The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions 9781841270869, 1841270865

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THE EARTH STORY IN WISDOM TRADITIONS

The Earth Bible, 3

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THE EARTH STORY IN WISDOM TRADITIONS

edited by

Norman C. Habel & Shirley Wurst

Sheffield Academic Press

www.SheffieldAcademicPress.com

THE

PILGRIM PRESS

Cleveland

Copyright © 2001 Sheffield Academic Press Published by Sheffield Academic Press Ltd Mansion House 19 Kingfield Road Sheffield Sll 9AS England www.SheffieldAcademicPress.com ISBN 1-84127-086-5

Published in the USA and Canada (only) by The Pilgrim Press 700 Prospect Avenue East Cleveland, Ohio 44115-1100 USA USA and Canada only ISBN 0-8298-144-18 Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press and Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by MPG Ltd Bodmin, Cornwall British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Contents Foreword Editorial Preface Preface List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Six Ecojustice Principles

7 9 13 18 19 22

Where Is the Voice of Earth in Wisdom Literature? Norman C. Habel with the Earth Bible Team

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Wisdom Literature and Ecof eminism Laura Hobgood-Oster

35

Woman Wisdom's Way: Ecokinship Shirley Wurst

48

Earth First: Inverse Cosmology in Job Norman C. Habel

65

Job 12: Cosmic Devastation and Social Turmoil Alice M. Sinnott

78

Who Cares? Reflections on the Story of the Ostrich (Job 39.13-18) Izak Spangenberg Divine Creative Power and the Decentering of Creation: The Subtext of the Lord's Addresses to Job Dale Patrick Plumbing the Depths of Earth: Job 28 and Deep Ecology Katharine J. Dell

92

103 116

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions

'Go Forth into the Fields': An Earth-Centered Reading of the Song of Songs Carole R. Fontaine Eco-Delight in the Song of Songs Hendrik Viviers

126 143

Ecclesiastes 3.16-22: An Ecojustice Reading, with Parallels from African Wisdom Willie van Heerden

155

God's Design: The Death of Creation? An Ecojustice Reading of Romans 8.18-30 in the Light of Wisdom 1-2 Marie Turner

168

'Is the Wild Ox Willing to Serve You?' Challenging the Mandate to Dominate Norman C. Habel

179

Bibliography Index of Biblical References Index of Authors

190 204 211

Foreword Archbishop Desmond Tutu Planet Earth is in crisis. More and more life systems are being threatened. Scientists estimate that at least half, and perhaps as many as 80 per cent, of the world's animal and plant species are found in the rainforests. The rainforests are the lungs of the planet, producing much of the oxygen that humans and other oxygen-dependent creatures need to survive. The rainforests, alas, are still being destroyed at an alarming rate. Resolving the ecological crisis of our planet, however, is no longer a problem we can leave to the scientists. Just as we are all part of the problem, we are also part of the solution. We all need to come to terms with the forces that have created this crisis and the resources within our traditions that can motivate us to resolve the crisis. One of those traditions is our biblical heritage. It is significant, therefore, that the Earth Bible Project has chosen to take the Earth crisis seriously and to re-read our biblical heritage in the light of this crisis. The Earth Bible Team has listened closely to ecologists and developed a set of principles to re-read the biblical text from an ecojustice perspective. The concern of Earth Bible writers is not to defend the biblical text blindly, but to identify those passages which may have contributed to the crisis and to uncover those traditions which have valued Earth but been suppressed. I commend the Earth Bible Team for including representative writers from around the globe, including the Southern hemisphere. I commend the team for confronting the biblical tradition honestly and openly in dialogue with ecologists. And, in particular, I commend the writers for daring to read the biblical text afresh from the perspective of Earth. Feminists have forced us to confront the patriarchal orientation of much of the biblical text. Earth Bible writers are now confronting us with the anthropocentric nature of much of the biblical text. We now ask: does the text devalue Earth by making the selfinterest of humans its dominant concern? I recommend you read the Earth Bible series with a critical but

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empathetic eye. As a critical reader you will want to assess whether writers make their case for their interpretation of the text in terms of the principles employed. As an empathetic reader, however, you will need to identify with Earth and the suffering Earth community as you read the text. I hope that the promise of 'peace on Earth7 will be advanced by this laudable project as scholars probe our heritage to understand and assist in resolving the crisis of our planet.

Editorial Preface Norman C. Habel One of the consistent themes of those involved in launching the Earth Bible series in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in the year 2000 is an appreciation of our willingness to avoid 'cherry-picking7 and to tackle those biblical texts which are not Earth-friendly. In the essays included within the first three volumes we have tried to provide a balanced picture of the diverse traditions of the Bible — anthropocentric texts which negate Earth or suppress the voice of Earth community, and texts in which Earth is revered or from which the voice of Earth can be retrieved. As we investigate key texts from the Wisdom traditions, the reader might be excused for thinking that writers in this volume would assume that most Wisdom texts are ecofriendly because, according to scholars like von Rad and Zimmerli, Wisdom literature is grounded in a creation theology. Such an assumption is unwarranted. The task, from the outset, is to ascertain whether a text is linked to a creation orientation and, if so, whether the voice of Earth is heard or suppressed. In this volume the Earth Bible Team have posed the issue of ecojustice in the Wisdom traditions by raising the question of where the voice of Earth can be heard in Wisdom literature. By so doing, the team has focused on the principle of voice which asserts that Earth is capable of raising its voice, not only in celebration, but also against injustice. But is the voice of Earth actually heard in most Wisdom literature, and if so, how? Is the voice of Earth suppressed or is it mediated in distinctive ways? The writers in this volume explore this and other questions in a variety of ways, many of which are quite fresh and insightful. They represent biblical scholarship from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England and America. I appreciate the honesty and courage with which all writers have tackled this challenge. Several ecofeminist readings emphasize the connection between a suppression of women's voices in the biblical tradition and the suppression of the voices of Earth. Others highlight the significance of Wisdom being portrayed as

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a woman in a patriarchal world and related to Earth in a number of important ways. Still others invite us to celebrate Earth through the Song of Songs or to explore how creation is decentred in the book of Job. My thanks to all contributors, including Jenny Wightman, who has written a thought-provoking preface on behalf of the Sophia community in Adelaide, Australia, a community which seeks to explore and live as women of wisdom in tune with Earth. My thanks also to the core members of the team—Vicky Balabanski, Charles Biggs, Duncan Reid, Marie Turner, Peter Trudinger, Alan Cadwallader, and Shirley Wurst (who continues to be the indispensable team editor, formatting articles to make them consistent). I remain grateful to those who have supported the project in various ways, whether with funds, in kind or in person. The Earth Bible Project is now located in the Centre for Theology, Science and Culture associated with the Adelaide College of Divinity and Flinders University of South Australia. The body whose financial support has underwritten the project to date is the Charles Strong Memorial Trust. This Trust is named after the founder of the Australian Church, which operated from 1885 to 1955. The Trust promotes the sympathetic study of all religions and fosters dialogue between religion and other disciplines. This project is the result of a dialogue between religion— especially Christianity —and ecology. Continuing supporters of this project include Flinders University and the Adelaide College of Divinity. A special word is in order about the logo for this series. The artist who worked with me in developing this logo and drafted its final form is Jasmine Corowa. Jasmine is a young Indigenous Australian whose art reflects traditional Aboriginal techniques of communication. Her father, Dennis Corowa, is one of the Rainbow Spirit Elders whom I supported in their publication Rainbow Spirit Theology. I was privileged to edit a set of Jasmine's paintings, published in 2000 by The Liturgical Press, entitled The Rainbow Spirit in Creation: A Reading of Genesis I. The logo is a symbol of Earth. The land dots are in Earth colours, forming that maze of shimmering life we call Earth community. The white dots of the sky rise above Earth. The surface of the land/earth is an open book. This is a double symbol: not only is the land/earth read like a book (as the Indigenous peoples of Australia do), but when we read The Book we do so from beneath, from Earth. My thanks to all who have been involved in launching the Earth Bible series: in Christchurch—Keith Carley, Ruth Page, Lloyd Geering

Habel Editorial Preface

11

and especially Rev. Manawaro Gray who blessed the first volume with an ancient indigenous blessing rod; in Capetown —Charles Villa Vicencio, Anne Gardner, and Madipoane Masenya who provided a colourful welcome to Africa; in Adelaide —Robin Mann, Veronica Brady, and other members of the Indigenous community who welcomed the project to Australia. I appreciate the continued commitment of Sheffield Academic Press and The Pilgrim Press. I want to express my personal gratitude to the publishers David Clines and Philip Davies who have made the academic component of the Earth Bible Project possible. I also commend the staff of Sheffield Academic Press for their professionalism and patience.

