Vers. 23--29.--Job to Bildad : 2. The inscriptwn on the ro,;Je I o/, J~b',Jp,ith .in.~ retkemer. I. THE PREFACE TO TBE INSCRIPTION; OR, THE FERVEl!!T. WISH OF A Dfl.~G JU...K. 1. Tli.e culture of Job's time&. The origin of writio,g is lost in the mists of antiquity. The earliest known mode of writing was by means of a shacp-winted instrµment-atyl~s, or engraving tool, mti,de of iron or Bteel.. The first mate,i::iala U$ed for yvritipg O!l vr~r~ . leaves of trees, skins, linen clothe, meta.I or wax plates, stone.c9lumns or rocks. F;gyp~ tian papyrus rolls and cuneiform tablets, dating from periods antecedl)n~ ..to the t\m,ee o( Abraham, have been recovered by the labours of modern ar~bieologists.. N1,1m!)rO,~ inscriptions of the kind alluded to by Job have been fo1111-d by ()ri~1;1~l tr,avellers )I\ Arabia. Qn tbe smoothed surface of a solid rock at H,i,sn G-ho~M>. at llfl1lllllTJUt, 1~ Southern Ar&uia, an inscription of ten lines exists, datin~ according to some, from the Tll& ROOK 011 JOB. 327
tim~e-ot:tll.e' Adlte~(the mJsi e.noient hlhllbitM'Jte of Arabi111 ,·Felix,, .A.d-tbe tri-be-fatb 91 having: floµlli'ehed'co_tem~r'Btieottsly wit,h th~ building of 1he Toml'M· Ba.be!. The olilf1 of th;e 'Wo.dY, Mdklll1lta, :on, the_ route of the lerlllelites, ~d in the vioiriity of the Sinai tie Iiloun taln~, co~tain In!'bY ench foscrlptions ( on 1aaclen t, stone i neeri ptlons, see the Rx po- e,itlon ). 'fhe kttowledge of the art of writiDf! at that ear1;-· perioo confirms the belief, which'other 'tra6'es•of'primeval man alllO &u!!geet, that humamity was not then III babe W'1'111jlli i'n·:11vtiJ.&l!Ht'lg•tllo\hee, but .a, vigorous a.ed fa.telligent Adult, alreaA:y far Advanced. it,. •ol\iilliziLtlon. :2. '1.f'lle 'certainty oJ JcTh ldnowledge, ·, What Job wished engrnven on: th'e1Yoiik••wi11h1~J 'fllin-e: probabl~ C()njeoture, happy giusg, .phil011ophical wpeculation, or evei,).' seoret1 aep{ra:tiM,.bat a:finn and certai'll personal cicnwkti.oo, ·, H•ii be inquired how Job 1iirt-i'v'ed?.1iHJliti,:imtnov'able •persua~ion, it may be linswered:(1) that the lofty ide11.11, hete•ilrtieufated wer-& perhips already in the airwlwn Job li-ved 1 in oenfirmation 1>f which may bei\!fitecli,ac,Jitu)•from1 tb:e::Adfte imieriptionrabov& referr.ed: to: "We proclairJied our belief in miraciles, ln.:the:'tesUrteotion, in the return into the nostrils:·of the breath o( life·;" (2) that. th& ifuperior ,capacity of Job, manifestly the seer of his time, stanc\ing head nnd ohoul<lers-ahove his contempornries in respect of inteliectual power and poetic genius BS well alllloraJ,iind spiritual intuition, enabled him to <liscern and formulate the thoughts afteti which' common miads were only dimly groping; (3) that the solemn. proximity of Job·~·death/enabling him to realize the unseen with vi'vidnesH, may: have ccintribnted-to--his- extraordinary mental illumination on 1 this occasion; (4-). that tb.e in·soluble enigma. of Job's ow:n'.experience appeared.to drive. him towards'the entertain, mentof-such a;.Joity:,hope as is here expressed; (5) that0-ver .i,nd a.bov.e all Job enjoyed the-inward:inspiration-i.>f1therllol.ii,Ghost. 3. The imyarta:nce df Joo's WO'l'd&. (1) The. tim·e1 yvheii- they :we~e-uttered; • They were, to all intents and purposes, his last dying testimony .. )' • . " , : ', ",Qh; but thay say, the tongues of dying men Enforoe attention, like.deep ba.rmony;' etc. c" (' King Richard II.,' act ii SC. 1.) (2) Tl:ie signilj.catl.i:e 'of' the words themselves. They formed the last and loftie;it u'tteratfce of- ;fob's religious-coneoibusness-, struggling t-0 embody to itself in well-defined id~as, and to expre~s:,ror others -i~'in-teHigible language, the -great hope which had arisen in -]i-is Mui; and by 1-which he had been secretly sustained tbronghout bis terrible conflict wi_tb !J:iodi!Y: affi1ction, pers'otral cah1mhiation, spiribuat apprehension, seeming Divi'.De desertion.· ·They set forth the ground· 'on' which he·based bis assured expectation of' im ultimate complete vindication ·a:gainst the Iilisrepresentations of his· frienJs, the- accusations of his 'own affrighted conscience, ay, 'the-apparently hostile assaults of God hi-m~eJJ, (3) The value of the wOTds to future· times. Job had a clear presentiment that' ~he-truth he was about·_to utter would prove of value to all sncceeding ages. Like l!-: new·star;H·had·shot out upon the-dark firmament of. his son! i and he wished it inscribed in the_ most-permanent form of ancient literature-either engrossed in the state recqrds, or'chiselledJ upon the mountain rock, an<\ filled in with lead to dery the ravages of time, tha:t it might,shine on for ever, like a bright particnlar star of hope, all through the night of time, irradiating the darkness of a sinful world, and cheering the hearts of· dying nien. 4. The fuifUment of Job's prayer. In a sense, and to an extent undream't of at- the time, has the patriarch's ciedire been granter!. His words have been inscribed in the state recorrls of the King of heaven. They have been engraved by the printing-press in a form more imperishable than could have been derived from the-sculptor's chisel. They have-now_ been published in well-ni~h every language under ,heaven. One of the -latest. to receive them was the modern Ethiopic or Abyssii,ian, 'whioh possesses .an affinity "to the language which Job spoke. They will now be transmitter! to the end of time, . • . IT. THE CONTENTS ·oF'THE' INSCRIPTION-; ioR, THE LOFTY FAITH OF A PROPHll:TIC SOUL. Up to this point five striking passages appear in the Book of Job. In the first (eh. iL 32-35)-Job expresses his ardent longing,for a Daysman or Mediator who might lay his hand up0n both him nnd God; in the second (eh. xiii. 15, 16), his confident expectation of a~ceptunce with. God, or the strong inward assurance _of h!s salvation; in the' third (eh. xiv, 13-15), his deeply seated hope of a resurrect1on-hfe beyond the grave and the Ha?ean world; in th~ fourt~ (~h. x~i. 18-21~; his belief in the existence of'li heavenly Witness who re<:ogn1zed his smoenty, and his eal'Dest pro.yer -that God 328 'fBE BOOK OF JOB. [0B, lWl, 1-19.