The BOOK OF JOB

While Mitchell's own translation of the Book of Job is the central text of this book, I find the author's commentary to be of greatest value. Mitchell offers interpretations that transcend the limited notions proposed by Christianity. While a spirituality of piety predisposes one to read the prose and poetry of the bible in a certain way, Mitchell's eclectic and soaring viewpoint allows a perspective that encompasses the greater region of human existence. We are offered not a simple theology of submission to an all-powerful deity, but insights to the very the fundamental questions of who or what God is, what evil and suffering are.
The biblical Book of Job, or as I fondly call it, the myth of Job is probably the Christian world's quintessential story on suffering. It is no denying it dwells upon an awesome and moving existentialist theme. To anyone who has suffered (and who hasn't?) the story cannot fail to speak and address itself to. If we read intently we somehow lose ourselves in the story. We sympathize with Job. We recall our afflictions. We relive our losses. We become Job himself and cry with the Holocaust victims and all who suffer gravely: Why!?
Avivah Zornberg, professor of Judaism and author of "The Beginning of Desire", has said "We read stories that wound and stab us." We need to--to come to terms with reality. And Mitchell in his translation of the Job story has given us much to ponder once again. Yet in light of his compelling and enlightening prologue we 'see' God and suffering differently.

Stephen Mitchell has published some very fine translations/interpretations of various world spiritual classics- the Tao te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita, etc, and here now the Book of Job.

Job is a common Biblical/mythological symbol of The-Man-of-Tragedy, the Put-Upon, the Innocent-Punished-as-Evil. In the Job story that Mitchell is here retelling, God gets tempted into a contest with the devil as to the corruptibility or not of 'my servant Job.' The devil says 'I can corrupt him' God says 'no you can't.' So Job's troubles are soon underway... [we need to read Carl Jung's 'Answer to Job' to get some idea of what the heck was God thinking anyway?] ...for the moment, the devil is on the loose here...

I think this version of the book is not so much about the story, most readers will already know the plot and final outcome. This book is for the poetry, that extra spin beautiful language can add to any tale, no matter how common or well known. Here is a perfect example of a classic tale lifted above its usual value by the genius of poetic language. It is a joy to read.

Job says--
"If I want to forget my misery
or try to smile at my pain,
one thought makes me shudder:
that you don't believe what I say.
If I am already guilty,
why should I struggle on?"

[God's response to Job's dilemma is basically to say, who are you to question me?]

God--
"Who is this whose ignorant words
smear my design with darkness?
...where were you when I planned the earth?
tell me, if you are so wise...
Who laid down its cornerstone,
while the morning stars burst out singing
and the Angels shouted for joy?"

[ the book goes on like that-- relating the universal sorrows of mankind and the inscrutability of God ]

What will happen when bad things happen to a God-fearing Man? The verbal fireworks of the dialogue between Job and his friends and beauty of the poetry on wisdom of the divine speeches are found in the Book of Job. Having lost everything, confused and angry, Job refuses to reject his faith. In order to understand the nature of God, he questions if God make good people suffer and what has he lined up at the end of this. Is he going to bring happiness? Is he testing the individual or it is a fact of life? At the end of this book, we learn that God indeed is benevolent and forgiving. The God Almighty blesses Prophet Job and bestows everlasting happiness in his life. In the process of teaching Job, God reveals that He is Omnipotent. In Job 4:17, we find that "Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker? The implication is that God alone can discern morality and goodness in the universe. This idea is reinforced by God's own voice which asks Job "Can thou draw out leviathan with a hook (Job 41) a rhetorical question which serves to demonstrate the almost abject lowliness of a human being when contrasted with the wisdom of God

The author briefly discusses the Hindu holy book of Bhagavadgita and the Book of Job on the Problem of the Self as a matter of academic expediency, since God talk to Arjuna, like he does with Job. In Bhagavadgita, Lord Krishna teaches and mentors Arjuna of his spiritual journey and quest for enlightenment. Krishna first comforts Arjuna by instructing him on the externality of the human soul and helping to stave off Arjuna 's own fear of personal mortality and fighting a war with his own kith and kin. In this story, God stands as a protector of Arjuna and all mortals (1, 2).

The author has translated the book from Hebrew to English with an emphasis on the accuracy and the meaning of the original version of the scripture. The life of Prophet Job dates back to about fifth century B.C., but the earliest Hebrew manuscript that survived was written some 1500 hundred years later. Through many centuries of or oral and scribal transmission, corruptions have occurred in the Book of Job. To prove this point, the author discusses selected verses such as 5:6-7; 23:13; 39:21, etc.

References:

1. The Bhagavad Gîtâ and the Book of Job on the Problem of the Self, James Norton, East-West Studies on the Problem of the Self, 1968, pp 177-192

2. Dilemma and Resolution in Bhagavad-Gita and Job, Hazel S. Alberson, College English Vol. 18, No. 8 (May, 1957), pp. 406-413

Mitchell's translation of The Book of Job is fascinating. Combined with his commentary, new light is shed on this biblical work that reveals its relevance in today's world. You don't have to be a biblical scholar to enjoy this work.

I finally found a version that encouraged me to spend enough time with the work to get to know it and also to appreciate the poetry. The introduction and notes were also helpful.

I needed this.

Anyone who reads translations of classic works is familiar with Stephen Mitchell. This is one of his early ones, and it is exquisite! I was surprised by just how compelling his rendition is since I'm a big Robert Alter fan, having used his version to teach a college Bible as Literature course. I do think Alter's notes are far superior and that Mitchell's introduction is simplistic, but it's still interesting. Highly recommended: this will make Job come alive for many readers.

This book intelligently discusses the myths that surround the Book of Job. Stephen Mitchell does a credible job dispelling these. Surprisingly many have entered the mainstream of Christian belief. This has distorted the original intent of the author(s) of the Book.

(My first attempt at a review -J)

I like Stephen Mitchell. I highly reccomend his anthologies of sacred poetry and sacred prose, namely, ` The Enlightened Heart` and ` The Enlightened Mind`, as well as `The Gospel According To Jesus`, all of which I own and have reread. But this incomplete translation of Job, as well as his other book, an incomplete translation of Psalms, (which also is too loosely `translated` in parts, where in one biblical Psalm he uses the buddhist word, `boddisattavas`and the modern scientific terms, `quarks` and `quasars`) leave much to be desired. Not up to the highly inspirational quality of the first three books mentioned, which, again, I can`t reccomend more highly.

If you want to understand the context and message of the Book of Job, this is the single finest
translation from the Hebrew into English.

I like this translator. He brings his whole self to the works he translates. This version made me want to read about Job, which I wasn't interested in before reading this.