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Preface Jenny Wightman on behalf of Sophia*

At Sophia we are delighted to welcome this third volume of the Earth Bible Project; it will be of immense value to all who search for valid ways to relate to our source of life and to express this relationship. One of the first books I studied in a Sophia class was Sharon Welch's A Feminist Ethic of Risk. She argues for a 'theology of immanence': The terms 'holy' and 'divine' denote a quality of being within the web of life, a process of healing relationship, and they denote the quality of being worthy of honour, respect, and affirmation...divinity is not only transcendent and life-giving, it is also fragile. (1990:178)

When feminists begin, as many associated with Sophia did, from acceptance of such propositions, it is logically a small step to becoming ecofeminists. But of course logic is only one of the elements involved in attitude and habit change. It is difficult to challenge long unquestioned values, such as in the houses we build, or the language we use. Even a line of Shakespeare from one of my favourite plays, Antony and Cleopatra, 'He ploughed her, and she cropped' (Il.ii) now has implications for me of which even Shakespeare could only have been half-a ware! Sophia was initiated as a Christian Feminist Spirituality Centre to support all women, and celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2001. The Dominican Sisters founded it on Cabra Convent land when they decided to use their resources to foster the holistic growth of women in Adelaide. From the first, Sophia's community ethos has been one of endeavouring to live our belief systems and to listen to each other through a wide variety of courses, activities, seminars and conferences. Women's experience is honoured, and feminist theologians, including Rosemary Radford Ruether, Elizabeth Johnson, Carter Heyward, Carol Christ, Judith Plaskow, Elizabeth Schiissler-Fiorenza,

*

Sophia, 225 Cross Rd, Cumberland Park, Adelaide 5041, South Australia; Tel. 0011 6 8 8373 3781; Fax 0011 6 8 8297 0494.

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Elaine Wainwright and Sallie McFague have been helpful in giving valid ways of understanding that experience. A related aim of Sophia has been to explore, in practical and spiritual terms, the connection between Wisdom and Earth. We in Sophia explore in everyday life what scholars in this volume have explored exegetically in Wisdom literature and, in so doing, we call the academic world to live by the ecojustice principles it enunciates. Sophia has from the beginning recognized the reality of human interdependence, valued inclusivity and diversity, worked for justice for all people, and had a team leadership which is consultative rather than controlling. Some of these qualities are, not surprisingly, those of ecosystems and we can now add evolution to the list. I think a steady growth in awareness of the natural world, its riches and its claims on us, has taken place over these ten years, so that it is now appropriate for Sophia to welcome the exciting achievements of the Earth Bible community of scholars. We especially rejoice in the affirmation given in this volume to the Song of Songs and to Woman Wisdom, a gift to those of us seeking valid language and traditions for ecofeminist consciousness. Sophias growth pattern contains elements held in common with our wider society, but perhaps more consciously fostered. I find Sallie McFague's recipe for learning to love nature —'pay attention to it' (1997: 27) —most pertinent. It gives sharp focus to societal concerns which have resulted in activities such as tree-planting. A community defines itself not by the principles it proclaims so much as by what it chooses to pay attention to. Close attention usually bears fruit, and this has been so from the time, in our beginnings at Sophia, when attention was given to the nature of our building, its site and surroundings. The building is a spiral form, every external wall and some internal ones being curved. It holds in its heart a small Remembrance pool and garden. Elements in ancient Celtic and other mythologies assert the spiritual power of the spiral symbol, no doubt drawn originally from the spiral shapes of shell and seed and other works of nature, which gave rise to conceptions of the inward journey. The curving walls and overhangs shield us from harsh summer sun, but the big meeting room is full of diffused light from clerestory windows and large glass areas giving green vistas of the remains of the old convent orchard; the Sisters' cemetery lies beyond. To the west we are protected by a huge Moreton Bay fig tree, whose majestic canopy has been spreading for well over a hundred years. Many who come comment on a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere. The

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building, painted an earth colour, settles practically and aesthetically into the landscape, acknowledging inter-relationship. Since completion of the building, a number of modifications have been made to it and its surrounds. Adelaide summers required a further form of cooling, and rather than the usual air-conditioning, we installed an evaporative system which is both kinder to the environment and feels more natural, since doors and windows must be left open. One of the first outside modifications was the establishment of a dry land garden on a large, long bank of earth which buffers Sophia from the school next door. With the help of a Landcare grant this was planted with a number of inland desert species — including senna, callitris, eremophila, grevillea and acacia —which have not required water since a week after their planting, and are largely flourishing nine years later. On the north wall, a bank of Old Man saltbush, planted into builders' rubble, also flourishes, and shades the wall with its soft blue-grey foliage. A year or two into Sophia's existence it was decided to put a belt of native shrubs around the drip-line of the Moreton Bay fig—it provides a canopy to shade out weeds, needs very little water or maintenance, and helps proclaim our awareness of the beauty of our land. This gives a lovely winter display from the Flinders Ranges wattles, westringias and grevilleas, and later from a variety of bottlebrushes. These gardens have also been useful when we have run short courses in ecofeminism. In 1997, after the insistent presence of the Moreton Bay fig had been working on us for some time, a group of volunteers constructed a spiral labyrinth for walking meditation around its massive, grey, twisted trunk, within the native garden. Like all compromises between nature and the human community, where ecosystems are interfered with, this asks for an input of energy to keep it clear of dropped leaves and fruit —but in return, these provide mulch for the whole garden. Over the years many celebratory rituals have been held in the gardens, as well as those inside the building using the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, and herbs from the garden. Groups who enjoy communal dancing also use the gardens as well as the internal space. Every season's beginning is ritualised, and I have noticed as the years have passed that many celebrants now incorporate observed aspects of Australian seasons in place of simply recalling the European traditions of inherited culture. The shape and light of the big room are excellent for exhibiting artworks, and sometimes these also spill out and utilize the gardens. Sallie McFague echoes Sharon Welch, but with new emphasis, when she describes an ecological model of being for Christians:

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions A model of being and knowing that begins with touch...will insist on being bonded to skin, fur and feathers, to the smells and sounds of the earth, to the intricate and detailed differences in people and other lifeforms... as the incarnation insists, God is found in the depth and detail of life and the earth, not apart from or in spite of it (1997:102).

By increasingly incorporating elements of the Earth into its activities, the Sophia community encourages members to explore Earth's significance in itself and to humanity. The Sophia community has grown through another new connection: in 1993 we first began meeting with Indigenous women, and after the publication of the Bringing Them Home report (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997) a Reconciliation Group was formed. This has grown steadily in size and warmth as we have come to know each other, and served as the focus for several large Spirit events. One elder, Auntie Edie Rigney, has for several years taken women to the country to gather rushes, shown us how to harvest them sustainably, dry them, and weave them into baskets in the ancient Ngarrindjeri pattern. One of the planned tenth-year celebrations is for a group to stay at Camp Coorong—an extended strip of protected sand dunes South of Adelaide—for a weekend, to learn from its Indigenous owners more about the land and its significance for them. Most of Sophia's formal gatherings now begin with acknowledgment that we are on, and have been welcomed to this land, by its original owners and custodians, the Kaurna elders. This friendship with Indigenous women has enriched and deepened our sense of place, giving us a glimpse into the many thousands of years of Indigenous co-operation with the land. Everyday awareness of our dependence on Earth's resources and the imminent exhaustion of her bounty is a key factor in changing society's destructive orientation. While production of waste is not a big issue at Sophia, a shredder has been bought recently, which allows waste paper to be used as mulch, and we contribute bottles and cartons to the local recycling system. There is access to a rainwater tank, and we choose to carry in rainwater for drinking. Such little things are clearly not going to save our planet in themselves, but they are a way of focusing our minds on Earth essentials. Paying daily attention to nature is a decreasing part of city or suburban life, yet even in the recent past such awareness gave us images in which to express some of our deepest feelings: wonder, pleasure, grief, awe — and belonging. One of the exciting outcomes of the Earth Bible Project is its sifting out of that biblical language which fully expresses the depths of our connection with Earth, so making it available at this

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time of need. The present crisis in sustainability may teach us to give the Earth our full attention once again. As Elaine Lindsay pointed out some time ago, in a seminar at Sophia, we can do this in our own back yards without mounting expeditions to remote wildernesses. The macrocosm can be found in the microcosm, as Emily Dickinson (1960) neatly expresses in this bee's eye view: Partake as doth the Bee Abstemiously The Rose is an Estate In Sicily.

John Shaw Neilson, in related vein, writes: Call me the man seeing Too much in air... Low by the little hen Love it is there (1965: no. 44).

