Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 10:2 (Fall 2019)
Article: Complaint And Transformation: Decreation At The Outset Of Job
Author: Jamie A. Grant

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Complaint And Transformation:
Decreation At The Outset Of Job

Jamie A. Grant

Highland Theological College, UHI, Scotland

This article contends that the decreation language found in Job 3 is used by the author to give first voice to Job’s lament—his formal covenant complaint against YHWH. This poem is not just a prelude to the complaints that follow in the speech-cycles but it is actually the first expression of Job’s legitimate lament. This passage is often described as a soliloquy or an abstract poetic expression of Job’s pain that gives the reader insight into the extent of his suffering. This article argues that Job 3 is something more than just screaming at the universe. It is in fact a cry directed at the Creator of the universe. Furthermore, this decreative language sets the reader up for the response that ultimately arises in the YHWH speeches (Job 38–41). YHWH’s creative order is real, even when all we see is chaos, and that order is good.

Key Words: chaos, complaint, decreation, Job 3, lament, order, soliloquy

The connection between wisdom and creation is readily observable in the biblical text.1 Even the most superficial reading of the wisdom texts

STR 10:2 (Fall 2019) p. 60

of the Old Testament will recognize the importance of creation themes and vocabulary to the Sages. Equally, it is broadly acknowledged that the use of the Hebrew origins story in the sapiential literature is not just an interesting intertextual phenomenon: wisdom theology reflects a worldview that is, in some sense, fundamentally grounded in reflection on the created order.2 Creation in the wisdom literature is both comfort and challenge. It is the bedrock upon which the reader is encouraged to build her life, but it also contains the most incomprehensibly fearsome phenomena known to humanity. It is the symbol of both solid rock and uncontrollable chaos.3 Although frequently used to establish human finitude, by and large, creation is a positive theme in the wisdom books. It reflects the divine order in human experience. YHWH has established his ways in the cosmos and, therefore, the reader can expect a certain degree of order, security, and stability in a life lived according to wisdom principles. Proverbs 1–9 would be the primary example of this kind of establishing view of creation in wisdom texts: ...