Few biblical books have engendered as much analysis or philosophical discussion as the story of Job. A recent “biography” of the title character, by Mark Larrimore, examines the various interpretations to which he and his experience have been subjected, from the apocryphal Testament of Job to Elie Wiesel. Shalom Carmy reviews Larrimore’s book and highlights some of its shortcomings:
In particular, there is no space [in this treatment] for either analytic philosophy or the traditional kind of literary criticism, practiced by Robert Alter or Harold Fisch, that concentrates on the poetic imagery and the narrative contours of the book. . . . These omissions are regrettable, because detailed literary analysis may afford the best opportunity of redeeming the full register of voices and moods in Job from the temptation either to attribute to the book a uniform message or to reduce it to a series of obscure fragments.
More about: Bible, Elie Weisel, Job, Philosophy of Religion, Theodicy