{"title":"\"Are you putting your heavenly script on the earth?\" (Job 38:33) - But what does \"heavenly script\" mean?","authors":"Jacob Boeckle","doi":"10.17159/2312-3621/2022/v35n2a7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Since the hapax legomenon * מִשְׁטָר of Job 38:33b is understood as a \"scripture of heaven,\" its meaning can be deduced only from the environment of the Old Near East but in particular from its context, Job 38:31-33 (including Job 9:9). Thus, the separate consideration of the verbs, \"link, loosen, lead out, guide\" and of the constellations, \"Pleiades, Orion, Hyades, Big Bear over its cubs, chambers of the South\" (Job 38:31-32; 9:9) - including the parallel \"orders of heaven\" (Job 38:33a) and altogether by God's rhetorically ironic challenge of Job - proves what can be understood in detail and as a whole under * מִשְׁטָר: as a script written in the sky of the God who treats the aforementioned constellations (representing the entire astronomical cosmic world) and their cosmic orders as their Creator, Lord and Shepherd and makes them work on earth. It can apply in general but also beyond the Book of Job: human (and thus the suffering Job) is able to read this writing for the renewed perception of God and, depending on the circumstances, to apply it on earth (eg in agriculture) .","PeriodicalId":19713,"journal":{"name":"Old Testament essays","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Old Testament essays","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2022/v35n2a7","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Since the hapax legomenon * מִשְׁטָר of Job 38:33b is understood as a "scripture of heaven," its meaning can be deduced only from the environment of the Old Near East but in particular from its context, Job 38:31-33 (including Job 9:9). Thus, the separate consideration of the verbs, "link, loosen, lead out, guide" and of the constellations, "Pleiades, Orion, Hyades, Big Bear over its cubs, chambers of the South" (Job 38:31-32; 9:9) - including the parallel "orders of heaven" (Job 38:33a) and altogether by God's rhetorically ironic challenge of Job - proves what can be understood in detail and as a whole under * מִשְׁטָר: as a script written in the sky of the God who treats the aforementioned constellations (representing the entire astronomical cosmic world) and their cosmic orders as their Creator, Lord and Shepherd and makes them work on earth. It can apply in general but also beyond the Book of Job: human (and thus the suffering Job) is able to read this writing for the renewed perception of God and, depending on the circumstances, to apply it on earth (eg in agriculture) .
期刊介绍:
Old Testament Essays functions as a vehicle which publishes Old Testament research from various points of view. Its primary aim is to regulate and propagate the study of the Old Testament in Africa. Various fields related to the study of the Old Testament are covered: philological / linguistic studies, historical critical studies, archaeological studies, socio-historical studies, literary studies and rhetorical studies.