77; B. Janowski and B. Ego, eds., Das biblische Welt-bild und seine altor ientalischen Kontexte(Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001); C. H. Long, “Cosmogony,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, 4:94 – 100; Nielsen, Satan, 64 – 71; F. Roch-berg, “Mesopotamian Cosmology,” in A Com-panion to the Ancient Near East, ed. D. Snell (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), 316 – 29; R. A. Simkins, Creator and Creation: Nature in the Worldview of Ancient Israel (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994); H. Ringgren, “hc;[;,” TDOT, 11:387 – 403; L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World: A Philological and Literary Study (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1970); D. Tsumura, The Earth and the Waters in Genesis 1 and 2: A Linguistic Inves-tigation (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989); M. J. E. Wright, The Early History of Heaven (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000); M. R. Wright, Cosmology in Antiquity (Lon-don: Routledge, 1995).
A-29. E. E. Platt, “Jewelry, Ancient Isrealite,” ABD, 3:829 – 30; B. S. Magness-Gardiner, “Seals, Mesopotamian,” ABD, 5:1062 – 64; R. S. Bianchi, “Scarabs,” OEAE, 3:179 – 81; S. B. Shubert, “Seals and Sealing,” OEAE, 252 – 57; B. Magness-Gardiner, “Seals,” OEANE, 4:509 – 12; D. Collon, First Impressions: Cyl-inder Seals in the Ancient Near East (London:
British Museum Publications, 1987); M. Gib-son and R. Biggs, ed., Seals and Sealing in the Ancient Near East (Malibu: Undena, 1977); L. Gorelick, ed., Ancient Seals and the Bible (Malibu: Undena, 1983); W. W. Hallo, ed., Seals and Seal Impressions (Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 2001); O. Keel, Corpus der Stempelsie-gel-Amulette aus Palästina, Israel: von den Anfängen bis zur Perserzeit : Einle itung (Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag; Göt-tingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1995); O. Keel and C. Uehlinger, Altorientalische Min-iaturkunst: Die ältesten visuellen Massenkom-munikationsmittel: Ein Blick in die Sammlungen des biblischen Instituts der Universität Freiburg Schweiz (Mainz am Rhein: von Zabern, 1996); E. Klengel-Brandt, ed., Mit sieben Siegeln versehen: Das Siegel in Wirtschaft und Kunst des Alten Orients (Mainz am Rhein: von Zab-ern, 1997); H. Pittman, “Cylinder Seals and Scarabs in the Ancient Near East,” CANE, 1589 – 603; B. Otzen, “μt/j ;,” TDOT, 5:263 – 69.
A-30. ANEP, 265. A-31. ANEP, 256. A-32. M. M. Schaub, “Lamp,” HBD, 545 – 46; R. H.
Smith, “Lamps,” OEANE, 4:326 – 30; R. E. Nixon, “Lamps,” IBD, 870 – 73; R. H. Smith, “The Household Lamps of Palestine in Old Testament Times,” BA 27 (1964): 1 – 31; V. Sussmann, “Lighting the Way through His-tory — the Evolution of Ancient Oil Lamps,” BAR March/April (1985): 42 – 56; J. G. Wes-tenholz, ed., Let There Be Light: Oil Lamps From the Holy Land (Jerusalem: Bible Lands Museum, 2004).
A-33. Zandee, Death, 226 – 34. A-34. van der Toorn, Family Religion, 128 – 30; cf. A.
Aalen, “r„a,” TDOT, 1:147 – 167; H. Lutzmann et al., “Ëv/h;,” 5:245 – 59.
A-35. K. H. Richards, “Death,” ABD, 2:108 – 10; T. J. Lewis, “Mot,” ABD, 4:922 – 24; Johnston, Sheol; J. F. Healy, “Mot,” DDD, 598 – 603; K.-J. Illman, H. Ringgren, and H.-J. Fabry, “tWm,” TDOT, 8:185 – 209.
