Virtue and the "Good Life" in the Book of Job
In this article, I argue that Job 29 provides an eudaimonic depiction of human happiness whereby virtue, combined with a number of "external goods" is held up as the best possible life for human beings. I compare Job's vision of the "good life" with an Aristotelian conceptio...
| Published in: | Horizons in biblical theology |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2019]
|
| In: |
Horizons in biblical theology
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Ijob 29
/ Virtue
/ Wisdom
/ Virtue ethics
/ Aristoteles 384 BC-322 BC
/ Happiness
/ Eudemonia
|
| RelBib Classification: | HB Old Testament NBE Anthropology NCA Ethics VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
εὐδαιμονία
B Occupation B divine speeches B Happiness B Wisdom B Flourishing B Virtue Ethics B Aristotle |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this article, I argue that Job 29 provides an eudaimonic depiction of human happiness whereby virtue, combined with a number of "external goods" is held up as the best possible life for human beings. I compare Job's vision of the "good life" with an Aristotelian conception of εὐδαιμονία and conclude that there are numerous parallels between Job and Aristotle with respect to their understanding of the "good life." While the intimate presence of God distinguishes Job's expectation of happiness with that of Aristotle, Job is unique among other eudaimonic texts in the Hebrew Bible in that expectations of living well are expressed in terms of virtue, rather than Torah piety. In the second portion of the article, I assess Job's conception of human flourishing from the perspective of the divine speeches, which enlarge Job's vision of the "good life" by bringing Job face-to-face with the "wild inhabitants" of the cosmos. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1871-2207 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Horizons in biblical theology
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18712207-12341383 |