“I Was Exhausted as a Woman”: The Slippage of Virtue and Gender in the Testament of Job

Abstract

Abstract The Testament of Job is a Hellenistic reception of the biblical Book of Job written sometime between the first century BCE and first century CE. This paper is attentive to Hellenistic notions of the masculine ideal as one fused with notions of virtue, where gender corresponds to virtue more than to anatomy. Masculinity is a continuum on which one’s masculinity and virtuousness is subject to slippage. It is this dynamic that energizes and dramatizes the narrative of the Testament of Job: Job is engaged in a wrestling match to demonstrate his virtue, and to prevail over weakness and traits associated with femininity.