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Thinking Through Job
Thinking Through Job
Reading through the book of Job presents a different challenge to bible students from the 'regular books'. It is set more as a play but it is a play that has the actors debating with each other. They will often allude to what the other one said earlier but it is difficult to see that until you have read the book over and over and thus remember what the other one said.
Another difficulty is simply that they are not 21st century Americans so their argumentation and give and take are a bit different than we are used to. I remember first reading debates from the 1800's and 1900's that our brethren engaged in. They would frame arguments differently than would be acceptable today. They were often quite sharp in their criticism and they enjoyed making a 'good jab' at their opponent. I was at first a bit shocked but came to enjoy the give and take. Then I learned that a lot of the men debating each other were pretty good friends. They disagreed with each other and hence the debate. Often they shared a hotel room during the time of the debate to save money.
Such is much like the situation in Job. They are friends but they disagree. They debate and argue with one another but are quite pointed in their rebuttals.
I recently came across a small book on Job that is an excellent help in sorting out the arguments. Brother L. A. Mott has been writing a series of books. The title is "Thinking Through Job". It helps to see where they referred back to each other's previous statements. It boils down the arguments and presents recaps as it goes through the book. It contains the actual text of the book of Job. Out of all my commentaries this has been most helpful in reading the book.
There are several sources for this book. To order from the author: http://thinkingthrough.com/products/job.html. Amazon provides it:
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Through-Job-L-Mott/dp/1936341069. Several of our brethren's books stores offer it: http://deward.com/?p=1345; as well as FC Bookstore, Religious Supply Center, etc.
Hugh DeLong
