BOOK OF JOB AS LITERATURE

Job

Poetry

The Book of Job has in common with almost 1/3 of the Old Testament the fact that it is written for the most part in poetry, not prose. However, Hebrew poetry differs from the traditional type of poetry we are used to. Consider a simple-minded example of poetry based on a well-known ditty:

a. Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

b. I'm studying Job

and so are you.

We know that this is poetry because it possesses a certain meter and rhyming scheme. Hebrew poetry rarely rhymes and has a meter much less strict than our poetry.

Then what distinguishes it if it isn’t the same sounds or a unifying rhythm? It is presence of the same or similar thoughts in each of the lines. This is called Poetic Parallelism.

We will look at some lines of poetry in Job in a minute, but first try to picture the above poem as two Hebrew poems. In first example (a), you can see the repeated pattern with similarities in subject, verb, and predicate. This would be called Identical Parallelism if it were written in Hebrew. Taken together, the second line generally adds to the idea of the first line so that both lines together could be paraphrased in prose to say “Flowers come in different colors.”

Example (b) is a little more complicated. The combined idea in prose is “We are both studying Job.” If the elements of the sentence are diagrammed, we can see the parallelism of the lines better.

I                                                am studying Job

and so are (studying Job)         you

Connecting the similar elements of each line (“I” with “you,” and “am studying Job” with “and so are”) forms an X (chi in Greek). So this inverted form of parallelism is called a chiasm.

So what?

1. By relying on the similarity of ideas rather than similar sounds or beats, biblical poetry can be easily translated into all languages. This is in marked contrast to the Koran, which Muslims feel can only be truly understood if one knows Arabic.

2. The general principle of poetic parallelism has been very helpful in discovering the actual meaning of obscure and outdated Hebrew words which are often utilized in poetry. One can approximate their meaning by going to the parallel description in the adjacent line of poetry.

3. This principle needs to be recognized in order to properly understand what is being said. Previous generations of preachers were totally misled because they would try to look for differences between both lines in a verse, not their similarities.

Another secular example before turning to Job itself: “Your momma don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock and roll.” (Loggins and Messina)   As prose, this would mean that whereas momma doesn't dance at all, daddy does dance but not to rock and roll music. As poetry, these two thoughts would be combined to mean that the parents don't like modern dance music.

Literary Structure

Most introductions to this book will give an outline or table of contents. However, much more insight into Job can be obtained by realizing that it has a symmetrical structure to it (as do most of the other books in the Bible). One such proposed structure is shown below:

The Structure of the Book of Job

I. Job's First State (1:1-5)

A. His Person / Character (1:1)

B. His World (1:2-4)

A'. His Person / Character (1:5)

        II. Scenes in Heaven and their Aftermath (1:6-2:10)

A. First Scene Regarding Job's World (1:6-22)

    B. Second Scene Regarding Job's Person (2:1-10)

III. Job and His Three Friends: the Wisdom of Age (2:11-26:14)

        IV. Job's Three Speeches (chs. 27-31)

                                    III'. The Elihu Speeches: the Wisdom of Youth (chs. 32-37) 

        II'. Yahweh's Speeches Out of the Whirlwind (chs. 38-42)

   B. Yahweh's Person/Character (38:1-40:5)

A. Yahweh's World (40:6-42:6)

I'. Job's Second State (42:7-17)

A. His Person / Character (42:7-9)

B. His World (42:10-15)

A'. His Person / Character (42:16-17)

The structure is even more ordered than shown below, as will be discussed in another lesson.

In going beyond a mere outline of the book it is important for the following reasons:

It confirms the fact that God is a God of order

It identifies the proper division of units within each book

It points out unexpected contexts for individual verses and passages

It shows the point(s) of emphasis within the boo