11 Whirlwind

11. God out of the Whirlwind: Job 38-42: 

11. God out of the Whirlwind: Job 38-42

1. Form Criticism: 

1. Form Criticism “Considered from the standpoint of its form, God’s answer is a disputation speech. It is expressly introduced as such (38.2-3 = 40.1, 2, 6,7). Although expanded and varied in many ways, it is couched as a grand question to Job (“I will question you, and you shall declare to me!” [38.3b]), and a question remains to the very end…. All the participants in the drama – the friends, Job, and God – employ this disputation form.” [Westermann, 105]

1. Form Criticism: 

1. Form Criticism “Our starting point is that recognition that the speeches of God in chaps. 38-41 are a development of only one motif, namely, praise of the creator, transposed into interrogative form in the mouth of God.” [Westermann, 108]

2. Structure: Part 1: 

2. Structure: Part 1 I. The Creator A. 38.4-15: God created the world 38.4-7: He laid the foundations of the earth 38.8-11: He caused the sea to break forth and set bound for it 38.12-15: He let it become light B. 38.16-24: God alone knows and oversees the whole creation 38.16-17: The depths 38.18-21: The wide places 38.22-24: The heights

2. Structure: Part 1: 

2. Structure: Part 1 C. 38.24-41.34 [26]: God directs and governs his creation 1. 38.25-38: In heaven 38.25-28: God lets it rain, creates the rain 38.29-30: God creates frost, ice, hail 38.31-33: God directs the stars 38.34-38: God creates the thunder (except v. 36)

2. Structure: Part 1: 

2. Structure: Part 1 2. 38.39-41.34: On earth (within which is contained Part II: the Lord of History) 38.39-41: God nourishes the animals (lion, raven) 39.1-4: He determines their times (mountain goat) 39.5-8: He determines for (gives to) them their space (wild ass) 39.9-12: Addition: intractability (wild ox) 39.13-18: Speed (ostrich; beginning is missing) 39.19-25: Ardent strength (horse) 39.26-30: Ability to fly (hawk, eagle)

2. Structure: Part 2: 

2. Structure: Part 2 II. The Lord of History 40.6-7: Repetition of the challenge of Job 40.8-10: The Majesty of God, Ruler of the World 40.11-13: He brings down the mighty in his wrath 40.15-24 Behemoth 41.1-34 Leviathan

38.1-3: The Introduction: 

38.1-3: The Introduction Yahweh: used in the prologue & epilogue, but not in the dialogues and Elihu speeches. N.B. 40.1, 3, 6; 42.1 also. Whirlwind: “The most common natural form of divine appearance in Israelite literature is the thunderstorm, with its dark storm cloud representing the divine chariot or throne (Hab 3:8; Ezekiel 1), its thunder representing God’s voice (Exod 19:16, 19; Ps 18:14—Eng 18:13), and its fiery lightning bolts God’s weapons (Hab 3:11; Ps 18:15—Eng 18:14). The thunderstorm is the predominant form of theophany in Israel’s

38.1-3: The Introduction: 

38.1-3: The Introduction older literature, the early poetry and epic (J/E) sources, and in the psalms. While not as frequent or explicit, it also lies behind the major theophanies in the literature of Israel’s later historians, prophets, and apocalyptic writers.” [“Theophany in OT,” ABD, CD-Rom Edition] Thunder (Ps 77.18-19[17-18]), dark clouds (Ps 18.10-13[9-12]; 97.2), earthquake (Judg 5.4; Ps 19.8[7]), and fire (Isa 30.27; Ps 50.3). Counsel – divine purpose Gird up your loins like a man - for a hard task (Jer. 1.17), or for battle (Isa. 5.27), or for running (1 Kgs 18.46).

38.1-3: The Introduction: 

38.1-3: The Introduction “With the first element of God’s speech being a rebuke (38.2; 40.2, 8), Job is here reproved for one of the strands in his discourse, namely, that line in which he thinks he can talk to God on an equal footing, summon him to a lawsuit, confront him as a legal opponent (“Will you condemn me that you may be justified?” [40.8b]).” [Westermann, 106]

38.4-7: He laid the foundations of the earth: 

38.4-7: He laid the foundations of the earth 38.4 – n.b. Eliphaz (15.7-8); Elihu (37.18) 38.7 – Morning stars = sons of God

38.8-11: He caused the sea to break forth and set bound for it: 

