02_Biblica_1_B_Pinker_Layout 1 30/01/13 13:15 Pagina 516 02_B 516 ARON PINKER Can a mortal be more right than God? qdcyi xwl)vm #wn)ha f@ ; " $& v Can a man be more faultless than his Maker? rbg-rh+yi w@h#o" (m" M)i e F@ a; o Commentators generally felt that this verse cannot mean: “Can man be more righteous than God?” Any man sound of mind would agree that man cannot be more righteous than God — there is no need to state the obvious. Moreover, such understanding would not agree with 5,18-27 and does not fit Job’s case, since he never claims to be more righteous than God. What then could the vision be conveying? The keyword in 4,17 is h#( (“to make”), which clearly stands out when this verse is compared to 15,14 and 25,4. It refers to God as man’s creator, and thus must be alluding to creation and its im- perfection 66. This verse, without having the formal rhetoric struc- ture, is also a qal wahomer, albeit an implied one. The questions must consequently be understood in the following way: If there are imperfections in God’s creation, then there obviously must be im- perfections in a mortal’s deeds, since he cannot be more perfect than his creator (wh#(m) 67. Eliphaz’s vision, which in a dramatic manner presents his fun- damental theological perspective, is certainly true within the bibli- cal framework and appropriate for the situational context 68. It is, however, woefully unbalanced. It leaves out the other side of the coin: the enormous perfection that does exist in God’s creation and the high levels of personal perfection that are attainable by mortals. BEUKEN, “Eliphaz”, 302. Beuken also understands the passage 4,17-18 66 from a creational perspective, rather than forensic or moralistic point of view. However, he takes Eliphaz’s message to be that God does not even “encounter a lack of fidelity and wisdom among his ‘servants/messengers,’ but that the said moral characteristics do not count for him”. Beuken does not provide any textual support for his opinion. Gibson (“Eliphaz”, 265) also felt that Eliphaz “adds some thoughts on God which he himself obviously considers to be so daring that he has to justify them by claiming a special revelation”. Unfortunately, he does not specify what these thoughts might be. TUR-SINAI, Job, 84. Tur-Sinai notes that rendering 4,17a “Is man more 67 just than God?” or “Does man act justly toward God?” makes no sense, since it does not matter to the speaker “whether or not man acts justly towards God or could be juster than he”. He translates: “Can man have justice from God? Will man be found pure by his maker?” This forensic tenor does not agree with the following qal wahomer. See for instance 1 Kgs 8,46; Pss 130,3; 143,3; Prov 20,9; Qoh 7,20; etc. 68 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati