G-d's Speech to Job

7/27/2019 G-d's Speech to Job

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In the book of Job, tragedy befalls Job. Job wonders why he was punished so severely by

G-d as he (Job) believed that he a Just man. As a result, he cries out to G-d and G-d

answers him. He answers by giving examples in nature and wildlife. Why does He do

this? To what purpose? How can His answer explain or justify Jobs suffering? Many

people have different interpretations of His speech and have written articles and books

about it. What is it about God's response that gets us talking about it? Why is it that

people have chosen to write entire books about it? I believe that as Man we have been

taught that there is reward and punishment in the world. If a man is Just (like Job), he

should be rewarded and an evil person gets punished. Yet, Job was Just and tragedy

befell him. We attempt to make sense if this by understanding G-ds answer to Job.

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Adi Zemach asked what the meaning of G-ds speech was in his article: What did G-d

answer Job? He feels that many commenators throughout the years, did not understand

G-ds answer and even believed it was a later addition to the story. Still, what does this

answer mean? It might seem that the answer would serve to show or illustrate G-ds

omnipotence. The workings of nature and the animal kingdom is not for Job to

understand. This explanation, however, seems trivial. Would G-d really appear to Job

in a storm only to tell him that the ways of the world are not his to understand? Still,

there are those how feel that G-ds speech reveals nothing new. The only thing new here

is G-ds appearance to Job. (Still, I ask- to what purpose?)

Adi Zemach puts aside the different explanations and asks what could G-ds answer to

Job be? He reminds us that it was not G-d who punished Job but, as stated at the


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beginning of the book, it was Satan , a messenger of G-d. Therefore, G-d should not

answer why He punished Job, as He was not the one who did it. We should, however, get

an explanation as to why G-d created Satan and let him play around with Humans.

As part of G-ds answer, He talks about and describes different animals. It is interesting

to note which animals G-d chooses to describe and we will see that the choice is not

accidental. The ibex is mentioned. This is an animal which has very difficult labours and

desert their children quickly. We also read about the Oryx, an animal which has a lot of

strength, but is not used efficiently. We learn about the ostrich and songbirds, fowls

which desert their eggs before they hatch and the babies are left to fend for themselves.

The war horse, is mentioned by G-d; an animal which is not afraid of any battle and is the

most beautiful and cruel animal there is. It inflicts fear in all. The eagle and hawk are

described with the purpose of stressing their cruelty

Why? What are we to learn from this? It is as though G-d is saying:Look at nature! Do

you see justice and reward and punishment? Does what you ask for exist in nature? If you

blame me for your suffering, look at nature and see the suffering I cause all over. You

will see more injustice in nature than in your life. You will not see moral justice in the

animal kingdom. No ideal, moral relationship- not with you, not with the animals.

In the animal kingdom, you will see offspring desert their parents, parents leaving their

offspring to die, some totally free creatures which dont appreciate their freedom.

Animals which are capable of heavy agricultural work but which refuse to do so. The

animal kingdom, it seems, is full of waste and contradictions.

After these descriptions, it seems that G-d continues to ridicule Job. He notes that Job

would like a world that is Just and Fair and that he doesnt seem to agree with G-ds way.


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G-d says He has different priorities than Jobs need for righteousness to be rewarded and

the bad to be punished. After this, we read the main point of G-ds speech. G-d illustrates

this by talking about the beasts and the whales. He uses it not to talk about innocent

righteous but about enormous strength. The whales titanic strength is terrifying,

destructive and terrible. G-d describes the beast as a terribly beauty. While it is obviously

a dangerous creature (G-d says that nothing can stand in its way), he glories in its beauty.

At the end of this speech about the animal kingdom, we realize that G-d values their

esthetic value. The beauty and strength of the whale can be compared to G-ds own

strength (and may I add beauty).

G-ds world cannot be explained in terms that Job can understand. G-ds world and its

esthetic beauty contains good and bad, much like the Satan who befell Job all his

tragedies. G-d describes His world as one great engineering plan and that all good and

bad are part of this plan.

At this point, Adi Zemach talks about nature to show how G-d goes on to emphasize His

point. We read about the wonder of creation, the oceans, skies, as well as death, darkness,

the expanse of the universe. The rain is given as G-ds point of reference to what He

means by a world not run by morals as Job understands it. The purpose of rain is not to

serve man. That is why it may rain in places where man does not live, or in deserts, just

as it rains where man needs it. G-d stresses that rain is not meant to serve any purpose.

He repeats, with the example of the rain, the fact that there are actions that G-d does for

the esthetic beauty they contain and not for any other purpose. There is harmony in the

rain, in the stars, in nature, in the animal kingdom, but a harmony that G-d understands,

and which Man cannot.


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At the end of it all, what does G-d tell Job? He tells him that if Job is looking for moral

justice and reward and punishment, he will not find it. G-ds world is a world of esthetic

beauty and while good and bad are still at the hand of G-d, esthetic beauty is more

important. He states that morality and reward and punishment are terms man uses but

are not relevant to the workings of the world in general.

In his book of commentary of the story of Job, Amos Chacham opens up with a summary

of the first part of G-ds speech to Job. In the opening, G-d attacks Job. Then, he talks

about the wonders of creation - on land, in the ocean, at dawn, the depths of the earth- in

light and darkness, snow and rain, stars, thunder, birds and clouds. After, G-d talks about

the wonders of creation in the animal kingdom, specifying different animals such as the

lion, raven, eagle and horse. He concludes this part with a demand of Job to answer.

G-d opens up with ridicule by asking who was talking to him as though Job was not

worth G-ds mentioning his name. He goes on to tell Job that he was talking nonsense.

