8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
some awkward proposals in a great work, November 1, 2008
This review is from: Job 21-37 (Word Biblical Commentary) (Hardcover)
Though I by no means want to underscore some of the values of Clines proposals on the arrangement, I do want to point out the very unlikelihood of his presupposition. Clines thinks that 27:7-23 is in fact spoken by Sophar and that 28 is spoken by Elihu (32-37). Elihu's speech is thereupon transposed between 27 and 28. Accounting for such a great transposition he believes that a major mistake was made on a great Job-scroll, in analogy to the great Isaiah scroll. Counting the number of words in Job 1-27 and Job 32-37 and 28-31 and comparing them to the seams in the Isaiah scroll, the number of word in each column, he believes by accident Elihu's part was sawn after 28-31 to which it should have preceded. This Qumran scroll was thereupon taken by the Masoretes to compose our current book. First, we hardly have evidence that Masoretes depended so strongly on text that we have now found in Qumran and we have a lot of counterevidence instead. Second if the biblical scrolls in Qumran were adopted in the community, we should not forget the rivalry with the Jerusalem priestly class with its own temple text authority with regard to the handing down of text down to the ben Asher generation. Third and most of all, Job has been poorly preserved in Qumran. Is it more than a historical conjecture to suppose that once there was no such paucity, because there was a large scroll, that we now no longer possess?
I am confident that Clines' work on Job will serve pastors and exegetes, but I would be cautious to adopt some of his proposals
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful, Engaging, Provocative Commentary, November 17, 2011
In 1989, the first volume of David Clines' commentary on the Book of Job was published, covering the first twenty chapters. In 2006, the second volume was released, covering the book through Chapter 37. This month, after some delay (on the publisher's part, according to the book's front matter) the third and final volume is released. And Job scholar's everywhere rejoiced!
Having taken two courses on the Book of Job (one as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin and another as a grad student at Fuller), I came to appreciate David Clines as a thoughtful, engaging, and provocative scholar. That last adjective is the one I like best, particularly when dealing with Job - such a puzzling piece of ancient literature perfectly suited for deconstruction and philosophizing.
The commentary series' layout is not the most user-friendly, but it is thorough and readable. In each of the three volumes comprising this monster work, Clines engages deeply into the text of Job (analyzing words, phrases, language construction, etc.), the story of Job (the setting, the social and cultural norms, the plot and direction the book takes), but also the meaning of Job (historically, ethically, and philosophically).
This final volume, specifically, takes up the final portion of Job's story, beginning with Chapter 38 - "then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm..." Along with commentary on the closing chapters of Job, Clines has included emendations and additions to the previous volumes, along with a massive (almost 250 pages) bibliography, cataloguing what must be nearly all available work on the Book of Job.
Clines' reading of Job challenges the conventional notion that the Book helps readers understand the problem of evil, arguing instead that all the responses Job receives to his pleas - from his wife, from his friends, and from God - do not provide answers or reasons for suffering and pain. In closing, Clines suggests that the story of Job concludes existentially and post-theologically: Job is present with his restored life to live out his years having given up on his theological pursuits, resolving that "there is more to life than justice - more perhaps even than theology in general" (1242).
Disclosure of material connection in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: I received a copy of this book for review, though the opinions I have expressed are my own.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Volume 3 - Dr. Clines' evolution on the doctrine of retribution, January 2, 2012
I was NOT given a copy to review by the publisher; I am happy that I bought it. This study has been dear to me. I purchased Volume 1 several years ago and then Volume 2 in 2006. I have been anxiously waiting for Volume 3 as the entire story of Job builds to a climax in the final four chapters - without the finale we fail to understand the book.
I read the concluding arguments with interest and was very surprised at what seemed to be an evolution in Dr. Clines' theology that occurred between the initial volume published in 1989 and the final volume of November 2011. The "Argument" section of the introduction in Volume 1 (pg xxxvii) laid out the outline of how the Book of Job dealt with the doctrine of retribution. Here Clines looks forward to the narrator's epilogue in chapter 42 such that, "...the issues of the moral governance of the world and the doctrine of retribution are still on the agenda. What this concluding episode does for these issues is, surprisingly, to reinstate the dogma of retribution as the principle according to which the world operates." God calling Job's friends to account for their words and demanding a sacrifice under the threat of punishment is certainly retribution according to Clines in 1989. In light of this, Clines ends the "Argument" section with the claim that the Book of Job ultimately affirms the doctrine of retribution, "Even if in every instance it does not explain human fates, in the main it is affirmed by the Book of Job as the truth about the moral universe."
This changed. Clines' views expressed in Volume 3 contradict his statements of 22 years earlier. In writing the final volume Clines now rejects the doctrine of retribution, "What Yahweh can and does accept is that he does not govern the world according to the dictates of retributive justice." He goes on to state "...they (Jobs friends) in defending the doctrine of retribution, were advocates of a theology hostile to the divine designs." This is a huge shift in Clines' own understanding of what he claimed were the main arguments of the Book of Job in his initial volume. In fact, in the "Comments" section specifically dealing with verses 42:7-9, Clines never even mentions his initial view that God threatening Job's friends with punishment for their words as having anything to do with the arguments regarding retributive justice. It disappears. It is almost as if the conclusion being advocated is, "The only place for retributive justice is to punish those who affirm retributive justice." I am disappointed that the reasons for this evolution were not explored or addressed. I would have found them very interesting.
I am grateful to Dr. Clines for his tenacity and diligence in making all three volumes available. They have been a significant help to me in understanding the Word of God. Thank you.
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