The Book of Job in Jewish Life and Thought

Critical Essays

by Jason Kalman

Book cover: The Book of Job in Jewish Life and Thought

Extent: 605 pages

Publisher: Hebrew Union College Press

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Cultural Studies, Jewish Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(January 2022)

ISBN: 9780878202270

Price: $55.95

Out of stock

PDF (Published)

(December 2021)

ISBN: 9780878201952

Price: $55.95

Critical essays on the work of ancient, medieval and modern Jewish writers to make sense of the book of Job, followed by a detailed survey of the place of Job in the Talmud and Midrashic corpus, in ethical, mystical and philosophical tracts, as well as in poetry and creative writing around the world from the second to sixteenth centuries.


Despite its general absence from the Jewish liturgical cycle and its limited place in Jewish practice, the Book of Job has permeated Jewish culture over the last 2,000 years. Job has not only had to endure the suffering described in the biblical book, but the efforts of countless commentators, interpreters, and creative rewriters whose explanations more often than not challenged the protagonist’s righteousness in order to preserve Divine justice. Beginning with five critical essays on the specific efforts of ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish writers to make sense of the biblical book, this volume concludes with a detailed survey of the place of Job in the Talmud and Midrashic corpus, in medieval biblical commentary, in ethical, mystical, and philosophical tracts, as well as in poetry and creative writing in a wide variety of Jewish languages from around the world from the second to sixteenth centuries.

  • By (author) Jason Kalman