‘For a Man Is Born to Suffer’: Intertextuality between Job 4–5 and Gen. 2.4b–3.24

Abstract

The first speech of Eliphaz is the epitome of the scholarly consensus that the authors of the book of Job constructed their arguments through intertextual dialogues with various other texts in the Hebrew Bible. In this article, I argue that Job 4–5 contains three allusions (Job 4.9, 4.19, and 5.6–7a) to Gen. 2.4b–3.24 that not only provide the fundamental framework of Eliphaz’s argument for the efficacy of the deed-consequence nexus but are also vital in understanding its thrust. The literary placement of these allusions reveals that they are drawn to underpin Eliphaz’s rhetorical questions and personal observations theologically. This reflects that during the time of the book of Job’s composition (the postexilic era), Gen. 2.4b–3.24 played an important role in the debate on the deed-consequence nexus. Finally, whereas many have tried to resolve the problem of thematic inconsistencies in Job 4–5 by reorganizing the text, I propose that tracing and interpreting these allusions is the key to solving this puzzle.