38.8-11: He caused the sea to break forth and set bound for it “The present allusion presents an otherwise unknown motif, the birth of the sea-god and the use of swaddling bands to restrain the violent infant. In the Ugaritic Text BH (75 I.18-19) there is mention of swaddling-bands in the birth of the bovine monsters called Eaters and Devourers. . . .” [Pope, 293]

38.12-15: He let it become light: 

38.12-15: He let it become light “Whereas darkness is associated with primordial powers of evil, light, the source o life, represents God (cf. Ps 27.1; Isa 60.19-20). On the first day of creation God commanded the light into existence. And each dawn thereafter is an reenactment of that first day.” [Hartley, 498] “These verses speak directly to Job’s concern that the wicked prosper unchecked (chs 21, 24). Yahweh counters Job’s complaint with the position that his own command of the light confines the work of the wicked.” [Hartley, 499]

38.16-17: The depths: 

38.16-17: The depths “Job is challenged to show his knowledge, not only of the origins of things, but of the range and extent of things not visible to the human eye.” [Rowley, 243]

38.18-21: The wide places: 

38.18-21: The wide places “After light and darkness have completed their day’s or night’s work, they go home as does a laborer. The challenge is sarcastically put to Job to direct light and darkness to their respective homes.” [Pope, 296] “The sarcasm and irony become sharper. Job must surely know these secrets, since, like the personification of Wisdom in Prov viii.22f., he was born before creation and was an observer of the arrangements; cf. xv.7.” [Pope, 296] “Since he is not so ancient, his position before God must be that of a contrite servant.” [Hartley, 499]

38.22-24: The heights: 

38.22-24: The heights “Snow and hail are thought of as being kept in store by God, ready to be brought out as required, in times of crisis (cf. Sir. 39.29), and especially of battle. For hail in battle cf. Jos 10.11; cf. also Exod. 9.22ff.; Isa 28.17; Ezek. 13.13. For the thought of hail as a weapon of God, cf. Isa 30.30; and for its use in theophanies, cf. Ps 18.12f. (MT 13f.); Isa 30.30f.” [Rowley, 244]

38.25-28: God lets it rain, creates the rain: 

38.25-28: God lets it rain, creates the rain “God’s providence extends to more than man. His rain falls on lands where no human beings are found. It is not merely Job’s ignorance of things he could not known, it is his narrow outlook . . . for which Yahweh rebukes him.” [Rowley, 244] “Some interpreters consider this verse an important point in the poet’s answer to Job’s doubts about the goodness of God. The beneficent rains fall beyond the areas of human habitation, hence God cares also for his sub-human creatures, event the denizens of the desert. Job had imputed to the beasts, birds, and fish knowledge that God is responsible for injustice in the world, xii.6-10. He had also given a description of the misery of human beings forced to subsist in the wilderness, xxiv.4b-5, xxx.2-8.” [Pope, 298]

38.29-30: God creates frost, ice, hail: 

38.29-30: God creates frost, ice, hail “The phenomenon of how water changes into many different forms bears witness to God’s creative genius (Ps 147.16-18). This picture discounts the pagan belief in the natural generation of these elements. Yahweh alone brings them forth.” [Hartley, 502]

38.31-33: God directs the stars: 

38.31-33: God directs the stars “Yahweh questions Job as to his authority over these constellations. Can he affect their rising, their setting, or their movements? Does Job know, i.e., determine or decree, the statutes that these heavenly bodies obey? Is he in a position to establish their dominion over earth? If so, he might be able to alter the course of earthly affairs, including his own distress. If he cannot answer these questions, it means that his inexplicable suffering falls within God’s wise governance of the world.” [Hartley, 503]

38.34-38: God creates the thunder (except v. 36): 

38.34-38: God creates the thunder (except v. 36) “…Job is asked if he can interfere with the weather which the elements bring upon earth.” [Rowley, 245]

38.39-41: God nourishes the animals (lion, raven): 

38.39-41: God nourishes the animals (lion, raven) “Does Job provide the lion with its prey, while it waits in its den? The lion is more capable of securing its own prey than any man could be on its behalf, and no man would be interested in serving it in this way. Yet God cares for it and has given it its strength and cunning in stalking its prey, and causes its prey to come into its vicinity. Cf. Ps 104.21.” [Rowley, 247]

38.39-41: God nourishes the animals (lion, raven): 

38.39-41: God nourishes the animals (lion, raven) “Placing these helpless birds next to the rapacious lion brings out the benevolence of God towards all His creatures. A man may then learn to take his place beside these other children of God.” [Andersen, 280] N.B. Ravens are considered ritually unclean

39.1-4: He determines their times (mountain goat): 

