“Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution

The book of Job can only be understood against the background of the so-called doctrine of retribution: “he who does good, meets good”, and “evil harms”. This doctrine sought not only to encourage doing good and leaving evil, but also served as an explanatory mechanism: good things are due to...

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Main Author: Hans Ausloos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UA Editora 2024-12-01
Series:Forma Breve
Subjects:
Online Access:https://proa.ua.pt/index.php/formabreve/article/view/38364
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author Hans Ausloos
author_facet Hans Ausloos
author_sort Hans Ausloos
collection DOAJ
description The book of Job can only be understood against the background of the so-called doctrine of retribution: “he who does good, meets good”, and “evil harms”. This doctrine sought not only to encourage doing good and leaving evil, but also served as an explanatory mechanism: good things are due to good actions, while bad consequences must have been caused by bad actions. Old Testament authors often invoked this doctrine in an attempt to explain the dire situations Israel found itself in throughout history. Even if, in many cases, the notion of retri- bution seems to be a useful concept to explain calamity and suffering, when evil strikes good people, one hits its limit. Not surprisingly, several Bible texts are critical of the doctrine of retribution and the supposed idea of justice on which it is based. The book of Job is perhaps the best example of this.
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spelling doaj-art-12d43c8f9c124dbfbfd6237143cdd82c2024-12-17T09:21:19ZengUA EditoraForma Breve1645-927X2183-47092024-12-012010.34624/fb.v0i20.38364“Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retributionHans Ausloos The book of Job can only be understood against the background of the so-called doctrine of retribution: “he who does good, meets good”, and “evil harms”. This doctrine sought not only to encourage doing good and leaving evil, but also served as an explanatory mechanism: good things are due to good actions, while bad consequences must have been caused by bad actions. Old Testament authors often invoked this doctrine in an attempt to explain the dire situations Israel found itself in throughout history. Even if, in many cases, the notion of retri- bution seems to be a useful concept to explain calamity and suffering, when evil strikes good people, one hits its limit. Not surprisingly, several Bible texts are critical of the doctrine of retribution and the supposed idea of justice on which it is based. The book of Job is perhaps the best example of this. https://proa.ua.pt/index.php/formabreve/article/view/38364JobretributionjusticeWisdom literatureOld Testament
spellingShingle Hans Ausloos
“Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
Forma Breve
Job
retribution
justice
Wisdom literature
Old Testament
title “Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
title_full “Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
title_fullStr “Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
title_full_unstemmed “Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
title_short “Who, being innocent, ever perished?” (Job 4,7): the book of Job and the doctrine of retribution
title_sort who being innocent ever perished job 4 7 the book of job and the doctrine of retribution
topic Job
retribution
justice
Wisdom literature
Old Testament
url https://proa.ua.pt/index.php/formabreve/article/view/38364
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