Due to the complexity of the speech-cycles in the book of Job, scholars have struggled to resolve interpretive tensions in the authors characterization of Jobs three friends. This book focuses on the significance of the ancient Near Eastern social and wisdom contexts for understanding the role that Eliphaz, the leading sage-counselor, fulfills in Job. Given the likely Edomite provenance of Eliphaz and the archaeological evidence linking the respective Israelite and Edomite schools of wisdom, Eliphaz articulates a polished wisdom tradition, the epitome of a worldview shared by Job prior to his...
Due to the complexity of the speech-cycles in the book of Job, scholars have struggled to resolve interpretive tensions in the authors characterizatio...