Job 4:1-6, 12-21

Eliphaz Speaks: Job Has Sinned

4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?

But who can keep from speaking?

3 See, you have instructed many;

you have strengthened the weak hands.

4 Your words have supported those who were stumbling,

and you have made firm the feeble knees.

5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

it touches you, and you are dismayed.

6 Is not your fear of God your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope? (Job 4:1-6, NRSV)

12 “Now a word came stealing to me,

my ear received the whisper of it.

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on mortals,

14 dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh bristled.

16 It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can mortals be righteous before God?

Can human beings be pure before their Maker?

18 Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth.

20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

they perish forever without any regarding it.

21 Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,

and they die devoid of wisdom.’” (Job 4:12-21, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from August 27, 2006 (the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two):

Eliphaz eases into his speech: “If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?” (Job 4:2a). But there are things that must be said, he suggests. “But who can keep from speaking?” (v. 2b). He first speaks of Job’s community leadership and generosity: “See, you have instructed many,” he says (v. 3a); “you have strengthened the weak hands. / Your words have supported those who were stumbling, / and you have made firm the feeble knees” (vv. 3b, 4). In the past, he has been the one to help others, but now he is the one in need. “But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; / it touches you, and you are dismayed” (v. 5). Eliphaz must have been well acquainted with Job’s upright and blameless life and his piety (as presented in the Prologue (chaps. 1, 2), for he now reminds Job of that with a question that implies some doubt. “Is not your fear of God your confidence, / and the integrity of your ways your hope?” (v. 6).

In the verses passed over in the reading (vv. 7-11), Eliphaz states a widely held principle, first with another rhetorical question: “Think now, who that was innocent (yq9n!, nāqî, cf. MT!, tām, ‘blameless’ NRSV, ‘perfect’ AV/KJV 1:1,8; 2:3) ever perished? / Or where were the upright (Myr9w!y4, y^ešārîm, cf. rw!y!, yāšār, 1:1,8; 2:3) cut off?” (v. 7). Eliphaz’ implication is a direct contradiction of the LORD’s assessment of Job, based on the principle that the good prosper but the evil are punished. “As I have seen, those who plow iniquity / and sow trouble reap the same” (4:8). According to Leong Seow, “Eliphaz assumes Job’s acceptance of the widespread view of just retribution (Prov. 22:8; Eccl. 8:12-13; Hos. 10:13)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Job 4-7-11). His reference to the trouble that comes to lions, broken teeth, lack of prey, and scattered whelps (vv. 10-11), illustrates his point. Job, the “lion” of society, “the greatest of all the people of the east” (1:3), has lost “teeth” (health) and “whelps” (sons and daughters), not to mention his many possessions. “Eliphaz chooses a lion since one might think that the lion provides a counterexample to the claims of the traditional system of retribution, but Eliphaz claims that ultimately the lion fares poorly” (Mayer Gruber, The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 1510 on Job 4:10-11). In a word, his suffering is retribution for his sin.

Some see the next paragraph about a sort of divine revelation, a dream vision, as out of place, thinking it belongs to the end of chapter three as a conclusion to Job’s lament. Gruber says,

Some scholars argue that it belongs after 3:26 as a part of Job’s lament; this may be reflected in the poetry of the the early great Paytan (liturgical poet) from the land of Israel, Eliezer ha-Qallir, who ascribes this section to Job, and may have had a text in which 4:12-21 followed 3:26, forming the end of Job’s lament. If it is reassigned to Job–on the grounds that it is an interruption in its current location, that it expresses Job’s fear that, right or wrong, human beings cannot prevail in an argument against God, and that it fits better at the end of ch. 3–then subsequent references to it in 9:2 (from Job); 15:12-16 (where Eliphaz addresses Job); and 25:4-6 (attributed to Bildad) support Job’s argument that mortals cannot be acquitted by God” (on 4:12-21).

On the other hand, Job will later plead with God to speak to him (13:22), which perhaps indicates that Job has had no divine revelation on the matter, or at least no direct communication from God. The paragraph is commonly treated as a part of Eliphaz’ first speech, in which he appeals to a sort of divine revelation. “Now a word came stealing to me, / my ear received the whisper of it” (Job 4:12). The revelation was through “a spirit” (v. 15), a “form . . . before my eyes,” though “I could not discern its appearance” (v. 16). According to Seow, “Appeal to revelatory experience is unusual in wisdom books (see 35:15-18), but dreams and night visions are recognized as means of divine communication (Gen. 15:12-17; 28:10-15; 1 Sam. 3:1-14; 1 Kings 3:5)” (op. cit., on Job 4:12-16). After silence (v. 16d), the spirit raises the issue with a rhetorical question, “Can mortals be righteous before God? / Can human beings be pure before their Maker?” (v. 17). The answer follows in the form of an a fortiori (all the more) argument. “Even in his servants he puts no trust . . . how much more those who live in houses of clay” (vv. 18a, 19a). Gruber says of the questions,

