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The Book of Job
A Modern Translation and Commentary
Leonard S. Kravitz
and
Kerry M. Olitzky
The Book of Job
A Modern Translation and Commentary
Copyright © 2017 Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-3604-2
hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-3606-6
ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-3605-9
Manufactured in the U.S.A. January 12, 2018
The authors gratefully acknowledge the following for permission to reprint previously published material:
Leonard Kravitz and Kerry Olitzky, Kohelet: A Modern Commentary on Ecclesiastes. New York: UAHC Press, 2003, p. 20, 41. © Behrman House, Inc., included with permission. www.behrmanhouse.com.
Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky, Mishlei: A Modern Commentary on Proverbs. New York: UAHC Press, 2002, p. 13, 55, 106, 204, 243. © Behrman House, Inc., included with permission. www.behrmanhouse.com.
Leonard Kravitz and Kerry Olitzky, Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics. New York: UAHC Press, 1993, p. 9. © Behrman House, Inc., included with permission. www.behrmanhouse.com.
To Hanna, for everything,
as ever!
—LSK
For Lee Livingston,
and his unconditional friendship and support.
—KMO
Acknowledgments
We have been colleagues and friends for nearly forty years. Together, we have cultivated many ideas, constantly striving to provide access to the sacred texts of the Jewish tradition to a growing number of people. And we have struggled with many sacred texts in which the inherent theology of the text does not immediately resonate with our own beliefs. This is by far the most difficult aspect of our work, never more so than with this book. For the book of Job forces us to confront the basic claims of Jewish theology and faith.
Even as we are mindful of the people whom we knew who lived righteous lives and yet were not rewarded with long life, we remain resolute in our commitment to Jewish faith and practice.
We are exceptionally appreciative of all those who have contributed of their own talents to turn the idea of this volume into a reality, particularly Ben Denckla and Rabbi Gail Diamond, the latter of whom served as a content editor. Both have been amazingly supportive partners and gentle critics throughout the process, making sure that the book speaks to those who yearn to listen. We also thank our new friends at Wipf and Stock who believe in the power of this sacred text as much as we do, especially Jim Tedrick.
We also thank our many former students and colleagues at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Big Tent Judaism who allowed us to probe the text with them and to teach Torah to others through a variety of means.
More than anything else, we express our deep appreciation to our families for supporting us on this and other journeys of the spirit that we have taken over the course of our lifetimes and our work together. It is their unconditional love that gives a depth of meaning to any of the words contained within the pages of this book. And we thank God daily for the opportunity and ability to continue to work in such vineyards so that others too may enjoy the sweet fruits of our labors.
Leonard S. Kravitz
Kerry M. Olitzky
Introduction
Because of the burden of evil that riddles its pages, Job is probably the most difficult book in the Bible to read. Like some noxious plant that spreads its tendrils to poison anything it touches, evil emerges in its manifold and variegated forms throughout the book of Job. And the reader, whose experience of the world mirrors various aspects of the life of Job, is forced to confront the role of a good God in the midst of such evil. The characters in the book of Job, whether they are human or superhuman, with the possible exception of Job, manifest various forms of this evil. Thus, the image of God that is depicted in the book of Job presents the reader with more than just an abstract notion of theodicy, that is, the relation of evil to a God of goodness. Rather, the God who is portrayed in Job is a viciously playful deity who, in order to win a wager from Satan, is willing to cause a devout person (Job) to suffer. Even the wager itself is consummate evil.
Thus, the one who proposes or accepts it is evil. This makes the challenge to understand and relate to the God of the book of Job even more difficult since God, as portrayed, accepted Satan’s challenge. Such an understanding could potentially distance us from such a God when the study of sacred text is supposed to bring us into a closer relationship with the Divine, to close the chasm that may naturally exist between humanity and divinity. Satan is devilishly clever. He threatens God’s image by asking about Job’s motivation: Is God so loveable that Job is willing to serve the Divine out of love or is God not so loveable that Job is only prepared to be of service because he receives something priceless in return? The reader might imagine Satan’s sneer: “You are so marvelous that the only reason anyone would love You is because you pay!” Satan’s comment reflects our own struggle when our faith is challenged by the rabbinic system of reward and punishment that the book of Job exposes as riddled with difficulties. This is why the Rabbis’ commentaries are important to explore before coming to our own conclusions about the religious message of the book of Job.
Job is a virtuous, wealthy man who lives in Uz. God permits Satan to attack Job’s property, his family, and then his person. But human beings look no better than do the supernatural in Job. Job’s wife, in a moment of rage, assuming that God will punish Job for so doing, tells her husband to curse God and die. Her anger counsels his suicide.
Job’s so-called comforters and friends are no better. These friends come to visit him in his misfortune: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamatite.
A fourth, Elihu the Buzite, begins speaking in chapter 32, but his arrival is not explained.
They spend a week with Job sitting on the ground, a sign of profound empathy, but they don’t speak until Job breaks the silence—a practice that has been institutionalized among other Jewish mourning principles derived from the book of Job. Because their belief in God does not waiver, a position that
