Religions of the World: Judaism for Printing: Judaism

Judaism is, literally, the belief of the people of Judah. It centers on the covenant relationship that a powerful deity initiated with a select group of people in the ancient Near East in the eighteenth century B.C.E. The texts of Judaism—biblical and otherwise—chart the history of this covenant relationship from its beginnings with Abraham. The covenant continued with the formal Jewish community established by Moses, to the various exiles of the people during the prophetic period, and onward through the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., which dispersed the Jewish people throughout the world.

Judaism is more than just a faith. The Jews are a people; that is, they are a group of people with a shared sense of history, identity, and relationship that spans millennia. This sense of being a people has contributed to one of the most remarkable phenomena on the world's religious landscape, namely, the survival of the Jewish religion despite severe, repeated, worldwide persecution. This persecution reached an apex in the genocide carried out by Nazi Germany in the 1940s during World War II. In 1948, after the war, Jews established the state of Israel as a homeland where they hoped to be free of persecution.

Judaism historically has been small in number compared to other religions, and today it has only about 17 million members. But Jews have contributed enormously to world culture. Both Christianity and Islam have their roots in the monotheism of the Jewish tradition. In modern times, people like Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud rank among the world's greatest thinkers.

Judaism

Creation and Curse

God in Judaism—as in Christianity and Islam—is the creator of all things. The following passage tells part of the story of God's creation of the world and everything in it in seven days—six days of work and one day of rest. The story also describes the eventual disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in God's "curse" of hard labor and suffering on the world.

The Genesis story does what all great creation mythologies of the world's religions do: it tells how the world came to be as it is, and it embodies perceived truths about human existence. These truths are embedded within the fantastical, evocative language of myth. In this instance, the story portrays a beautiful garden free of all evil, a conniving and manipulative serpent, and a "fall from grace" illustrated by the sudden shame of Adam and Eve upon realizing their nakedness. The Genesis story suggests that the nature of the relationship between humans and the rest of creation, as well as the relationship between males and females, is hierarchical. It also suggests that even amidst a world of suffering, humanity has its roots in divinity. Matter itself is not evil, but good, because God declared it so on the sixth day.

Creation and Curse

Genesis 2:5-3:24

2 When the Lord God made earth and heaven—5 when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, 6 but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth—7 the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed. 9 And from the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

10 A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches. 11 The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. 12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon, the one that winds through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris, the one that flows east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; 17 but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die."

18 The Lord God said, "It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper for him." 19 And the Lord God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. 20 And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. 21 So the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon the man; and, while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that spot. 22 And the Lord God fashioned the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

"This one at last
Is bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh.
This one shall be called Woman,
For from man was she taken."

24 Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

25 The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, yet they felt no shame.

3 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?" 2 The woman replied to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. 3 It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: 'You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.' " 4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You are not going to die, 5 but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad." 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 The Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He replied, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." 11 Then He asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman You put at my side–she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done!" The woman replied, "The serpent duped me, and I ate." 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

"Because you did this,
More cursed shall you be
Than all cattle
And all the wild beasts:
On your belly shall you crawl,
And dirt shall you eat
All the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your offspring and hers;
They shall strike at your head,
And you shall strike at their heel."

16 And to the woman He said,

"I will make most severe
Your pangs in childbearing;
In pain shall you bear children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you."

17 To Adam He said, "Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,'

Cursed be the ground because of you;
By toil shall you eat of it
All the days of your life:
18 Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.
But your food shall be the grasses of the field;
19 By the sweat of your brow
Shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground—
For from it you were taken.
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return."

20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, "Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and bad, what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!" 23 So the Lord God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he was taken. 24 He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 2:5-3:24

Questions for Discussion

Why does God cause the tree of knowledge of good and bad to grow in Eden, but tell Adam and Eve not to eat of it?
Why does Eve believe the serpent and not heed God's warning?
In forbidding them to eat from the tree of knowledge, does God wish to test Adam and Eve or protect them from evil?
Why does the "helper" that God gives man turn out to be the cause of his expulsion from Eden? Is God equally displeased with the serpent, with Eve, and with Adam?

Judaism

The Promise to the Patriarchs

The following passages tell of the most ancient period of God's covenant with a select tribe of people. Abraham—whose name was Abram until God changed it—is the founding patriarch of Judaism. It was he whom God chose out of any number of desert nomads to be the "father of many nations." The three great patriarchs of the Jewish tradition are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (whose name is also Israel). It is their lineage that comes to comprise the Jewish people.

