Job - person or parable?

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
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_Seth
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Job - person or parable?

Post by _Seth » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:57 pm

Hey all...first post!

In college I remember being taught that the book of Job is a parable and not a historical account. I guess it doesn't matter that much to me; it's still one of my favorite OT books. But here's two things to consider:

1. The book is clearly set in the patriarchal period, since Job performs sacrifices apart from any kind of temple/tabernacle setting.
2. The major characters from the patriarchs seem to all make it into later geneologies. Not so for Job.

Any thoughts on this?

Oooh...one more thing. What are we to make of Job offerring sacrifices for his children? Can one person gain grace for another?
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_Christopher
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Post by _Christopher » Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:11 pm

Hi Seth,

Although Job is not listed in geneologies, he is spoken of elsewhere in scripture:

Ezek 14:14
14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD.
NKJV


Listed among two others who are definitely historical people.

Also:

James 5:10-11
10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
NKJV



He lists him as a prophet here. Besides that, it would hardly seem logical for James to use a fictional character here as an example to encourage his readers to endure.

Perhaps there is no geneology for Job because he was in the line of any significant descendants of the patriarch. Many think he was an Edomite and I'm not sure how many (if any) generations of Esau's line we have in scripture.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I lean towards a real historical account rather than a parable.

Lord bless.
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_Christopher
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Post by _Christopher » Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:11 pm

By the way....welcome to the forum.
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"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31-32

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_Seth
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Post by _Seth » Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:31 pm

I'm not entirely sure the James quote identifies Job as a prophet, since it's possible he could be moving from "consider the prophets" to "and also think of Job". Still, it's a reference and what I was looking for.

It's funny, I read the NT earlier this year and I had a feeling there had been a mention of Job. I suppose I could have checked it on Bible Gateway or somesuch, but I figured the Forum would be more fun. Thanks for the answer.
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_TK
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Post by _TK » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:36 pm

hi seth- welcome.

you are right- this forum is more fun. i have only been here a couple of months and i am amazed at all the brainpower here and the good christian discussion. i am not sure what i did without it!

I agree with christopher that Job was a real person, for the reasons he states.

the whole book is worthwhile if for only one verse:

"though he slay me, yet will i trust him."

TK
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"Were not our hearts burning within us? (Lk 24:32)

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Post by _ » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:42 pm

"though he slay me, yet will i trust him."

Very much agreed with you on that verse, TK.

There is a midway stance on the historicity of Job which I think is the most probable...

Some think that there was an original core story or oral tradition about Job (very short, like just three or four narrative chapters worth) that was later expanded into a wonderful peice of sublime wisdom literature on the problem of pain. The orginal story would include all the basic plot developments and the "punchline".

According to this view, the core story would be quite ancient and could very well have been about a real, historical Job. The rest of the book (the poetry) could have been written by an unnamed Jewish author years later, providing artistic flourish to the basic sentiments of the original.

Just a perspective that I think recognizes the antiquity of the book while fitting its genre and length of composition with a more appropriate historical composition date. What I mean by this is that it almost certainly had to have been originally an oral tradition (like the narrative in Genesis, for instance) if the story is as old as it claims to be. And it's hard to imagine the intact transmission of a largely non-chronological-based oral tradition of that length from that time period and place (though perhaps not impossible). What I mean by that is that the Genesis narratives would have been much more possible to preserve through oral tradition with integrity because they were story based. But the largely free-floating poetry of Job would be hard to transmit with accuracy.

Anyway, just a thought.

Unlike other historical books of the OT, the power of Job is undiminished in my mind whether it is historical or not, beacuse either way it is definitely inspired.
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anochria
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Re: Job - person or parable?

Post by anochria » Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:37 pm

I was just going to write that I agreed with the last person to post on this thread, and then I realized, I think it was me!!! :D

I'm glad I agree with myself.... at least today!

Oh, and apparently I joined these forums 6 years before I was born.

I was always told I was born "old"
Pastor Josh Coles, Aletheia Christian Fellowship
Visit the Aletheia Discussion Forums

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TK
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Re: Job - person or parable?

Post by TK » Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:42 pm

I was always told I was born "old"
just like george bailey.

TK

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