Representing Tradition: Exploring the Epistemology of the Friends in the Book of Job
The friends of Job (including Elihu) very much rely on an assumed tradition which gives authority to their words. They fall back on the sources of their knowledge from inherited tradition, notably from generational wisdom from within circles of the wise, claiming knowledge and 'to know'. T...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Mohr Siebeck
2023
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| In: |
Hebrew bible and ancient Israel
Year: 2023, Volume: 12, Issue: 3, Pages: 282-294 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Job Biblical character
/ Experience
/ God
/ Knowledge
/ Revelation
/ Anthropology
/ Job
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The friends of Job (including Elihu) very much rely on an assumed tradition which gives authority to their words. They fall back on the sources of their knowledge from inherited tradition, notably from generational wisdom from within circles of the wise, claiming knowledge and 'to know'. They ask questions to Job such as »what do you know that we do not know?« (15:9). Whilst they do very occasionally appeal to revelatory experience, for example Eliphaz to a visionary experience and Elihu to an angelic intercessor, their main focus is on arguing a common case based on inherited experience (validated personally) and reason. This is in contrast to Job who had shared this worldview but now is led by the experience of suffering to think differently and challenge the friends' certainties. This focus on the friends' speeches raises epistemological questions such as whether the sources of knowledge justify certain beliefs and how we prioritize sources of knowledge such as tradition, divine revelation and experiential wisdom. |
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| ISSN: | 2192-2284 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew bible and ancient Israel
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1628/hebai-2023-0020 |