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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Job 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE.[3][4] This chapter records the speech of Zophar the Naamathite (one of Job's friends), which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising Job 3:1–31:40.[5][6]
| Job 20 | |
|---|---|
 The whole Book of Job in the Leningrad Codex (1008 C.E.) from an old fascimile edition. | |
| Book | Book of Job |
| Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 3 |
| Category | Sifrei Emet |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 18 |
The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 29 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[8]
The structure of the book is as follows:[9]
Within the structure, chapter 20 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:[10]
The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar.[5]
Chapter 20 contains Zophar's second (and final) speech, which can be divided into several parts:[11]
In the opening part of the chapter, Zophar responds to Job's rebuke to the three friends (Job 19:28–29) with increasing impatience and growing "troubled thoughts" he felt as he listens to Job.[12] Zophar claims that a "spirit from/out of his understandings answers me" (verse 3b) which prompts him to reply.[12]
These words (and also the opening statements of other friends of Job) tends to reveal that Job's friends seem more concerned about their wounded pride than about Job's grievous suffering.[17]
Zophar states his resolutely fixed position of the retribution theology in this final speech (Zophar would not participate in the third round of debate), which he focuses mainly at the 'negative side of the equation': 'God always destroys the wicked'.[18] Like Bildad in the first round and Eliphaz in the second round (Job 15) Zophar appeals to tradition, but in a more hyperbolic way to emphasize his certainty of his stance.[12] Two themes are emphasized:[19]
Zophar's traditional understanding weighs more that wickedness will reap desctructive consequences (verses14, 16, 18–19, 21; 'self desctructive nature of human evil') than the involvement of God, despite the belief that God is still working behind it.[20] At the end, God will also show the active wrath against the wicked, as an 'inheritance' allotted to those people (verse 29).[21]
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