Date of Award
4-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2024
Degree Name
Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)
Director
James Nati
Abstract
The Book of Job has generated pages and pages of discussion over its meaning, ranging from the overall meaning of the book to the meaning of one specific word. New ways and methods to analyze the Book of Job have opened new possibilities to understand and apply the teachings in the contemporary world. Nevertheless, one of the most accepted facts is that Job is innocent.
In literary studies an unreliable narrator is one whose credibility is compromised. An unreliable narrator will lie, deceive or exaggerate the facts of a story to push their own agenda or interpretation. Even though the concept of an unreliable narrator is relatively new, this concept could be applied to older works, especially those - such as Job - that have had a redaction history and that try to provide a unified message after it has been edited from previous sources.
When looking at the dialogues between Job and his friends we find discrepancies in the way Job is described. While Job stands firm that he is innocent and has been blessed by God and been a blessing to all, his friends accuse him of serious crimes. The prologue takes Job’s side and is described by the narrator and God as the epitome of human righteousness. The discrepancies between descriptions open the book to be analyzed using the figure of the unreliable narrator.
I propose that the author of the prologue-epilogue tried to provide a definitive answer to the question of the suffering of the innocent, but ultimately there was no answer in their time other than accepting retributive justice. The author, through brilliant use of literary devices, wrote the prologue-epilogue from an unreliable narrator’s point of view, advocating retribution theology while leaving clues to alert a keen-eyed reader that the “truths” presented by the narrator had to be taken with a grain of salt, thereby preserving the polyphonic voices of the dialogues.
After looking at the evidence that points to the prologue being unreliable, the final section will explore the consequences of an unreliable narrator, as well as conclusions and future avenues of investigation.
Recommended Citation
Colorado, Fabio Javier, "Was Job Righteous or Self-Righteous? Job 1 and the Reliability of the Narrator" (2024). Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations. 131.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/jst_dissertations/131