02_Biblica_1_B_Pinker_Layout 1 30/01/13 13:15 Pagina 513 513 ON THE MEANING OF JOB 4,18 amazing as God’s creation is to man, it was also seen as having built- in freedoms (“free will”) and perhaps intentional imperfections (“evil inclinations”: Gen 8,21). The initial creation was thus the main stage in a creation process which is still in progress and to which man could also contribute. This has been intimated in the seemingly superfluous word tw#(l in Gen 2,3, which in Jewish tradition indicated the continuous need for Mlw( Nwqyt (“repair of the world”). For instance one finds in the Midrash: “Everything that was created in the six days of creation needs some additional ‘fixing’. For instance, mustard needs sweetness added to it, lupines need sweetness added to them, wheat needs to be grinded, and even man needs repair (circumcision)” 56. From this perspective the inan- imate celestial bodies and natural phenomena could be subject to God’s displeasure because of various anomalies, which the ancients may have observed. Because of the “personification” of the celes- tial entities and phenomena, the ancients viewed these anomalies as indiscretions. This understanding of the two terms wydb( and wyk)lm is at the basis of the qal wahomer in vv. 18-19. If God finds displeasure with the functioning of inanimate celestial bodies and natural phe- nomena, so much more so is this the case with human beings, which are of lowly make up (Mdwsy rp(b) and precarious existence (#(-ynpl Mw)kdy). The comparison in the qal wahomer is be- tween the inanimate but permanent (sun, moon, stars, meteorolog- ical phenomena) and the animate but impermanent (humans). Since the two terms wydb( and wyk)lm cannot refer to angels, or some supernatural entities, attribution of anthropomorphic misbe- havior to them, even on a metaphoric level, would be inappropriate. It is still possible to say that God has no confidence in his “servants” the sun, moon, and stars, if this statement refers to their orbits and brightness. It is, however, impossible to attribute “folly” or “error” to meteorological phenomena. Thus, hlht has to have a meaning that is appropriate for natural phenomena and human behavior. Such a concept is “speed” of the process, or “magnitude” of the event 57. Genesis Rabba 11,7. 56 GIBSON, “Eliphaz”, 266, n. 2. Apparently Gibson sensed the theological 57 difficulties of assigning “madness” to angels, and consequently rendered hlht “rashness,” a nuance of speed. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati