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Job 38:1-41
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 | Reading the Text:
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| Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | Chapter XX of
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome (ca.
96). |
| From the Geneva Notes.
 | "Seeing he could not judge
those things which were done so long before he was born, he was not
able to comprehend all God's works: much less the secret causes of
his judgments." |
|
| From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
| "As we cannot find fault with
God's work, so we need not fear concerning it." |
|
| From Wesley's
Notes.
| "Counsel - God's
counsel. For the great matter of the dispute between Job and his
friends, was concerning God's counsel and providence in afflicting
Job; which Job had endeavoured to obscure and misrepresent. This
first word which God spoke, struck Job to the heart. This he repeats
and echoes to, chap.42:3, as the arrow that stuck fast
in him." |
|
| From the Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
| "Jehovah appears unexpectedly
in a whirlwind (already gathering Job
37:1, 2), the symbol of "judgment" (Ps
50:3, 4, &c.), to which Job had challenged Him." |
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| Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
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Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
Job 38:1-7, (43-41),
Pentecost 20,
2006, The Old Testament Readings: Weekly Comments on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Howard Wallace Audrey Schindler, Morag Logan, Paul Tonson,
Lorraine Parkinson, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church, Melbourne,
Australia. |
|
Job 38:1-7(34-41), Pentecost 20,
Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological
Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in
Australia. |
|
Job 38:1-11, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series B, Ralph W.
Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. |
|
"God's Measure of Creation," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Moral Landscape of Creation," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2001. |
|
"The Labyrinth of Life," Margaret B. Hess, The Christian Century,
1997.
| "Is this word of hope enough for those who
suffer--that in the end, wherever the path leads, it is the presence of
God that heals our grief? Probably not..." |
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| "Voice
from the Whirlwind: God Answers Job in a Panoramic Vision,"
Robert Alter, Jewish Heritage Online Monthly, 2000.
| "This general turning of
Job's first affirmation of death into an affirmation of life is
minutely worked out in the language and imagery of the poem that God
speaks." |
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| Articles & Background:
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"God's Measure of Creation," Norman Wirzba, (other resources at)
"Moral Landscape of Creation," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2001.
|
"When God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, he realizes that God
delights in a wild creation that exceeds the vision and interest of
humans. Understanding our place in the creation requires that we see
it in terms of God's intention and scale." |
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|
"Job 38 and
God's Rhetoric," Michael V. Fox, The Book of Job and Ricoeur's
Hermeneutics, Semeia 19: An Experimental Journal for Biblical
Criticism, 1981. |
|
"The Cosmic Adventure," John F. Haught. Chapter 10 in The Cosmic
Adventure: Science, Religion and the Quest for Purpose. Full text online
at Religion Online.
| "Job tries desperately to squeeze God
into the framework of the ethical vision, seeking to measure the Almighty
according to the familiar criteria of justice and moral order. But when
the vision of a God who surpasses Job’s narrow expectation of justice
appears "out of the whirlwind," Job has to press his hands to his lips in
a gesture of silence before the incomprehensible." |
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"The
Wild Bird Who Heals: Recovering the Spirit in Nature,"
Mark I. Wallace, Swarthmore College. Theology Today, 1993.
| "Job is reminded that he is a
member of a wider biotic community and that he is not superior to
other forms of life; he and his kind are not the measure of all
things." |
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| "The
Bible and Ecological Spirituality," Walter B. Gulick. Theology
Today, 1991.
| “To reflect upon the integrity of
the land apart from human use would require an abstract quality of
thought not characteristic of the biblical worldview. In sum, nature
in the Bible is generally either regarded as a resource, or it fades
into the background while, in the foreground, the significant drama
of history is played out. In order to explore how the Bible might
serve as a normative source for an ecological spirituality, an
alternative must be found to focusing directly on how nature is
portrayed in biblical passages. A promising direction is to reflect
upon some of the qualities of an ecological consciousness or an
ecological spirituality and then to see to what extent the Bible
supports these qualities.“ |
|
| "The
Promise of Technology versus God's Promise in Job," David
Strong. Theology Today, 1991.
| “In our age, nearly everything we
confront on a daily basis is either already under control or it is viewed
as something to bring under control and to be made use of. In direct
opposition to this way of seeing, interpreting, and taking up with things
are the creation stories of the Bible and the vision of wild creation in
Job. Wild things in these passages do not need to be rearranged,
'developed,' or made use of before they reach the fullness of their being.
