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IS THE BOOK OF JOB A TRANSLATION FROM
AN ARABIC ORIGINAL?
BY FRANK HUGH FOSTER, PH.D.
Oberlin Graduate School of Theology
if, further, the apparent traces of a Semitism other than that of the
post-Exilic Jews in some of the Psalms, and occasionally in the Proph-
ets, are accepted as indicating a considerable literary and religious
commerce between Arabia and Palestine, evidently important modi-
fications of the traditional view of the origin and progress of religion
in Israel must be introduced, and a larger conception of the divine
Providence in the religious guidance of mankind will be gained. The
broader relations of the inquiry raise it to the level of a major theologi-
cal topic of high potential importance. Therefore I would by this arti-
cle put the question to oriental scholars, Is not the Book of Job to be
regardedas a translationfrom an Arabic original?
I
I begin by recalling those first impressions as to the Arabic atmos-
phere and tone of the book, which form the first element in the dis-
cussion of our theme.
It is, first of all, a production of the desert. Its author has watched
the desert wadi, swollen sometimes in winter to a torrent (38:25),
always with some possibility of water, freezing by night but drying
with the sudden coming of the heat (6:16 ff.); seen the fierce storms of
the desert gather and break with thunder and lightning and whirl-
wind (21:18; 27:21) and floods (14:19; 24:8; 27:20, 21); was familiar
with the sand and barren rock of the trackless (12:24) and solitary
wilderness, "wherein was no man" (38:26); watched the coming of
the rain and the reviving of a "dead" earth (14:8),' and the springing
of the grass and the pasturing camels; has seen the desert caravans,
has perhaps himself conducted them (31:31, 32), known their search
for water, led on, sometimes, by its "scent" (14:9) in the nostrils of
the camels, and their terrible fate when they found none (6:18); ex-
perienced the cold of the desert night (24:7); looked upon the con-
stellations of the sky blazing in the dry and cloudless atmosphere
(38:31 ff.); has eagerly practiced the hospitality of the desert (31:32).
Thus the great waste of the desert, its customs and its inhabitants,
live before us. The tent is its native dwelling-place, the trusted home
(18:14), nightly pitched, upon a journey, by the desert trail (31:32).
The wild creatures of the distant and unfrequented desert are familiar
1 Cf. the frequent use of this figure in the Koran, e.g., xxxvi. 33.
Is BOOK OF JOB A TRANSLATION FROM THE ARABIC? 23
objects of his interest, the wild ass, and the ostrich swifter than the
horse, foolish, and neglectful of her young (39:14). The domestic ani-
mals, camels and oxen and asses for burden-bearing and for work, and
the horse for the gazu and the battle (39:19 ff.), are there. Thus it is
the desert with which the author is familiar, so familiar that figures
derived from it are constantly springing to his pen; but of the trade of
the cities, of their crowds, of the rude manufactures of their people, of
Israel as it was, and above all of its history, its kings, its palaces, the
temple, the festivals, its terrible exile, and its subjection to the hated
foreigner, not a word! The book is apparently a book which has come
out of the desert.
The Koran, though "revealed" in Mecca and Medina, is also a book
of the desert, and we may find in it many things which reflect this
origin. Its author looked out upon the same earth which the author of
Job saw. And yet, remarkable as it may seem, there is no such picture
of the desert and its life in the whole Koran, so much larger than Job
as it is, as is painted in many a passage of our book. If the Koran is,
in any degree, of the Arabian Desert, Job is so even more.
But Job was no Beduin, whose wandering home was in the midst of
the trackless wastes. His wealth consisted in the wealth of the desert,
in camels and sheep and oxen and asses, but he dwelt with his children
in houses, or they were city people (29:7). Can any situation be found
where the Arab lives in the midst of the desert, and yet in the city?
The whole Najd fulfils this condition upon a large scale, but, still
better, the Jowf. It is a broad, deep valley, some sixty by ten miles
in extent, fertile, well watered, flourishing with palm groves and
gardens and fields of grain, its principal town fortified, and filled with
houses, about four hundred in number. Here in our own time the city
centers in the sheik, its ruler; and the community to which Job be-
longed had also its sheik, and that sheik was Job (chap. 29). His
prosperity, so exceptional; the great deference which was shown him
when he came to preside in the court at the gate, where all, even to the
princes and nobles, kept silence at his coming; and his administration
of justice (vss. 11-17) make this clear. And more, his regal impatience
with opposition, which under his calamity roused him to fury' and
even made him attack God in terms which no one would ascribe to a
1 Cf. 18:4, where Bildad describes Job as "tearing himself" in his anger.
24 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES
utterly lacks the conception of God as a friend, which the writer of the
stories about Abraham put into the chapters of Genesis. Here, again,
Job agrees with the Koran.' But it was early Hebrew religion!
