Lots of scholars don't like the outer story or the happy ending. Since Job is a parable, and Job is like the Vine, a corporate reality, so also all of us can be of benefit to all others even in their misery, and who knows but some new gift will appear from the Most High mediated through our efforts that will restore life to many. God knows we need some sort of change to international politics. Not to mention daily help with the difficult tasks of personal interaction.
Sated with blessing - not sated with destruction. That's the call.
I used to get a kick out of Stephen Mitchell's translation of the names of the daughters of Job as Dove, Cinnamon, and Eye-shadow. But I don't think so. Dove is a stretch. And so is Eye-Shadow. So I chose Day-by-day, Cassia, and Karen-the-Fair.
For the second time today I am listening to my daughter's (just under) two-hour performance of the Bach Organ Mass as recorded by a friend and fellow singer on the Wolfe organ at Christ Church Cathedral here in Victoria this past April 13. It is stunning in recording, a pulse crying out for ears connected to a heart. There's an example of gift - the music of Bach.
Verse 1 is the narrator, so always without rest. In verse 3 people have used quotation marks intending to show that Job is quoting Yahweh from chapter 38, but he is not exact with his words. It is also true that we are not sure who is speaking in this section. What words does 'these words' at the beginning of verse 7 refer to? The ones we usually attribute to Job? (See Troy W. Martin. “Concluding the Book of Job and YHWH: Reading Job from the End to the Beginning.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 137, no. 2, 2018, pp. 299–318. JSTOR, JSTOR,) Martin suggests that it is Yahweh who repents. (2018 It turns out that I never had use this gloss, repent.) Given that Yahweh is the usual subject of נחם and that שׁוב is not the stem for this sentence, he may have several good points. In any case Job has not business using Yahweh's word for repenting!
Does the music help decide if there is an unstated change of speaker in this passage? Verse 3 has a discontinuity in the music. The line may well be interpreted as an interruption. The theological difficulty is that Yahweh would admit here to learning something about humanity. But let poetry do its job and imagine, as does the Incarnation, that God can learn.
Clearly this requires two keys in the music - prose accents or not, verses 2 to 6 should be in the default Poetry tone (f# g natural), and the rest of the verses in the default Prose tone (f natural, g#). The rest in verse 6 is in an unexpected place.
| Job 42 | Fn | Min | Max | Syll | ||
| וַיַּ֖עַן אִיּ֥וֹב אֶת־יְהוָ֗ה וַיֹּאמַֽר | 1 | And Job answered Yahweh and said, | 3e | 3g | 11 | |
| יָ֭דַעְתִּי כִּי־כֹ֣ל תּוּכָ֑ל וְלֹא־יִבָּצֵ֖ר מִמְּךָ֣ מְזִמָּֽה | 2 | g | I know that you can accomplish all, and not enclosed from you is intention. | 3e | 4B | 7 9 |
| מִ֤י זֶ֨ה ׀ מַעְלִ֥ים עֵצָ֗ה בְּֽלִ֫י דָ֥עַת לָכֵ֣ן הִ֭גַּדְתִּי וְלֹ֣א אָבִ֑ין נִפְלָא֥וֹת מִ֝מֶּ֗נִּי וְלֹ֣א אֵדָֽע | 3 | C | Who is this obscuring counsel without knowledge? Therefore I declared, and I had not understood, wonderful things from me, and I knew not. | 3e | 4C | 10 9 10 |
| שְֽׁמַֽע־נָ֭א וְאָנֹכִ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר אֶ֝שְׁאָלְךָ֗ וְהוֹדִיעֵֽנִי | 4 | Hear if you will, and I myself will speak, and I will ask you, and you will make known to me. | 3e | 4B | 10 8 | |
| לְשֵֽׁמַע־אֹ֥זֶן שְׁמַעְתִּ֑יךָ וְ֝עַתָּ֗ה עֵינִ֥י רָאָֽתְךָ | 5 | Of the hearing of an ear I had heard of you, and now my eye sees you. | 3e | 4A | 9 8 | |
| עַל־כֵּ֭ן אֶמְאַ֣ס וְנִחַ֑מְתִּי עַל־עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר פ | 6 | Therefore I refuse, and I sigh, over dust and ashes. | 3e | 4B | 15 | |
| וַיְהִ֗י אַחַ֨ר דִּבֶּ֧ר יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אֶל־אִיּ֑וֹב וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־אֱלִיפַ֣ז הַתֵּֽימָנִ֗י חָרָ֨ה אַפִּ֤י בְךָ֙ וּבִשְׁנֵ֣י רֵעֶ֔יךָ כִּ֠י לֹ֣א דִבַּרְתֶּ֥ם אֵלַ֛י נְכוֹנָ֖ה כְּעַבְדִּ֥י אִיּֽוֹב | 7 | And it happened after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, that Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is prepared as my servant Job. | 3c | 4C | 18 40 | |