If those of us with ecofeminist sympathies are to explore fully the nature of Earth, and our membership of the Earth community as well as of religious communities, the room in our minds given to either dependence on or resentment of the traditional male all-powerful God-on-high must be filled with more vital concepts. Laura HobgoodOster's statements, from her article in this volume, that Woman Wisdom 'breathes in Earth, not in another realm', and that 'Wisdom is learned by watching Earth and all her inhabitants, even ants and locusts', are lovely reassurances that rich traditional concepts and language are available for this exploration. Both Sophia and the Earth Bible communities are engaged in different aspects of what Starhawk bravely defined many years ago: What we are doing...is attempting to shift the values of our culture... to move away from a view of the world as made up of warring opposites toward a view that sees processes unfolding and continuously changing (1989:174).

On a journey full of risk, uncertain of outcome, it is good to find friends who travel parallel paths and offer each other resources. At Sophia —at our best—we try to give right relationship our utmost attention. Contributors to the Earth Bible Project are giving Christian Scriptures the same intense consideration. As Sallie McFague writes, quoting Simone Weil: 'Absolute attention is prayer' (1997: 29).

List of Abbreviations

AB ABD

B/RL BKAT BZAW HAR HTR Int JBL NRSV OIL SJT VT WBC WMANT ZAW

Anchor Bible David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament Beihefte zur ZAW Hebrew Annual Review Harvard Theological Review Interpretation Journal of Biblical Literature New Revised Standard Version Old Testament Library Scottish Journal of Theology Vetus Testamentum Word Biblical Commentary Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten imd Neuen Testament Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

List of Contributors Katherine J. Dell is a lecturer at Cambridge University and fellow of St Catherine's College. Two of her more recent works include The Book of Job as Sceptical Literature and Get Wisdom, Get Insight: An Introduction to Israel's Wisdom Literature. Her current research interest lies in the book of Proverbs. Carole R. Fontaine is Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at Andover Newton Theological School. Among her major works are Traditional Sayings in the Old Testament: A Contextual Study and A Feminist Companion to Reading the Bible: Approaches, Methods, Strategies, edited jointly with Athalya Brenner, in which she also contributed an article: 'The Abusive Bible: On the Use of Feminist Method in Pastoral Contexts'. Her current research relates to genre and gender studies in Wisdom literature, disruptive technologies, ancient Near Eastern women's studies and the Song of Songs. Norman C. Habel, the Chief Editor of the Earth Bible project, is Professorial Fellow at Flinders University of South Australia and Adelaide College of Divinity. His major works include a commentary on Job in the Old Testament Library, The Land is Mine: Six Biblical Land Ideologies and Reconciliation: Searching for Australia's Soul. His current research extends to ecoliturgy and ecojustice writings for the wider community. Willie van Heerden is Associate Professor of Old Testament at the University of South Africa. Two of his major publications include 'Making Sense of, and with the Bible: Bible Reading in a Complex World', and 'Proverbial Wisdom, Metaphor and Inculturation', in Old Testament Essays. His current research focuses on biblical and African proverbs, and conflict, reconciliation and peace. Laura Hobgood-Oster holds the Elizabeth Root Paden Chair of Religion at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. She edited and introduced The Sabbath Journal of Judith Lomax, wrote Crossroad Choices: Biblical Wisdom Literature, and is the associate editor for the Encyclopedia

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of Religion and Nature. Her current research is in animals in Christian art and hagiography. Dale Patrick is Professor of Bible and Endowment Professor of Humanities at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. His major works include The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament Law: An Introduction. His current area of research is biblical hermeneutics. Alice M. Sinnott is Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Auckland Consortium for Theological Education within the University of Auckland. Two of her significant articles are 'A Wise Woman of Personified Wisdom', MAST 10, and 'Wisdom Becomes Torah', MAST 8. Her current research includes the personification of Wisdom, Earth in Job and exile as metaphor. Izak Spangenberg is Associate Professor of Old Testament at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. Two of his significant articles include 'Paradigm Change and Old Testament Theology: Death-Blow to a Con-Existent Beast?', in Old Testament Essays 7, and 'A Century of Wrestling with Qohelet: The Research History of the Book Illustrated with a Discussion of Qoh. 4.17-5.6', in Qohelet in the Context of Wisdom, edited by A. Schoors. Marie Turner is a Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Finders University of South Adelaide College of Divinity. Her interest in the book of Wisdom is illustrated by an article in Compass Theology Review entitled 'Creation Theology of Wisdom 1-2'. Her current research also includes postmodern interpretation of theology. Desmond Tutu is former Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, and currently Archbishop Emeritus of the same city. Two of his major publications include The Rainbow People of God, and No future Without Forgiveness. Hendrik Viviers is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. Two of his key articles include 'Look to Yahweh for Mercy: A Socio-Rhetorical Analysis of Psalm 123', in Ekklesiastikos Pharos 79, and 'The Rhetoricity of the Body in the Song of Songs', in Rhetorical Criticism and the Bible: Essays from the 1998 Florence Conference. His current research is in the fields of rhetorical criticism and Wisdom literature.

List of Contributors

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Jenny Wightman is a former Lecturer in English at Latrobe University, Melbourne, and a member of the core group which established Sophia, a feminist community in Adelaide, South Australia. Her current writing and teaching focuses on ecofeminism. She is convener of the editorial committee of the journal Sounding Sophia. Shirley Wurst is an Editor for the Earth Bible Project, and Equity and Diversity Officer for the Equity and Diversity Unit, and Tutor at University of South Australia. Her doctoral thesis, 'Dancing on the Minefield: Feminist Counter-Readings of Women in Proverbs 1-9', reflects her current research in feminist theory including feminist hermeneutics and epistemology, gender and body theory, visual theory, and issues relating to ecojustice and social justice.

Six Ecojustice Principles

1. The Principle of Intrinsic Worth The universe, Earth and all its components have intrinsic worth/value. 2. The Principle of Interconnectedness Earth is a community of interconnected living things that are mutually dependent on each other for life and survival. 3. The Principle of Voice Earth is a subject capable of raising its voice in celebration and against injustice. 4. The Principle of Purpose The universe, Earth and all its components are part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has a place in the overall goal of that design. 5. The Principle of Mutual Custodianship Earth is a balanced and diverse domain where responsible custodians can function as partners, rather than rulers, to sustain a balanced and diverse Earth community. 6. The Principle of Resistance Earth and its components not only suffer from injustices at the hands of humans, but actively resist them in the struggle for justice.

The principles listed here are basic to the approach of writers in the Earth Bible Project seeking to read the biblical text from the perspective of Earth. For an elaboration of these principles see Earth Bible Team 2000.

Where Is the Voice of Earth in Wisdom Literature? Norman C. Habel with the Earth Bible Team

Introduction Where is the voice of Earth in Wisdom literature? Earth Bible principle 3 states that Earth is a subject capable of voicing cries of joy and injustice. We have come to recognize as writers in the Earth Bible Project that the voice of Earth is suppressed in much of the literature we have explored in the first two volumes. In a few texts like Jeremiah 12 or Psalm 148 the voice of Earth and the Earth community is expressed indirectly. In this volume we ask whether the voice of Earth is heard, suppressed or mediated at particular points in Wisdom literature. We could highlight passages like Job 38-39 to emphasize the principle of the intrinsic value of Earth, especially the world of the wild where God is portrayed as the sole custodian. We could also point to interpretations of Proverbs 8 where Wisdom is viewed as an integrating force that anticipates the principle of interconnectedness. But where is the voice of Earth and the Earth community? Is the voice of Earth silenced, suppressed and ultimately dominated by the wise who have an anthropocentric view of the world? And if the voice of Earth does surface, does it have a distinctive character or function? These are the leading questions we will pursue in this opening chapter and in so doing make reference to relevant essays that follow. A word about Voice' may be in order before we begin. It can be argued that applying the concept of voice to Earth is itself an anthropocentric act, making Earth into a human subject. That is clearly not our intention. We use the term Voice' as shorthand for the diverse ways in which Earth and Earth community may communicate. When we speak of 'body language' there is communication, even if there is no accompanying audible voice. By the voice of Earth we mean the many languages of Earth —be they gesture, sign, image or sound — that send a message, whether to humans, to other members of the Earth community, or to God.

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions A Creation Theology Ease?

As we pursue the question of how is Earth is understood in Wisdom literature, we could assume that biblical Wisdom sayings have a creation theology base and consequently value the natural world. But is that assumption warranted? And even if creation themes play a key role, do they necessarily support a reverence for Earth? Zimmerli claims that 'Wisdom thinks resolutely within the framework of a theology of creation7 (1964: 148). And scholars, like Robert Johnston (1987), who follow the line of Zimmerli, use this assumed creation theology base to establish a Wisdom literature grounded in an environmental ethic. One of our tasks in this team essay will be to explore where this connection can be discerned and the relative significance of that connection for identifying the voice and value of Earth. If we begin with Proverbs 10-21, which is probably a very old collection of proverbial sayings and a good place to discern an early understanding of the Wisdom tradition, we find that God the creator/ maker is mentioned only three times, and in each case the association is with social justice, not with Earth or creation as such. The first of these proverbs reads: Those who oppress the poor insult the maker, those who are kind to the needy honour him (Prov. 14.21).

