Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee, Where is the way to the dwelling of light, And as for darkness, where is the place thereof? Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? There is no pause in the succession of wonders: the wonder of the lioness hunting her prey; of the young ravens crying to God for their food; the wonder of the wild goats bringing forth their young; the wonder of the wild ass ranging loose in the wilderness, and the ox abiding patiently by his crib; the wonder of the ostrich, foolish over her young because God has deprived her of wisdom, glorious in flight, putting to scorn the horse and his rider; the wonder of the war-horse pawing in the valley and rejoicing in his strength, swallowing the ground in fierceness and rage amid the thunder of the captains and the shouting. There is a momentary lull in the storm, when Job's voice is heard in awe-struck humility: Once have I spoken, and I will not answer: Then again the swirl of mystery rages around: the Voice tells of Behemoth, with bones of brass and limbs of iron, his larder a mountain and a jungle his bower, watching unconcernedly the swelling of the boisterous waterfloods; or of Leviathan himself, panoplied against the hook of the fisher or snare of the fowler, and scorning even the hunter's spear and the arrows of the warrior, flashing light and breathing smoke as he goes, terror dancing before him, and ocean turning hoary in his wake. At last the storm begins to abate, and Job is able to make his submission. He knows that God is all-powerful, and that no purpose of his can be restrained. "Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?" comes like an echoing rumble of the retiring storm. Job admits the charge he has uttered that which he understood not, and meddled in things too high for him. "I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me again sounds forth, like a more distant echo of the tempest. Job comprehends his whole submission in one utterance. xlii. 7-17 I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee, Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes. Then the storm has entirely cleared away. And with it the dramatic poem has given place to the frame of story: which resumes to relate how, when Job had thus spoken, The Story Closes the anger of the Lord was kindled against the three Friends, because they had not said of Him the thing that was right as His servant Job had. Thus the Epilogue furnishes a Fifth Solution: the proper attitude of mind towards the Mystery of Human Suffering: that the strong faith of Job, which could even reproach God as a friend reproaches a friend, was more acceptable to Him than the servile adoration which sought to twist the truth in order to magnify God. It only remains to tell how the Lord turned the captivity of Job, and his wealth and prosperity returned in greater measure than before; and he begat sons and daughters, and saw his sons' sons to the fourth generation. So Job died, being old and full of years. (Fifth Solution) II Such is the Book of Job presented as a piece of literature. The questions of Theology or historic criticism that it suggests are outside the scope of the present work. Our Literary Interest Job immediate concern is with the various kinds of in the Book of literary interest which have touched us as we have traversed this monument of ancient literature. Dramatic The dominant impression is that of a magnificent drama. No element of dramatic effect is wanting; and that which we might least have expected, the scenic effect, is especially impressive. The great ash-mound outside an an- Interest of Background cient village or town makes a stage just suited for the single scene—and that an open-air scene - to which a Greek tragedy would be confined. And resemblance to a Greek drama is further maintained by the crowd of spectators who stand round this ash-mound like a silent Chorus ; - unless, indeed, we are to consider that their sentiments are conveyed by Elihu as ChorusLeader. When we reach the crisis of the poem we are able to see what advantage a drama addressed purely to the imagination may have over plays intended for the theatre. No stage machinery could possibly realise the changes of sky and atmosphere which in Job make a dramatic background for the approach of Deity. It is true that the original poem does not describe these changes, as I have done, in straightforward narrative. But every scholar is aware that the 'stage directions' of modern plays are wanting in the dramas of antiquity: whatever variations of movement and surroundings these involve have to be collected from the words of the personages who take part in the dialogue. And in the transformation traced above, from a day of brilliant sunshine to a thunderstorm, and yet further to a supernatural apparition, every detail of change is implied in the words of Elihu. We watch the changing scene through the eyes of those who are in the midst of it. V Interest of character abounds in the poem. I must confess I cannot follow the subtle differences which some commentators see between the characters of the three Friends. of Character XV. 10 It is easy to recognise in Eliphaz a stately personage with a wider range of thought than his colleagues. But Bildad and Zophar leave different impressions on different readers. To me Bildad seems a touch more blunt in his manner than the rest. · Of Zophar I would only say that the speeches assigned him fit well with the suggestion of his being a generation older than the other personages of the poem; though of course the words of Eliphaz which claim such a personage as on his side need not necessarily refer to anyone present. But whatever may be thought about the individualities of the Friends, no one can miss the contrast between the whole group and Job; between the interest of static character in various modifications of conformity to current ideals, and the interest of a dynamic personality like that of Job, which can look back to a realisation of the perfection his friends describe, and can yet at the call of circumstances fling his former beliefs to the winds, and probe passionately among the mysteries of providence for new conceptions of divine rule. And the welcome addition to the poem of Elihu adds the ever fresh interest of youth in contrast with age. In the impetuous self-confidence of this personage, his flowing yet jejune eloquence, and in the chilling reception it meets alike from Job and Job's adversaries, we have youth presented from the one side. But, on the other hand, youth has dramatic justice done to it when we find Elihu's heart beating responsive to every change of the changing heavens, and eagerly drinking in the accumulating terrors of the storm, until his wild speech stops only before the voice of God. But scenery and character might almost be called secondary elements of drama: its essence lies in action. The whole world of literature hardly contains a more remarkable piece of dramatic movement than the changes of position taken up by Job in the course of his dialogue with the and of Movement Friends. Before it commenced Job had met his ruin with that ideal patience which has forever been associated with his name. At last we find just a shadow of resistance in his plaintive enquiry, why life should be forced upon the miserable. His friends fasten upon this, and make it a starting-point for the discussion in which they urge that the sufferer is a sinner. Almost in an instant the patient Job is transformed into an angry rebel, tearing to shreds optimist views of righteous providence, and, with the passion of a Titan, painting God as an Irresponsible Omnipotence that delights to put righteousness and wickedness on an equality of helplessness to resist Him. The Friends continue their pressure, and Job is driven to appeal to God against their misconstruction; more and more as the action advances Job is led to rest his hopes of vindication on the Being he began by maligning. At last he is found to have traversed a circle: and the same God whom, in the ninth chapter, he had accused of exercising judgment only to show his omnipotence, he contrasts with the Friends in the twenty-third chapter as a judge who would not contend with him in the greatness of his power. When the climax of the Theophany comes, this movement of the drama is carried forward into a double surprise. Job had felt that if only he could find his way into the presence of God his cause would be secure. His prayer is strangely granted, and with what result? I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee, Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes. Yet was Job's first thought a mistake? The answer is a second surprise. While the tempest lasts the Theophany appears wholly directed against Job. But when the storm has cleared it is found to be the adversaries who have incurred the wrath of God, and his servant Job has said of him the thing that is right. The deep moral significance of these various presentations of Deity need not make us overlook the dramatic beauty in the transition from one to another. |