Genesis 3:19

Hebrew Bible

17 But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed the voice of52 your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return. 20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Job 4:19

Hebrew Bible

17 ‘Is a mortal man righteous before God? Or a man pure before his Creator? 18 If God puts no trust in his servants and attributes folly to his angels, 19 how much more to those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth? 20 They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. 21 Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.’

 Notes and References

"... Although there are a few indications that corroborate the claim for a relationship between Genesis 2:7, Genesis 3:19, and Job 4:19, the notion of a twofold reference in Job 4:19 to Genesis 2:7 and 3:19 seems speculative. On the other hand, assuming that such sophisticated literary artistry was beyond the authors of the book of Job may not be safe. Decisive, in this case, is a similar instance of a double intertextual reference to Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 3:24 in Job 10:9: ‘Remember that you fashioned me like clay; and will you turn me to dust again?’. Considering the use of the verb שוב “return” in addition to עפר “dust” in both Job 10:9 and Genesis 3:19, the linguistic interrelation between these texts is very strong. This shows that the authors of the book of Job were not only aware of Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 3:19 but also conflated them in a twofold intertextual reference in a text other than Job 4:19. These observations lead to the conclusion that the reference in Job 4:19 to Genesis 2:7 and 3:19 is intentional and therefore can be interpreted as an allusion ..."

Saleem, Yasir ‘For a Man Is Born to Suffer’: Intertextuality between Job 4–5 and Gen. 2.4b–3.24 (pp. 388-407) Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2022

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