The focus in these three proverbs in not on creation but on social relations, human behaviour and communal justice. In fact, concern for creation is conspicuous by its absence. A couple of references to domesticated animals (Prov. 12.10; 14.4) do not highlight the wonders of creation but the instrumental value of these animals for humans. Taking care of domestic animals contributes to human success. In these proverbs, the world of the wild is ignored. Crenshaw (1981: 21) goes so far as to say, That is why the wise refused to reinforce their teachings by appealing to the doctrine of creation. They could easily have said, 'Do this because God created you and certain actions naturally follow'. Instead, they appealed to a sense of self-interest and relied upon a capacity to reason things out.

The classic sayings of Proverbs 10-21 are clearly anthropocentric. They may perhaps reflect village rather than urban life, but the focus seems to be on social relations, not on connections with creation. Human beings —not Earth, creation, or Earth community —are central. The primary goal is to succeed in life, to prosper in society, not to sustain Earth. Gaining wisdom is an explicit means to that end:

Habel et al. Wtiere Is the Voice of Earth in Wisdom Literature?

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To get wisdom is to love oneself; to keep understanding is to prosper (Prov. 19.8).

The famous thirty sayings (Prov. 22.17-24.22) that follow this collection bear a close resemblance to an Egyptian text known as The Instruction ofAmenemope. These sayings also focus on human social life, albeit in a colourful and clever manner. They close with advice acceptable in a hierarchical society: fear the Lord and obey the king (Prov. 24.22). The house that Wisdom builds in this tradition has rooms filled with pleasant riches fit for a king (Prov. 24.3-4). In other words, as Laura Hobgood-Oster indicates in her essay, power systems and their maintenance as foundations for the ordering of society provide the central theme in these texts. This collection does offer counsel not to remove the ancient landmarks (Prov. 23.10), but the concern here is for the poor, rather than for the land itself. The land, as such, has no voice. These two collections of proverbs, it seems, do not have creation theology or creation themes as their point of departure. Human society, not the natural world, is their governing orientation. How and where that orientation changes will be explored in the following sections of this essay. Lessons from Nature

Fundamental to the approach of the wise is the process of observation, search, analysis and reasoned reflection. By observing the way human beings function in society, it is possible to formulate axioms or proverbs that can guide human beings to find success in life. While the majority of these proverbs and sayings are derived from close observation and reflection on how humans function in their social, political and personal lives, there are a small number of axioms derived from the observation of nature. Lessons about how to live can be derived from watching the ways of creatures other than humans. So, for example, the adult teacher advises the novice: Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer and gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? (Prov. 6.6-9)

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In this piece of sapiential advice, the lazy are urged to take their cue from the industrious ant. The ant seems to provide an admirable lesson from nature. Here the voice of Earth community seems to be implied. But are the ants teaching the lesson, or is the focus strictly on the education of humans who are capable of discerning the truths imbedded in the order of creation? If the ants are indeed speaking in their own language, their message of successful industry without a hierarchy of control seems subversive in the context of much Wisdom literature. After all, rulers are considered necessary for society to survive; the minds of rulers are considered superior in wisdom to those of their subjects (Prov. 25.2-3). As Hobgood-Oster indicates in the introduction to her article in this volume, biblical Wisdom literature, in its present form, tends to elevate the elite class, encourage subjects to be loyal to their rulers —usually male —and provide education for the privileged ruling classes. The lesson of the ants, however, suggests a voice that deconstructs what it means to 'rule', and offers an alternative way of maintaining social order. The proverbs of Agur (Prov. 30) also seem to challenge the basic orientation of the proverbs associated with Solomon and the wise of Israel. This alien ruler confesses that as a human being —or a ruler — he has never discovered wisdom. Yet he is one of the few wise who seems to discern an interconnection —or at least a commonality — between the world of nature and the ways of humanity. He compares, for example, the derek (way) —that indiscernible mysterious code — operating behind an eagle in the sky, a snake on a rock, a ship on the high seas, and a man with a young woman (Prov. 30.18-19). In spite of his royal credentials, Agur pursues the subversive line suggested by the earlier counsel gleaned from the ants (Prov. 6.6-9). Agur contends: Four things on Earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people without strength yet they provide their food in summer; the badgers are a people without power; yet they make their homes in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces (Prov. 30.24-28).

This ruler, who claims that wisdom is elusive for him, recognizes wisdom in four creatures that he designates literally as 'the small of

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Earth'. These creatures belong to Earth and are part of Earth community. They are not under human control. The creatures, moreover, are designated literally 'wise ones, who have become wise' (Prov. 30.24). Rulers may not discover wisdom, but Earth's small creatures possess a wisdom that enables them to celebrate life and survive without rulers and in spite of human rulers. In this passage Earth seems to be speaking through its creatures to challenge the mainstream hierarchical and patriarchal Wisdom tradition of early Israel. Earth is teaching a lesson, pointing human beings —with their propensity to accept modes of androcentric and patriarchal power as desirable —in a direction they have been unwilling to follow. Earth appears to be challenging humans to examine critically whether they have been true to their 'way' as humans. Clearly, if rulers were to 'rule' in accordance with the wisdom of these small creatures, they would be part of a very different social order. These texts (Prov. 6.6-9 and 30.24-28) point to a few places in Proverbs where the voice of Earth is discerned. The distinctive feature of the voice of members of Earth community seems to be that of a teacher, whose message can be heard if the student has the wisdom to hear. Earth does not confront humans with a loud message, but mediates its voice indirectly and quietly through its creatures. The Way of Wisdom The instructions and counsel offered in Proverbs 1-9 seem to express another level of reflection on life and how to succeed in society. Wisdom is identified as the beginning, means and end for all who would find life: The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom' (Prov. 4.7). Wisdom is characterized by two major images or ideas: the way of wisdom and Woman Wisdom. According to Michael Fox, each of these ideas belongs to a different literary stratum and reflects a discrete voice to be heard in counterpoint with the other (1997: 616). Shirley Wurst demonstrates that there are several distinct voices in the text, each making different promises, and operating with a different values system and a different style of instruction (Wurst 1999). Whether or not discrete literary sources can be identified, wisdom is approached in two distinct ways in Proverbs 1-9. The first is the way of wisdom advocated by the adult male teacher who encourages his novices to follow paths to success that are tried and true. This is the voice of wisdom discerned by most mainstream biblical scholars.

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions Hear, my son, accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of righteousness (Prov. 4.10-11).

The counsel offered by the wise teacher, when followed faithfully, can lead to longevity, health, happiness, prosperity and honour. Those who embrace her wisdom will be adorned with a crown by Woman Wisdom herself. Her wisdom is the means to success, the ultimate goal in life. Woman Wisdom, like an ancient goddess, stands waiting for the novice to find her, with long life in her right hand and riches in her left (Prov. 3.16). She offers a grand vision of success: She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy (Prov. 3.18).

As if to prove that individuals can succeed admirably using wisdom, the editor of this portion of Proverbs 1-9 argues that God once used wisdom to found Earth, establish the skies and open the deeps (Prov. 3.19-20). God's use of wisdom offers a cosmic success story worth emulating! If we explore the image of success being promoted in the adult teacher's instructions, the world of creation does not seem to be drawn into the vision. Apart from the reference to busy ants noted above, the novice is nowhere advised to turn to nature to learn wisdom afresh. Social order rather than creation theology is the underlying foundation. There is no explicit counsel to listen to Earth or learn from the wider Earth community. Following the established tradition of wisdom offered by the elders is the norm: listen to the wise adult teacher. The voice of Earth and Earth community, it seems, is also suppressed here. The Voice of Woman Wisdom Earth may not have a strong voice in Proverbs 1-9, but Woman Wisdom certainly does. Is her voice related to the voice of Earth or creation in any way? Does she in some way go beyond earlier Wisdom literature and mediate the voice of Earth? As Wurst demonstrates in her article in this volume, Woman Wisdom is depicted in the text as speaking at various locations in the community —primarily positions of social intercourse and power (Prov. 1.20-21; 8.1-3; 9.1-3). However, she is also located-in Proverbs 8-in unexpected and radical places. As Hobgood-Oster and Wurst both demonstrate, Woman Wisdom claims to be the means to success