39.1-4: He determines their times (mountain goat) “The point that is made is simple, but quite marvelous. Removed from men, who supervise the breeding of their own flocks, these animals have their young unobserved and unsheltered. Job is invited to reflect on the mystery of instinct (the Bible would more truthfully call this a wisdom of divine origin implanted in animals) by which mother gives birth and kid quickly learns self-preservation.” [Andersen, 280]

39.5-8: He determines for (gives to) them their space (wild ass): 

39.5-8: He determines for (gives to) them their space (wild ass) “The thought is not far off that the Lord has His own rich flocks and herds (Ps 50.10)…. It is God who has set his beast free, forgoing the legitimate claims He might have on its service.” [Andersen, 281]

39.9-12: Addition: intractability (wild ox): 

39.9-12: Addition: intractability (wild ox) “Whereas the ox serves mankind willingly, the aurochs defies any attempt to tame it. No human being can harness its massive strength. . . . From a human perspective, its strength, being available only for its own needs, goes to waste. God, however, is its master and its sustainer.” [Hartley, 508]

39.13-18: Speed (ostrich): 

39.13-18: Speed (ostrich) “From the sublime to the ridiculous. It is hard to argue that this hilarious sketch of the ostrich serves any solemn didactic purpose. It is what it is, a silly bird, because God made it so. Why? This comical account suggests that amid the profusion of creatures some were made to be useful to men, but some are there just for God’s entertainment and ours.” [Andersen, 281] “This description of the ostrich was omitted in the original LXX and is rejected as an interpolation by some critics. Certainly the ostrich is a remarkable bird and its bizarre and grotesque appearance and behavior is bound to impress anyone who sees it. The seeming stupidity of this creature proves the wisdom and providential care of its Creator.” [Pope, 308]

39.19-25: Ardent strength (horse): 

39.19-25: Ardent strength (horse) “Anyone who has been carried away watching the performance of a magnificent charger might feel that the impact of this incomparable poem is quite enough, without searching for a lesson in it. But two questions are applicable to Job. Can you make such an animal? Can you control him? Even the well-broken and best-trained mount might break from the restraints of the most skilled rider, so that even the one domesticated animal included in the list is not completely under the control of man. And is man, more free than any beast, to be understood as struggling against the reins of God when stirred up as Job was? If so, we have an allegory.” [Andersen, 283-284]

39.26-30: Ability to fly (hawk, eagle): 

39.26-30: Ability to fly (hawk, eagle) “The question to Job is whether the bird does this by your wisdom (the word is actually ‘discernment’, as used in 38.4, 36). Does God ask if Job endowed the creature with this instinct? But this would mean that Job was the Creator, which is not the issue. Does God ask if the bird’s movements are under Job’s control? The immense difference between a man’s limited mastery of his environment and God’s total sovereignty is certainly one of the themes of these speeches. Or does God ask Job a more intellectual question (suggested by the word ‘understanding’), whether he comprehends how the bird responds to the seasons and flies so gracefully? Perhaps the last two are interwoven in the idea of knowledge which enables a man to control nature.” [Andersen, 284]

40.1-2: God’s Challenge to Job: 

40.1-2: God’s Challenge to Job Faultfinder: “Either Job must show his competence to criticize God by answering the questions that have been put to him or he must forfeit his right to criticize.” [Rowley, 253] Job is being given the opportunity to correct God.

40.3-5: Job’s First Answer: 

40.3-5: Job’s First Answer “See, I am of small worth; what can I answer You? I clap my hand to my mouth. I have spoken once, and will not reply; Twice, and will do so no more.” Job is defeated by the power of Yahweh’s rhetoric. “While he does not wish to take up a new line of argument or to introduce other matters, he does not yet renounce the position he has taken once, yea even twice (cf. 33.14). He is saying that he continues to stand behind his avowal of innocence. However that he does not want to add to the case shows that he feels the impact of Yahweh’s speech.” [Hartley, 518]

Yahweh’s 2nd Answer: Form: 

Yahweh’s 2nd Answer: Form “Yahweh’s second speech is also a disputation of rhetorical questions, imperatives and descriptive praise, designed not merely to humble Job, but to re-establish a structure of meaning by which dumb lips may become articulate. However, there is both a formal shift from a predominance of questions to an emphasis on imperatives and descriptive praise and a thematic shift from Yahweh’s own creation and rule of the cosmos to the extending of challenge to Job to ascend the throne and rule as the head of the divine council. If Job cannot or will not construct his own language of faithful discourse, if he attempts to continue indict God for misrule within a discredited system of retribution, then let him assume God’s throne and reorder the world. Questions eliciting praise are not replaced with imperatives nuanced by taunt. If a hubris-filled Job wishes to join the mighty heroes of mythic tragedy, let him experience their ignoble fall in his own.” [Perdue, Leo G., Wisdom in Revolt: Metaphorical Theology in the Book of Job, 218]

