Metaphorical Landscapes and the Theology of the Book of Job: An Analysis of Job's Spatial Metaphors by Johan De Joode

Abstract

Reviewed by: Metaphorical Landscapes and the Theology of the Book of Job: An Analysis of Job's Spatial Metaphors by Johan De Joode Patricia Vesely johan de joode, Metaphorical Landscapes and the Theology of the Book of Job: An Analysis of Job's Spatial Metaphors (VTSup 179; Leiden: Brill, 2019). Pp. xvi + 274. €115/$133. In this revision of his dissertation completed at Katholiek Universiteit Leuven under the direction of Pierre Van Hecke (2015), Johan de Joode examines the use of spatial metaphors in Job. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory, d.J. discusses the role spatial metaphors play in structuring certain theological and ethical concepts in Job, including well-being and retribution. In chap. 1, d.J. introduces his subject and then moves quickly to the prose prologue of Job in order to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of spatial language in the book. As d.J. explains, "a spatial metaphor understands something that is in and of itself not spacial in terms of something spacial" (p. 1). In Job 1–2, numerous spatial metaphors abound, including the narrator's assessment that Job "turned away from evil" (1:1; cf. 1:8; 2:3), the adversary's critique that God has "put a fence around Job" (1:10); and the statement that Job "holds on to his integrity" (2:3, 9). Chapters 2 and 3 provide the methodological backdrop for d.J.'s study. Chapter 2 includes a lucid discussion of conceptual metaphor theory that engages primarily with George Lakoff's and Mark Johnson's foundational treatment of the subject (Metaphors We Live By [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980]). D.J. defines key terms such as "metaphor," "source and target domains," "mapping," "concept," "gestalt," and "framing." In the next chapter, he distinguishes spatial metaphors as metaphors pertaining to two primary concepts: "Location" and "Motion." He describes and defines the building blocks of these concepts, including "trajector," "landmark," "motion," "frame of reference," "region," "path," and "direction." The next three chapters contain detailed analyses of several key spatial metaphors in Job. In chap. 4, d.J. discusses the metaphor "The Body is a Container," revealing how this conceptualization is central to Job's depictions of God's enmity. Two related metaphors develop this idea: "Enmity is Breaking a Boundary" and "Enmity is Setting an Unwanted External Boundary." D.J. effectively demonstrates how these metaphors provide unity to such passages as Job 16:9-14 and 19:6-12, texts often described as lacking coherence. D.J. concludes the chapter with a discussion of how the concept of boundaries shapes Job's understanding of integrity, or "wholeness" (tām). In chap. 5, d.J. addresses the spatial concepts of place and placelessness and the metaphor "Retribution is the Attribution of a Place." In both Job's and his friends' speeches, wicked behavior is linked to the loss of a secure place. Chapter 5 includes another discussion on integrity (tām). By metaphorically depicting this "abstract" ethical quality as a physical object, Job's sense of ownership over his integrity and God's agency in attempting to take it from him are highlighted. In chap. 6, d.J. discusses the metaphors "Ethics is a Journey" and "Ethics is Distance." Evil and good frequently are depicted as locations or objects one must avoid or approach in Job. The metaphor "Ethics is a Journey" enables the ethical life to be conceived of as the sum total of a person's choices and highlights the cause–effect pattern in ethics. D.J. draws attention to a related metaphor, "Ill-being is a Moving Object," in order to show how Job [End Page 681] challenges the concept "Ethics is a Journey." By reversing the moving agent—evil is an object that can follow, come near, and touch a person—Job emphasizes his own innocence. Job's sufferings are due not to his own movement toward evil but to evil's movement toward Job. In the next chapter, d.J. examines spatial configurations in Job's challenges to God's character and to retribution theology. Job uses spatial metaphors to highlight the issues of agency and autonomy: although he distances himself from evil and travels the right path, evil...