Job1:1 and a man there was and once upon a time and land of uz

The opening words of epic works never leave me. I think I am fascinated by them because I wonder how I would start my "great work." Would I start in Dante's middle of life, lost in a forest? Would I start with a Miltonian prelude summarizing the whole scope of the work? What is the first thing you would say? Where do you begin? Life is such a complex amalgam of things, a never-ending stream of emotions and happenings and events, a whirlwind and whirlpool of activity, that you frequently don't know where to begin. The student's lament is similar. "After researching a paper topic for the whole term (or longer), how should I begin the writing of the project," Professor Long?

The problem is exacerbated in telling a story because you, the narrator, know much more than the reader. What do you want to tell the reader about which characters or which events, and when do you want them to learn it? When you think about all the hurdles that have to be negotiated by an epic author, or any author, really, you see why there are so few that capture our attention today.

Starting Points

So, the Book of Job begins with the simple statement, "A Man there was" (ish hayah). It is the simplest Hebrew possible. Any student who has learned the Hebrew alphabet and has studied the ancient language for a day can read and translate the two words. The most complex biblical book, which explores the multi-hued contours of loss, grief and hope; the book which has tangled scholars in its net as much as the distress to which the book bears witness has tangled all of us in our lives, begins with utmost simplicity. These simple words are a kind of lure, a bait. We read them, and even the next four Hebrew words ("in the land," and "Uz," and "Job," and "his name") and are brought into a kind of never-never land with a man, whose name is Job. His name is not Mahershalalhashpaz, or whatever the most complex biblical name would be. Actually, his name is among the shortest of the biblical names. And, his land of residence is as short as Ur of the Chaldees. How complex can a story get if the man's name and land are simple? We are brought into the story by the ease of access. "A man there was." All of us know what that means. We know that the story will be about the man. We want to know about him.

Two Other Epic Beginnings

Homer and Virgil begin their epics with similar brevity, though I think the Book of Job is even more attractive than they are. The Iliad begins right in the middle of things: "Sing, o muse, the anger of Achilles son of Pelias..." Actually the Greek word that begins this memorable epic is menin, translated "anger." So, literally, it is "Anger, sing O goddess, of Achilles, son of Pelias." It is good to know this, and good to have more than a "heads up" that anger will be one of the leading themes of the Iliad. The anger of Achilles leads to his withdrawal from battle, leads to the Achaeans being in rough straits, leads to untimely deaths, leads finally to his re-entering the fray.

Virgil, though a great writer, is of a lesser stature, I think, than either Homer or Job. He begins his Aeneid with the memorable phrase "arma virumque cano." "I sing of arms and the man." So, we know the story will be able a great battle or series of battles and the man, Aeneas, who will survive them all and establish his city on the Tiber.

Returning to Job

While Homer is giving a kind of thesis statement in his opening words (i.e., it will be anger that moves the narrative and the account of the Trojan War), and Virgil is giving a descriptive word, Job's author points simply to the man from Uz. The simplicity in introduction is then developed further through the simplicity in moral characterization. Job's religious life is as straightforward and orderly as we could imagine. He is a man who was blameless and upright, a man who feared God and turned away from evil (1:1). The first descriptive word we have of Job is likewise a two letter word: "t(a)m," which adds to our sense of the simplicity of his life. Job is not simply a "blameless man," as the English translations usually have it, but he is a "perfect" man, a "full" man, a man of "integrity." The rhythmic and simple turns of phrases seem to reflect the rhythmic and simple character of his life. Life is straightforward. There really might not be much below the surface. Job is a simple man with a simple name in a simple-sounding land. Words to describe him are straigtforward and sturdy.

Freezing Life

Sometimes, after I have experienced some of the complexities of my own life, I just want to return to the Book of Job and only read 1:1. I want to stop at the end of the first verse and say, "Does this kind of orderliness and blessing make up an entire life? Is it possible or desirable to return to this? Is the rhythmic nature of Job's sweet life something that can be "frozen" for me today? For some reason, I don't want to leave Job 1:1. I want the beginning of the story to be the end of the story. I want to believe that just for once life doesn't have to have its complexity. I want to believe that it is possible, and even desirable, to go through life in the protective tube of perfection and uprightness and have that be the last word of life.

But even if this is my fondest desire and to return to the simplicity of a few words is my secret hope, the text won't let me live there. Even as it continues to narrate aspects of Job's blessedness in vv.2 and 3 (children and possessions), I sense complexity entering in. You can get away with "blameless and upright" without having the complexity of third parties, but once you have 10 screaming kids and lots of cattle, servants and other possessions, you know that there will be huge problems of resource management to face. Job may be the greatest mystic in the world or have the ability to remove himself from the dominating influence of life's pressures, but once you know he has lots of kids and lots of "accounts" as a lawyer friend tells me, you know he will face issues of "exposure to liability" that have to be "managed."

Conclusion

So, I think I am ready to begin my journey with Job. The author has told me that I will be exploring the life of a man. He is apparently a very simple person, with an orderly and blessed life. I am eager to hear the story and enter into his world. As Moses "turned aside" to see the marvelous sight of the burning bush (Ex.3:3), and as Job "turned aside" (Job 1:1) from evil, let's "turn aside" our attention to the man who was.