Job as a Steadfast Wrestler: Athletic Exemplarity in John Chrysostom and Severian of Gabala

Abstract

Abstract In Greek Late Antiquity, the Biblical character of Job was portrayed in two different ways: as Job the impatient complainer and as Job the patient sufferer. The latter image has often been enriched by means of agonistic metaphors describing Job as the perfect athlete wrestling with the devil. Despite its pervasiveness, however, this image has only been studied in a sporadic and incomplete way. The article intends to bridge this gap by researching how Christian authors strategically used the image of Job as an athlete in order to increase his impact as a role model. First, it briefly explores this image in Biblical traditions and in the works of Origen, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nyssa. The main part of the article then focuses on the works of John Chrysostom and Severian of Gabala. It is necessary to ascertain which image(s) of Job each author presents and how this image is presented as well as to lay bare the function and relevance of the agonistic metaphors that are used to portray Job. To achieve this aim, the article offers a philological analysis of some crucial primary sources in their socio-cultural context. The agonistic metaphors have also been analysed according to the principles of cognitive-linguistic metaphor theory. In the end, the article shows how Chrysostom and Severian used Job as a model-athlete to incite their audience to strive for a perfect Christian life. It demonstrates that the agonistic metaphors are deeply significant for the portrayal of Job, since they incite the audience to view Job’s life, and consequently also their own life, from a new angle. By turning Job the passive sufferer into an active athlete who is the ultimate example of resilience, the metaphors shed a new light on Job’s suffering and thereby on the problem of theodicy.