These two clauses constitute a double rhetorical question , whose structure was described by Rashi in his commentary on Jeremiah (at Jer. 14:22). In such a question the first clause is introduced by the interrogative particle ‘ha-‘ while the second synonymous clause is introduced by the interrogative particle ‘ ‘im.’ The ancient and authentic Jewish interpretation of the two-part question as a plea for mercy, altogether appropriate in the mouth of Job and totally inappropriate in the mouth of Eliphaz, is reflected in a medieval Italian penitential prayer ‘selichah.’ (Gruber on Job 4:17)

“The message from the vision,” says Seow, “is that mortals are inevitably imperfect, a view also attested in the ‘Babylonian Theodicy’ (ANET, 601-604; cf. 26:4-6)” (op. cit., on vv. 17-21). The vision’s message concludes by observing that human beings “are destroyed” and “perish forever” (v. 20). The “tent-cord” which is “plucked up within them” (v. 21a) is a metaphor for death (cf. Eccl. 12:6, “the silver cord is snapped”); “and they die devoid of wisdom” (v. 21b). Gruber has a different interpretation of the “tent-cord” metaphor, but nevertheless sees here “references to the frailness and transience of human habitation and human life”:

“Whose origin is dust [4:19 NJPS 1985, 1999; ‘whose foundation is in the dust’ NRSV] probably means ‘whose foundations are in dust’–i.e., the foundations of the house just mentioned. It is often interpreted using the metaphor of a person as a house, to mean that the origin or basic component of humans is dust, as in the story of the garden of Eden (Gen. Chs. 2-3). Their cord is pulled up, [is] perhaps referring to a tent cord, i.e. their home; or perhaps their wealth. (Seow on vv. 19-21).

Compare the picture of the decay and collapse of the house as a picture of the end of human physical life in the closing chapter of Ecclesiastes (Eccl. 12:2-7).

Revelation 4:1-11

4:1 After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! 3 And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4 Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; 6 and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

“Holy, holy, holy,

the Lord God the Almighty,

who was and is and is to come.”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:1-11, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of October 30, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One) and December 19, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were based on comments on Revelation 4:1-8 from December 14, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two) and comments on Revelation 4:9-5:5 from December 15, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two). There was some comparison with comments of October 25, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One) and of August 27, 2006 (the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two).

The point at which Revelation, chapter four, begins, and at which today’s reading begins, is a significant transition in the Book of Revelation. The initial vision of Christ (chap. 1), followed by his specific messages for “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (chaps. 2-3, cf. 1:4), are followed by a transitional statement. “After this,” says John, “I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’ ” (Rev. 4:1). In the first of a series of visions that will continue through most of the Book, John is shown what Jean Pierre Ruiz calls a “vision of God enthroned and of the Lamb” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Rev. 4:1-5:14). “At once,” says John, “I was in the spirit [cf. ‘Spirit,’ NRSV text note b], and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne!” (v. 2). The throne, of course, is God’s throne (cf. Ezek. 1:26; Dan. 7:9). “And the one seated there,” says John, “looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald” (Rev. 4:3). In Ezekiel’s throne chariot vision, he sees “something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around; and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around” (Ezek. 1:27). And Ezekiel compares this to a rainbow. “Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around” (v. 28a), before defining it as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (v. 28b). Bruce M. Metzger makes a similar observation about John’s vision of God’s throne. “The glory of the divine presence,” says Bruce M. Metzger, “is described in terms of precious gems” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 4:3; so Ruiz in the 3^rd ed.).

John’s description continues. “Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads” (v. 4). The “twenty-four elders,” says Metzger, are probably angelic beings of the heavenly court, symbolizing the twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New Testament” (op. cit., on v. 4; cf. Ruiz, op. cit., with “heavenly attendants” for “angelic beings”). “Coming from the throne,” says John, “are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal” (vv. 5-6). Ruiz says the “flashes of lightning [are] expressive of the majesty of the Most High (Ex. 19:16; Ezek 1:13; Rev. 11:19),” (op. cit., on v. 5; cf Metzger, op. cit. on v. 5). In reference to the “seven flaming torches” Ruiz refers to Zech. 4:2-3; and for the “seven spirits,” he refers to [Rev.] 1:4 (loc. cit.).

