OT Survey II

Introduction to the Poetical

Literature
and
the Book of Job
 Introduction to the Poetical
Literature
Unlike all the books we have studied
so far, the poetical books do not
advance the storyline of Israel.
These books are timeless in nature
and contain:
Wisdom for life (Job, Proverbs, and
Ecclesiastes)
Songs (Psalms)
A commentary on the relationship of
marriage (Song of Solomon)
 Introduction to the Poetical
Literature
Types of Hebrew Poetry
Lyrical intended to be accompanied by music.
Didactic intended to teach people to observe and evaluate life.
Dramatic conveys ideas and truth through dialogue and
monologue.
Parallelism as a dominant feature of Hebrew poetry
Synonymous Parallelism - different lines or members present the
same thought in a slightly different form.
The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands (Psa 19:1).
Antithetic Parallelism - presents a contrast or opposition of
thought presented in the different sentences. This type of
parallelism is especially abundant in Proverbs.
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,
But the mouth of fools spouts folly (Prov 15:2).
Synthetic Parallelism - this is a correspondence and equality in
structure, but not necessarily in words or sentences.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread? (Psa 27:1)
 Introduction to the Poetical
Literature
Books that make up this group:
Books by Solomon
Job Not everyone agrees that Solomon wrote this one; a
fascinating book on the wisdom and sovereignty of God.
Wisdom Proverbs maxims for wise living; states the way things
Lit
generally work.
Ecclesiastes describes the futility of life under the
sun.
Song of Solomon extols the pleasures and perils of
marital love.
Psalms aka the Psalter; Israels songbook;
contains wisdom psalms within it (e.g., Psa 37, 49,
73).
 Two Types of Wisdom
Literature
Didactic - consists of wise sayings or proverbs
that advocate all types of good habits, skills,
and virtues.
Proverbs is filled with this kind of instruction.
Ecclesiastes also contains it, to a lesser degree.
Interrogative - asks hard questions in seeking
to understand Gods ways and the meaning of
life.
Job, Ecclesiastes, and the wisdom psalms exemplify
this type.
 Characteristics of Wisdom
Literature
Focuses on instruction for skillful living and
emphasizes a lifestyle of godliness.
Not so interested in theoretical matters, but instead
is based on real experience and observation.
Begins with the fear of the Lord and focuses on the
result of a positive outcome.
Seeks to pass on the insights gained from
experience to the next generation, so that they
might live successfully as well.
Then they said, Come and let us devise plans against
Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest,
nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet!
Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us
give no heed to any of his words (Jer 18:18)
 Quote from John Walton
In the Old Testament, then, wisdom is basically the
very practical art of being prudent, sensible, and
skillfully insightful so that one may prosper and
have good success in life. Wisdom is also
disciplined and proper behavior, learning how to do
what is right and just and fair (Prov. 3:1 5).
Wisdom taps the life experience of accumulated
years and harnesses that knowledge and
understanding for the purpose of safety, long life,
right behavior, sound moral character, happiness,
material prosperity, and integrity (cf. Prov. 1:33; 2:8-
9; 3:1-2). Ultimately wisdom is learning how to
steer through life in a way that wins favor and a
good name in the sight of both humanity and God
(Prov. 3:4) (Hill and Walton, A Survey of the Old
Testament, p. 257).
The Book of Job
Historical Setting
The events of the book of
Job evidently took place
during the times of the
patriarchs.
Jobs total life span was
approximately 200 years.
His wealth is measured in
livestock.
The social unit is the
patriarchal family-clan. Job
is the priest of his family
and offers sacrifices.
There are no references to
Israel, the Mosaic Law, or
the tabernacle.
Lamentations 4:21 places
Uz in the land of Edom,
southeast of the Dead Sea.
 Author and Date of Writing
The author of this book is not explicitly identified.
Three theories have been put forth as to the author
and time of writing:
The author is Job or Elihu, and the book was written
shortly after the events occurred, c. 2000 B.C.
The book was written by Moses in Midian, which is
adjacent to the land of Uz. The date of writing would be
between 1485 1445 B.C. This theory is supported by at
least one Talmudic tradition.
It was written by Solomon c. 950 B.C. This theory is based
on the similarity between Job and other known Solomonic
wisdom literature (compare Job 28 and Proverbs 8).
It is difficult to pick between these three, though
Benware notes that many conservative scholars
believe the book was written during the days of
King Solomon.
 Structure
The Dilemma of Job (1:1 2:13)
Job is a righteous man, an unlikely candidate for catastrophe.
Satan accuses Job of being righteous only for what he can gain.
God grants Satan permission to attack Job on 2 different occasions, first against
all that he has and then against his health.
The Debates of Job with His Friends (3:1 37:34)
Hearing of Jobs plight, his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come and sit in
silence for 7 days.
Job then breaks the silence with a monologue cursing the day of his birth. This
initiates a 3 round cycle of debate with his friends. After these older men have
spoken, Elihu offers his perspective.
The fundamental assumption of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar is
that God is not unrighteous, and that Job must have sinned and therefore deserved what he has received.
Elihu comes closer to the truth by seeing suffering as something other than punishment for sin (33:13-18,
29-33).
Jobs defense is not that he is blameless, but that his punishment does not fit his
crime.
The Debates of Job with God (38:1 42:6)
God challenges Job as the Creator of earth and its creatures.
Job answers.
God challenges Job as the Creator of Behemoth and Leviathan.
Job answers.
The Deliverance of Job and His Friends (42:7-17)
Chiastic Matching of Prologue and Epilogue in Job

Prologue (Job 1:1 2:13)

a. Introduction: Job lives a righteous life.
b. Jobs children: 7 sons and 3 daughters
c. Jobs flocks: 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys
d. Parties: with Jobs family members (they are brothers and sisters)
e. Jobs afflictions come upon him.
f. Three friends come to Job to console him.
g. Friends are silent seven days and seven nights.

Epilogue (Job 42:7-17)

g. Friends are rebuked for their words.
f. Three friends come to Job to ask for help.
e. Jobs afflictions are reversed.
d. Party: with Jobs family members (his brothers and sisters and many others).
c. Jobs flocks: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, 1,000 donkeys
b. Jobs children: 7 sons and 3 daughters
a. Conclusion: Job dies old and full of days

Adapted from The Literary Structure of the Old Testament by David A. Dorsey, p. 170.
 Major Themes
Job as a Righteous Man
Suffering
The Greatness, Sovereignty, and
Wisdom of God as Creator and
Controller of the Universe
The Creatureliness of Man
 Purpose Statement and
Message
The response of the righteous man to suffering ought
to be worship and submission to God and His
sovereignty.
The basic question of the book is, Why do the
righteous suffer if God is loving and all-powerful?
Suffering itself is not the central theme; rather, the
focus is on what Job learns from his sufferingthe
sovereignty of God over all creation. The debate in
chapters 337 regards whether God should allow this
suffering to happen to a person who is innocent. The
oversimplified solutions offered by Jobs three friends
are simply inadequate. Elihus claim that God can use
suffering to purify the righteous is closer to the mark.
The conclusion at the whirlwind is that God is sovereign
and worthy of worship in whatever He chooses to do.
Job must learn to trust in the goodness and power of
God in adversity by enlarging his concept of God
(Wilkinson and Boa, Talk through the Bible, p. 145).
A Key Chapter in the Book: Job
28
Human Skill in Mining Technology
(28:1-11)
Wisdoms Unsearchability and Value
(28:12-19)
Gods Knowledge of Wisdom
(28:20-27)
Wisdom for Mankind (28:28)
Next Week: The Psalms