The promise of a great nation—and the covenant relationship implied by it—is tested and threatened throughout the Jewish biblical texts. The tests begin with Abraham, who tries to actualize God's promise on his own by siring a son, Ishmael, with a servant woman named Hagar. God responds by banishing both the child and his mother, whom Muslims view as the Abrahamic ancestors to their great tradition. God himself tests the limits of Abraham's faith in the promise by having him ride for three days toward a sacrificial mountain upon which he is to sacrifice the "son of the promise," Isaac. In the end, God does not require the sacrifice of Isaac. However, the implication of these stories is clear. When God initiates a covenant, he will bring it about in his own way. Human attempts to advance the plan are fraught with problems and border on blasphemy. Most important, God requires obedience from his covenant people. This requirement, however, does not preclude interceding with God to change his plans. As one of the following passages describes, Abraham managed to convince God to save the innocent people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The image of God revealed here is of a great and powerful tribal deity who is quick to judge and destroy, but who can be talked into being merciful as long as the intercessor remains humble and obedient to God.

The Promise to the Patriarchs

Genesis 16, 18:16-33, 22:1-19

16 Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing. Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son through her." And Abram heeded Sarai's request. 3 So Sarai, Abram's wife, took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian{mdash}after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years{mdash}and gave her to her husband Abram as concubine. 4 He cohabited with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem.5 And Sarai said to Abram, "The wrong done me is your fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide between you and me!" 6 Abram said to Sarai, "Your maid is in your hands. Deal with her as you think right." Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from her.

7 An angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, 8 and said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" And she said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

9 And the angel of the Lord said to her, "Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment." 10 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

"I will greatly increase your offspring,
And they shall be too many to count."

11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,

"Behold, you are with child
And shall bear a son;
You shall call him Ishmael
For the Lord has paid heed to your suffering.
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man;
His hand against everyone,
And everyone's hand against him;
He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen."

13 And she called the Lord who spoke to her, "You are El-roi," by which she meant, "Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!" 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.— 15 Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram gave the son that Hagar bore him the name Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

18 16 The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see them off. 17 Now the Lord had said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? 19 For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him." 20 Then the Lord said, "The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! 21 I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note."

22 The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham came forward and said, "Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? 24 What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" 26 And the Lord answered, "If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham spoke up, saying, "Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: 28 What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?" And He answered, "I will not destroy if I find forty-five there." 29 But he spoke to Him again, and said, "What if forty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not do it, for the sake of the forty." 30 And he said, "Let not my Lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 And he said, "I venture again to speak to my Lord: What if twenty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty." 32 And he said, "Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten."

33 When the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

22 Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, "Abraham," and he answered, "Here I am." 2 And He said, "Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you." 3 So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his servants, "You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he answered, "Yes, my son." And he said, "Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son." And the two of them walked on together.

9 They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. 11 Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: "Abraham! Abraham!" And he answered, "Here I am." 12 And he said, "Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me." 13 When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh, whence the present saying, "On the mount of the Lord there is vision."

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By Myself I swear, the Lord declares: Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your favored one, 17 I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. 18 All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command." 19 Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beersheba; and Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Genesis 16, 18:16-33, 22:1-19

Questions for Discussion

Why does Abraham agree when Sarah tells him he should father a child by Hagar?
Why does God tell Hagar to give her son a name—Ishmael—that means "God heeds"?
Why does God share with Abraham his plan for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah?
Why does Abraham question God's plan for Sodom and Gomorrah but not his command to sacrifice Isaac?
Why does his willingness to sacrifice his son make Abraham worthy of God?
Can actions commanded by God be judged moral or immoral?

Judaism

Moses and the Law

The entire Exodus narrative in the Hebrew Bible is the flash point of Jewish identity. The events surrounding the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians, the receiving of the law through Moses on Mount Sinai, and the sojourn in the wilderness toward the eventual occupation of the promised land constitute an epic story that matches that of any other great culture. So compelling is this narrative that over two millennia after being written, it is still the subject of novels and films.

Specifically, the Exodus narrative demonstrates how God honored his covenant with Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, by delivering them from slavery under Egypt's pharaoh with great shows of power and glory. God's plan is executed through his prophet, Moses. An Israelite who was spared death as a child, Moses grew up as an adopted Egyptian, and later fled Egypt after murdering an Egyptian. He was called by God while out tending the sheep of his father-in-law. The following passage indicates God is motivated to a great extent by his remembrance of his covenant with Abraham. The deliverance story is thus a continuation of the promise revealed in the Genesis texts. God shows his power most definitively when the pharaoh will not release his slaves, and God provides a powerful deliverance. God has Moses lead the people to the base of Mount Sinai, the mountain that smokes with God's presence. Here, God gives Moses the instructions—or the Law—for establishing the Israelite community. The most famous piece of this Law is the section commonly known as the Ten Commandments, which have become a blueprint for basic ethical living for many Jews and non-Jews alike.

