Job 1:21

Hebrew Bible

19 and suddenly a great wind swept across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!” 20 Then Job got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head, and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. 21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed! 22 In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety.

Ecclesiastes 5:15

Hebrew Bible

13 Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery. 14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him. 15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil. 16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind? 17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

 Notes and References

"... Distinctive phrases more than individual words combined with multiple instances of shared language indicate a stronger likelihood that dependence exists. Leonard notes that while a shared context may strengthen the case, it is not critical, and dependence may be present where shared ideology or form are not. Leonard states: “Shared language is more important than non­shared language.” He concludes: “Verbal parallels provide the most objective and verifiable criteria for identifying these allusions.” In my opinion, shared language is never sufficient by itself to establish dependence on a source text. For example, even though parts of the narrative frame of the book of Job seem to echo Genesis 3, Job’s statement “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there” (Job 1:21), and its counterpart in Ecclesiastes 5:15, do not appear to be an allusion to Genesis even though they share two significant words (בוש used of death and םרע). There are major points of difference between the texts; in Job and Ecclesiastes, nakedness is associated with loss in Genesis it is associated with is innocence and insouciance. It appears more likely that the expression refers to the common experience of all humankind ..."

Moxham, Ray Qohelet's Fall: The Use of Genesis 2­-4 in the Book of Ecclesiastes (p. 31) University of Otago, New Zealand, 2015

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.