Texts in Conversation
Job 3:4 deliberately inverts Genesis 1:3 by calling for darkness where creation had introduced light. Where Genesis depicts the ordering of the world through separation of light and darkness, Job’s lament uses the same imagery to undo that order, wishing his birth to be erased from creation.
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Genesis 1:3
Hebrew Bible
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was hovering11 over the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Job 3:4
Hebrew Bible
2 Job spoke up and said: 3 “Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night that said, ‘A man has been conceived!’ 4 That day—let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it! 5 Let darkness and the deepest shadow claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day terrify it. 6 That night—let darkness seize it; let it not be included among the days of the year; let it not enter among the number of the months!
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Among the many artfully crafted themes in Job's lament in chapter 3, creation unmistakably stands out. In his great suffering, Job wants to undo creation. For instance, in a reversal of the fiat lux, Job declares, "Let there be darkness" (3:4). Although Job's declarations are limited to his own day of birth, the language mirrors Genesis 1. Michael A. Fishbane asserts that the whole thrust of 3:1-3 is to reverse creation systematically, paralleling the "sequence and rhythm" of the "archetypal cosmic pattern of Genesis." This reversal of creation is Job's last recourse, and since the curse could not actually be affected by his speech, it merely reveals 'the acuteness of Job's misery' ..."
Ham, T. C.
The Gentle Voice of God in Job 38
(pp. 527-541) Journal of Biblical Literature, 132, No. 3, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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