Other aspects of the vision, including “the sea of glass, like crystal” and the four living creatures” (v. 6), remind us of the throne-chariot vision described by Ezekiel. Over the heads of Ezekiel’s “four living creatures (Ezek. 1:5, cf. vv. 5-14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, etc.) “there was something like a dome, shining like crystal, spread out above their heads” (v. 22). In Ezekiel’s vision the throne was above this dome (v. 26); in Revelation the “sea of glass, like crystal” is “in front of the throne” (Rev. 4:6), which “suggests the distance between God and his creatures, even in heaven” (Metzger on v. 6). Ezekiel’s four living creatures each have four faces (Ezek. 1:6): “As for the appearance of their faces; the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle” (v. 10). The four living creatures in Revelation are”full of eyes in front and behind” (Rev. 4:6), and “full of eyes all around and inside” (av. 8), which would suggest more than one face for each, but they are described as “the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle” (v. 7). Later Christian symbolism would identify the human being with Matthew’s Gospel, the lion with Mark’s, the ox with Luke’s and the eagle with John’s. In Revelation their song is, “Holy, holy, holy, / the Lord God the Almighty, / who was and is and is to come” (v. 8). “Holy, holy, holy, The Trisagion, or ‘thrice-holy,’ occurs first in Isa. 6:3 and frequently in Jewish and Christian liturgies” (David E. Aune, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Rev. 4:8).

Mark 6:1-6a

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (Mt 13.54-58; Lk 4.16-30)

6:1 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6a, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of August 27, 2006 (the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 21, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year Two), and on relevant comments from February 26, 2008 (Tuesday in the Week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year Two). Comments then were based on earlier comments, as noted there.

The separate file, Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth, shows that Matthew’s version has followed Mark rather closely. Luke’s version, however, is different enough that some consider it a different occasion. Luke, however, has apparently selected this occasion, with it’s use of the quotation from Isaiah 61, as a kind of programmatic inauguration of Jesus’ ministry, comparable to Matthew’s use of the Sermon on the Mount.

Mark knows very well that Jesus is from Nazareth (1:9, 23; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6), but in this episode he simply refers to “his [i.e., Jesus’] hometown”: “He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him” (Mk. 6:1; cf Mt. 13:53). “On the sabbath,” says Mark, “he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded” (Mk. 6:2a; cf Mt. 13:54a). In Luke’s account, rather different as noted above, Jesus first reads from the scroll of Isaiah (Lk. 4:18-19, citing Isa. 61:1-2 and 58:6). Mark notes that the people raise questions about Jesus. “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being don by his hands!” (Mk. 6:2b; cf. Matthew’s briefer version, Mt. 13:54b). It seems there might have been a positive response, but they were not prepared to accept it. All the versions note a kind of disparaging reference to his family, as if to say, “We know where he comes from; the claims about him can’t be true!” According to Mark, they asked, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? And he adds that “they took offense at him” (Mk. 6:3; cf. Matthew’s expanded version, Mt. 13:55-57a; and Luke’s brief question, “Is not this Joseph’s son,” Lk. 4:22). All the accounts cite Jesus’ explanation with a proverbial saying, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house” (Mk. 6:4; cf. Mt. 13:57; Lk. 4:24). In addition to another proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” (Lk. 4:23), Luke includes references to Elijah and Elisha in reference to the proverb about prophets (Lk. 4:25-27). Mark reports that in these circumstances Jesus “could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (Mk. 6:5; cf. Mt. 13:58a). Where Mark simply says that Jesus “was amazed at their unbelief,” probably assuming that the unbelief limited the miracles (cf. 9:23), Matthew spells it out with the words, “because of their unbelief” (dia; th;n ajpistivan aujtw:n, dia tēn apistian autōn, Mt. 13:58). In Luke’s account the motif, few miracles at Nazareth, is implied by the reference to limited miracles of Elijah and Elisha: “there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarepath in Sidon” (Lk. 4:25b, 26); “There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (v. 27).

In Mark, the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (Mk. 6:1-6), coming as it does between a series of four of Jesus’ miracles (Mark 4:35-5:43), and his sending out the Twelve, who “cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (Mk. 6:13), strikes us as sad indeed. We may sometimes feel that the people who know us well take us for granted, or do not give us the honor and respect we deserve. That certainly applies to Jesus in this situation, as he notes with the saying about prophets without honor (Mk. 6:4, cited above). But in Mark’s narrative, the rejection at Nazareth is a kind of foil that makes the surrounding miracles stand out in bold relief. Jesus commends the faith (pivstiV, pistis) of the woman with the hemorrhages (Mk. 5:34), but is “amazed at their unbelief (ajpistiva, apistia)” in Nazareth (6:6). “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (pivstiV, pistis), who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God” (Heb. 12:1-2). Through Jesus, we have access to the Creator of heaven and earth for whom Isaiah speaks.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net