LING 249: Literature and Cognition (HC): Modern Critical Editions

A new translation that captures the fierce beauty of the poetry in an edition that equips new readers to understand its significance.

The Book of Job, a work of unsurpassed poetic power and beauty, addresses the most disturbing themes in the Western tradition: What is our place in God's creation? are the good rewarded? the evil punished? can we grasp the ways of creation or are they beyond our ken?

Job, the patient sufferer, the afflicted man whose faith in God is finally rewarded, stands squarely among our cultural beliefs. But in this captivating new translation by Raymond Scheindlin, a different Job emerges. This is the angry Job, who knows as we do that his suffering is undeserved, and who demands an argument with God.

God's reply to Job from the storm, indeed the entire cycle of speech and response between the friends and Job, is rendered here with stunning power. With a practiced ear for Hebrew poetry and a deep understanding of the ancient Hebrew text, Scheindlin captures the great vitality of this poem.