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for kings and rulers, promising honour, riches and righteousness (Prov. 8.15-21). Is Woman Wisdom anything more than a higher means to success in society? In Prov. 8.22-31, the orientation of Woman Wisdom changes radically. Her location is now on the primordial stage, where acts of creation are being performed. She is there! To be 'there' at the beginning means knowing the mysteries of creation, the wondrous ways of the created order of things. This location, as Wurst maintains, is the ultimate credential that confirms she is wise. Being 'there7 at the beginning was a challenge Job could not meet (Job 15.7-9; 38.4). Woman Wisdom, however, sees how Earth and Earth community — including mountains, skies and seas —are established and ordered at the beginning. Because she is 'there' she knows them, and understands the ways of all members of the Earth community. She has the potential to reveal Earth's mysteries. Does this knowing about Earth also mean that Woman Wisdom mediates her knowledge of Earth? Are Hobgood-Oster and Wurst on the right track when they observe that Woman Wisdom gains her knowledge through an intimate participation in the creation of Earth and Earth community? Does Woman Wisdom become Earth's mediator for human beings? Does the claim that Woman Wisdom rejoices in the 'inhabited world of Earth' (Prov. 8.31) imply a kinship with Earth, as Wurst suggests? According to Wurst, Woman Wisdom, as YHWH's intimate and cocreator of Earth and Earth community, is the voice of Earth and the wider Earth community for human beings. Her role in creating Earth community informs the way she mediates the message of Earth to those who listen. Wurst and Hobgood-Oster suggest that Woman Wisdom is equivalent to the 'web' that links Earth community. As the one who assisted in the creating/birthing of Earth and Earth community, Woman Wisdom may also be seen as the wise elder/midwife who knows the key to the web; she will guide those who accept her revelations about Earth and Earth community. She is then the teacher of Earth's mysteries, the wise voice of Earth. Wurst argues that it is especially significant that Woman Wisdom delights and rejoices not only in humankind but also in Earth and Earth community (Prov. 8.30-31). Woman Wisdom is not only involved in creating Earth and Earth community; she also continues to revel in their mysteries and wonders. This teacher celebrates and delights in her subject. And as Wurst has demonstrated elsewhere (Wurst 1999), the credentials of Woman Wisdom as the teaching mother, the skilled artisan par excellence, are depicted in Prov. 9.1-6

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where Woman Wisdom builds her house of wisdom studies at the seat of power —in the high places in the town—where she instructs the young men and women of the city who accept her invitation. At this location, as Wurst argues, Woman Wisdom becomes the voice of Earth and Earth community. Wurst (1999) demonstrates that the dominant patriarchal and androcentric tradition, the editors and interpreters of the text of Proverbs 1-9, have either suppressed or ignored the alternative voice of Woman Wisdom and her wisdom message grounded in Earth and Earth community. Feminist scholars like Hobgood-Oster and Wurst, using counter-reading strategies and alternative reading positions, have discerned an alternative Earth-friendly voice submerged in the anthropocentric and hierarchical message of the dominant tradition, represented by the voice of the adult teacher in the text of Proverbs 1-9. Pursuing Wind It may be argued that Ecclesiastes values life over death and that life is something to be celebrated rather than suffered. After all, it is better to be a live dog than a dead lion (Eccl. 9.4). Life begins in the mother as a mystery when 'breath enters the bones in the mother's womb' (Eccl. 11.5). Animals have the same breath as humans and consist of the same dust (Eccl. 3.19-20). In the end their dust returns to Earth and their life-breath to God (Eccl. 12.7). Ecclesiastes, in spite of those elements that animals and humans have in common, does not seem to emphasize a close kinship between humans and Earth community or Earth. All of life can be reduced to hebel, vanity, nothing, and chasing wind. Observing the phenomena of nature —clouds, falling trees or the wind —leaves the human mind uncertain (Eccl. 11.2-4). Listening to Earth seems futile. Humans cannot figure out what 'life is all about'; the only answer is to enjoy the days of your vain life that are allotted to you under the sun (Eccl. 9.8). In the end, There is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going (Eccl. 9.10).

Van Heerden, in his paper, elucidates the contrasting axioms in Eccl. 3.16-22 by using a range of similar African proverbs. He investigates the way Qohelet expresses his ideas in a paradoxical style and refuses to resolve opposites. The conflict between apparent patterns and purposes of all life under the sun only heightens the apparent absurdity of human and animal life. And since Earth will

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outlast each one of us, saving Earth also seems absurd. Yet the absurdity of it all does not prevent humans from enjoying their work, which includes caring for Earth. The Challenge of Job Job refuses to accept the verdict of Ecclesiastes and of his so-called friends about life or death. As Norman Habel argues in his essay in this volume, Job reverses the traditional cosmology of his day, depicting life on Earth as a domain where humans are hounded by heaven but longing for a better world in Mother Earth below. Job clearly speaks for suffering humankind when he confronts God with the injustice of a life lived under the scrutiny of a celestial spy. Does Job also speak for Earth? Job's attack on God's governance of Earth is reflected in the hymn to chaos (Job 12.13-25). Alice Sinnott, in her essay, characterizes God's governance as subversive and destabilizing, reducing Earth and society to anarchy. Job's experience of God's unwarranted intervention from heaven, it seems, leads to his portrait of God as a tyrant on Earth. Not only does the voice of Earth seem to be crushed but its providential order as well. The irony in Job's speech in Job 12 is that God's high-handed ways can also be learned by asking Earth and the community of Earth. Or, as Sinnott says, the silenced Earth becomes the teacher. This oppression of Earth is apparently so great that, if humans dare to ask, the abused Earth community will not stay silent but will confirm Job's experience. In extremis Earth's voice is heard. Job, it seems, also speaks for silenced Earth. Now ask the cattle and they will instruct you, The birds of the sky and they will tell you. Or speak to Earth and it will instruct you, The fish of the sea and they will inform you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of Eloah has done this? (Job 12.7-9)

This advice of Job — to have Earth instruct us in the contemporary crisis —seems extraordinarily apt. In the response of YHWH from the whirlwind, however, YHWH also challenges Job to understand the mysteries of creation (Job 38-39). In spite of Job's tirade against a tyrannical deity, God does care for all biotic creation, including, as Izak Spangenberg emphasizes, the misrepresented ostrich (Job 39.1318). God has implanted a wisdom in creatures of the wild that enables

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them to survive far from human society. They have intrinsic worth independent of human power or knowledge. The worth of creation apart from any human valuing is emphasized in the essay by Dale Patrick who argues that God's first speech in Job 38 decentres creation, while in the second speech, God disillusions the human will to power. God is apparently challenging Job to reconsider his claim that Earth teaches primarily about God's tyranny and discover instead the voice of Earth teaching the wisdom of the wild, the caring of the creator. Or are these lessons beyond human ears and understanding? Does Earth and Earth community ultimately remain mysterious and unknowable in human terms? The narrator of Job is acutely conscious of the search for wisdom (Job 28). Three subjects seem to be searching for wisdom: humans, components and creatures of Earth, and God. They all seek to discover the way and place of wisdom. God is ultimately the one who finds wisdom. Where does God look? Not in heaven or the realm of the divine, but 'under heaven' to 'the ends of Earth' (Job 28.23-24). And how does God find wisdom? When measuring the waters, weighing the wind and ordering the storm. Wisdom, it seems, is integral to the systems and structures of Earth and Earth community, the 'way' or code that characterizes components of Earth and Earth community. Wisdom 'dwells' in Earth, not in some place but as a penetrating principle or presence. According to Katherine Dell, wisdom becomes the intermediary between Earth, Earth community, and its creator; wisdom's voice is the mediated voice of Earth. Apparently, if humans start searching for wisdom with a 'fear of the Lord' as their point of departure, they too may discern wisdom in creation (Job 28.28). Is this wisdom, whether in its ancient or modern forms of knowledge, one of the voices of Earth and Earth community? Is the study of ecology one means to access the voice of Earth? Book of Wisdom Does the book of the Wisdom of Solomon finally let the voice of Earth be heard clearly? Wisdom as the spirit of God fills the whole world (Wis. 1.6). Wisdom is the breath of the power of God, emanating from God's glory (Wis. 7.25). Wisdom permeates Earth, and seems to be the mediator who gives Earth a voice. She is also the technitis, the divine artisan at work in creation (Wis. 8.6). She saved Earth when it was drowned in the flood (Wis. 10.4). Wisdom, in fact, is credited with

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guiding the entire history of Israel according to God's plan. Since Wisdom has an intimate knowledge of God's created works, because she was present when Earth was made, she is also a teacher for humans with hearts open to her instruction (Wis. 9.9-11). More specifically, she teaches humans about the systems of Earth and Earth community (Wis. 7.17-21), what today we would call botany, zoology, pharmacology and astronomy (Edwards 1995:28). Solomon is credited with saying: Tor wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me' (Wis. 7.21). As a teacher of the mysteries of Earth and Earth community, she is the breath of Earth and speaks for Earth. According to HobgoodOster in her essay, this means that Wisdom is a voice for and of Earth. In the book of Wisdom, death is not viewed as part of God's original design for creation (Wis. 1.12-16). God's intention for the entire Earth community is life, a theme Marie Turner finds developed in Romans. She argues that the groaning of creation for liberation from the decay of death found in Romans 8 is a reflection of this theme in the book of Wisdom. The groaning of Earth in Romans 8 seems to be a silenced voice finally heard in the face of death. Perhaps the same voice is to be heard in the ecological crisis of our day. The Lover Calling