I. TRANSFERRED WORDS
This most famous passage is also one of the most striking cases of
unintelligibility which is completely solved by a reference to a sup-
posed Arabic original. The interpretation has been wrecked by a
mistranslation of the Heb. 013, by "earth." It has this meaning
in no passage in the Old Testament. It means here, as everywhere,
"dust," and in this case the dust into which the body is resolved in
the tomb.' The clause is therefore to be rendered, "He shall stand
over [my] dust." The missing "my" is rendered necessary by the
"my" expressed in verse 26, "my skin," and therefore "my dust."
The metaphor is of an intercessor who, after the manner of the Arabs,
should come to the grave to pray for the deceased. An exact parallel
to the clause is contained in the Koran ix. 85,2 where Mohammed is
forbidden to pray over any one of the Moslems who shirked military
service on a certain occasion, or "to stand over his grave" (Arab.
p ; Heb. Dlp i i.e., to intercede for him.
E"=-j),l
i. intercession, the intercessor took his stand at the
Insq.performing
grave because the soul of the dead was believed to remain in the
body for a period variously defined. It thus becomes evident that
the Heb. '" is unfortunately translated. Understood as meaning
"redeemer," who should stand upon the "earth," it was long ap-
plied, in the current method of interpreting prophecies and types,
to Christ. The innumerable difficulties thus created, often leading
to a complete reconstruction of the text, may be seen by reference
to any commentary. ?5X should be rendered by some such word
as "deliverer" rather than "redeemer"; but, however rendered, it
should be understood as an unfortunate rendering of the probable
Arab. A, "intercessor." One should compare at this point the
passage 16:19, "my witness," which is only less emphatic since
it lacks the element of assurance, but means substantially the same.
There the word '4r;"i translates "eyewitness." An inter-
cessor is a witness, for his intercessionL•d~Set,
consists in part in bearing wit-
ness. It was the Arabic idea that at the Judgment guilty men would
seek an intercessor, and he is repeatedly refused them (Koran vi. 51;
xl. 19; xxi. 28; lxxiv. 49; ii. 45; vii. 51, etc.); but Job believed that he,
1 Cf. Job 10:9; 20:11. The Arabic word is used in the Koran of the dust of the
tomb (xiii. 5).
2 See Canon Cook, Bible Commentary, p. 77, upon whose suggestion this interpretation
is founded.
Is BOOK OF JOB A TRANSLATION FROM THE ARABIC? 29
being guiltless, should find such an intercessor,' and that in his iden-
tical flesh, which the Arabs, as witnessed by Mohammed, believed
would be re-created for the purpose of judgment (Koran xvii. 100,
101: f, ~ L), in his re-created flesh
•;
. ....
he should be vindicated. C.
Perhaps the inaccurate ?bWwas chosen
by the translator because there is no exact equivalent in Hebrew
for , TH 2, which is translated "intercessor" (Isa. 59:16),
C•A
being not quite the same, but is rather to be strictly rendered
"intervener."
2. He shall have neitherson nor son's son amonghis people,
Nor any remaining '5It wherehe sojourned[18:19].
The Hebrew here is difficult, for 1""2ameans properly a dwelling-
place. As generally translated, the parallelism is rather flat. The kin-
dred word %'0,generally rendered "sojourner," may be taken as a
transfer from some Arabic form from the root which in the III
)L•,
means "to receive as a client," the derived noun )Lz. meaning
"client."2 With this meaning the passage declares that the "wicked"
are to be wiped out, self, sons, grandsons, and dependents-which
makes the parallelism much better. Schultens gives us a passage from
the Hamdsa of Abu Tammam in support of this interpretation:
We arethosewhosedependent[client,)L.-] suffersno fear,sinceourearsare
deaf to the perfidyof others. We defendour domain;and our spearsviolate
the domainof every people whose meadowsare desiredby our dependents,
etc.
The Hamdsa, from which I shall cite a number of Schultens' quota-
tions, as a collection of a large number of lesser poems, some well
known, others obscure, from a wide range of territory, is a very good
source of information upon prevailing Arabic modes of speech. We
shall find these to be a legitimate source of explanation in many diffi-
cult passages.
