JOB 28: HYMN TO WISDOM

Bullock outlines the three opinions scholars have taken regarding this section: an intrusive addition by another author, a product of the same author but poorly placed in its present position, or a hymn composed by the same author and serving some function where it is located in the text. The present analysis goes even beyond the last position in ascribing real importance to ch. 28. Below is a greatly abbreviated version of my proposed symmetrical organization for the Book of Job, defended elsewhere in the post “Job: Introduction to the Literary Structure.”

Figure 1: The Structure of the Book of Job

I.  Job's First State (1:1-5)
           II.  Scenes in Heaven and their Aftermath (1:6-2:10)
                    III.  Job and His Three Friends: the Wisdom of Age (2:11-26:14)
                            IV. Job's Three Speeches (chs. 27-31)
                                A.  “Job again took up his discourse” (ch. 27)
                                    B.  A Hymn to Wisdom (ch. 28)
                                A'.  “Job again took up his discourse” (chs. 29-31)
                   III'.  The Elihu Speeches: the Wisdom of Youth (chs. 32-37)
           II'.  Yahweh's Speeches Out of the Whirlwind (chs. 38-42)
I'. Job's Second State (42:7-17)

If Section IV is the center of the chiastic architecture of the book of Job, then ch. 28 is the center of the center, and thus the pivotal point of the book. Confirmation of the centrality of this chapter also comes from Dorsey’s analysis of the literary form of Job although the other details of his proposed structure have little in common with those of the present analysis. However, the centers of both proposals happen to coincide. Parenthetically, one point in favor of Dorsey’s proposal is his long list of specific verbal parallels between ch. 3 and chs. 38-41 that are not explained by Fig. 1. This is one good illustration of the robustness of the chiastic form in pointing the reader to the all-important focus of the work even if the intended route to that center is sometimes uncertain.

In literary style and depth of thought, this section of Job is certainly well suited to its position. This poem “is one of the finest in the Old Testament” according to Pope, and Young praises it for its “sublime heights.” It is certainly more than just an “anticipation,” “interlude,” or “intermezzo,” as other commentators have labeled it. For one thing, this passage does function as a transition between the contrasting forms of dialogue in the first half of the book and monologue in the second, as noted by Hartley. In addition, the climax of this hymn comes at Job 28:28, where wisdom is defined using the exact same attribute enumerated for Job in the first verse of the book: fear of the LORD. Hess agrees that “this theme stands at the center of the book and provides a key to wisdom.”

In stark contrast to this glowing testimonial, K. Gros Louis in an extended essay on the Book of Job almost totally dismisses chapter 28 with a brief mention only.

Grant summarizes the complete rhetorical function of Job 28 by stating, “The wisdom poem is a lacuna, a pause, in the intensifying narrative. Its subject matter is central to the big picture of the book but not immediately linked to the surrounding passages.”

Walton echoes this opinion: The wisdom interlude serves the function of indicating that even though we have heard from the best that the sages of the ancient world had to offer..., we have not yet heard true wisdom. It closes the dialogue section of the book with the promise that there is more to offer and so points the direction toward the denouement that is to be first hinted at by the creative position forged by Elihu...” In other words, Job 28 is a sort of necessary evil in the overall scheme of the book without having any necessary true words of wisdom to impart in itself.

In contrast, Greenberg's opinion of this poem is as follows: “Still formally part of Job's speech is the sublime poem on wisdom that follows (chap. 28) – the wisdom by which the world is governed, by which the meaning of events is unlocked. Man knows how to ferret precious ores out of the earth; he conquers the most daunting natural obstacles in order to obtain treasure. But he does not have a map to the sources of wisdom...God alone, whose control of the elements of weather exemplifies his wide-ranging power, comprehends it.” 

As far as its placement within the book, Greenberg notes, “The topic of this poem and its serene resignation seem out of place at this juncture. Critics generally excise the poem from its context, though some ascribe it nonetheless to the author of the dialogue. It is a self-contained piece having only tangential connections with its environment; but these may account for its location. The mention of silver in the first line links the poems to the preceding description of the wicked man's loss of his silver (27:16-17). More substantial is the possible connection with Job's undertaking to teach his Friends 'what is with the Almighty' (27:11), preparatory to which they should stop talking nonsense.”

Greenberg may be correct concerning these two rather minor correspondences, but the structure of Figure 1 demonstrates why Job 28 does not necessarily have to follow chapter 27 in a logical manner since a logical order is only secondary in the author's mind to the more topical order in which the book is also arranged.

It is in this poem that Job wrestles with the issue of wisdom, realizes that it cannot be found by unaided mankind, and thus becomes “reinstated as a sage,” to use Childs' phrase. Gladson says that by its demonstration of the failure of human wisdom, this Hymn to Wisdom links the earlier sections of the book to the following sections which will focus squarely on God himself. As McKenzie points out, “The book becomes anti-wisdom when ultimately the wise men have nothing to say about cosmic justice. If anything is to be said about it, one must go beyond wisdom; and where is one to go? I believe the context demands that one go to God at this point, and that is where the poet goes.”