Perhaps we need to move from the serious life and death struggles of Wisdom literature to the love songs in the Song of Songs to hear Earth even more clearly. Hendrik Viviers speaks of the writer taking an ecodelight in Earth as home and Earth as kin. But does Earth have a voice? Is the nature imagery more than anthropocentric romanticism? Does the call of the beloved to come away because the winter is past, the flowers are in bloom, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land, mean more than 'spring fever'? According to Carole Fontaine, Earth becomes a metaphor for the loved one. Earth, through all the signs of her presence and fertility, becomes person, displacing the ancient deity. Earth calls humans to express their sexuality as one of the impulses of Earth. Earth becomes the beloved, initiating the search for unity with humans. Earth is more than a teacher; she is a lover calling humans back to nature, back into the domains of the fertile and the sensual to experience life to the full. Conclusion

Our brief analysis of the voice of Earth in Wisdom literature suggests that, while much of the literature focuses on how to live and succeed

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in human society, the distinctive voice of Earth can be discerned, especially in what would appear to be the later Wisdom literature. The voice of Earth in the Psalms can be characterized primarily as a voice of praise. Earth is summoned to rejoice (Ps. 95.11), and members of the Earth community celebrate God's goodness and righteousness in diverse ways —seas roar, forests sing, Earth trembles, fields exult and mountains smoke. Everything, from the stars to the cedars, is called to praise the Lord (Ps. 148). In the prophets the voice of Earth is often the voice of lament as the land is made desolate (Jer. 4.27-28). The land itself 'mourns' to God as it faces desolation (Jer. 12.11). In the Wisdom literature the voice of Earth seems to be that of a teacher for those who possess the skills to hear her speaking. This function is perhaps best characterized by the words of Job: 'Speak to Earth and it will instruct you' (Job 12.8). Even the smallest members of Earth community can teach humans a lesson. Earth as teacher, however, does not shout her message aloud like a prophet. Creatures of Earth community can communicate in their own language. Wisdom becomes the mediator, the lens, the key with which to read the script, and hear the voice of Earth. Because Wisdom was present at creation she knows the stories and languages of Earth and Earth community first-hand; she revels in the wonders she has helped to create. To hear the voice of Earth, humans need to know Wisdom.

Wisdom Literature and Ecof eminism Laura Hobgood-Oster Woman Wisdom frolics through the pages of the Wisdom literature of the Bible and Apocrypha. She also warns against and laments over the destructive behavior of humanity. 'How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?' (Prov. 1.22). As a companion of YHWH, or an aspect of YHWH, Woman Wisdom immerses herself in the material world. The Lord creates her 'at7 or 'as' the beginning of the 'way' or 'work'; the intricacies of her ontological status escape us (Prov. 8.22). She presents herself unabashedly in this seemingly patriarchal literature, though when presented by other voices even Woman Wisdom can become a subject in the eyes of male authority. Wisdom literature praises kings and patriarchy, calling them wise. Woman Wisdom recalls the joy of a world without oppressive rulers, Earth not subdued but innately knowing. Her voice for creation's freedom is too often answered in Wisdom literature by temporal rulers, powers and principalities who claim wisdom as their own. Still, throughout the texts she undermines these assumptions. Woman Wisdom subverts and contradicts, while grounding and connecting all that lives. In the midst of this complexity one thing about Woman Wisdom is sure: she plunges into and rejoices in Earth. Reading the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures from the perspective of Earth proves complex and frustrating, yet somehow empowering. Often androcentric and anthropocentric, Wisdom literature enforces the status quo, elevates the power of the elite class and encourages subjects to be loyal to their (usually male) ruler. Society orders itself, presumably for the survival of that particular societal structure, and those who remain within the order are the ones who have found 'wisdom'. Most Wisdom literature is directed toward educated, powerful male humans —the ruling class, the powerful ones. Can Earth's reading be one of justice in this context? There are times when it simply cannot. Ecofeminism, a way of thinking that connects oppressions of women and nature, may suggest that Earth

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should prepare for continued domination if the wisdom of this literature is applied to human societies in the twenty-first century. As mentioned above, subversive ideas emerge from Wisdom literature and in these subversions Earth's perspective can find a justice-oriented worldview for all of Earth's inhabitants and for Earth herself. Wisdom literature is organic, it connects parts together rather than isolating them. Such a concept is requisite for ecological thinking, indeed radical relationship defines ecology and Earth. Ecofeminism rotates around and speaks from within these ideas of mutuality in all aspects of life, most dramatically in its recognition and critique of connected domination systems. As oppressed, Earth assumes the central role. Liberation theologies, of which ecofeminism is one form, insist rightly that all theologies are written from particular contexts. The one context which has been neglected and is now emerging is the broadest as well as the most basic: the context of the planet, a context which we all share and without which we cannot survive (McFague 1995: 85). Can Wisdom literature address these issues of domination? Can the oppressed and the oppressors hear Wisdom's cry together? I contend that we have at least two possibilities before us in a reading of Wisdom literature from the perspective of Earth. In these possibilities one finds the genre's power and its woe, a voice that can help liberate Earth from the oppression of humanity while enforcing the societal structures that have placed Earth in peril. Patriarchy rules in Wisdom literature, even though Woman Wisdom/Sophia's feminine voice shouts from the marketplace to all who can hear, instructing us to give up our foolish ways, including the folly of patriarchal assumptions and structures. In order to understand the relationship between Wisdom literature and ecofeminism, brief introductions to both of these worlds will be necessary. Then, select themes that capture some of the central ideas of most forms of ecofeminism will be connected to Wisdom literature, specifically the first and last sections of the book of Proverbs and the central passages of the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon. Ecofeminism: A Brief Overview Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model of relationships continues to be one of domination. They must unite the demands of the women's movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic

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socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this [modern industrial] society (Ruether 1975: 204).

No hierarchical system exists in a vacuum. No patriarchal system exists without connection to other patriarchal systems. Everything is related. Ecofeminism claims that all forms of oppression are connected, as are all forms of life, and that the structures of oppression must be addressed. Therefore, oppression of the natural world and of women by patriarchal power structures should be examined simultaneously or neither can be confronted fully. Ecofeminism argues that 'the oppression of women and the rest of nature must be recognized to understand adequately both oppressions', therefore adding naturism to issues of classism, racism and sexism (Adams [ed.] 1995: 1). Earth and the other-than-human experience the tyranny of patriarchy along with women, people of color, religious minorities and those of lower socio-economic classes. As a component of justice advocacy for the entire web of life, ecofeminism resists dividing culture into separate or dualistic arenas. The 'key elements of hierarchical dualisms underpinning Western thought' include, but are not limited to, mind-body, production-reproduction, culture-nature, male-female, spiritual-material, heavenearth and human-nature (Earth Bible Team 2000: 40-41). These dualities reinforce patriarchal systems of oppression, including the domination of Earth. Through defining the second category as inferior, hierarchies remain intact and in control. Ecofeminism challenges the artificiality and the agenda of these hierarchical dualisms. Karen Warren (1997: 4) states that: What makes ecofeminism distinct is its insistence that nonhuman nature and naturism (i.e., the unjustified domination of nature) are feminist issues. Ecofeminist philosophy extends familiar feminist critiques of social isms of domination to nature.

Ecofeminism 'comprises analysis, critique, and vision, and is the study of and the resistance to the associated exploitation and subjugation of women and the earth' (Eaton 1996: 77). It is multi-layered and multi-voiced. Any brief characterization of ecofeminism is clearly an oversimplification. A focus on diversity and varied intricacy marks its very being as a co-operative and shifting movement, thus one that cannot be examined through a single voice or a single genre of literature from within one collection of sacred texts. Also, when one challenges structures, not individuals, then the scope necessarily broadens, incorporating apparently disparate but radically connected elements.

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The plural form, 'ecofeminisms', relates the nature of this approach to interconnectedness more realistically, though still not completely. Seeking to combine feminist and deep ecological perspectives, in and of themselves extremely varied ways of thinking about reality, is complex and refreshingly dialectical. Rosemary Radford Ruether (1995:14) articulates this promising density: Fuller exploration of ecofeminism probably goes beyond the expertise of one person. It needs a cooperation of a team that brings together historians of culture, natural scientists, and social economists who all share a concern for the interconnection of domination of women and exploitation of nature. It needs visionaries to imagine how to construct a new socioeconomic system and a new cultural consciousness that would support relations of mutuality, rather than competitive power.