A most remarkable aspect of the Exodus narrative is its portrayal of the relationship between Moses and God. In later texts, Moses is called, the "friend of God," a man with whom God has talked face to face. Moses, indeed, grows into his role as the leader of God's people and as the arm and voice of the Lord. At first, Moses is a stuttering, uncertain, perhaps even unwilling, messenger of God. He develops throughout the text into a thundering prophet of the "Most High God" who convinces God "to repent" of plans to destroy the disobedient Israelites. Moses initiates his own directives as if they were God's and spends weeks at a time alone in the presence of God— so much so that his very facial features change. As the following passage relates, Moses asks to see God's full glory. God obliges him, but only partially, because no human can survive the full vision of God's face. The image of God shielding Moses in a crack in the mountain and covering his face with his hand, in order to reveal himself to his servant, is one of the most intimate and beautiful passages in the entire Jewish corpus. Furthermore, this passage reinforces a powerful truth: God is "holy" and an "other." Despite covenant relationships and bonds of loyalty between God and his people, God is still God. Even his own people cannot ever truly "see" him or know him in his fullness.

Moses and the Law

Exodus: Chapters 3:1-18, 20:1-14, 33:12-23

3 Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn't the bush burn up?" 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." 5 And He said, "Do not come closer. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 6 I am," He said, "the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 And the Lord continued, "I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt and have heeded their outcry because of their taskmasters; yes, I am mindful of their sufferings. 8 I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the region of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me; moreover, I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt."

11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?" 12 And He said, "I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."

13 Moses said to God, "When I come to the Israelites and say to them ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh." He continued, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.' 15 And God said further to Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you:

This shall be My name forever,
This My appellation for all eternity.

16 "Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, 'I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt, 17 and I have declared: I will take you out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.' 18 They will listen to you; then you shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, manifested Himself to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

20 God spoke all these words, saying:

2 I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: 3 You shall have no other gods besides Me.

4 You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, 6 but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.

8 Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord Your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

12 Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you.

13 You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

14 You shall not covet your neighbor's house: you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.

33 12 Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, 'Lead this people forward,' but You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. Further, You have said, "I have singled you out by name, and you have, indeed, gained My favor.' 13 Now, if I have truly gained Your favor, pray let me know Your ways, that I may know You and continue in Your favor. Consider, too, that this nation is Your people." 14 And He said, "I will go in the lead and will lighten your burden." 15 And he said to Him, "Unless You go in the lead, do not make us leave this place. 16 For how shall it be known that Your people have gained Your favor unless You go with us, so that we may be distinguished, Your people and I, from every peopIe on the face of the earth?"

17 And the Lord said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have truly gained My favor and I have singled you out by name." 18 He said, "Oh, let me behold Your Presence!" 19 And He answered, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name Lord, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show. 20 But," He said, "you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live." 21 And the Lord said, "See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock 22 and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen."

Exodus: Chapters 3:1-18, 20:1-14, 33:12-23

Questions for Discussion

Are the concerns Moses expresses about being chosen by God to free the Israelites more indicative of a lack of faith in himself or in God?
When God says that "I the Lord your God am an impassioned God," how should we take this statement given the illustrations that follow it?
Why does Moses believe it would be a sign of God's favor if God allowed Moses to "know" him?
Were he allowed to "know" God and live, would Moses then be equal to God? Greater than God? Why?

Judaism

The Beginning of Wisdom

Jewish biblical texts include what scholars call the sapiential tradition, or the wisdom writings. These include Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Job, and Ecclesiastes, among others. They are some of the most famous biblical texts in the world among both Jews and non-Jews. More universal in tone than other texts in the Jewish canon, they do not emphasize at all God's special covenant with the Jewish people. Instead, these texts deal with issues of wise and foolish living in the broadest of terms. The "wisdom texts" abound with exhortations to live a righteous life and "fear God," and thereby enjoy the blessings that God bestows upon the righteous and avoid the hardships that come to the wicked. Indeed, the moral logic of many of the wisdom texts is that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked.

