Book of Job

Hist 588
 
Prof. Mark Wessner
 
Essay
 

 
            My review, for purposes of introduction, is a study of the book of Job in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The authorship of Job is unknown, though some theologians have suggested that it was written by Moses, while others suggest that it is autobiographical.
            Job is one of the books of the Hebrew bible that is actually a poem, though it does not obey the disciplines of poetic meter.  The structure is a rather a simple, didactic poem yet presented in prose.  Job 1 and 2 are the prologues written in prose while Job 3:1-42:6 is more poetic and consists of numerous sppeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  The epilogue,  in prose, is between God and Job.
            Job tells the story of Job and of his sufferings visited upon him by God following a challenge by Satan asserting that Job would not be so faithful a servant of God, if   Job were less fortunate in friends and fortune.  Thus the stage is set for the book of Job.   Job has theological discussions with friends about the origin and nature of suffering, concluding with his challenge to God and God's final response.
           
                                                                                               

Studdard Pg 2
            From Job's perspective, of course, the scriptural events are intended for Job, but in the broader sense it is a lesson to all Christians with an admonishment that God shall not be challenged and that any command He directs is for the ultimate good of the recipient(s).
            One naturally asks the question,   and I use this as a segue to the thesis of this review: Are the acts and commands of God above question due to his divine sovereignty, or, as adherents to the Theodicy of Protest correct in asserting that God, too, must share in the responsibility of doing evil? 
            The Theodicy of Protest contemplates a person who wants to, on the one hand,...