Wild things in these passages are already as good as they can be, on their
own. Recognizing them in their own right, pausing and lingering
unselfconsciously before them, makes one receptive to afresh and
refreshing vision of our existence." |
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|
"J.B.: The Artistry of Ambiguity," J.E. Dearlove, The Christian
Century, 1976. At Religion Online.
| "MacLeish’s changes between the
manuscript and published form of J. B. move the play from specifics to the
universal, from the allegorical to the human, from mediated to unmitigated
suffering, from imposed rationalizations to the dramatic action which is
left to speak for itself." |
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| Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Are, Tom, Jr.,
"Between Text & Sermon, Job 38:1-7," Interpretation, 1999. |
| Dearlove, J.E.,
"'J.B.': The Artistry of Ambiguity," The Christian Century, 1976.
Dick, Michael B.,
"The Neo-Assyrian Royal Lion Hunt and Yahweh's Answer to Job,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2006. |
| Fox, Michael V.,
"Job 38 and God's Rhetoric," Semeia, 1981. |
| Gulick, Walter B.,
"The Bible and Ecological Spirituality," Theology Today, 1991. |
| Hess, Margaret B.,
"The Labyrinth of Life," The Christian Century, 1997. |
| Horne, Milton,
"From Ethics to Aesthetics: The Animals in Job 38:39-39:30," Review
and Expositor, 2005. |
| Lacocque, André, "The Deconstruction of Job's
Fundamentalism," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2007.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Nelson, Susan L.,
"Facing Evil: Evil's Many Faces,"
Interpretation, 2003. (See also,
"Evil," issue focus,
Interpretation, 2003.) |
| O'Brien, J. Randall,
"World, Winds, and Whirlwinds: The Voice of God Meets 'the Vice of God,'"
Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2003. |
| Read, David H.C.,
"Communicating Joy," The Living Pulpit, 1996.
(see
Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit, 5.4, 1996.) |
| Rowold, Henry,
"Yahweh's Challenge to Rival: The Form and Function of the Yahweh-Speech in
Job 38-39," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1985. |
| Strong, David,
"The Promise of Technology Versus God's Promise in Job," Theology
Today, 1991. |
| Taylor, Barbara Brown,
"On Not Being God," Review and Expositor, 2002. |
| Thompson, Kenneth, Jr.,
"Out of the Whirlwind: The Sense of Alienation in the Book of Job,"
Interpretation, 1960. |
| Wallace, Mark I.,
"The Wild Bird Who Heals: Recovering the Spirit in Nature," Theology
Today, 1993. |
| Wheeler, David,
"Job 38:1-40:2 -- Rain on a Land Where No One Lives, Oxen Who Won't Plow
Your Field," Review and Expositor, 1999. |
| Wilcox, Karl G.,
"'Who Is This...?': A Reading of Job 38.2," Journal for the Study of
the Old Testament, 1998.
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| Reviews: |
| Sermons:
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| With Children:
|
"Job," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons),
coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts. |
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"I Know that My
Redeemer Lives," Sunday School
Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc. |
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"The Lord Speaks,"
children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian
Center. |
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| Drama: |
| Graphics & Bulletin Materials: |
| Hymns and Music:
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| Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's
Art Index:
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| Movies scenes with the following themes,
listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
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| Study Links and Resources for the Book of Job |
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