E. T. Mullen Jr., “Go,el,” DDD, 372 – 73; R. Kessler, “Ich weiss, dass mein Erlöser lebet: Sozialgeschichtlicher Hintergrund und theolo-gische Bedeutung der Löser-Vorstellung in Hiob 19,25,” ZThK 89 (1992): 139 – 58; W. L. Michel, “Confidence and Despair: Job 19,25 – 27 in the Light of Northwest Semitic Studies,” in The Book of Job, ed. W. A. M. Beu-ken (Leuven: Leuven Univ. Press, 1994), 163 – 66; H. Ringren, “lae„G,” TDOT, 2:350 – 55; R. Westbrook, Property and Family in Biblical Law (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991), 58 – 68.
A-39. Lichtheim, AEL, 2:155 = COS, 1.47: 120b.
0310255775_13_Job.indd 312 6/23/09 10:46:28 AM
313
Job A-40. I. H. Jones, “Music and Musical Instruments,”
ABD, 4:930 – 39; J. Braun, Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine: Archaeological, Written, and Comparative Sources (Grand Rapids: Eerd-mans, 2002); A. D. Kilmer and D. A. Foxfog, “Music,” HBD, 665 – 71; D. G. Stradling and K. A. Kitchen, “Music,” IBD, 2:1031 – 40; D. Meeks, “Dance,” OEAE, 1:356 – 60; B. Law-ergren, “Music,” OEAE, 2:450 – 54; J. Braun, “Musical Instruments,” OENEA, 4:70 – 79; RlA, 8:463 – 91; R. D. Anderson, “Music and Dance in Pharaonic Egypt,” A. D. Kilmer, “Music and Dance in Ancient Western Asia,” and S. de Martino, “Music, Dance, and Pro-cessions in Hit t ite Anatol ia,” CANE , 2555 – 68, 2601 – 13, 2661 – 69; L. Manniche, Music and Musicians in Ancient Egypt (Lon-don: BM, 1991); King and Stager, Life, 285 – 300; T. Ilan, “Dance” in NEA 66/3 (2003): 161 – 69.
A-41. ANEP, 191 – 209. A-42. Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, 36. A-43. ANEP, 200, 208 – 11. A-44. G. Kehrer, ed., Vor Gott sind alle gleich: soziale
Gleichheit, soziale Ungleichheit und die Reli-gionen (Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1983); M. Wein-feld, Social Justice in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1995).
A-45. F. C. Fensham, “Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern Legal and Wisdom Literature,” JNES 21 (1962): 129 – 39, with translations of the relevant texts in COS, 2.131: 336; 1.102: 342b, 346a, 351a (CAT, 1.16:VI:45 – 50; 1.17:V:5 – 8 9; 1.19:I:20 – 25); also COS, 2.30: 147 – 48.
A-46. S. N. Kramer, “Modern Social Problems in Ancient Sumer: Evidence from the Sumerian Literary Documents,” in Gesellschaftklassen im Alten Zeistromland, ed. D. O. Edzard (München: Bayerischen Akademie, 1972), 117; Lichtheim, Moral Values, e.g., 12, 20, 48, 62; see also S. Jin, “Der Furchtsame und der Unschuldige,” JNES 62/4 (2003): 267 – 73.
A-47. H. Niehr, “Zaphon,” DDD, 927 – 29; E. Lipi-n aski, “ˆ„px;,” TDOT, 12:435 – 43, esp. 441; N. Wyatt, “The Significance of spn in West Semitic Thought: A Contribution to the His-tory of a Mythological Motif,” Ugarit: ein ost-mediterranes Kulturzentrum im Alten Orient, ed. M. Dietrich and D. Loretz (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1995), 213 – 37; idem, Space and Time in the Religious Life of the Near East (Shef-field: Sheffield Academic, 2001).
A-48. R. J. Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1972).
A-49. Cornelius and Niehr, Ugarit, fig. 28. A-50. COS, 1.99: 313b. A-51. A. Stuart and J. Ruffle, “Mining and Metals,”
IBD, 2:1002 – 6; F. Joannès, J. Siegelová, and J. D. Muhly, “Metalle und Metallurgie,” RlA, 8:96 – 136; J. D. Muhly and E. C. Lapp, “Met-
als,” OEANE, 4:1 – 20; I. Shaw, “Minerals,” OEAE, 2:415 – 19; idem, “Quarries and Mines,” OEAE, 3:99 – 104; A. C. Gunter, “Material, Technology, and Techniques in Artistic Pro-duction,” CANE, 1539 – 51; P. R. S. Moorey, Materials and Manufacture in Ancient Mesopo-tamia (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1985); J. D. Muhly, “Mining and Metalwork in Ancient Western Asia,” CANE, 1501 – 21; King and Stager, Life, 164 – 76; P. T. Nicholson and I. Shaw, eds., Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000).