40.6-7: Repetition of the challenge of Job: 

40.6-7: Repetition of the challenge of Job “Then the LORD replied to Job out of the tempest and said: Gird your loins like a man; I will ask, and you will inform Me.” “Identical with 38.1 (expect for omission of the article before se6(a4ra4h, “storm”), introducing a second speech of Yahweh from the storm. Many critics assume that originally there was a single speech by Yahweh (38.2-39.30, 40.2) and a single submissive reply by Job (40.4-5, 42.2-6).” [Pope, 318] The Use of Repetition in Hebrew Narrative

40.8-9: The Majesty of God, Ruler of the World: 

40.8-9: The Majesty of God, Ruler of the World “The initial rhetorical question responds to the charge of divine misrule of the cosmos, a charge based on the mistaken belief that the condemnation ([yvrh) of God would necessitate Job’s own exoneration (qdc). This question neither explicitly nor implicitly accuses Job of wrong. Rather it denies that the innocence of Job depends upon the just guilt of God. jpvm (‘justice’) in this context of royal language refers to the just rule of the cosmos by God, a rule which both undergirds the ordinances of creation and provides for the necessary needs of living creatures to exist. Job’s assault on divine governance is more than simply denying God’s justice. It is the attempt ‘to annul’ (rrp) the righteous rule of God which sustains creation. This verb describes the splitting of the chaos dragon in half, the first act in constituting creation.” [Perdue, 219]

40.8-9: The Majesty of God, Ruler of the World: 

40.8-9: The Majesty of God, Ruler of the World “The images conveying power ([wrz – ‘strong arm’, and lwq – ‘thunder’] are those of the storm god who comes in theophanic judgment to do battle with the forces of chaos.” [Perdue, 219]

40.10-14: He brings down the mighty in his wrath: 

40.10-14: He brings down the mighty in his wrath “In vv. 10-14, the language changes from question to imperative, as Yahweh taunts Job to dress in the royal vestments of ‘greatness’, ‘exaltation’, ‘majesty’, and ‘splendor’, terms describing the glory of divine sovereignty expressed in creation and history (Pss 21.6; 45.5; 104.1; 111.3). In the mythic pattern, enthronement and/or other ritual moments (temple building, festivals) follow the defeat of the chaos monster. And the first action of the newly-installed king is to sentence the wicked to destruction. . . .” [Perdue, 220]

40.10-14: He brings down the mighty in his wrath: 

40.10-14: He brings down the mighty in his wrath 40.14: “Then even I would praise you For the triumph your right hand won you.” “If Job can ‘pour out his wrath’ to bring the arrogant wicked into the ‘dust’ of Sheol, then Yahweh will ‘praise’ him (hdwa), a technical term in the Psalter for worship which acknowledges and glorifies divine rule (see Pss 18.50; 30.13; 35.18; 43.4; 44.9; 54.8; 99.3). Yahweh would not become inarticulate, as has Job, in responding to these marvelous deeds.” [Perdue, 220]

2 Beasts: 

2 Beasts “To persuade Job that he must abandon his complaint in order to keep from committing the fundamental sin of usurping God’s place (Gen. 3:4-7), Yahweh quizzes Job about two ominous beasts, Behemoth and Leviathan. Yahweh’s purpose in these long animal portraits, patterned after animal sketches found in nature wisdom (cf. 38:39-39:30), is to convince Job to submit to his lordship. In these two portraits he uses irony and absurd arguments as bold tactics intended to awaken Job to the dire implications of his stance. Rightly used, irony penetrates a person’s self-defense and wakens him to the danger of his present stance. Yahweh is laying bare the pride that underlies Job’s def-me of his innocence. If Job realizes his own creatureliness, he may humble himself and admit anew God’s authenticating presence into his life. God’s hard questioning of Job is a witness to his grace (Weiser).” [Hartley, 521]

40.15-24 Behemoth: 

