Job 3:20-23 and fencing in Job and limited hopes and hidden paths

"Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave" (3:20-22)?

At first glance this question appears to contain remarkable insight into the human condition in general. As Job is "returning" from his "mental vacation" in 3:11-19, he seems to want to know about something that bedevils the human experience. Why is it that people who want to die continue to live?* They seek for

[*Suicide does not seem to be an option in the literature of ancient Israel for dealing with your problems. It was not until the Stoics, begininng in the 4th-3rd centuries BCE, engaged in extensive debates of whether it was permissible to flee life rather than lose one's sense of imperturbability that the issue was on the philosophical table]

death more than gold-hunters want buried treasure. They welcome death with open arms. Job wants to know why these peope continue to live. It is only a question that we are getting to in American political life in 2005, as the debate over "physician-assisted suicide," or, as its supporters call it, "physician-assisted dying" heats up. Of course, Job doesn't frame the question precisely as we would do so today, but he hints at the issue.

But what is significant about Job's question is that even though it appears to have "third person distance" to it, its first person referent peeks through. Two words in v.20 are favorite words of Job to describe either his condition or the opposite of it. Why is "light" ('or) given to the one in trouble (amal, the same word as in 3:10)? Job wanted the opposite of light, hoshek, to descend on his life. He uses a sophisticated vocabulary of darkness in chs.3 and 10. So, when he asks about "light" being given to one in trouble, he is wondering about himself. Maybe all questioning is, in fact, just a way to understand ourselves, even if it seemingly is directed to third parties or the world in general. Then, the question continues. Why is life given "to the bitter in soul?" When Job begins to speak directly to God, he will speak, "in the bitterness of my soul" (7:12).

The Question in Job 3:23

Job 3:21-22 develop the question first posed in 3:20. 3:21-22 also seem to want to expand the horizon of the question to others (the participles are in the plural here). But 3:23 unmistakably shows that Job is thinking about himself as he poses his questions.

"Why is light given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in" (3:23)?

The Hebrew does not contain the first several words. It merely reads, "to the man whose way is hidden, and whom God hedges all around." The "why is light given" is added from 3:20. The words of 3:23 have a weight to them that shouldn't be ignored. First, the "one" of 3:23 is the same word as the "man-child" or "male" of 3:3 (geber). Job was the little guy in 3:3; he is the big guy in 3:23.

Second, the Hebrew of 3:23 uses the phrase "his way is hid" (darko nistarah). The word for "way" here is the same word used by Prov. 3:6 to describe the way of life which God will "make straight" if a person puts trust in God. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." That is the promise of Prov. 3:6. But here, Job is saying that his paths have become "hidden." The first person who used that word in the Bible was "Cain," who would be "hidden" from the face of God for slaying Abel (Gen. 4:14). What a great contrast from the promise of Proverbs! And, how autobiographical. Job is not asking now, if he ever was, a neutral question about the human condition. His way has now become hidden, and he doesn't quite know what to do. Maybe he, like Abel, has been expelled from the presence of God.

Third, the verb for "fencing in" is really the same verb, or a closely-related verb, as that used in 1:10 when the Satan talked about God "fencing Job" in with blessings (suk vs. shuk). In other words, when the Satan posed the question to God in 1:10 about Job's fidelity, he did so while recognizing the benefits of "hedging in" or "fencing in." It was an expression of divine protection and care. In the Psalms God might gather the faithful under the shadow of his wings; in the Book of Job, God has fenced Job in with blessings. But that is not the way Job sees it. He is "fenced in" now by God, meaning that he is closed in, shut up, limited, and constrained by the divine hand. Job will never be able to shake the idea that he is thus limited until Elihu tries to point out to him in 36:16 that the distress may be another way of God's trying to lead Job to freedom. But, at the outset, Job feels nothing but constriction.

Conclusion

Maybe, then, that is how we should be looking at Job as he speaks his mind. He is struggling with the felt reality of constraint. Mabye that is really the psychological message of the Book of Job--that the constraints we feel may have some objective basis to them, but ultimately they are self-imposed. But Job could never have heard this message in ch.3, or even ch.23. He had to get all talked out. And so the discussion begins, with Eliphaz first getting into the mix.