For the purposes of this Earth reading of Wisdom literature, three aspects of ecofeminism will serve as interpretive guides: the need for feminine and Earth-based metaphors of the divine; the intrinsic value of other-than-human beings; and the call to break down all hierarchical systems of oppression. The first two aspects interpret or read Wisdom literature as a constructive resource, the final one interprets or reads Wisdom literature as a destructive resource. The Earth reading mirrors the ecofeminist reading from this perspective, and I think this mirrored reading is a valid one. Proverbs - Mashal and the Wisdom of Solomon Proverbs immediately confronts the reader with a problem of destructive hierarchies in human societies, thus with an immediate challenge to Earth and ecofeminism. The Hebrew word mashal (proverb or saying) can mean two different things: 'to be similar to' or 'to rule over' (Bergant 1997: 79). Therefore both the title and the form of the literary, sacred text immediately recall dominations. If one is being instructed on how 'to rule over' another, even if the rule is wise, power structures are in play. Earth is one of many subjects presented to the human/male rulers. Similarly the source/writer/author or sources/writers/authors of Proverbs invoke images of kings and of subjects. The origins of this literature lie within instruction manuals developed for the royal court, in Egypt and in Israel. This audience becomes apparent in such passages as: 'In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain' (Prov. 16.15). Rulers and subjects learn to 'fear the Lord and the king, and do not disobey either of them' (Prov. 24.21). Power systems and their maintenance as

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foundations for the ordering of society provide a central theme. But the oral tradition of many proverbs is also located within old folk wisdom, sometimes the realm of women. Throughout Proverbs the basic literary style follows the pattern associated with Wisdom collections from various cultures, providing a glimpse into the unity of this form of teaching among myriad peoples and times. Thus 'it hails from both the wealthy, ruling class and the ordinary masses' (Hobgood-Oster 2000: 14). This juxtaposition underscores the complexity of Wisdom literature, its elite and mass audiences and authors. Proverbs divides into several obvious sections that are given subtitles in the text itself: 'the proverbs of Solomon' (1.1-9.18); 'the proverbs of Solomon' distinct from the first section (10.1-22.16); 'the words of the wise' (22.17-24.22); 'sayings of the wise' (24.23-34); 'other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied' (25.1-29.27); 'the words of Agur' (30.1-33); and 'the words of King Lemuel' (31.1-31). Of particular interest for this Earth reading are the beginning and ending sections. The first nine chapters form an introductory vision and include several poems, thus distinguishing them from the other 'proverbs of Solomon' that comprise the single largest section of the book. The final two divisions include Wisdom sayings explicitly designated as coming from non-Israelites — Agur and King Lemuel. A second piece of Wisdom literature included in this Earth reading comes from the Wisdom of Solomon, an apocryphal book. This book is attributed to King Solomon, the symbol of wisdom, though most scholars agree that it was written by a Hellenistic Jew in Alexandria, most likely during the first century BCE (Murphy 1990b; Bergant 1997). The second part of the book, Wisdom 6-10, includes the verses that focus on Woman Wisdom. She is mentioned over 25 times and seems to mirror the goddess Isis in many of these passages. This Isislike imagery fits with the suggestion that the Wisdom of Solomon was written in Egypt, though Isis does figure throughout the Mediterranean world. Because of the elaboration of Woman Wisdom's attributes in this apocryphal book, it seems imperative to include it in my examination of Wisdom literature and ecofeminism. This essay cannot begin to cover the entire scope of these dense books, even less so of all the Wisdom literature in the Bible. Rather, it will focus on a few selections and themes (those mentioned in the previous section) that connect Wisdom with the ideas of ecofeminism. First, I will examine the figure of Woman Wisdom through the lens of Proverbs 8 and Wisdom 7. Then, the concept of the intrinsic value of

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the other-than-human will be read through the sayings of Proverbs 30. Finally, I will suggest a critique of domination systems that are reinforced through Wisdom literature. Thus, an Earth reading of Wisdom literature through an ecofeminist lens will propose both a hopeful hermeneutic and a pessimistic one. Woman Wisdom's Earthy Frolicking: Proverbs 8 and Wisdom 7 One of the first issues of feminist theology involves evaluating the traditional metaphors for God. The primary imagery for God is male, hierarchical and oppressive. God as father, ruler, king, warrior, sitting on a throne in another, distant realm serves as the prominent metaphorical construct. This model of God demands obedience and subservience of all those in 'his' kingdom. 'In this picture God is worldless and the world is Godless: the world is empty of God's presence' (McFague 1990: 209). It establishes models for similar oppressive systems on Earth, in human relationships with each other and with other-than-human beings. This same model is espoused in some of the Wisdom literature, but that issue will be addressed later. Through the radical work of feminist theologians such as Mary Daly, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Ivone Gebara and Sallie McFague, alternatives to these patriarchal images are proposed (Daly 1973; Ruether 1983; Gebara 1996; McFague 1993, 1997). In feminist theology, metaphors for the divine need to reincorporate the plethora of images provided in such texts as the Wisdom literature. By revisioning the divine in the world, as a feminine being as well as a masculine one, as an other-than-human being as well as a human one, hierarchical constructs can be called into question. They no longer claim divine sanction in human cultures since the divine lives in other forms and functions in other ways. Woman Wisdom offers one powerful option. The divine being frolicking in creation suggests a very different image than a king sitting on a throne with Earth as 'his' footstool. Proverbs 8 begins with Wisdom's call from all directions, 'on the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads.. .beside the gates in front of the town' (Prov. 8.1-3). Woman Wisdom opens her cry to 'all that live', not only to the ruling elite and not only to the people. She positions herself in order to catch the crowds, whoever those crowds may contain. Actual and metaphorical crossroads form intersections for all living beings. Camels, sheep, merchants, children, insects, birds, water, fruits and breads gather at the crossroads. Woman Wisdom declares her message at those places shared in common by

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all living beings. In this sense, her agenda seems egalitarian and her voice poised to address all who hear. What might people and Earth hear? What might other-than-human creatures hear? Just who is Lady Wisdom? She has been named 'the most striking personification in the entire Bible' (Murphy 1990b: 133). Woman Wisdom emerges in other passages and in these is connected to Earth as well. For example, in Job 28 the question 'Where then does wisdom come from?' is posed. The response unites wisdom with 'the Earth' since God discovered wisdom 'when he gave the wind its weight, and apportioned out the waters by measure'. To find wisdom one is invited to follow the lead of God and look 'to the ends of the Earth, and see everything under the heavens'. Various theories surface about the identity of Woman Wisdom. Gerhard von Rad connects her with the Egyptian deity Ma'at. Referring specifically to Prov. 8.22-29 he suggests that 'the style of a specific Egyptian divine proclamation has clearly been borrowed, and that in vv. 30f. the Egyptian idea of a deity caressing personified truth (Ma'at) has somehow, though not without internal modifications, found its way into our didactic poem' (von Rad 1972: 153). Others suggest a connection to Isis, as mentioned above, or to Earth-related fertility goddesses, such as Asherah, who emerge at different points in the life of ancient Israel (Bergant 1997: 149). Certainly, Woman Wisdom continues to influence the religious culture as she appears in such related figures as the Sophia of Jewish and Christian gnosticisms. From the perspective of Earth, Proverbs 8 and Wisdom 7 offer a glorious image. Woman Wisdom frolics in the material creation: when he [YHWH] marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world (Prov. 8.29b-31a).

Prov. 8.30 could also be translated as 'I was daily delight', not possessed by YHWH but acted by Wisdom. From this active, joyful sense I choose the image of Wisdom's 'frolicking' in Earth. Wisdom witnesses the creation, participates in this enterprise and becomes 'delight' itself. Woman Wisdom sees and describes Earth as a wonder to behold. As she lists the capacities of Earth —the depths of the fountains, the limits of the seas, the foundations of Earth —she seems in awe. The 'firm' skies, the 'fountains' of the deep, the abundant springs offer wonder and glory (Prov. 7.23-29). In her intimate knowing of and

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participation in Earth and Earth's moments of emerging, Woman Wisdom gains her knowledge. This is her base of instruction. To be wise one must know Earth intimately and passionately. Proverbs relates passion and the power of creation in the figure of Wisdom, 'The Lord by wisdom founded the earth' (Prov. 3.19). The apocryphal book Wisdom of Solomon echoes these characteristics, 'for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me' (Wis. 7.22). She participates in the creating power of YHWH and continues this process; wisdom is 'more mobile than any motion... she pervades and penetrates all things... she is a breath of the power of God' (Wis. 7.2425). She is radically related to, connected with, not removed from Earth. As Carter Heyward states, 'relationality as the heart of God's world undercuts even the notion of a deity that is not essentially and mutually involved in the cosmos, the world, and history' (Heyward 1999: 63, italics hers). Wisdom's organic nature is integral to her very being. Throughout Wisdom 7, she moves, relates, teaches, learns, crafts and moves in cycles. All of those aspects of life that prove messy—the cycles of the moon as they cause tides and menses, the changing of seasons with births and deaths —but are requisite for life to continue, weave in relationship with Wisdom. This organism shows a divine being who is bodied and connected. Some visual expressions of Wisdom/ Sophia point to this organic essence, imaging her body as a composite of all sorts of living beings. Woman Wisdom breathes in Earth, not in another realm. Her breadth of earthy knowing is immense, including 'the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons', 'the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts', 'the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots' (Wis. 7.18-21). But this earthiness makes her no less powerful. A list of her attributes reveals her strength: intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle (Wis. 7.22-23).

