Job’s Intercession: Antidote to Divine Folly 461 narrator does not hesitate to name YHWH as the author of the evil that destroyed Job’s wealth and health. At first, when the friends heard about all the evil that befell Job, they came to comfort him and then argued about the cause of that evil (Job 2,11). At the end, family and acquaintances comfort Job from the consequences of the evil that YHWH caused him (Job 42,11). There is thus no reason to deny the existence of divine folly. It is no more troubling than depicting YHWH as deceptive (1 Kgs 22,19-23; Jer 20,7-13; Ezek 14,1-14)(17), as the giver of laws that are not good (Ezek 20,25) or as the creator of evil (Isa 45,7). 3. Job’s Innocence Confirmed The narrator wisely anticipated that divine folly may be too much for some readers. Hence, the first part of chapter 42 is couched in such a way as to let troubled readers (mis)understand Job’s final tirade as a confession of sins by a repentant Job. It has long been recognized that in Job 42,1-6 Job confesses his ignorance but nowhere relents, repents, repudiates his words or shows any remorse (18). Even if the one who spoke without knowledge is identified with Job (19), it does not necessarily turn Job into a sinner since words spoken “without knowledge” (Job 42,8) may nevertheless be correct (20). Yet, many readers need a culprit and blame Job to alleviate the pain that blaming God would entail (21). However, the kethib/qere in 42,2 makes it difficult to decide who knows what and the reader of Job 42,1-6 is soon entangled in a web of possibilities that leaves him as ignorant a Job himself (22). The consonantal text lkwt lk yk t[dy “you know that you can all” is non-committal compared to “I know you are omnipotent”. Is Job the one hiding counsel (verse 3) or is it YHWH? That Job sees God with one eye (yny[ Job 42,5) is a shaky textual basis to establish Job’s conversion or complete change of perspective. If Job (17) N.R. BOWEN, “Can God Be Trusted?” A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (ed. A. BRENNER) (Sheffield 1995) 354-365. (18) D.A. PATRICK, “Job’s Address of God”, ZAW 91 (1979) 268-281. (19) Job 38,2; 42,3: J.J. BIMSON, “Who is ‘this’ in “Who is this…?”, JSOT 87 (2000) 125-128. (20) C.A. NEWSOM, The Book of Job (Oxford 2003) 257. (21) H. PYPER, “The Reader in Pain: Job as Text and Pretext”, Text as Pretext. Essays in Honour of Robertson Davidson (ed. R.P. CARROLL) (Sheffield 1992) 234-255. (22) Analysed by E.J. VAN WOLDE, “Job 42,1-6: the Reversal of Job”, The Book of Job (ed. W.A.M. BEUKEN) (BETL 114; Leuven 1994) 223-250.