3. They that dwell in my house [19:15].
The R.V. has here somewhat departed from the Hebrew, for "
does not mean exactly a dweller, as is intimated in the margin (so-
' One feels inclined to suppose that 19:25, stands for an original Lj
-\"•,
(see Koran ii. 3 et passim), "in the world to come," but that might have been a bit too strong
for the Hebrew agnostic eschatology.
2 See Freytag, also Lane, Dictionary.
30 THE AMERICAN OF SEMITIC
JOURNAL LANGUAGES
people and in all times, and not explained by other cases of its use in
the Old Testament, but found as a proverb among the Arabs, proves,
so far forth, an Arabic original.
18. Why are ye "not satisfiedwith my flesh"? [19:22].
A proverbial expression in Arabic for "Why do ye slander me?"
Schultens paraphrases: "Why do ye tear my fame and my life to
pieces?" He also quotes from a poem: "You say, I fast [L3o]; and
you are feeding [(L., note the pun] on the flesh of your brother";
he also quotes from the Hamasa.
19. Let me alonetill I swallowdownmy spittle [7:19].
This is evidently a proverbial expression, and so unique as probably
not to be found in two different languages. It is also not on the high
level usually maintained by the Hebrew proverbial literature, but is
like the utterances of a more primitive people such as the Arabs were,
more volkstiimlich. It is in fact found in the Qamus, and in Hariri (15).
The Arabic Bible (Beirut) repeats it in the same words. It means
"the briefest possible space of time."
20. Touch his bone [2:5].
This is also an Arabic proverb, "plunge the knife to the bone,"
being employed to signify "bring into extreme misery."
21. Out of the thorns [5:5].
This common figure was particularly natural in the desert, and is
found frequently in Arabian writers. Schultens cites several of these,
including the Hamasa.
22. So are the paths of all that forget God;
And the hope of the godlessman shall perish;
Whose confidenceshall breakin sunder,
And whosetrust is a spider'shouse.
He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand;
He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure[8:13-15].
Compare this with the Koran (xxix. 40): "The likeness of those who
take to themselves guardians instead of God [i.e., the godless man, of
the passage in Job] is the likeness of a spider which buildeth a house.
But, verily, the frailest of houses [see Job, 'it shall not stand ....
endure'] is the house of the spider-if they knew it!" The similarity
36 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES
garding the dwelling of the soul in the body is indicated in the Koran
viii. 53 and xlvii. 29, which refer to the beating inflicted upon the
bodies of the wicked when their souls could not sustain the angelic
examination; and still more plainly in ix. 85, where the intercessor is
alluded to as "standing over the grave of the dead" because, of course,
the soul was supposed to be still in the body. The translation of
R.V. is therefore correct if the margin be deleted. And the derivation
from an Arabic original is the more evident because the word "tomb"
is ~fld", a word found nowhere else, and evidently a transfer from the
Arab. Ik .
39. I have openedmy doorsto the traveler[31:32].
The word translated* "traveler" is Mri', and should be translated
"road," or here perhaps "trail." The picture is of a traveler pitching
his tent upon the public road, or better, the path usually followed
through the desert by caravans or smaller groups, and placed so that
its door should be upon that trail, in order that any stranger also
passing along might find a ready access to him to claim his hospitality.
This is distinctly a Beduin touch. Cf. Burkhardt, quoted in Smith's
Bible Dictionary, page 1100: "It is held [by the Beduin] to be dis-
graceful to encamp in a place out of the way of travelers." Schultens
quotes from the Hamdsa:
Howfrequentlyhave I stirredup the firefor the travelerimitatingthe bark
of a dog [viz.,to indicate his arrival,to which the dogs responded]to which
the echoresounded[theresponseof the dogs],that its flamemightburnbright-
ly! I have hastily risento meet him, that I might makehim my prey, for fear
that my peoplemight get him beforeme.
40. The wings of the ostrich, etc. [39:13-18].
The series of animals here employed by the poet are all familiar
to the readers of Arabic poetry-the wild ass, the ostrich, the wild ox,
the hawk. But the ostrich is peculiarly an Arabic favorite because,
of course, peculiarly a denizen of the desert, and of its remote parts.
The egg laid in the "dust" (vs. 14) is a symbol of a contemptible
object, "more worthless than the egg of the earth," i.e., as further
defined, "the egg of the ostrich which she has forsaken." In the
Hamdsa we have: "I am a man whose brothers the injurious hand of
fortune has destroyed, made thus like an egg of the earth." The
commentator upon this passage says that it is "to be understood of
40 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES
the egg of the ostrich which she lays and then deserts, though fre-
quently brooding eggs that are not her own." Again the Hamdsa has
this: "Like one who suckles the young of others and permits the sons
of her own womb to perish." And this is, says the commentator, "a
hint at a proverbial reference, the ostrich does this .... incubating
the eggs of other birds." So common is this reference that it is some-
times made without specific mention of the ostrich, and in a connec-
tion which would not suggest it to one unaccustomed to Arabic
proverbial speech, as in Koran xxxvii. 47, "fair like the sheltered egg,"
spoken of the houris in heaven.
