Deep Things Out of Darkness: The Book of Job, Essays and a New English Translation

In this radically new interpretation by David Wolfers, the Book of Job emerges as one of the most important religious documents of all time.
Wolfers's literal translation, uncompromisingly based on the Masoretic text, has uncovered a coherent allegory in which Job and his travails represent the people of Judah at the time of the Assyrian conquests and the exile of the ten lost tribes.
The Book of Job tackles the most perplexing religious issue of its time - and of all time: Why do good people suffer? Who, asks the author of Job, broke the sacred Covenant - God or his people? These questions and their answers make the Book of Job as momentous as the Ten Commandments, containing innovations so far in advance of their time that neither Judaism nor Christianity has yet been willing to fully absorb them.

Of all biblical books, Job is one of the most perplexing. The suffering of a blameless and upright man has challenged readers who believe in the goodness of God. In this exhaustive study, Wolfers, a medical doctor, reads Job as an allegory of the destruction of Judah at the hands of the Assyrians in the seventh century B.C.E. Through a close reading of the biblical text and an extensive study of historical context, Wolfers demonstrates that Job is an integral part of the Hebrew canon rather than a marginal text outside the orbit of Hebrew concerns. While his new translation is rather wooden, his critical essays are sure to raise eyebrows among biblical critics. For seminary and large public libraries.
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