G-d goes on to talk about the wonders of nature. He equates the creation of nature to the

building of a house and tells Job that he was not there while the world was being

established, therefore does not know and cannot understand the wonders.

Interestingly, as Chacham points out, G-ds motif of creation is birth from a womb. The

sea is in the womb of the land and when the water wants to leave the womb, G-d prevents

it from overflowing.

Everything G-d goes on to talk about from the depths of the oceans to the widths of the

cosmos; from the wonders of the specific needs and features of each animal and bird, G-d

reinforces just how much Job does not know and cannot understand. For example, He

asks how water can turn as hard as stone when it becomes ice, how water knows to stop


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at the shore, how each raindrop knows how to fall to Earth along its own path and not

deviate to another raindrops path.

G-d goes on to the animal kingdom. He continues asking Job if he knows the needs of

each animal and understands their actions, such as the length of each animals pregnancy

or those offspring born with the ability to be independent right away and therefore do not

need their mothers. The questions are rhetorical as of course Job does not know the needs

of all the animals nor understands their behavior.

G-d notes, by asking, whom do the animals run to for food? G-d or Job? Of course, G-d.

He continues His ridiculing of Job with creations of the animal kingdom by asking, all

the while noting, that Job could not have planned, developed and finally created the

animal kingdom as he does not have the knowledge as G-d does, in all that is needed in

this realm. With each animal He mentions, G-d shows Job that only He knows what each

animal and fowl (bird) needs and why they were created. Job could not possibly know

this.

At this point Job tells G-d he is aware of G-ds value and that he cannot possibly answer

G-ds questions.

Now comes the second part to G-ds speech which Amir Chacham summarizes as such:

the opening consists of encouraging words to Job followed by ridiculing Job and his

complaints. Then, G-d describes beasts and finally talks about the whales.

At first, G-d encourages Job not to fear him even though He appears in a storm. As He

continues talking, G-d seems to be referring to the situation in life where the righteous

suffers and the evil one reaps benefits. It would seem as though there were no justice.


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G-d then invites Job to deal with evil in the world if he feels G-d isnt dealing with it. Job

will be able to do this providing he has the power that G-d has (which of course he does

not). G-d knows that He judges the evil and judges them with His genius. Job is told that

Man is too small and weak to understand G-ds greatness and strengths.

G-d finishes His speech with two final examples, the beasts and whales, both terrifying

and strong both of which Man is much weaker. He does this to further reinforce His

strength and glory in contrast to Job and Mans weakness. However, G-d describes the

beast as good, as the first of all G-ds creations in the animal kingdom, therefore it is

good. It does not destroy. It eats from the grass that grows naturally on the hills and not

from pasture needed for other animals. Although its bones are like bronze, G-d can

easily bend the beast.

After the largest animal on land is described, G-d goes on to the whale a large water

creature which Man can never hunt and catch no matter how hard he tries .G-d adds that

if there is a man who can trap this whale, He will gloriously praise the man, knowing full

well it cannot happen.

At the end of the book, Amos Chacham summarizes G-ds speech to Job. In order to

instill fear and wonder about G-d, He talks about the wonders of creation. This is to

reduce Mans worth in contrast to all that G-d has created. This, however, Job knew. He

never disputed G-ds greatness. His only question was about good and evil.

To that question, G-ds talks about the beast and the whale. One that is great but causes

no destruction and another that is great, can never be trapped and can cause great

destruction.


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It would seem that good and evil, reward and punishment are not for G-d to answer but

rather for Man to see and accept how small he is in all of G-ds creations.

In the book of Job, we see a G-d unseen in other books: annoying, arrogant, self-

righteous. At first glance, it seems as though G-d is putting down Job that Job is too

small and miniscule to truly understand the greatness of G-ds acts and then goes on to

give examples from nature, the animal kingdom, the weather. As I stated in the opening,

there are many commentators with differing opinions as to the meaning of His speech to

Job. It would almost seem as though there were totally different speeches rather than

differing opinions. Zemach seems to feel that for G-d esthetics is what is important, not

morality. The world, as a whole, operates as one great esthetic body and not in terms of

reward and punishment or morals, on a simplistic human level. Amit Chacham sees

something else totally. G-ds speech is meant only to show Job just how little he

understands of the workings of the world and since he knows so little, it is not for him to

question what G-d does, nor is he able to comprehend G-ds actions.

Another point of view, may be that G-ds speech is actually for the reader set in the

backdrop of the story of Job. G-ds speech is to remind us the glory and miracle that is

creation. Nature is in delicate balance, and gives us all when in balance the rainfall,

tides knowing how far to roll in and how to roll back. When nature is not in sync, look at

the devastations tsunami, hurricanes, tornadoes, just to name a few. Someone once

asked me how it is that a whale, which is an enormous mammal, can survive on plankton.

That is the miracle of creation, the miracle of G-d, I responded. When all is in balance,

the ecosystem works efficiently. G-d asks Job where he was when the world itself was


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created, when the animals were created. I believe, this is to remind the reader of the

miracle and wisdom that took place in creation.

As for the grief that befell Job - through grief, one grows. Who was Job before his

tragedy? The Bible says that G-d says he was righteous. Was he? What did he do?

Perhaps Job needed to be woken up, just as most of us need to be woken up. And the

tragedies that befell him did that woke him up to the miracle of the workings of G-d.

I propose that G-d wasnt reprimanding Job, rather he was reminding Job, and us, the

reader, to appreciate the world around us, cherish the wonder and glory that is nature, the

Earth, G-d.

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G-d's Speech to Job