My Psalm Has Turned into Weeping

Drawing inspiration from the widely recognized parody of Ps 8:5 in Job 7:1718, this study inquires whether other allusions to the Psalms might likewise contribute to the dialogue between Job, his friends, and God. An intertextual analysis reveals six psalms (1, 8, 39, 73, 107, 139) that serve as subtexts in the Job dialogue. The dialogue thus created between Job and these psalms indicates the concern the book has with the proper response to suffering and the role the interpretation of authoritative texts may play in that reaction.