Jobs Chapters 6-8
Job screams at G-d, talks about Sea Monsters. Bildad is Useless.
These are the chapters in the midst of the first Job vs. Friends sections. For all those keeping track, Job is in sections.
G-d and Satan Prologue
Job vs. his Friends pt. 1 - “Everything Happens for a Reason”
Job vs. his Friends pt. 2 - “The Evildoers WILL be Punished. THEY WILL”
Job vs. his Friends pt. 3 - Job’s Friends are just repeating themselves (I am currently writing about this section with Eliphaz’s last speech.)
Job Talks a LOT
Elihu Sticks His Nose In
G-d
Happy Ending!!!!! YAY!!!!!
Anyhow, these chapters come from that second section. Job is delivering his most bathetic lines and his friends are showing off just how bad they are at listening to him. I also had an excuse to talk about Trainspotting, so that was fun.
Chapter 6 is Job talking about his sad life and how little Eliphaz is helping him. I used it to talk about how the notion of “easy solutions” is a nice fantasy, but garbage.
Job Chapter 6
“It wasn't just the baby that died that day. Something inside Sick Boy was lost and never returned. It seemed like he had no theory with which to explain a moment like this.” - Trainspotting (movie)
In chapter 7, Job keeps talking. He also mentions sea monsters. I LOVE how often this book talks about sea monsters. Seriously, when I was a kid I would have probably read a lot more Bible if I knew about how often one could read it and go “Hey, is that Godzilla?”
Job Chapter 7
Instead of arguing at Eliphaz, Job directly addresses G-d. When it comes to Eliphaz Job is angry, but also hurt because he expects better from his friends. With G-d, Job can be as angry as he wants. The imagery is amazing. Job asks G-d to look away long enough for Job to swallow his spit. We all die, so come on G-d, fuck off for a bit.
Finally, we get Bildad. A theme that comes up a lot when writing about this book is how often Job’s friends are all “tl;dr, so let me talk a bunch of bullshit in an effort to get you to STFU already.” So yes, this is like Platonic dialogues if those poor bastards talking to Socrates talked like real people and just changed the subject.
Job Chapter 8
Why is Casablanca a classic and Mrs. Miniver just old? Both came out in the 1940s. Both have problematic “of their time” elements. Yet Casablanca still has the power to surprise and move its audience. A classic has the power to feel contemporary no matter when it came out.
Ok. That’s it. If you like these articles and want to read more Bible analysis, I published a biography of Rashi, one of the most popular Biblical commentators. Rosh Hashana is coming up and the services are long, so this is a great book to read during them.
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