Job 8


Job 8 is the eighth 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 Bildad, 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 15–17.
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 8 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:
  • Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament
  • Round One
  • *Eliphaz
  • *Job
  • *Bildad
  • **The Essence of Bildad's Argument
  • **The Basis of Bildad's View
  • **Discursive Comments
  • **An Optimistic Finish
  • *Job
  • *Zophar
  • *Job
  • 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. Chapter 8 record Bildad's first response to Job, which can be divided into several distinct sections:
  • Verses 1–7 contain Bildad's core argument that God will not pervert justice.
  • Verses 8–10 outline the authority for this argument
  • Verses 11–19 present one side of Bildad's doctrine of retributive justice
  • Verses 20–22 finish with an optimistic note, leaving a possibility that Job will be vindicated because he is righteous.

The essence and basis of Bildad's argument (8:1–10)

Bildad is the second of Job's friends to speak and he regards Job's words as inappropriate, so he rebukes Job based on his principle that Almighty God will not pervert justice or righteousness. This is in contrast to Eliphaz's approach of God's utter holiness. Bildad believes that suffering is punishment, so the death of Job's children is proof that they have sinned. The source of Bildad's argument is the long-held traditions, those searched out by former generations and appeared to have stood the test of time.

Verse 2

  • "Strong": from the Hebrew word כַּבִּיר, kab-bîr, also "great" or "mighty", which implies both "abundance" and "greatness" in some aspects of "strength"; it is found only in Book of Job and Isaiah. The use of this word to modify the noun "wind" is to point that Job's words are full of sound but without solid content. This is different from the Hebrew term רוח גדולה, for the "great wind" that caused the death of Job's children.

Verse 3

  • "God": from the Hebrew word הַ֭אֵל, ha-.
  • "Almighty": from the Hebrew word שַׁ֝דַּ֗י,.
This verse, stated in the form of a rhetorical question, contains the fundamental premiss of Bildad's argument. The twin concepts, judgment and justice, are central in describing the Lord's activity in the Hebrew Bible, such as on these two principles 'the earth is established', as is 'God's throne', also as the two qualities God requires of Israel, and in which the covenant is grounded.

Bildad's discursive comments and optimistic finish (8:11–22)

Bildad's speech focuses almost entirely on the negative aspects of the traditional doctrine of retribution, that is, the punishment of the wicked. The excessive and overwhelming details of the discourse seem to force Job to 'understand' that Job's suffering must have been caused by sin. Bildad then concludes his teaching on a fairly positive note, but this 'theoretically optimistic' sense is conditional to Job's repentance on his alleged sin and his turning away from the accusations that God is perverting justice.

Verse 22

  • "Will come to nothing": literally, "will not be". This last word of Bildad's speech shares the same root as the last word of Job's lament in the previous chapter but with different pronominal suffix.