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 PrintableVersion JobFull marksJOB I have a private test I apply to Commentaries on Job. What does the commentator think of chapter 28 (the poem on wisdom) and what does he make of Elihu (chapters 32-37)? One can rarely award full marks with knobs on, as Dr. Jones deserves. Chapter 28 is perfectly in place, and meaningful as it stands; Elihu, far from being the verbose windbag many find him, is a serious and fresh contributor to the debate, bringing his own distinct grasp of the truth, and essential in preparing Job for the advent and speeches of Yahweh. Wonderful! Dr. Jones (Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster, California) shows that James 5.11 accurately summarises the meaning of the Book of Job, that the book itself is a coherent narrative of real events, and a record of the words of real people. One of the major benefits he brings us is his clarity in tracing the course of debate from one speaker to the next, and the way his vast — hugely covetable — knowledge of the text enables him to relate subsequent speeches and even words and turns of phrase to the detail of what has passed already. Oh to know the Bible like that! This is not a commentary for looking up ‘spot verses’. 300 pages does not allow that, and Jones chose to concentrate on explaining and enlarging the flow of thought, and showing how the interchange of debate developed. He offers satisfying explanations why the speeches of the ‘friends’ ‘tail off’, why Zophar does not make his expected third contribution, why Job makes no reply to Elihu, and how the denouement crowns the whole narrative. He (rightly) finds no need to consider any verse or passage out of place and in need of re-editing, nor does he go in for (that besetting sin of Old Testament commentating) emendation. Here is a rarity: a commentary one can sit and read, and then find oneself compelled to take to the study and work through, with open Bible all over again. Just don’t miss it! Alec Motyer,
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