A-52. B. Rothenberg, The Egyptian Mining Temple at Timna (London: Institute for Archaeo-Metal-lurgical Studies, 1988); Keel, Symbolism, figs. 6, 249 – 50.
A-53. Platt, “Jewelry, Ancient Israelite,” ABD, 3:823 – 25; I. H. Marshall, “Jewels and Pre-cious Stones,” IBD, 2:781 – 88; P. L. Garber and R. F. Funk, “Jewels,” IDB, 2:898 – 905; B. Sass, “Jewelry,” OEANE, 3:238 – 46; W. Zwickel, Edelsteine in der Bibel (Mainz: von Zabern, 2002); cf. I. Cornelius, “Review of Zwickel,” JAOS 123 (2003): 673 – 75.
A-54. George, Gilgamesh, 75. A-55. R. E. Murphy, “Wisdom in the OT,” ABD, 6:
920 – 31; H. F. Fuhs, “arey:,” TDOT, 6:312. A-56. On clothing cf. comment on 12:17; also ANEP,
1 – 66; T. Podella, “Kleid/Be-, Entkleiden,” in Handbuch religionswissenschaftlicher Grundbeg-riffe, ed. H. Cancik et al. (Stuttgart: Kohlham-mer, 1993), 3:381 – 85; R. S. Borass, “Dress,” HBD, 226 – 29; R. L. Alden, “vdl,” NIDOTTE, 2:757 – 59; L. Green, “Clothing and Personal Adornment,” OEAE, 1:274 – 79; RGG4, 4:1410 – 12; H. Waetzoldt and E. Stommenger, “Kleidung,” RlA, 6:18 – 38; J. Camberoni and H.J. Fabry, “vbel;,” TDOT, 7:457 – 68; H. A. Brongers, “Die metaphorische Verwendung von Termini für die Kleidung von Göttern und Menschen in der Bibel und im Alten Orient,” in Von Kanaan bis Kerala: Festschrift für Prof. Mag. Dr. Dr. J.P.M. van der Ploeg O.P. zur Vollendung des siebzigsten Lebensjahres am 4. Juli 1979, über-reicht von Kollegen, Freunden und Schülern, ed. W. C. Delsman (Kevelaer: Butzon & Becker, 1982), 61 – 74; M. E. Vogelzang and W. J. van Bekkum, “Meaning and Symbolsim of Clothing in Ancient Near Eastern Texts,” in Scripta Signa Vocis, 265 – 84.
350; cf. D. R. Hillers, “The Bow of Aqht: The Meaning of a Mythological Symbol,” in Orient and Occident, ed. H. A. Hoffner (Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 1973), 71 – 80.
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Job A-63. ANET, 534a; Hillers, Treaty-Curses, 60. A-64. Keel, Symbolism, figs. 341 – 342a; 132a; 245. A-65. ANEP, 117 – 22, 133, 776 – 77; Cornelius and
Niehr, Ugarit, figs. 48 – 49; Keel, Symbolism, fig. 249.
note 197. A-77. A. R. W. Green, The Storm-God in the Ancient
Near East (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003); H. J. Deighton, The “Weather-God” in Hittite Anatolia: An Examination of the Archae-ological and Textual Sources (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1982); D. Schwemer, Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nor-dsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen(Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2001).
A-86. D. Ferry, “Prayer to the Gods of the Night,” in Lingering Over Words, ed. T. Abusch, J. Hueh-nergard, and P. Steinkeller (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990), 171.
Borowski, Every Living Thing: Daily Use of Ani-mals in Ancient Israel (Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira, 1998); B. J. Collins, ed., A History of the Animal World in the Ancient Near East(Leiden: Brill, 2002); A. S. Gilbert, “The Flora and Fauna of the Ancient Near East,” CANE, 153 – 74; B. Janowski, ed., Gefährten und Feinde des Menschen: Das Tier in der Lebenswelt des alten Israel (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993); Keel, Orte, 100 – 174; Watanabe, Animal Symbolism, with relevant parts in Fauna.