At this point we may resume our consideration of the "transferred
words."
V. FURTHER TRANSFERRED WORDS
have been used, for it occurs in this sense in Jer. 47:2 and Isa. 30:28,
and in both cases is associated with the very verb employed in Job,
viz., Zjt , the Arabic equivalent of which, L , means "washed
out, rinsed" (Salmon6), lavit (Freytag). The natural answer is that
this particular word was suggested to his mind by something before
him; and if the presence of an Arabic manuscript to be translated were
assumed from the marks of its influence which have been already ex-
hibited, that answer becomes this, that they are transfer words.
42. Becomeunclean[1:'2-tt] [18:3].
A better translation is that of BDrB, "are stupid." This transla-
tion is given by reference to the Arabic root ;;6, "to be filled up,"
"choked up," as a well. The word occurs nowhere else. It is evi-
dently a transfer word; which is the more evident from the once-
occurring word in the previous verse, from the Arabic root
ypp,
"to ensnare." One such transfer easily leads to another. .a,
43. Why do thine eyes wink [15:12]?
[•'T•]
The Dictionary, BDrB, derives this word by transposition from the
Arabic, c), and translates it "flash." It might mean, then, "give
signal." That gives a sense hardly appropriate. Hence it is better
taken from the root ), since no transposition is required, one of
the meanings of which is "to be dead." One may then translate,
"Why are thine eyes so dead?" That is, such eyes as a person in de-
spair often has. Even then the phrase is difficult.
44. Deal hardly [19:3].
[I'tj.?1]
The meaning of this is derived by BDrB entirely from Arabic, and
should be credited to an Arabic original.
45. Ready for the battle ["1tj] [15:24].
The Hebrew is explained by BDrB entirely from the Arabic.
46. Ripe age [r?t] [30:2].
The combination given by BDrB is probably correct, giving the
meaning "vigor." It is borne out by the definition of t by Lane
and Salmon6 as "to vie for superiority in strength." It occurs only
in Job, here and in 5:26.
42 THE AMERICANJOURNALOF SEMITICLANGUAGES
which is used only once elsewhere in the Old Testament (Isa. 40:2).
Job also uses the singular (41:5). The Hebrew does not lack other
expressions for "double," ~ J" , "Dit (common), and a repetition
of the word, as in b=1 b•. The corresponding form is found in the
KoranIvii. 28,
ai, a .JC ? This is probablya case of
transfer. •) ..
62. My wordshave been rash [1)
; 'a] [6:3].
This word seems to be a direct transfer from the Arabic root ,
"to speak wrongly," "to utter nonsense." It occurs once more, Prov.
20:25.
III
We may pause here in our review of the evidence for an Arabic
original of the Book of Job. Much more might be adduced. We have
surveyed only the most striking parts of the evidence, but enough,
I think, for the present purpose.
What, now, have we to conclude from this evidence? It would
appear:
1. That the atmosphereof the book is that of the ArabianDesert.
2. That Job is representedas an Arab sheik.
3. That many wordsof the Hebrewtext are transfersfrom the Arabic.
4. That many Arabicidioms are found in it.
5. That Arabicproverbsare incorporatedin it.
6. That the explanatorybackgroundof many expressionsis Arabic.
7. That distinctive featuresof the Hebrewcivilization,such as its cities, its
religiousobservances,etc., are lacking.
8. That the idea of God is the Arabicidea.
9. That Job's attitude toward God, both in his denunciationsand in his
growingappeal to God's justice, is not Hebrew,but is Arabic, for it is
such as an Araboften sustainedtowardhis sheik.
I therefore present my request for a fuller and more competent
discussion of the question whether we have not in the larger part of
Job a translation of an Arabic original. The larger part, I say, for
there is one great exception, the speeches of Elihu, in chapters 32-37.
Here the Arabic atmosphere is wholly lacking. No one can read these
chapters and then pass on to chapters 38 ff. with their waterflood,
their wild ass and ox, their pawing and galloping horse, their hawk
and eagle, their ostrich, their behemoth and leviathan, and with the
Is BOOK OF JOB A TRANSLATION FROM THE ARABIC? 45