The Book of Job: The Crossroads of Faith

The Book of Job is the Bible’s bizarre masterpiece. This course is devoted to a detailed examination of the translated text and its interpretations in Judaism, Christianity, art, literature, and popular culture. Job is the Bible’s most sustained exploration of the questions of suffering, cosmic justice, and the chaotic features of creation, and our mission will be to wrest theological and ethical insights for contemporary communities of faith from this opaque and elusive classic. The class will meet daily from June 1–5 by Zoom and will consist of close readings and discussions of the biblical text. The workload will be about 20 pages per day. The texts will be sent to students via email in mid-May. The class is open to learners at all levels.

Gregory Mobley is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Congregational Studies at YDS. Mobley received his doctorate in Hebrew Bible from Harvard University and taught at Union Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School before coming to YDS in 2016. In his research Mobley looks for hints about the sacred in odd and uncanny texts from scripture. Among his writings are The Return of the Chaos Monsters—and Other Backstories of the Bible (2012) and The Empty Men: The Heroic Tradition of Ancient Israel (2005) and Judges: Once Upon A Time in Ancient Israel (2023). He is currently writing a book entitled The Bible and Loneliness.