40.15-24 Behemoth “Perhaps the best parallel for the identity and meaning of Behemoth comes from the mythological and ritual character of the red hippopotamus in Egyptian religion. Beginning as early as the First Dynasty and continuing into the New Kingdom, the motif of the royal hunt of the red hippopotamus is found in texts, grave scenes, and seals. The scenes, well represented in Theban grave from the New Kingdom, and especially the temple of Horus in Edfu, portray an Egyptian King, gigantic in size and armed with a net and harpoon, doing battle with a read hippopotamus. By harpooning the nose the nasal passages are destroyed, and the beast, unable to submerged (cf. Job 40.24), is killed. These grave scenes reenact the mythological struggle between Seth and Horus. Osiris, the father of Horus, is killed

40.15-24 Behemoth: 

40.15-24 Behemoth by Seth, the god of chaos. When Horus comes to contest the throne of Egypt, Seth takes the form of a red hippopotamus and is harpooned by Horus. With the victorious Horus assuming the throne of Egypt, well-being is guaranteed for the kingdom. The myth was enacted at the time of enthronement. The ritual defeat of the red hippopotamus, symbolizing the historical and mythological forces of chaos threatening the rule of the new king, ensured order and prosperity during his reign.” [Perdue, 225]

40.15-24 Behemoth: 

40.15-24 Behemoth 40.15-18 Behemoth’s Strength & Bodily Form: Behemoth, like Job is God’s creation and servant. 40.19-20 Behemoth’s Prominence: “Literally “He is the first of the ways of God.” Peake and Szold supposed that the allusion is to the creation of cattle (be6he4ma4h) as first in order among the animals created on the fifth day, Gen 1.23. Dahood’s suggestion that “way” means “power” – “He is the finest manifestation of God’s power” – is attractive but not convincing. The same expression is used in Prov 8.22 of wisdom as the first of God’s creative acts before the formation of the world. . . . the natural implication of the present line is that Behemoth was a special creation of God (El). This appears to be the strongest point in favor of the mythological interpretation.” [Pope, 324]

40.15-24 Behemoth: 

40.15-24 Behemoth 40.21-23 Behemoth’s Habits: “. . . Jordan may be used symbolically for any river with a strong current, here it represents the Nile at flood stage.” [Hartley, 526] 40.24 Rhetorical Question: “Can he be taken by his eyes? Can his nose be pierced by hooks?” Job dare not hunt the Behemoth, especially alone.

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan: 

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan What is the Leviathan? “. . . Often identified as the crocodile. Crocodiles were numerous in Egypt, and there is evidence of crocodiles in Israel, e.g., along the coastal streams such as the Yarkon and the Kishon. According to Strabo (6.27), a town north of Caesarea bore the name Crocodilopolis.” [Hartley, 532] “The name of a mythological sea serpent or dragon, personifying the chaos waters, mentioned in the Ugaritic texts, in the OT, and in later Jewish literature. Etymologically the name means “twisting one,” as befits a serpent.” [Day, John, “Leviathan,” ABD]

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan: 

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan When you smote Lotan, the swift serpent, Destroyed the serpent Twisty, The Tyrant with seven heads . . . . What foe has risen against Baal? What enemy against the Cloud Rider? Did I not smite El’s darling Sea? Did I not annihilate River the great god, Did I not muzzle the Dragon? I muzzled him. I smote the tortuous serpent, The tyrant (?) with seven heads. I smote El’s darling --- Vanquished the monstrous, ferocious bullock, Smote El’s bitch Fire, Annihilated El’s daughter Flame ((nt III.34-43)

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan: 

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan Major Biblical Texts: Ps 89.10-14 (9-13) Ps 74.12-17 Isa 27.1 Psa 104.26 Job 3.8

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan: 

40.25-41.26/41.1-34 Leviathan 40.25-26 (41.1-2) “Yahweh questions Job’s ability to capture this creature and make it his perpetual servant.” [Hartley, 532] 41.11: "Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine: this again has nothing to do with Leviathan, but is held to mean that none can have claim against God since he is the owner of all that is. But the context is not about the legal invalidity of challenging Leviathan, but of the physical inequality of the conflict." [Rowley, 260]

Conclusion to 2 Beasts: 

Conclusion to 2 Beasts “By questioning Job about the primordial monsters Behemoth and Leviathan, Yahweh is trying to persuade Job that he is Master of all powers in the world, both earthly and cosmic. Certainly then he is Lord of all forces, earthly and cosmic, that brought on Job’s affliction. Therefore, if Job is to find Yahweh’s favor again, he must submit to Yahweh as his Lord by relinquishing his avowal of innocence and by conceding his complaints against Yahweh’s just governance of the world. Yahweh is thus calling Job to decide whether to argue his case and lose or submit to Yahweh, accepting in trust the blessing and the curse, the riches and the ash heap.” [Hartley, 534]