Job 14


Job 14 is the fourteenth 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 22 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 verses 4–6 and 4Q101 with extant verses 13–18.
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 14 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.
There are two major units in chapter 14, each with a distinct key question:
  • Verses 1–6 focus on the brevity of human life, with the key question in verses 3–4.
  • Verses 7–22 explore the issue of hope for humans, with the key question in verses 13–17.

Job laments the brevity of human life (14:1–6)

This section contains Job's laments of his suffering against the backdrop of human sorrow in general. Three phrases and the analogies to "a flower" and "a shadow" emphasize human limitations as well as the brevity of human life. Job attempts to protest that God treats him as a "hired man", which is 'unsuited for his limilations'.

Verse 6

  • "Rest": or "cease", from the Hebrew verb חָדַל, khadal, so it would mean here or.
Here Job depicts humans as "hired laborers" under a harsh taskmaster, so 'life becomes mere tedium driven by obligation and fear', instead of 'joyful service to a caring master'.

Job laments the lack of hope for humans (14:7–22)

There are three units in this section:
  • Verses 7–12 point to lack of hope for humanity
  • Verses 13–17 provide the key question as well as Job's imaginative exploration of hope
  • Verses 18–22 revisit the lack of hope for humanity.
The center point is that Job wants God to 'remember' him and protect him from divine wrath, believing that God is in charge, although in the ways that Job does not fully understand.

Verse 13

  • "Hide me in the grave": seems to be in contrast to Job's revulsion of the grave in other parts of his speeches, because Job thinks the afterlife is 'an unpleasant prospect of joyless semi-existence', instead of 'a joyful anticipation'.
  • "The grave": translated from the Hebrew term "Sheol", which in the Bible refers to 'the place where the dead go'.