Texts in Conversation
Job 16 echoes Genesis 4 by invoking the image of blood crying out from the ground, linking Job’s protest to Abel’s murder. This allusion in Job's protest implicitly makes God like Cain.
Share:
Genesis 4:10
Hebrew Bible
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Job 16:18
Hebrew Bible
15 I have sewed sackcloth on my skin and buried my horn in the dust; 16 my face is reddened because of weeping, and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness, 17 although there is no violence in my hands and my prayer is pure. 18 “O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let there be a secret place for my cry. 19 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. 20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... Within the earth itself there should be no place to hide the scream or cry. The conjunction of the earth’s not covering the blood and not muffling the scream is probably a reminiscence of God’s words to Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries out [the same verbal root as here] to me from the soil” (Genesis 4:10). This allusion would implicitly cast God in the role of the archetypal murderer ..."
Alter, Robert
The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary
(p. 5187) W. W. Norton & Company, 2018
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.