Job chapters 3-5
Job vs eliphaz round one
After Satan leaves, Job is miserable and he says that he’s miserable. His opening speech (after shiva) is a plea for G-d to destroy the day he was born. Also invokes the Leviathan. There are more sea monsters in this book than should get into a philosophical novel about the nature of suffering.
So first we got job.
Job Chapter 3
This is a beautifully dark and angry chapter. Job isn't holding back. He's grieving and he's going through all the stages.Existential Angst and Plushies - Tim Lieder's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Note the sorrow. Also I might have added my plea for subscribers too early.
Speaking of which
Then along comes Eliphaz with his toxic positivity
Job Chapter 4
It's 2014. I'm at an Academy Awards party with strangers. Ellen DeGeneres is hosting. I am in Hell. Lupita Nyong'o wins for best supporting actress and a woman sitting next to me says “She's so well spoken.” She means it as a compliment. Had I been among friends, I might have told her that she was racist and watch her cry, which would have been much mor…
I disliked Ellen Degeneres before everyone else. Granted. I don't know her. But people mean well and can still hurt people with stupidity.
And then we got more Eliphaz. He really likes to talk. Eliphaz is a talker.
Job Chapter 5
This chapter presents a tension between standalone and context. In context, it's dripping with toxic positivity. Isolated, this chapter can be a pulpit sermon. It's a little boring and saccharine, but it's not too offensive. We may even want to believe Eliphaz.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully I'll get that “Housebreaker of Shady Hill” article finished after shabbos.
Gofundme tells me that my fundraiser is near me.
Here's a Bible themed book. Buy it.