Deuteronomy 10:18
Hebrew Bible
15 However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples—as is apparent today. 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and stop being so stubborn! 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe, 18 who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing. 19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Job 29:12
Hebrew Bible
11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me; 12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him; 13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; 14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me; my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy 10 presents defending orphans, widows, and foreigners as a core social obligation rooted in divine justice. The book of Job draws on this idea to shape its narrative: Eliphaz accuses Job of violating this norm, and Job later defends his integrity by claiming he upholds it.
Notes and References
"... Job and Deuteronomy have major agreement concerning their understanding of the poor and marginalized members of society. Job uses the example of abusing the orphan as a form of great depravity (Job 6:27). Eliphaz concurs on this point and accuses Job of severe mistreatment of orphans (Job 22:9), which is one of the few specific accusations the friends make against Job.32 Job does not immediately claim innocence of this crime, but explicitly does so later (Job 29:12). Job uses orphans as evidence in his argument that God does not punish the wicked for their actions (Job 24:1–12). In Job’s summary defense of his actions (Job 31), Job claims to have upheld the cause of the orphan (Job 31:17–18) and implies that failure to do this would have been condemnable ..."
Swinney, James Kipp
Intertextual Discourse and the Problem of God: The Intersection of the Speeches of Job and Deuteronomy
(p. 69) Abiline Christian University, 2016
* 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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