Ch. 28, again, is of the nature of an episode, beautiful and impressive in itself, worthy of a poetic genius and a devout spirit, but exceedingly difficult to understand in the place which it occupies in the poem. The general drift of the chapter is that Wisdom — in the sense of the principles of true and righteous government which direct the course of this world's affairs — is inscrut- able by man ; the only possible course for man is to fear and trust Jehovali, and (by implication) to leave himself and his fortunes entirely in the hands of God. Such a train of thought is quite in harmony with the teaching of other parts of Je^vish sacred books, — compare several psalms and
5 arts of Proverbs, — but it is irreconcilable with ob's previous position and subsequent language in chs. 30, 31. K Job had already reached this stage in his education, what need of chs. 38-42, and how account for the laments of ch. 31 ? Again, no satisfactory connexion of thought between chs. 28 and 27^ or 27* can be established. The opening 'j may, indeed, be variously understood. ' For there is a vein for the silver ' (KV'm) is the most obvious translation, the rendering ' surely ' being adopted to avoid a difficulty, since the inscrut- abinty of divine wisdom affords no reason for the fate which the end of ch. 27 describes as overtak- ing the \vicked. It is necessary to read much between the lines in order to eke out a kind of connexion between the chapters as they stand, i.g. ' the wicked are punished, but for all that there are problems in life which that simple prin- piple does not explain, and wisdom is really inscrutable' ; or 'the wicked are overthrown, and such a fate is sure to overtake all who disobey God ; for wisdom can only be attained by those ■who fear Jehovah.' It must be felt that these attempts are so forced and artificial that there is a strong presumption against the sequence of chapters as they stand. The difficulty of the opening ■?
would hardly, however, be a sufficient objection, if the cliajiter as a whole was appropriate to tha frame of mind in which the book presents Job at the moment. This is far from being the ca.se j the opening words of ch. 29, ' Moreover, Job con- tinued his parable — Oh that I were as in months past,' etc., exhibit far too violent a break with 27^ tor sound exegesis to explain.
We are led, therefore, to the conclusion that the section 27''^ is out of place, whether or no it should form part of a speech of Bildad or a third speech of Zoi>har ; that ch. 28 also, with all its truth and beauty, cannot be understood where it stands ; and that chs. 32-37 form a subsequent addition to the original book by a pious writer who was not fully satisfied with its teaching. Ch. Sl^a-iO" ,„3^y perhaps also with advantage be transferred to a place between vv.'" ""■ *".
The arguments urged against the genuineness of other portions of the book are not, however, convincing. Cheyne holds that prologue and epilogue do not form a part of tlie book, the prologue being perhaps part of a prose book of Job, and the epilogue added later by an editor whose object and views were quite distinct from those indicated in the prologue. His work is done ' in a prosaic spirit,' and he makes ' a sad con- cession to a low view of providential dealings' {Job and Sol. p. 69). This is a natural, but perhaps superficial, objection. Dillmann in the 4th edition of his Uioh (1891) finds these argu- ments unsatisfactory. The reply to those who contend that prologue or epilogue, or both, do not fit in with the rest of the poem, can only be made good when the scope of the whole book is examined.
It is further urged that the speeches of the Almighty are 'inserted passages' as much as those of Elihu, while the descriptions of Behemoth and LeWathan were added later still, a ' purple patch ' the removal of which would be a gain. The last objection seems to resolve itself into a question of taste, on which no critic's judgment can be final. That the speeches of the Almighty constitute the book as it stands into a consistent whole, which would lose a chief portion of its meaning, if indeed it would be intelligible, without them, is a point which may conveniently be reserved till the scope of the poem is considered. The views of those who would separate prologue, epilogue, and the speeches of Jehovah from the text of the original poem are represented in the words of Cheyne when he says that the book as it stands forms a ' confused theodicy,' that these sections constitute 'disturb- ing elements,' and that to attempt to weld them into one whole shows a failure to understand the position. These are only the ' conflicting though ts ' of ' earnest, warm - hearted men ' on the great (juestion of the suffering of the righteous, interest- ing separately, but not intelligible in combination. This IS the only objection to passages which in style and diction, in force and beauty, are con- fessedly of a piece with the rest of this noble and remarkable poem. The prose passages also, it is admitted, are not in themselves unworthy of the place in which they stand. The main issue, therefore, with regard to the integrity of the book, so far as these great divisions of it are concerned, depends upon the view taken of its scope and teaching. A fundamental difference of opinion on this head accounts for the difl'ering conclusions of eminent critics on questions of genuineness.