Job 14
Job 14 | |
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![]() The whole Book of Job in the Leningrad Codex (1008 C.E.) from an old fascimile edition. | |
Book | Book of Job |
Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
Order in the Hebrew part | 3 |
Category | Sifrei Emet |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 18 |
Job 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE.[3][4] This chapter records the speech of Job, which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising Job 3:1–31:40.[5][6]
Text
[edit]The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 22 verses.
Textual witnesses
[edit]Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q100 (4QJobb; 50–1 BCE) with extant verses 4–6[8][9][10] and 4Q101 (4QpaleoJobc; 250–150 BCE) with extant verses 13–18.[8][11][9][12]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[13]
Analysis
[edit]The structure of the book is as follows:[14]
- The Prologue (chapters 1–2)
- The Dialogue (chapters 3–31)
- The Verdicts (32:1–42:6)
- The Epilogue (42:7–17)
Within the structure, chapter 14 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:[15]
- Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament (3:1–26)
- Round One (4:1–14:22)
- Eliphaz (4:1–5:27)
- Job (6:1–7:21)
- Bildad (8:1–22)
- Job (9:1–10:22)
- Zophar (11:1–20)
- Job (12:1–14:22)
- The Wicked Prosper but I Am Suffering (12:1–6)
- God's Hand in Creation (12:7–12)
- God's Active Control of the World (12:13–25)
- Job's Stance (13:1–3)
- Job's Rebuke of His Friends (13:4–12)
- Addressing the Friends (13:13–19)
- Addressing God (13:20–28)
- The Brevity of Human Life (14:1–6)
- The Lack of Hope for Humans (14:7–12)
- Job's Imaginative Exploration of Hope (14:13–17)
- The Lack of Hope – Again (14:18–22)
- Round Two (15:1–21:34)
- Round Three (22:1–27:23)
- Interlude – A Poem on Wisdom (28:1–28)
- Job's Summing Up (29:1–31:40)
The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar.[5] Chapters 12 to 14 contain Job's closing speech of the first round, where he directly addresses his friends (12:2–3; 13:2, 4–12).[16] There are two major units in chapter 14, each with a distinct key question:[17]
- Verses 1–6 focus on the brevity of human life, with the key question in verses 3–4.
- Verses 7–22 explore the issue of hope for humans, with the key question in verses 13–17.[17]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Job.jpg/200px-Job.jpg)
Job laments the brevity of human life (14:1–6)
[edit]This section contains Job's laments of his suffering against the backdrop of human sorrow in general (echoing chapter 7).[18] Three phrases ("born of a woman", "few of days" and "full of trouble"; verse 1) and the analogies to "a flower" and "a shadow" (verse 2) emphasize human limitations as well as the brevity of human life.[18] Job attempts to protest that God treats him as a "hired man", which is 'unsuited for his limilations' (verses 5–6).[19]
Verse 6
[edit]- [Job said:] ""Look away from him that he may rest,
- Till like a hired man he finishes his day."[20]
- "Rest": or "cease",[21] from the Hebrew verb חָדַל, khadal ("to desist; to cease"), so it would mean here "and let him desist" or "and let him rest".[22]
Here Job depicts humans as "hired laborers" under a harsh taskmaster, so 'life becomes mere tedium driven by obligation and fear', instead of 'joyful service to a caring master'.[23]
Job laments the lack of hope for humans (14:7–22)
[edit]There are three units in this section:[17]
- Verses 7–12 point to lack of hope for humanity
- Verses 13–17 provide the key question as well as Job's imaginative exploration of hope
- Verses 18–22 revisit the lack of hope for humanity.[17]
The center point is that Job wants God to 'remember' him (verse 13; cf. Job 7:7, 10:9) and protect him from divine wrath, believing that God is in charge, although in the ways that Job does not fully understand.[24]
Verse 13
[edit]- [Job said:] "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
- that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
- that You would appoint me a set time
- and remember me!"[25]
- "Hide me in the grave": seems to be in contrast to Job's revulsion of the grave in other parts of his speeches (Job 7:9; 17:16), because Job thinks the afterlife is 'an unpleasant prospect of joyless semi-existence', instead of 'a joyful anticipation'.[26]
- "The grave": translated from the Hebrew term "Sheol", which in the Bible refers to 'the place where the dead go'.[27]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Halley 1965, pp. 244–245.
- ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
- ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 193.
- ^ Crenshaw 2007, p. 332.
- ^ a b Crenshaw 2007, p. 335.
- ^ Wilson 2015, p. 18.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 36–37.
- ^ a b Ulrich 2010, p. 728.
- ^ a b Fitzmyer 2008, p. 42.
- ^ 4Q100 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
- ^ Dead sea scrolls - Job
- ^ 4Q101 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Wilson 2015, pp. 17–23.
- ^ Wilson 2015, pp. 18–21.
- ^ Wilson 2015, p. 79.
- ^ a b c d Wilson 2015, p. 86.
- ^ a b Wilson 2015, p. 87.
- ^ Wilson 2015, p. 88.
- ^ Job 14:6 NKJV
- ^ Note on Job 14:6 in NKJV
- ^ Note [a] on Job 14:6 in NET Bible
- ^ Estes 2013, p. 87.
- ^ Wilson 2015, p. 89.
- ^ Job 14:13 MEV
- ^ Estes 2013, p. 88.
- ^ Note [b] on Job 14:13 in NET Bible
Sources
[edit]- Alter, Robert (2010). The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0393080735.
- Coogan, Michael David (2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 (Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288810.
- Crenshaw, James L. (2007). "17. Job". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 331–355. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Estes, Daniel J. (2013). Walton, John H.; Strauss, Mark L. (eds.). Job. Teach the Text Commentary Series. United States: Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 9781441242778.
- Farmer, Kathleen A. (1998). "The Wisdom Books". In McKenzie, Steven L.; Graham, Matt Patrick (eds.). The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-66425652-4.
- Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802862419.
- Halley, Henry H. (1965). Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary (24th (revised) ed.). Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-25720-4.
- Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick J. (2009). An Introduction to the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-4636-5.
- Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
- Walton, John H. (2012). Job. United States: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310492009.
- Wilson, Lindsay (2015). Job. United States: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9781467443289.
- Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Jewish translations:
- Iyov - Job - Chapter 14 (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
- Christian translations:
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- Book of Job Chapter 14. Various versions
Book of Job public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions