Job’s Friends Become Assholish (Chap 8-11)

Continuing our warp speed tour of Job, we now see his friends get more belligerent. For instance, Bildad says to him that God will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with shouts of joy (8:21). Can you really see yourself saying this to someone who has just buried 10 freaking children?? Without getting punched in the face that is.

Bildad also says this to Job: If your sons sinned against Him, He dispatched them for their transgression (8:4). This is at least an upgrade: if this story were in an earlier book of the Bible, he’d be saying his children died because of him. Of course in reality they did, but at least Bildad thinks too much of God to allow that. I wonder if the commentators think Job’s children sinned by having parties every day (Job 1:4). Seems in line with the downer ascetic threads that run through the Bible.

There is a concept in Judaism called Yeridat Hadorot: that each generation is on a lower spiritual level than the previous. It’s bunk but goes hand in hand with a general human tendency to see that everything’s going to shit. I think this verses might be the first expression of this “kids these days” idea. Ask the generation past, Study what their fathers have searched out — For we are of yesterday and know nothing (8:8-9a). Again, not such a great move in consoling someone, eh?

Job on the other hand has some powerful complaints: Man cannot win a suit against God. If he insisted on a trial with Him, He would not answer one charge in a thousand…Who ever challenged Him and came out whole?–Him who moves mountains without their knowing it? (9:3-5). This is a strong invocation of Euthyphro’s Dilemma: Job seems to be saying God only has his way in terms of morality because he is so powerful. God’s might is [moral] right. This is pretty sophisticated for a biblical text — maybe there is something to this book being the most advanced in the Bible. Anyway we’ll see what God thinks about that towards the end of the book…

Job speaks a few more gems in these chapters. He has a great summary of the whole problem of evil: He covers the eyes of its [the earth's] judges. If it is not He, then who? (9:24). How marvellous and unflinching, who indeed if not the Chief Comptroller of the world? Your hands shaped and fashioned me, Then destroyed every part of me (10:8). Again, encapsulates the problem of evil far better than any modern essay I’ve seen. I’m warming up to this Job character a lot.