I Love My Job

As in the book of...

gotcha!

In Bible Poetry class this semester we've covered various aspects of ancient Hebrew poetry.

I think the reason I enjoy this class so much is mostly because of the classes I've been taking concurently. I've taken Shakespeare and learned a whole lot about drama and how it has evolved since the early Greek plays. I've also taken British Literature. In Brit Lit one day earlier this semester Dr. Kraus blithly dropped a challenge of a paper topic: Compare Pope's "Rape of the Lock" to Homer's "Illiad." I'd already read the "Illiad" a year ago, so I thought the challenge might be something I'd be somewhat equiped to conquer. So I reread the "Illiad" and refreshed matters in my mind touching the natures of oral tradition and poetic dramaturgy in the ancient world.

In the last few classes of Bible Poetry we've discussed the book of Job. The lectures covered the history of the book, how it came to be written in the Bible, its poetic style, its historical significance, and its plot structure. I've yet to verify this, but so much of the way the book of Job is written and especially the arrangement of individual sililoquies within the book seem (at least to me) to mirror the nature of ancient dramatic works. Basically, Job is like the script of a play about a man who in trying to discern the source of his trouble instead learns the nature of true wisdom.

I asked my instructor about this in class. He said that we don't know enough about Hebrew drama or even if there were such a thing about Hebrew drama. That's why I need to verify my guess before I can dogmatically say that it is a play script (which is partially why I'm posting this because I'm hoping that you might be able to share some insight).

Job opens with a prosaic prologue. The prologue constructs a context for the dialogue of the play proper. The play proper (without getting into the chiasmatic arrangement of the sililoquies) is a series of sililoquies in poetic form often separated by the transitional "And then came ____ and said." The book concludes with an epilogue in prosaic form that beautifully frames and parallels the prologue. There are also a whole bunch of foreshadowing statements and epic digressions that seem to link the work in genre to literature that we know to be ancient drama.

I don't really care much whether I'm mistaken or rediscovering what smart people have already written about. In any event I think it would be really fun to get people to read for Prologue/Epilogue, God, Satan, Job, Mrs. Job, Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar. It would be really cool to perform it in a big open space where we might beat drums with big sticks or something ancient-feeling like that (maybe pick up some viking knee wreaths).