The Date of Composition of the Book of Job in the Context of S. D. Luzzatto's Attitude to Biblical Criticism
In 1826, Issachar Baer Blumenfeld published "Das Buch Hiob," a German translation of Job with a commentary in Hebrew, in which he asserted that the book was written during the Babylonian exile. Luzzatto held firmly that the book of Job came from a much earlier period of Israelite history....
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn Press
2001
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
Year: 2001, Volume: 91, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 377-394 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In 1826, Issachar Baer Blumenfeld published "Das Buch Hiob," a German translation of Job with a commentary in Hebrew, in which he asserted that the book was written during the Babylonian exile. Luzzatto held firmly that the book of Job came from a much earlier period of Israelite history. Given some rabbinic views placing Job's time considerably later, we find Luzzatto's uncompromising stance against such later dating surprising. This article sets out the diverging views of these two scholars and accounts for Luzzatto's position. It is shown that critical scholars, presuming a late date for the book of Job, linked this view with that which assigns a late date to the authorship of the Torah, contradicting the traditional belief that "Moses wrote his book." For this reason, Luzzatto was convinced that to accept the theory with regard to Job was tantamount to violating one of the basic tenets of Judaism. Luzzatto seems to have been guided in his commentaries and studies by educational motives. Educational duty was a cornerstone of his literary activity and it was on this basis that he was unwilling to tolerate anything that, in his opinion, violated that sacred cause. Luzzatto's fear of corrupting religious faith took precedence over his concern for scientific integrity. His own research and use of critical tools were subordinate to his belief in the Mosaic authorship of the Torah, "the belief in which preserved our ancestors from assimilating among the gentiles." It was this conviction that prompted him to insist so firmly on the antiquity of the book of Job. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1455552 |