The texts of Job and Ecclesiastes, however, challenge this notion and, in doing so, underline a theme in the Jewish tradition that runs contrary to the entire covenant tradition—God's otherness and the ultimate mystery as to why things happen the way they do in human life. The Book of Job calls into question the entire moral premise of the wisdom tradition that says God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. As the following passages attest, being good or being God's favorite as Job was can have tragic consequences. God's wager with the Adversary, or Satan,at faithful Job's expense calls into question every notion that God favors the good. Chapter after chapter, Job questions God as to what sin he has committed to draw such horrible suffering upon himself. Job wonders why God is so mindful of him—just one insignificant man among many—that he pours his entire wrath upon him. The "answer" to Job's questions finally comes at the end, when God reveals himself as a great whirlwind. God rebukes and sarcastically challenges Job to "stand up like a man" and judge God, if he thinks he can. God, the whirlwind reminds us, is not predictable, cannot be domesticated, and will not stand to be indicted by the likes of even a righteous man like Job. God—the Creator of all things including the mythical monsters Behemoth and Leviathan, the power of the universe, the ground of all being—will do what he wants when he wants. Bad things happen to good people, in short, because they can.

Ecclesiastes ruminates on a similar theme, pointing out time after time how the end of all people, righteous or not, is death. Everyone, no matter how they live, dies. Therefore, all human striving ultimately is vain and insignificant. This fact, however, does not force the speaker in the text into nihilism or pessimism. On the contrary, given the reality of everyone's eventual death, the speaker advises enjoying whatever blessings have come one's way. Life, health, friends and family, plentiful food and wine—all these things are good and should be enjoyed if one is fortunate enough to have them. The end comes soon enough for everyone.

Ecclesiastes, perhaps more than any other text, demonstrates the "this-world" nature of the Jewish tradition. Although various schools of thought within Judaism speak of a messianic age to come that will transcend the world as we know it, most of Judaism affirms this life and this existence. The blessings of God—and the curses—come in this life. We please God by focusing on our lives in the here and now, not just in some future heaven or paradise. Indeed, the Promised Land—or the kingdom of God—is not a heaven, but a place in this life. The entire Jewish law—the Torah—instructs Jews how to live in this life and please God in the most mundane of daily activities. Perhaps this is part of the secret to Judaism's incredible resilience through centuries of persecution of its believers across the globe. Even without a temple or a homeland, Jews can still be God's people by living their everyday lives in remembrance of his promise, his covenant, his law, and his almighty power.

The Beginning of Wisdom

Job 1-3, 7:11-21, 28:12-28, 40:1-14

1 There was a man in the land of Uz named Job. That man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him; 3 his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a very large household. That man was wealthier than anyone in the East.

4 It was the custom of his sons to hold feasts, each on his set day in his own home. They would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a round of feast days was over, Job would send word to them to sanctify themselves, and, rising early in the morning, he would make burnt offerings, one for each of them; for Job thought, "Perhaps my children have sinned and blasphemed God in their thoughts." This is what Job always used to do.

6 0ne day the divine beings presented themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary came along with them. 7 The Lord said to the Adversary, "Where have you been?" The Adversary answered the Lord, "I have been roaming all over the earth." 8 The Lord said to the Adversary, "Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil!" 9 The Adversary answered the Lord, "Does Job not have good reason to fear God? 1O Why, it is You who have fenced him round, him and his household and all that he has. You have blessed his efforts so that his possessions spread out in the land. 11 But lay Your hand upon all that he has and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face." 12 The Lord replied to the Adversary, "See, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on him." The Adversary departed from the presence of the Lord.

13 0ne day, as his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the she-asses were grazing alongside them 15 when Sabeans attacked them and carried them off, and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 16 This one was still speaking when another came and said, "God's fire fell from heaven, took hold of the sheep and the boys, and burned them up; I alone have escaped to tell you." 17 This one was still speaking when another came and said, "A Chaldean formation of three columns made a raid on the camels and carried them off and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 18 This one was still speaking when another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother 19 when suddenly a mighty wind came from the wilderness. It struck the four corners of the house so that it collapsed upon the young people and they died; I alone have escaped to tell you."

