Texts in Conversation
In 1 Clement, the author answers people who mock the church with a long passage from Job 4 and 5 in the Greek Septuagint translation about how small humans are before God. Job is quoted here far more than is usual in other Christian writings.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Job 4:16
Septuagint
16 I arose and observed nothing. I looked, and there was no shape before my eyes, but I heard only a breath and a voice. 17 Because why? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man be blameless by reason of his works, 18 when he does not trust his servants, and he attributes some error to his messengers? 19 But those who dwell in houses of clay, from which also they are made from the same clay, he swats them like a moth. 20 And from morning until evening they are no more; they perish from not being able to help themselves. 21 For he blows upon them, and they dry up. They perish from not having wisdom.
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 39:3
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
3 For it is written; “There was no form before my eyes; only I heard a breath and a voice.” 4 What then? Shall a mortal be clean in the sight of the Lord; or shall a man be unblamable for his works? seeing that He is distrustful against His servants and notes some perversity against His angels. 5 No, the heaven is not clean in His sight. Away then, you that dwell in houses of clay, of which, even of the same clay, we ourselves are made. He struck them like a moth, and from morning to evening they are no more. Because they could not help themselves, they perished.
Search:
Notes and References
“... The approximately seventy direct quotations constitute about one-fourth of this long epistle, making it second only to Barnabas among the apostolic fathers in the frequency of quotation from the OT. [...] Some of the quotations are lengthy. Psalms, Isaiah, Job, Genesis and Proverbs, in this order, are the most frequently cited. The heavy use of Job and Proverbs is unusual in comparison with the NT and Christian literature generally in the early period. ...”
Martin, Ralph P.
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments
(pp. 1195-1196) InterVarsity Press, 1997
* 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.
User Comments
,