Abstract

This article takes further the work begun in a previous article by investigating the notion of the fear of God in the HB in the light of Rudolf Otto's Das Heilige. The focus of this article is on the usefulness of Otto's views for understanding the meaning and significance of the fear of God in the two wisdom texts of Job 37:14-24 and Qoh 3:1-17. It is argued that taking Otto's views on the mysterium tremendum into account helps to facilitate a greater appreciation of the multifaceted nature of the fear of God in these texts. Maintaining the (creative) tension in the human experience of the divine, put into words most admirably by Otto, is found to be of the importance for the interpretation of Job 37:14-24 and Qoh 3:1-17 - as it may very well also be for other texts of the HB.

Highlights

  • This article takes further the work begun in a previous article[2] by investigating the notion of the fear of God in the HB in the light of Rudolf Otto’s Das Heilige

  • It is argued that taking Otto’s views on the mysterium tremendum into account helps to facilitate a greater appreciation of the multifaceted nature of the fear of God in these texts

  • Maintaining the tension in the human experience of the divine, put into words most admirably by Otto, is found to be of the importance for the interpretation of Job 37:14-24 and Qoh 3:1-17 – as it may very well be for other texts of the HB

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Summary

A INTRODUCTION

The current article endeavours to further investigate the meaning and significance of the fear of God in the HB in the light of Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the. The previous article pointed out that Otto did have a great influence on the understanding of the fear of God, but that scholars allowed their opinions to be guided by a competent analysis of the different nuances which the fear of God takes on in the biblical text itself. The aim of the current article, will be to investigate the notion of the fear of God in the texts of Job 37:14-24 and Qoh 3:1-17 in the light of Otto’s work. These two texts show, on the basis of their vocabulary, a seeming correspondence with Otto’s views on the mysterium tremendum. In both texts the notion of not being able to find / understand (‫ )לא מצא‬stands in close proximity to the notion of fearing God (‫ – )ירא‬a seeming correspondence that should prove fruitful grounds for a consideration of the usefulness of Otto’s views for understanding the fear of God in the biblical text.[4]

Exegetical Remarks on Job 37:14-24
The Fear of God in Job 37:14-24 in the Light of Otto’s Das Heilige
Exegetical Remarks on Qohelet 3:1-17
The Fear of God in Qohelet 3:1-17 in the Light of Otto’s Das Heilige
D CONCLUSION
Full Text
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