Lesley.] *>lt) [Jan. 15, 



only once in the whole book : "Then Job arose (after hearing of the utter 

 destruction of his whole family and all his possessions) and rent his mantle 

 and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped, and said : 

 Naked I issued from the womb of my mother, and naked shall I return 

 thither ; Jehovah gives and Jehovah takes, let the name of Jehovah be 

 blessed. In all these Job sinned not, and gave not spit (H )DD) to Elohim." 



This single allusion to Jehovah occurs in an evidently proverbial form, 

 at the close of a historical prose introduction to the original poem ; an 

 introduction which may or may not be ascribed to the Jewish compiler. 

 At all events the total absence of the name of the Jewish deity from the 

 poem itself renders its occurrence in the prologue sufficiently suspicious. 



In strong contrast to this absence of the name Jehovah is the constant 

 use of the names Eloeh, Elohim, and Shedi. The introduction opens thus 

 (Job 1:1): "There was a man * * * who * * * feared Elohim and 

 avoided sin." And in the beginning of the poem (Job 3 :4): "Job opened 

 his mouth and cursed his day * * * Let that day be darkness ; let Eloeh 

 not look at it from above," &c. It is evident that the race to which Job 

 belonged worshiped a deity called Elohim (or worshiped gods, Elohim, it 

 would be hard to decide which), for in the opening verse of the 2d chapter 

 they are called Beni Elohim, just as the Hebrews were habitually called 

 Beni Israel. 



The deity name Shedi occurs (not in the introduction, nor in the conclu- 

 sion, but) in the poem itself thirty-one times, and the deity bearing this 

 name is described as inscrutible (11 : 7, 37 : 23), omniscient (24 : 1, 40 : 2) 

 giver of inspiration and life (32 : 8, 33 : 4), just in judgment (8 : 3, 31 : 35, 

 34 : 10, 34 : 12), paying no regard to complaints that are silly (35 : 13), 

 open to prayer (8 : 5, 13 : 3), punishing the wicked (27 : 13), wrathful 

 when offended (21 : 20), building up, defending, delighting and being with 

 his worshipers (22 : 23, 25, 26, 29 : 5). 



At the same time Job complains that "the arrows of Shedi&re (sticking) 

 in him (5 : 4), that El has killed his heart ("pH for J1H) and Shedi has 

 troubled him (23 : 16), that Shedi hath vexed his soul (27 : 2). But appa- 

 rently he vents these complaints without feeling any disrespect towards the 

 deity. 



In the same mental mood, Eliphaz the Temanite, says (5 : 17) "Lo! 

 Happy the man whom Eloeh correcteth, and the chastisement of Shedi 

 City *ID10) despise not." Job replies (6 : 14): "To the afflicted from a 

 friend pity ! and (but) the fear of Shedihe forsaketh." " The wicked man " 

 (15 : 20) is described by Eliphaz as "stretching his hand against ^(nateh 

 el el ido) and making himself a hero against Shedi" (v el Shedi ithgabar) 

 (15 : 23). And Job in his turn describes "the wicked " (21 : 7) as saying, 

 "What is Shedi (men Shedi) that we should serve him, and how shall we 

 profit by praying to him?" Of the hypocrite he asks (27 : 10) "Will he 

 delight himself, or rather, does he make himself an object of pleasure to 

 Shedi (im ol Shedi ithonau), does he ever call on Eloeh (iqra eloe b'col 

 oth)?" 