| וְעַתָּ֡ה קְחֽוּ־לָכֶ֣ם שִׁבְעָֽה־פָרִים֩ וְשִׁבְעָ֨ה אֵילִ֜ים וּלְכ֣וּ ׀ אֶל־עַבְדִּ֣י אִיּ֗וֹב וְהַעֲלִיתֶ֤ם עוֹלָה֙ בַּֽעַדְכֶ֔ם וְאִיּ֣וֹב עַבְדִּ֔י יִתְפַּלֵּ֖ל עֲלֵיכֶ֑ם כִּ֧י אִם־פָּנָ֣יו אֶשָּׂ֗א לְבִלְתִּ֞י עֲשׂ֤וֹת עִמָּכֶם֙ נְבָלָ֔ה כִּ֠י לֹ֣א דִבַּרְתֶּ֥ם אֵלַ֛י נְכוֹנָ֖ה כְּעַבְדִּ֥י אִיּֽוֹב | 8 | And now take for yourselves seven young bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job and you offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And Job my servant will pray over you, for even his presence I will bear lest I deal with your senselessness, for you have not spoken for me what is prepared, as my servant Job. | 3c | 4C | 43 32 | |
| וַיֵּלְכוּ֩ אֱלִיפַ֨ז הַתֵּֽימָנִ֜י וּבִלְדַּ֣ד הַשּׁוּחִ֗י צֹפַר֙ הַנַּ֣עֲמָתִ֔י וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֔וּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם יְהוָ֑ה וַיִּשָּׂ֥א יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י אִיּֽוֹב | 9 | And they went, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and they did as Yahweh had spoken to them and Yahweh lifted up the face of Job. | 3d | 4B | 37 10 | |
| וַֽיהוָ֗ה שָׁ֚ב אֶת־שְׁב֣וּת אִיּ֔וֹב בְּהִֽתְפַּֽלְל֖וֹ בְּעַ֣ד רֵעֵ֑הוּ וַ֧יֹּסֶף יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְאִיּ֖וֹב לְמִשְׁנֶֽה | 10 | And Yahweh turned the captivity of Job when he interceded concerning his friends. And Yahweh added to all that was Job's, twofold. | 3c | 4C | 17 15 | |
| וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ אֵ֠לָיו כָּל־אֶחָ֨יו וְכָל־אַחְיוֹתָ֜יו וְכָל־יֹדְעָ֣יו לְפָנִ֗ים וַיֹּאכְל֨וּ עִמּ֣וֹ לֶחֶם֮ בְּבֵיתוֹ֒ וַיָּנֻ֤דוּ לוֹ֙ וַיְנַחֲמ֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ עַ֚ל כָּל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־הֵבִ֥יא יְהוָ֖ה עָלָ֑יו וַיִּתְּנוּ־ל֗וֹ אִ֚ישׁ קְשִׂיטָ֣ה אֶחָ֔ת וְאִ֕ישׁ נֶ֥זֶם זָהָ֖ב אֶחָֽד ס | 11 | And came to him, all his brothers and all his sisters and all who knew him before, and they ate with him, bread in his house, and they condoled him, and comforted him about all the evil that Yahweh had brought upon him. And they each gave to him one qasita, and each one gold earring. | 3e | 4C | 54 18 | |
| וַֽיהוָ֗ה בֵּרַ֛ךְ אֶת־אַחֲרִ֥ית אִיּ֖וֹב מֵרֵאשִׁת֑וֹ וַֽיְהִי־ל֡וֹ אַרְבָּעָה֩ עָשָׂ֨ר אֶ֜לֶף צֹ֗אן וְשֵׁ֤שֶׁת אֲלָפִים֙ גְּמַלִּ֔ים וְאֶֽלֶף־צֶ֥מֶד בָּקָ֖ר וְאֶ֥לֶף אֲתוֹנֽוֹת | 12 | And Yahweh blessed Job's latter end more than his beginning. And there was for him, fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand pair of oxen and a thousand she-donkeys. | 3d | 4C | 14 32 | |
| וַֽיְהִי־ל֛וֹ שִׁבְעָ֥נָה בָנִ֖ים וְשָׁל֥וֹשׁ בָּנֽוֹת | 13 | And there were for him seven sons and three daughters. | 3d | 3g | 12 | |
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א שֵׁם־הָֽאַחַת֙ יְמִימָ֔ה וְשֵׁ֥ם הַשֵּׁנִ֖ית קְצִיעָ֑ה וְשֵׁ֥ם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ית קֶ֥רֶן הַפּֽוּךְ | 14 | And he called the name of the first, Day-by-day, and the name of the second Cassia, and the name of the third Karen-the-Fair. | 3e | 4C | 18 9 | |
| וְלֹ֨א נִמְצָ֜א נָשִׁ֥ים יָפ֛וֹת כִּבְנ֥וֹת אִיּ֖וֹב בְּכָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן לָהֶ֧ם אֲבִיהֶ֛ם נַחֲלָ֖ה בְּת֥וֹךְ אֲחֵיהֶֽם ס | 15 | And there were no women found as fair as the daughters of Job in all the earth, and their father gave to them an inheritance among their brothers. | 3c | 4A | 17 17 | |
| וַיְחִ֤י אִיּוֹב֙ אַֽחֲרֵי־זֹ֔את מֵאָ֥ה וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָ֑ה וַיִּרְאֶ֗ה אֶת־בָּנָיו֙ וְאֶת־בְּנֵ֣י בָנָ֔יו אַרְבָּעָ֖ה דֹּרֽוֹת | 16 | And Job lived after this one hundred and forty years, and he saw his children and his children's children, four generations. | 3e | 4C | 16 17 | |
| וַיָּ֣מָת אִיּ֔וֹב זָקֵ֖ן וּשְׂבַ֥ע יָמִֽים | 17 | And Job died old and sated with days. | 3e | 4B | 11 |
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