novels, comets, movies
Below is the King James text of the Book of Job, with illustrations of William Blake's twenty-two engraved prints. I've inserted the illustrations almost entirely in Blake's original order. Plate 2, which depicts Job's happy former life, I've used both in the prologue and in Chapter 29, when Job recalls that lost time of his … Continue reading Book of Job illustrated by William Blake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_n87NtpaWo Song by Joni Mitchell Let me speakLet me spit out my bitternessBorn of grief and nights without sleepAnd festering fleshDo you have eyes?Can you see like mankind sees?Why have you soured and curdled me?Oh, you tireless watcherWhat have I done to you?That you make everything I dread and everything I fearCome trueOnce I was … Continue reading The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song)
Back in December I read a recent translation of the Book of Job, by Professor Edward L. Greenstein. It's an iconoclastic translation in which Job remains unrepentant even after God's speeches. I liked Greenstein's translation of the poetry of Job, and I'll end this post with a taste of that. First I'd like like to … Continue reading Edward Greenstein’s reading of Job
I am at the moment still studying the Book of Job, but I wanted to make a quick note on an insight I picked up concerning Proverbs. Proverbs is sometimes thought to offer simplistic morality, in which the righteous are rewarded for their faith in God and the wicked are reliably punished. When I read … Continue reading Robert Alter’s reading of Proverbs
Tom McLeish's blog, Faith and Wisdom In Science, offers a scientist's perspective on the Book of Job. As a believer and scientist, McLeish argues that there is no necessary conflict between religion and science, which is a welcome message in these times. He has a lot of material on the Book of Job. He writes … Continue reading Tom McLeish on Science and the Book of Job
Time again to draw some lines between texts, for fun and maybe more. Texts today: Book of Job, Bhagavad Gita, Lord of the Rings, Gilgamesh Compare – Your hands have formed me and made me,Put me together—then destroyed me!Mind now, it is you who made me like clay,And will return me to the dust!He elevates … Continue reading Gita and Job, shoutout to JRR
I've been thinking a lot about eyelids. In the Book of Job, the King James Bible gives us a memorable phrase, "the eyelids of the morning" (41:18). Both Job and God speak this phrase, which is translated by Robert Alter as "eyelids of dawn." A few days ago I came to the very end of … Continue reading The Eyelids of Job’s Daughter
My two favorite, and possibly the best, translators of the Bible today were interviewed together on a podcast about a year ago: https://mindingscripture.com/episode-4-translation-of-scripture/ Speaking broadly and perhaps simply, Robert Alter produced a translation of the Hebrew Bible that shows in English that the original was great literature, while David Bentley Hart produced a New Testament … Continue reading Podcast with Robert Alter and David Bentley Hart