A-89. L. H. Martin, “Hermes,” DDD, 405 – 11; Knauf, “Shadday,” 752; Lang, The Hebrew God, 77 – 90, esp. 101 – 4; N. Marinatos, The Goddess and the
Warrior: The Naked Goddess and Mistress of Animals in Early Greek Religion (London: Routledge, 2000); LIMC 8/1 with LIMC 8/2: Pls. 677 – 78.
A-90. O. Keel, Jahwes Entgegnung an Ijob: Eine Deu-tung von Ijob 38 – 41 vor dem Hintergrund der zeitgenössischen Bildkunst (Göttingen: Vanden-hoeck & Ruprecht, 1978), 86 – 125.
A-91. Keel, Ijob, 63 – 156. A-92. Ibid., Abb. 33 – 46; Keel and Uehlinger, God-
desses, figs. 162a – 162d. A-93. J. Day, God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the
Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Tes-tament (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1985), 81.
A-94. CAT, 1.3:III:43 – 44 = COS, 1.86: 252a. A-95. CAT, 1.6:VI:51 = COS, 1.86:273b. A-96. Cf. on this J. Day, “Dragon and Sea, God’s
Conflict with,” ABD, 2:228 – 31; A. Annus, “Ninurta and the Son of Man,” in Mythology and Mythologies, ed. R. M. Whiting (Helsinki: Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001); M. Bauks, “ ‘Chaos’ als Methapher für die Gefährdung der Weltordnung,” in Weltbild, 431 – 64; J. J. Collins, “Stirring Up the Great Sea: The Religio-Historical Background of Daniel 7, in The Book of Daniel in the Light of New Findings, ed. A. S. Van der Woude (Leu-ven: Peeters, 1993), 121 – 36; Day, Conflict; Fuchs, Mythos; J. C. L. Gibson, “On Evil in the Book of Job,” in Ascribe to the Lord: Bibli-cal and Other Studies in Memory of Peter C. Craigie, ed. L. Eslinger and J. Taylor (Shef-f ield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1988), 399 – 419; O. Kaiser, Die mythische Bedeutung des Meeres in Ägypten, Ugarit und Israel (Ber-lin: Töpelmann, 1959); C. Kloos, Yhwh’s Combat with the Sea (Leiden: Brill, 1986); J. H. Gronbaek, “Baal’s Battle with Yam — a Canaanite Creation Fight,” JSOT 33 (1985): 27 – 44; B. Lang, The Hebrew God, 57 – 62; T. Podella, “Der ‘Chaoskampfmythos’ im Alten Testament: Eine Problemanzeige,” in Mesopo-tamica-Ugaritica-Biblica (Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993), 283 – 329; C. Uehlinger, “Der Mythos vom Drachenkampf: Von Sumer nach Nicaragua,” Reformatio 39 (1990): 213 – 26; M. K. Wakeman, God’s Battle with the Mon-ster: A Study in Biblical Imagery (Leiden: Brill, 1973); N. Wyatt, “Arms and the King: The Earliest Allusions to the Chaoskampf Motif and Their Implications for the Interpretation of the Ugaritic and Biblical Traditions,” in ‘Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf . . .’: Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient: Festschrift für O. Loretz zur Vollendung seines 70. Lebensjahres mit Beiträgen von Freunden, Schülern und Kollegen, ed. M. Dietrich and I. Kottsieper (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1998), 833 – 82. Cf. now D. T. Tsumura, Creation and Destruction: A Reappraisal of the Cha-oskampf Theory in the Old Testament (Winona
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315
JobLake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005); T. J. Lewis, “CT 13.33 – 34 and Ezekiel 32: Lion-Dragon Myths,” JAOS 116 (1996): 28 – 47.
A-97. COS, 1.111: 391 – 402. A-98. COS, 1.56: 150. A-99. CAT, 1.5:I:1 – 4 = COS, 1.86: 265a. A-100. CAT, 1.3:III:38 – 44 = COS, 1.86: 252a. A-101. Annus, “Ninurta and the Son of Man,” 7; in the
Mari oracles the storm god Adad “fought with
the Sea” (M. Nissinen, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East [Atlanta: SBL, 2003], 22 with note c).
