Job 25 and Book of Job

The Third Cycle of speeches (21-27) began in an understandable enough manner. Job speaks first in 21, then comes Eliphaz III (22), and this is followed by Job in 23-24. But then, in the text as it comes down to us, Bildad only has a truncated speech in 25 (1-6), while 26 and 27 are attributed to Job, though 27:1 ("Job again took up his discourse and said...") suggests that this is the beginning of one of Job's speeches. Zophar is given no third speech. In addition, some of the words put in Job's mouth (26:5-14; 27:13-23; perhaps even 24:18-24) don't seem to reflect Job's theology or approach to God. They are respectful and deferential to the divine glory. These factors have provided grist for the scholarly mill. This essay reviews the issue, while the next one suggests how what I adopt here contributes to the meaning of the Book of Job.

One Proposal

The editors of the New Jerusalem Bible have boldly suggested (re)arranging these passages. They propose that Job's second speech in this cycle actually does not include 24:18-24, but jumps from 24:17 to 24:25, where it concludes. Bildad's next speech would be 25:1-6 (as is now the case), but then would continue with 26:5-14. Job's third speech of the cycle would then consist of 26:1-4 and 27:1-12. To fill up the symmetry of the speeches, Zophar then would be given the words from 27:13-23, that don't appear to be appropriate in Job's mouth, and 24:18-24, left over from Job's second speech. Thus, each speaker has a full third speech, with words not inappropriate to his developing (or stunted) character.

My Proposal--Keep As Is

Though there are attractive reasons to admire the ingenuity of this suggestion, it ignores not simply the present arrangement of the text but also the possibility that the author is trying to say something to the reader in the arrangement of the text. That is, by having Bildad only speak six verses (25:1-6), with the last three of them being almost identical to Eliphaz's words in 4:17-19 about the universal sinfulness of humanity, the author may be emphasizing that Job is interrupting Bildad, not permitting him to finish, because of the tiresome, repetitious, unreflective nature of his ruminations. Perhaps Zophar, the most corrosive of the friends, is not given a third speech because Job doesn''t want to hear anything more from him. Such a conclusion would yield a picture of Job that shows him growing more bold and confident, more sure of himself, (and also perhaps more intolerant) as he approaches his final speech in 29-31.

The next mini-essay will consider three implications of my reading of this section of Job.

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