Job 9:21-22--A Turning Point
Bill Long 1/20/05
This and the next study page will pursue a different strategy than the foregoing. It will be an exposition focusing primarily on 9:21 and the first phrase of 9:22. It is only 9 words in Hebrew but, in my judgment, it reflects a significant turning point in Job's thought in the book. This is the place where the newly self-reflective Job makes a breakthrough of astonishingly negative proportions, a breakthrough which nevertheless fuels his creative artistry for the next several chapters. In this and the next page I want to patiently explore these 9 Hebrew words (about 20 in English) to discover what they reveal about the evolution of Job's mind as he deals with his great distress.
First, Job becomes self-reflective in these verses because he is trying to understand a dilemma of thought in which he finds himself. He is trying to figure out how to approach God and his problem. What can be done about it? Previously he has just struck out in pain against unnamed forces (3), the friends (6) and God (7); now he assesses that strategy. Thus his interior question is "what works for me now?" or "what intellectual strategy can I pursue to alleviate the tremendous dissonance and pain that has come into my life?" Self-reflection is a deeper species of thought and creativity than simply reacting viscerally to the pain of life. We will follow Job in these reflections.
Second, I say that Job has a breakthrough of negative proportions because the means Job chooses initially to "resolve" the dilemma plunges him further into despair. As we saw in the previous study, Job devotes a lot of attention in 9:14-20 to thinking through his "options" at this point. He concludes in 9:20 that, basically, nothing will work. God is so strong and so merciless that regardless of what Job says or how innocent he is, God will rig things so as to convict him. God will even make Job admit his guilt, even though Job is innocent. The full import of this belief dawns on Job in 9:21-22.
Moving to Job 9:21-22
In a series of four staccato-like phrases, reminiscent of Job's four simple but pungent observations in Job 3:26 ("I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, I have no rest, but trouble comes"), he summarizes his condition. I would like to give three translations of these four phrases in Job 9:21-22 and then exposit their meaning.
New Revised Standard Version: "I am blameless; I do not know myself; I loathe my life. It is all one;" and then comes the conclusion, "therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked."
David Clines, leading Job commentator: "I am blameless; I do not care about myself; I have rejected my life. Therefore I saw it is all one;" and then he continues, "the blameless and wicked alike he brings to an end."
Finally, from the Jerusalem Bible: "Am I innocent? I am no longer sure, and life itself I despise. It is all one," and it finishes "and hence I boldly say: he destroys innocent and guilty alike."
Limning Meaning
The first reaction that you as a reader should have is, "I wish I knew Hebrew!" or "Where is the nearest biblical Hebrew class?!" The translations are all "in the same ballpark" in terms of the general meaning of the words, but we see by examining the JB, for example, that it has interpreted the "tone" of Job's first phrase as interrogatory rather than declarative. Since we cannot actually hear Job's voice we are not sure, of course, but I will side with the other translations on the first one. The simple reason is that Job's blamelessness ('tam' in Hebrew) is the first trait mentioned of Job in the opening verse (1:1). The author wanted us to know that Job is a blameless person. That is his basic condition and identity. God agrees (1:8). "Tam" is Job's condition, both from the perspective of the narrator and God.
Thus, Job's first phrase here is "I am blameless" or "I am innocent" or "I am perfect" (another acceptable translation). Here is what I think he is doing. In the preceding verses Job's mental universe has become completely unraveled. He cannot figure out what is happening to him, but he realizes that outbursts of anger alone will not solve his dilemma. He must somehow approach God. But when he approaches God he can no longer simply do so in an outburst of anguish or accusation. He will use a "legal strategy."
In 9:14ff., then, he begins to approach God with what we might call his "case." Later on, in 13:18 he will say that he has indeed prepared his "case," so it is useful to look at his thinking in Job 9 as the first steps in "case preparation." For those who have been attorneys (and I was a litigation attorney for a few years), the most important part of the case is devising your initial strategy after defining the problem you face. Thus, Job is here devising his strategy.
Finally, to Blamelessness
When your world has been turned upside down, you want to turn it rightside up. When you are devising a case, you begin with your strongest pont. The best way to do both of these is to start with a simple declarative sentence of what you know is true. An illustration from human response to disaster is instructive, and it will begin our next essay.
Copyright © 2004-2007 William R. Long
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