‘I know you can do all things’1 (Job 42:2) : a literary and theological analysis of Job’s testimony about Yahweh’s sovereignty

摘要

The article presents a literary and theological analysis of Job 42:2 as a fitting resolution ofthe conflicting engagement between Yahweh and Job, which enables both parties topreserve their integrity. The article examines Israel’s testimony about Yahweh’s sovereigntyas a background, it analyses Job’s testimony in 42:2 and then demonstrates that thispassage probes more deeply into the theology of creation – the inescapable purpose ofwhat God does. The article shows that Job’s testimony about the sovereignty of Yahwehindicates an unusual personality and potent force that is manifested in the events of Job’slife as an agent whose sovereignty is remarkably unlimited. The substance of Job’stestimony this article proposes, produces a dynamic figure that has an overwhelming taskat the centre stage of its subject’s well-being. This role, moreover, is the engine that drivesIsrael’s testimony; the splendour of Israel’s faith and the source of Israel’s life. This role isa theological datum of substance.