[July 2006 journal entry]
What place does Eliphaz’s appeal to dreams (4:12ff) have in the ‘religious’ T/O paradigm? in Wisdom Literature? in Jewish theological method? in Christian theological method? His appeal to dreams is juxtaposed with his previous appeal to observation of nature. Appeals to dreams and supernatural communications carry little weight in Wisdom Literature. The most dramatic appearance of ‘God’ to Job – i.e., in the whirlwind -- is an anomaly in Jewish Wisdom Literature. The dreams of Joseph and Daniel are rare in Jewish scripture and should be considered atypical. Eliphaz seems to be making a rather desperate appeal. He reminds me of the desperate student I watched at a piano recital who, frustrated and embarrassed by her inability to complete her assigned piece, switched frantically to a few measures of a ‘boogie’ before fleeing tearfully from the piano. Eliphaz no longer speaks/acts as a ‘wise’ man. How should the ‘scrapheap’ Job be directed to act when responding to Eliphaz’s appeal to a dream – e.g., a raised eyebrow? a mystified stare?
What place does Eliphaz’s appeal to dreams (4:12ff) have in the ‘religious’ T/O paradigm? in Wisdom Literature? in Jewish theological method? in Christian theological method? His appeal to dreams is juxtaposed with his previous appeal to observation of nature. Appeals to dreams and supernatural communications carry little weight in Wisdom Literature. The most dramatic appearance of ‘God’ to Job – i.e., in the whirlwind -- is an anomaly in Jewish Wisdom Literature. The dreams of Joseph and Daniel are rare in Jewish scripture and should be considered atypical. Eliphaz seems to be making a rather desperate appeal. He reminds me of the desperate student I watched at a piano recital who, frustrated and embarrassed by her inability to complete her assigned piece, switched frantically to a few measures of a ‘boogie’ before fleeing tearfully from the piano. Eliphaz no longer speaks/acts as a ‘wise’ man. How should the ‘scrapheap’ Job be directed to act when responding to Eliphaz’s appeal to a dream – e.g., a raised eyebrow? a mystified stare?