20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, cut off his hair, and threw himself on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

22 For all that, Job did not sin nor did he cast reproach on God.

2 0ne day the divine beings presented themselves before the Lord. The Adversary came along with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to the Adversary, "Where have you been?" The Adversary answered the Lord, "I have been roaming all over the earth." 3 The Lord said to the Adversary, "Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. He still keeps his integrity; so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason." 4 The Adversary answered the Lord, "Skin for skin–all that a man has he will give up for his life. 5 But lay a hand on his bones and his flesh, and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face." 6 So the Lord said to the Adversary, "See, he is in your power; only spare his life." 7 The Adversary departed from the presence of the Lord and inflicted a severe inflammation on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 He took a potsherd to scratch himself as he sat in ashes. 9 His wife said to him, "You still keep your integrity! Blaspheme God and die!" 1O But he said to her, "You talk as any shameless woman might talk! Should we accept only good from God and not accept evil?" For all that, Job said nothing sinful.

11 When Job's three friends heard about all these calamities that had befallen him, each came from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could not recognize him, and they broke into loud weeping; each one tore his robe and threw dust into the air onto his head. 13 They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. None spoke a word to him for they saw how very great was his suffering.

3 Afterward, Job began to speak and cursed the day of his birth. 2 Job spoke up and said:

3 Perish the day on which I was born,
And the night it was announced,
"A male has been conceived!"
4 May that day be darkness;
May God above have no concern for it;
May light not shine on it;
5 May darkness and deep gloom reclaim it;
May a pall lie over it;
May what blackens the day terrify it.
6 May obscurity carry off that night;
May it not be counted among the days of the year;
May it not appear in any of its months;
7 May that night be desolate;
May no sound of joy be heard in it;
8 May those who cast spells upon the day damn it,
Those prepared to disable Leviathan;
9 May its twilight stars remain dark;
May it hope for light and have none;
May it not see the glimmerings of the dawn—
10 Because it did not block my mother's womb,
And hide trouble from my eyes.

11 Why did I not die at birth,
Expire as I came forth from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me,
Or breasts for me to suck?
13 For now would I be lying in repose, asleep and at rest,
14 With the world's kings and counselors who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15 Or with nobles who possess gold and who fill their houses with silver.
16 0r why was I not like a buried stillbirth,
Like babies who never saw the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling;
There rest those whose strength is spent.
18 Prisoners are wholly at ease;
They do not hear the taskmaster's voice.
19 Small and great alike are there,
And the slave is free of his master.

20 Why does He give light to the sufferer

And life to the bitter in spirit;
21 To those who wait for death but it does not come,
Who search for it more than for treasure,
22 Who rejoice to exultation,
And are glad to reach the grave;
23 To the man who has lost his way,

Whom God has hedged about?

24 My groaning serves as my bread;
My roaring pours forth as water.
25 For what I feared has overtaken me;
What I dreaded has come upon me.
26 I had no repose, no quiet, no rest,
And trouble came.

7 11 On my part, I will not speak with restraint;

I will give voice to the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea or the Dragon,
That You have set a watch over me?
13 When I think, "My bed will comfort me,
My couch will share my sorrow,"
14 You frighten me with dreams,
And terrify me with visions,
15 Till I prefer strangulation,
Death, to my wasted frame.
16 I am sick of it.
I shall not live forever;
Let me be, for my days are a breath.

17 What is man, that You make much of him,

That You fix Your attention upon him?
18 You inspect him every morning,
Examine him every minute.
19 Will You not look away from me for a while,
Let me be, till I swallow my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of men?
Why make of me Your target,
And a burden to myself?
21 Why do You not pardon my transgression
And forgive my iniquity?
For soon I shall lie down in the dust;
When You seek me, I shall be gone.

28 12 But where can wisdom be found;

Where is the source of understanding?
13 No man can set a value on it;
It cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, "It is not in me";
The sea says, "I do not have it."
15 It cannot be bartered for gold;
Silver cannot be paid out as its price.
16 The finest gold of Ophir cannot be weighed against it,
Nor precious onyx, nor sapphire.
17 Gold or glass cannot match its value,
Nor vessels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned with it;
A pouch of wisdom is better than rubies.
19 Topaz from Nubia cannot match its value;
Pure gold cannot be weighed against it.

20 But whence does wisdom come?

Where is the source of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
Concealed from the fowl of heaven.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
"We have only a report of it."
23 God understands the way to it;
He knows its source;
24 For He sees to the ends of the earth,
Observes all that is beneath the heavens.
25 When He fixed the weight of the winds,
Set the measure of the waters;
26 When He made a rule for the rain
And a course for the thunderstorms,
27 Then He saw it and gauged it;
He measured it and probed it.
28 He said to man,
"See! Fear of the Lord is wisdom;
To shun evil is understanding."

