466 Philippe Guillaume – Michael Schunck devastating. After letting the satan strike Job twice, God’s wrath is about to fall upon Eliphaz and his friends and potentially upon us as well, unless holocausts and Job’s intercession avert the disaster. The Epilogue is a graduation ceremony of sorts where Job receives the title of Master in Intercession. As the Job of Ezekiel 14, the Job of the Prologue saved neither son nor daughter. He was unable to avert the initial bout of folly because he first had to go through the test. Once an approved intercessor, Job is qualified to soothe the consequences of further cases of theopathism by his prayer and, maybe, to prevent YHWH from acting foolishly too often. Not only Job recovers sons and daughters, but his intercession becomes efficacious beyond his own family circle. Eliphaz is the first sinner for whose restoration Job prays, turning the table on the one who claimed (in Job 22,27-30) that if only Job repented, he would pray and YHWH would answer (35). Emphasizing the efficacy of Job’s prayer for his friends, the book invites its audience to place itself under the benefit of Job’s intercession against misfortune. Far from being a hurdle, Job’s continued physical ailment fosters identification with a suffering humanity. For this reason, Job keeps a thorn in the flesh (36). His double riches work towards the same aim, proving that Job is divinely accepted since YHWH compensates his losses. The failure to distinguish between retribution and compensation leads to dismiss the Epilogue as confirmation of the doctrine of retribution (37) and to miss the importance of compensation as confirmation of Job’s intercessor status. That God compensates Job’s loses confirms that Job retains divine favour and is thus able to intercede for divine clemency on behalf of less righteous people (38). (35) R. GORDIS, The Book of Job (New York 1978) 494. (36) F. MIES, L’espérance de Job (Leuven 2006) 434 (2 Cor 12,9). (37) D.J.A. CLINES, “Why Is there a Book of Job, and What does It Do to You if You Read It?”, The Book of Job (ed. W. BEUKEN), 18. (38) It may be too bold to read here an early form of cult of Saint Job, but Ezekiel 14 attests the existence of a tradition in which the righteousness of Noah, Danel and Job granted them a privileged position to deal with divine anger. The tradition of Job the intercessor continues at the various tombs of Job in Oman, Palestine (al-Majdal), Syria (Naw˝, Sheikh Sa’ad) and the Chouf. Although it does not mention Job, P.W. VAN DER HORST, “The Tombs of the Prophets in Early Judaism”, Japhet in the Tents of Shem (Leuven 2002) 118-119 is highly relevant. See also J.-L. DÉCLAIS, Les premiers musulmans face à la tradition biblique: trois récits sur Job (Paris 1996).