Texts in Conversation
Job 14 describes how the divine determines how long people live, following ancient Near Eastern traditions, such as a prayer to Nabu, where the god determines the length of lives and records them on a heavenly tablet.
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A Prayer to Nabu
Ancient Near East
O Nabu, true heir, exalted vizier, foremost among the great ones, beloved of Marduk, look upon me with favor and delight. Regard my deeds kindly, and grant me as your gift enduring life, the fullness of great old age, the stability of my throne, the length of my reign, the downfall of my enemies, and dominion over hostile lands. On your faithful tablet, which sets the boundaries of heaven and the netherworld, decree the length of my days; record for me a life of many years. Before Marduk, king of heaven and the netherworld, the father who brought you forth, make my deeds acceptable and establish my well-being. Place these words upon your lips: “Nebuchadnezzar is truly king, the one who provides.”
Date: 600 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Job 14:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Do you fix your eye on such a one? And do you bring me before you for judgment? 4 Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one! 5 Since man’s days are determined, the number of his months is under your control; you have set his limit, and he cannot pass it. 6 Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.
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Notes and References
"... in ancient conceptions, including that of Israel, the concomitant human issues of justice and boundaries were predicated upon the existence of a divinely ordained world order. The limits set on human beings have their counterpart and cosmic archetype in the good limits or boundaries, the norms which God has established for creation. We may say that creation order grounds and norms social order ... the divine royal activity of establishing cosmic ḥuqqîm is mirrored in the human realm of kings and rulers who “decree (yḥqqw) what is just” (Proverbs 8:15). The basic idea of this root has to do with “marking” or “engraving.” In the realm of “nature,” including the constraints of a mortal lifespan, the divine limits are necessarily observed (Job 14:5) ..."
van Leeuwen, Raymond
"Liminality and Worldview in Proverbs 1-9" in Perdue, Leo G. and John G. Gammie (eds.) Paraenesis: Act and Form
(pp. 111-144) Society of Biblical Literature, 1990
* 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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