40 The Lord said in reply to Job.

2 Shall one who should be disciplined complain against Shaddai?
He who arraigns God must respond.

3 Job said in reply to the LORD:

4 See, I am of small worth; what can I answer You?
I clap my hand to my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and will not reply;
Twice, and will do so no more.

6 Then the Lord replied to Job out of the tempest and said:

7 Gird your loins like a man;
I will ask, and you will inform Me.
8 Would you impugn My Justice?
Would you condemn Me that you may be right?
9 Have you an arm like God's?
Can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 Deck yourself now with grandeur and eminence;
Clothe yourself in glory and majesty.
11 Scatter wide your raging anger;
See every proud man and bring him low.
12 See every proud man and humble him,
And bring them down where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the earth;
Hide their faces in obscurity.
14 Then even I would praise you
For the triumph your right hand won you.

Job 1-3, 7:11-21, 28:12-28, 40:1-14

Questions for Discussion

What does Job hope to gain by laying his case before God?
Is Job's primary complaint that the Lord is unjust or that he is unmerciful?
Why does God put Job into the Adversary's—that is, Satan's—power?
Does Satan's will prevail—does Job end up cursing God?
How do God's proclamations of his power and knowledge address Job's complaints?

The Beginning of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1, 3:1-13, 5:17-19, 9:1-6

1 The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Utter futility!—said Koheleth—
Utter futility! All is futile!
3 What real value is there for a man
In all the gains he makes beneath the sun?

4 0ne generation goes, another comes,
But the earth remains the same forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun sets—
And glides back to where it rises.
6 Southward blowing,
Turning northward,
Ever turning blows the wind;
On its rounds the wind returns.
7 AII streams flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is never full;
To the place [from] which they flow
The streams flow back again.
8 All such things are wearisome:
No man can ever state them;
The eye never has enough of seeing,
Nor the ear enough of hearing.
9 0nly that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!

10 Sometimes there is a phenomenon of which they say, "Look, this one is new!"—it occurred long since, in ages that went by before us. 11 The earlier ones are not remembered; so too those that will occur later will no more be remembered than those that will occur at the very end.

12 I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel. 13 I set my mind to study and to probe with wisdom all that happens under the sun.—An unhappy business, that, which God gave men to be concerned with! 14 I observed all the happenings beneath the sun, and I found that all is futile and pursuit of wind:

15 A twisted thing that cannot be made straight,
A lack that cannot be made good.

16 I said to myself:"Here I have grown richer and wiser than any that ruled before me over Jerusalem, and my mind has zealously absorbed wisdom and learning." 17 And so I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly. And I Iearned—that this too was pursuit of wind:

18 For as wisdom grows, vexation grows;
To increase learning is to increase heartache.

A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:
2 A time for being born and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
3 A time for slaying and a time for healing,
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
4 A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
5 A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
6 A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
7 A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
8 A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What value, then, can the man of affairs get from what he earns? 10 I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with: 11 He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind, but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. 12 Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; 13 also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God.

5 17 0nly this, I have found, is a real good: that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains he makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given him; for that is his portion. 18 Also, whenever a man is given riches and property by God, and is also permitted by Him to enjoy them and to take his portion and get pleasure for his gains—that is a gift of God. 19 For [such a man] will not brood much over the days of his life, because God keeps him busy enjoying himself.

9 For all this I noted, and I ascertained all this: that the actions of even the righteous and the wise are determined by God. Even love! Even hate! Man knows none of these in advance 2—none! For the same fate is in store for all: for the righteous, and for the wicked; for the good and pure, and for the impure; for him who sacrifices and for him who does not; for him who is pleasing, and for him who is displeasing; and for him who swears, and for him who shuns oaths. 3 That is the sad thing about all that goes on under the sun: that the same fate is in store for all. (Not only that, but men's hearts are full of sadness, and their minds of madness, while they live; and then—to the dead!) 4 For he who is reckoned among the living has something to look forward to—even a live dog is better than a dead lion—5 since the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing; they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died. 6 Their loves, their hates, their jealousies have long since perished; and they have no more share till the end of time in all that goes on under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1, 3:1-13, 5:17-19, 9:1-6

Questions for Discussion

Why does the fact of death lead the speaker to conclude that all is futility?
Does the speaker advise us to pursue wisdom even though it causes vexation of spirit?
When the speaker says there is a season for everything, does he mean that all is predetermined?
Does the speaker think that God orders the world "under the sun" justly?
Can a person have wisdom and still love life?

The Great Books Foundation