Irony and Ambiguity in the Book of Job

Irony and ambiguity in the biblical Book of Job have found increased attention in recent research. Yet, the two terms are often used in a rather undifferentiated way, and deeper reflection on the methods to locate ironies and ambiguities and to determine their function in the respective context has remained rare. The research publication fills this gap in biblical research by providing a definition of irony and ambiguity that is both adequate to the texts in view and concordant with the present use of the terms and by presenting a linguistically and literary critically consistent methodology to locate irony and ambiguity in biblical texts. This methodology is subsequently applied to the Hebrew text of the Book of Job. In the narrative prologue (Job 12), exaggerations and the density of repetitions signal a pragmatic insincerity which prepares the ironic undertones in the subsequent parts of the book. At the same time, the subtle allusions to Abrahams test (Gen 22) and the Deuteronomic blessing promises and curse threats (Deut 28) convey ironic intentions. In the subsequent dialogue between Job and his friends, Job takes over the role of an ironist, as he questions the interlocutors pretense of superior knowledge by the use of rhetoric irony, rebuking his friends by seemingly praising them (cf. Job 12:2 ed alt.), and by imitating them in a parodying way. At the same time, allusions to the Psalter in Jobs speeches reveal the irony of the implied authors who questions a formulaic prayer language. Moreover, in the dialogues (Job 341) irony is used in order to signal a critical distance towards tendencies of an overly affirmative and therefore usurpatory theological discourse in biblical traditions, particularly in the Torah and in the Psalms. Gods speeches in Job 3841 accentuate this ironic criticism, as the rhetorical questions that are dominant in the first half of the first speech highlight the limits of the cognitive faculties of man. At a first glance, it is Job who seems to be the victim of the irony in Gods speeches; in the context of the whole book, however, it becomes apparent that is rather the friends pretense of deeper insights that is undermined. In conclusion, the research publication shows how the Book of Job is inserted in the innerbiblical discourse in the (late) postexilic times and signals a reservation in confront to a solidification of theological language, advocating instead for a privative monotheism that is aware of the alterity of God.