Reading Job: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Reading the Old Testament #1)

At issue in the book of Job is the existential question, "Why does innocent suffering exist?" James Crenshaw has devoted his life to studying the vexing problem of theodicy-divine justice-that troubles most religious people in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Few individuals will come from reading the book unmoved. If they look for answers, they will be disappointed. Moreover, they will find the depiction of God troubling. If God were merely to meet our expectations, the creator would hardly be anything more than our own projections into the heavens. Perhaps the ancient poet serves readers best by forcing them to face brutal reality, to wit that the world is not fair and that justice is a human project. Book jacket.

Edited by Mark E. Biddle, Russell T. Cherry Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, the Reading the Old Testament commentary series presents cutting-edge biblical research in accessible language. James L. Crenshaw is Robert L. Flowers Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Duke University. Widely published, he is one of the world's leading scholars on Old Testament study, focusing especially on wisdom and poetry.