Job 13


Job 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE. This chapter records the speech of Job, which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising Job 3:1–31:40.

Text

The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q100 with extant verse 4 and 4Q101 with extant verses 18–27.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Analysis

The structure of the book is as follows:
  • The Prologue
  • The Dialogue
  • The Verdicts
  • The Epilogue
Within the structure, chapter 13 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:
  • Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament
  • Round One
  • *Eliphaz
  • *Job
  • *Bildad
  • *Job
  • *Zophar
  • *Job
  • **The Wicked Prosper but I Am Suffering
  • **God's Hand in Creation
  • **God's Active Control of the World
  • **Job's Stance
  • **Job's Rebuke of His Friends
  • **Addressing the Friends
  • **Addressing God
  • **The Brevity of Human Life
  • **The Lack of Hope for Humans
  • **Job's Imaginative Exploration of Hope
  • **The Lack of Hope – Again
  • Round Two
  • Round Three
  • Interlude – A Poem on Wisdom
  • Job's Summing Up
The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar. Chapters 12 to 14 contain Job's closing speech of the first round, where he directly addresses his friends.

Job addresses his friends (13:1–19)

Verse 1 opens with Job summing up his speech in chapter 12 before he addresses his friends in verses 2–12, contrasting Job's stance and his friends'. Job calls for silence from his friends as he wants to 'boldly pursue truth as he comes before God'. Although Job was afraid to approach God, he would press for litigation, knowing the risk and yet the hope for vindication.

Verse 15

  • "In Him": from the Hebrew written text (kethib or ketiv) לֹא, loʾ. The RSV renders as: "Behold, he will slay me, I have no hope", whereas the NIV renders as "though he slay me, yet will I hope in him".

Job addresses God (13:20–28)

At verse 20, Job switches his address to God who can give and withhold a solution to his problems. Verses 20–27 can be classified as a lament, outlining what Job wants God to address the number of his sins to warrant the extent of punishments he has received. The closing remark is an imagery about a person without dignity, rotting away or destroyed by moths.

Verse 26

Job acknowledges that he committed sins in his youth, but he had doubtless confessed them before and now wonders if his suffering is the long-delayed punishment for those past sins, which God has recorded and remembered. In Job 31:35, Job will use the same metaphor that he writes and signs his confession and places his case in God's hands.