In the majority of canonical lists, the Psalms and the book of Job sit next to one another, perhaps due to their size. They share a theme, lament, or complaint, though in the case of Job the intensity of Job's distress and the singularity of its causation--something we know but he does not--sets that book apart. Job's laments are relentless and are made more severe in the face of the assault of those who would purport to comfort him.The Psalms and Job also both bear witness to the theme of the majesty of God in creation. Psalms of creation appear across the five books of the Psalter and have been carefully distributed. The present study will examine the character of this psalm form and how the Psalter takes us on a journey in which God's majestic control of creation forms a major compass heading. The notion of a collection of "Wisdom Literature" created a different context for reading Job, one in which it occupied a medial position between Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and participated in a movement from traditional empirical wisdom to extreme skepticism about its utility and indeed about God himself. On this view, creation is out of sorts, and testifies to pointlessness and impenetrability. This book will plot a different course, seeking to hear afresh the response of God to Job by means of his created order. By situating the divine speeches in the context of what is said about God in creation in the Psalms, a new range of distinctive notes arises, making sense of Job's own impassioned confession that his eye has seen God, with this in turn leading to his magnificent restoration.
Christopher R. Seitz is an American Old Testament scholar and theologian known for his work in biblical interpretation and theological hermeneutics. He is the senior research professor of biblical interpretation at Toronto School of Theology, Wycliffe College. He is also an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, and served as canon theologian in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas (2008-2015). Seitz is the author of numerous books, including Isaiah 1-39 in the Interpretation series (WJK, 1993), The Elder Testament (Baylor University Press, 2018), and Convergences (Baylor University Press, 2020).
Introduction I The Psalms of Creation The Psalms and the Majesty of God the Creator Psalm 29 Psalms 46 and 69 Psalms 93 and 96 The Tides of the Psalter Book Four of the Psalter The Majesty of God in Creation Ascent and Alleluia II The Witness of Job The Majesty of the Creator and His World The Freedom of Job and of God God Answers Job: Tone and Form The Majesty of Creation in Job and in the Psalms The Divine Response Zoological Wonder Job, Behemoth, and Leviathan: God's Final Address Response and Restoration Job Alive Again: The Book's Finale Conclusion
