The Book of Job: A Biography

The life and times of this iconic and enduring biblical book

The Book of Job raises stark questions about the nature and meaning of innocent suffering and the relationship of the human to the divine, yet it is also one of the Bible's most obscure and paradoxical books, one that defies interpretation even today. Mark Larrimore provides a panoramic history of this remarkable book, traversing centuries and traditions to examine how Job's trials and his challenge to God have been used and understood in diverse contexts, from commentary and liturgy to philosophy and art.

Larrimore traces Job's obscure origins and his reception and use in the Midrash, burial liturgies, and folklore, and by figures such as Gregory the Great, Maimonides, John Calvin, Immanuel Kant, William Blake, Margarete Susman, and Elie Wiesel. He chronicles the many ways the Book of Job's interpreters have linked it to other biblical texts; to legends, allegory, and negative and positive theologies; as well as to their own individual and collective experiences. Larrimore revives old questions and provides illuminating new contexts for contemporary ones. Was Job a Jew or a gentile? Was his story history or fable? What is meant by the "patience of Job," and does Job exhibit it? Why does God speak yet not engage Job's questions?

Offering rare insights into this iconic and enduring book, Larrimore reveals how Job has come to be viewed as the Bible's answer to the problem of evil and the perennial question of why a God who supposedly loves justice permits bad things to happen to good people.

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The Book of Job: A Biography

The life and times of this iconic and enduring biblical book

The Book of Job raises stark questions about the nature and meaning of innocent suffering and the relationship of the human to the divine, yet it is also one of the Bible's most obscure and paradoxical books, one that defies interpretation even today. Mark Larrimore provides a panoramic history of this remarkable book, traversing centuries and traditions to examine how Job's trials and his challenge to God have been used and understood in diverse contexts, from commentary and liturgy to philosophy and art.

Larrimore traces Job's obscure origins and his reception and use in the Midrash, burial liturgies, and folklore, and by figures such as Gregory the Great, Maimonides, John Calvin, Immanuel Kant, William Blake, Margarete Susman, and Elie Wiesel. He chronicles the many ways the Book of Job's interpreters have linked it to other biblical texts; to legends, allegory, and negative and positive theologies; as well as to their own individual and collective experiences. Larrimore revives old questions and provides illuminating new contexts for contemporary ones. Was Job a Jew or a gentile? Was his story history or fable? What is meant by the "patience of Job," and does Job exhibit it? Why does God speak yet not engage Job's questions?

Offering rare insights into this iconic and enduring book, Larrimore reveals how Job has come to be viewed as the Bible's answer to the problem of evil and the perennial question of why a God who supposedly loves justice permits bad things to happen to good people.

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The Book of Job: A Biography

The Book of Job: A Biography

by Mark Larrimore
The Book of Job: A Biography

The Book of Job: A Biography

by Mark Larrimore

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Overview

The life and times of this iconic and enduring biblical book

The Book of Job raises stark questions about the nature and meaning of innocent suffering and the relationship of the human to the divine, yet it is also one of the Bible's most obscure and paradoxical books, one that defies interpretation even today. Mark Larrimore provides a panoramic history of this remarkable book, traversing centuries and traditions to examine how Job's trials and his challenge to God have been used and understood in diverse contexts, from commentary and liturgy to philosophy and art.

Larrimore traces Job's obscure origins and his reception and use in the Midrash, burial liturgies, and folklore, and by figures such as Gregory the Great, Maimonides, John Calvin, Immanuel Kant, William Blake, Margarete Susman, and Elie Wiesel. He chronicles the many ways the Book of Job's interpreters have linked it to other biblical texts; to legends, allegory, and negative and positive theologies; as well as to their own individual and collective experiences. Larrimore revives old questions and provides illuminating new contexts for contemporary ones. Was Job a Jew or a gentile? Was his story history or fable? What is meant by the "patience of Job," and does Job exhibit it? Why does God speak yet not engage Job's questions?

Offering rare insights into this iconic and enduring book, Larrimore reveals how Job has come to be viewed as the Bible's answer to the problem of evil and the perennial question of why a God who supposedly loves justice permits bad things to happen to good people.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781400848010
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 09/30/2013
Series: Lives of Great Religious Books , #15
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 296
Sales rank: 985,912
File size: 9 MB

About the Author

Mark Larrimore directs the Religious Studies Program at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. He is the editor of The Problem of Evil: A Reader and the coeditor of The German Invention of Race.

Table of Contents

List of Figures vii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Job in the Ancient Interpreters 25
Chapter 2 Job in Disputation 78
Chapter 3 Job Enacted 116
Chapter 4 Job in Theodicy 154
Chapter 5 Job in Exile 195
Conclusion 240
Notes 249
Index Locorum 269
Subject Index 273

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"As eloquent and engaging as it is carefully researched and richly insightful, Larrimore's biography of the Book of Job delves deeply into the staying power of this wonderfully disturbing story. An outstanding book from a gifted scholar and teacher."—Timothy Beal, author of The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book

"Larrimore provides an elegant and insightful survey of the ways that the Book of Job was transmitted and understood in writing, art, and interpretation. Written in a remarkably engaging style, this short book offers a broad view of how Job has been read and used by Jews, Christians, and secularists, from ancient to modern times. There is no more economical way of getting a sophisticated sense of the theological issues at stake in the Book of Job than in reading Larrimore's book."—Edward L. Greenstein, Bar-Ilan University

"In the brief compass of this well-researched, well-written, and well-illustrated book, Mark Larrimore has brilliantly captured the most salient aspects of the rich afterlife of the Book of Job, including the interpretations evident in translations and theological and philosophical writings, as well as in the literary, visual, and performing arts. This handsome and accessible volume tells the fascinating story of the reception of the biblical book through the centuries and across cultures."—C. L. Seow, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Larrimore gives Job a new lease on life with a deft and sometimes surprising selection of landmarks and defining moments. As with all great biographies, we feel he knows his subjects intimately, though he presents them to us with an admirable lightness of touch."—Yvonne Sherwood, University of Kent

"A most useful and enjoyable addition to the Joban literature."—Bruce Zuckerman, author of Job the Silent

"A superb general survey of the multiple uses of this remarkable book. The very multiplicity of those readings and performative uses, which could make work difficult for conventional biblical scholars, becomes grist for Larrimore's mill, and offers windows on Job's broader impact."—David B. Burrell, author of Deconstructing Theodicy: Why Job Has Nothing to Say to the Puzzle of Suffering

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