The Aesthetics of Repentance: Re-Reading the Phenomenon of Job

In light of the phenomenological hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur, the narrative development of the Book of Job can be read in successive stages, the cumulative product of which is a new perspective on Job's paradoxical repentance (42:6). In a first reading, the disconcerting twists and turns of the tale come to be recognized as elements of an artistic "emplotment." Then, re-reading the tale in light of the divine affirmation in the Epilogue (42:7-8), we perceive Job's final utterance as the metaphorical high point of his theo-linguistics. Finally, placed again within the narrative as a whole, his repentance highlights the mystical element of biblical wisdom. The figure of Job can thereby be exalted as an "icon" for those engaged in the work of biblical theology.