Job: The Victim of His People

by René Girard, Yvonne Freccero (Translator)

Overview

What do we know about the Book of Job? Not very much. The hero complains endlessly. He has just lost his children all his livestock. He scratches his ulcers. The misfortunes of which he complains are all duly enumerated in the prologue. They are misfortunes brought on him by Satan with God's permission.

We think we know, but are we sure? Not once in the Dialogues does Job mention either Satan or anything about his misdeeds. Could it be that they are too much on his mind for him to mention them?

Possibly, yet Job mentions everything else, and does much more than mention. He dwells heavily on the cause of his misfortune, which is none of those mentioned in the prologue. The cause is not divine, satanic nor physical, but merely human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804714044
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	11/01/1987
Series:	Studies in Intl Security and Arm Control Ser.
Edition description:	1
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

René Girard is a member of the French Academy and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. His books have been translated and acclaimed worldwide. He received the Modern Language Association’s Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in 2008.