She is powerful, but in a transformative way that undercuts the oppressive hegemony of patriarchal systems. Wisdom is impressive indeed and she is a voice for and of Earth! As Gaia spirituality grows and as feminist metaphorical theology that emphasizes divine imagery connecting us to Earth expands in traditional religions, Woman Wisdom leaps from the scriptural

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tradition as a refreshing and deeply embedded possibility. Ecofeminism, in its insistence on supplementing, if not replacing, patriarchal language for the divine, finds powerful resources in her. Relationship with Other-than-Human Beings Inherent in wisdom is the idea of right living and right relationship with God and others, including those other-than-human. 'The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel' (Prov. 12.10). Wisdom literature also acknowledges that human beings can learn from other creatures, who often embody wisdom more fully than humans. 'Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways and be wise... it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest' (Prov. 6.6-8). In this focus on the significance of other-than-human beings lies another connection with ecofeminism and Earth. Both emphasize that assumptions of the privilege of the human over all other life must be reconsidered. Indeed all life is a web and the question of individuality within this web becomes problematic in and of itself. Thus biocentrism rather than anthropocentrism as an approach to well-being functions for Earth and ecofeminism as a primary ethical and religious way. Recognition of Earth and the non-human as Others worthy of theological reflection demarcates ecofeminism from other feminist philosophies and theologies. Carol Adams exemplifies this shift when she calls for the next step —to recognize 'that the category of Other includes the other animals'. Since ecofeminism concerns itself with all false distinctions, human/animal must be included, and this requires 'that we stop colluding with the structures of domination' forced on all those who are other-than-human (Adams [ed.] 1995: 209). The 'Words of Agur son of Jakeh', an intriguing figure because he is an other-than-Israelite included in the canonical Wisdom literature, comprise the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs. In the midst of this section are several listings of the ways of wisdom that include animals. The wise stand in awe: Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock (30.18-19). Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer; The badgers are a people without power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions The lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces (30.24-28). Three things are stately in their stride; four are stately in their gait: The lion, which is mightiest among wild animals and does not turn back before any; The strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king striding before his people. (30.29-31)

Wisdom is learned by watching Earth and all of her inhabitants, even ants and locusts. In this passage both ants and badgers are designated as 'people', thus considering the possibility of their status as communities of others with intrinsic value. Human beings would do well to watch them and learn, to recognize the 'wonder' of their ways, for in this is wisdom. In the very actions of other-than-humans we find a depth of wisdom, indeed a link to Woman Wisdom and the divine, that cannot be found in all humans or cultures. These ants and locusts, badgers and lions, already have wisdom and humans need to accept this as well as model our cultures and selves on them. Expressions of recognition for the other-than-human as valuable to YHWH are included elsewhere as well. Incredible passages in various pieces of Wisdom literature, such as Job 38, suggest a transformed understanding of the relationship between the divine and other living beings. In this passage YHWH elevates the status of the entire Earth and her inhabitants, questioning the pedestal on which humanity (Job) has placed it/himself. Such an exposition does not take into account all of the ramifications of Wisdom literature for the other-than-human. The literature also assumes a relationship of domination between humans and Earth's other creatures. Such statements as 'Abundant crops come by the strength of the ox' (Prov. 14.4) are not rare and indicate an understanding of other animals as tools for human production. More direct statements from Proverbs also reinforce the labor potential and domination of animals. The reader hears of 'a whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools' (Prov. 26.3). Animals show forth wisdom, but they are still a primary source of labor and live a life of oppression in the dominant cultural system espoused by Wisdom literature. Simultaneously a source of wonder and a tool of humans, Wisdom literature calls into play the paradox, the gray area, of so much of life. It also suggests that the reader could be misunderstanding Wisdom, which is definitely a possibility! Earth understands, humans do not.

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Earth's Critique of Wisdom Literature Through the Ecofeminist Looking Glass

A genre of literature delivered to kings for their wise rule does, by this very assumption of audience, include passages that Earth itself and ecofeminists must confront, question and reconfigure. Some proverbs are ethnocentric, others are androcentric, many are anthropocentric, and only a relatively few can be read as overtly biocentric. To wade through the sludge and hear the biocentric words can make for a difficult journey. For example, and in direct connection to Earth, Proverbs warns against sharing one's cistern with 'strangers' (Prov. 4.15). In a world with precious few water sources, perceived ownership of such sources became increasingly widespread, thus the idea of water sources as common property of all, animals included, diminished. The question of humanity's control of Earth's resources comes into play in this proverb, as does the question of ethnocentrism in human relationships. Proverbs also characterizes foreign women, prostitutes and, actually, women in general as potentially threatening figures throughout. 'She is loud and wayward... at every corner she lies in wait' (Prov. 7.1112). Women are dangerous, their 'house' designated as 'the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death' (Prov. 7.27). Thus, even though exclusivistic, masculine divine imagery is challenged by Woman Wisdom, the general portrayals of women maintain patriarchal structures. Thus an ecofeminist reading suggests that structures of oppression of Earth are maintained and reinforced as well. The passages that praise images of the 'king' loom large. Even Woman Wisdom claims that 'by me kings reign'. Although the reign is 'just' and kings govern 'rightly' when they hear Wisdom's call, they still rule over others, including Earth (Prov. 8.16). A king, though just and wise, is still a king. Wisdom literature does, it seems, advocate the maintenance of interlocking structures of oppression. While certain passages undermine kingly authority and call for a restructuring of all societies, and while obvious themes such as the organic mentioned above echo throughout, one cannot dismiss the emphasis on kingship that underlies so much Wisdom literature. It simultaneously soothes both the masses of people, and Earth, into accepting this situation. If a ruler is 'just' and abides by 'wisdom' then those who are subjected to this rule should be content. Does this literature appease the oppressed ones into an acceptance of their status? After all, 'when the righteous are in authority, the people

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rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan' (Prov. 29.2). The same connection is made for Earth: 'By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it' (Prov. 29.4). Ecofeminism calls all such hierarchical structures to account, and Earth does so even more emphatically, if the webs of life are to survive the onslaught of humanity. Conclusions - Wisdom's Subversive Ecofeminist Voice Even this final reading of Wisdom literature as supportive of hierarchies and as a training manual for kings can be seen through different eyes. Could we, the hearers, be interpreting Wisdom through closed ears? Do we long to hear our familiar, dominant structures praised? Is Woman Wisdom crying out for us to hear words that we do not even want to record? Dianne Bergant suggests this possibility: The ethnic, class, and gender biases of the book of Proverbs are quite obvious. But so is the all-encompassing call of Wisdom and the very general polysemic character of her message. For this message to be authentic wisdom, it must be recontextualized again and again (Bergant 1997: 105).

An Earth reading immediately calls into question the elevation of hierarchical structures and harkens to Wisdom's voice of challenge. I think Wisdom may beg its own question: can a king rule justly or does he, as king, by his very nature and position make heavy exactions from the land (Prov. 29.4 above)? Can one be a king without accumulating power? In other words, is this a rhetorical question? Maybe it is and we are not always able to hear. Though present alongside and subject to the wise 'kings', Wisdom deconstructs even this ingrained and elevated social, political, divinely ordained ruler. In her questioning of all human authorities, she consistently confronts all power systems. Wisdom serves as a presence, as Ruether suggests, 'one among many' not the 'exclusive and unique representative' (Ruether 2000:108). Wisdom's very inclusion of all life undermines patriarchy and anthropocentrism in all forms. Earth recontextualizes and subverts. A text which supports the allpowerful and wise king also has him ask: Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? (Prov. 30.4)

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YHWH and Woman Wisdom, who know Earth and frolic in Earth's bounty, have established 'all the ends of the earth' and in hearing these cries, one begins the journey toward wisdom. Subversion and rejection of patriarchal, destructive systems of oppression and relationship with the organic whole characterize Wisdom and Earth. A contemporary mashal from Alice Walker, a contemporary wise woman, brings some sense of completion to these thoughts on Wisdom literature and ecofeminism: Helped are those who find the courage to do at least one small thing each day to help the existence of another — plant, animal, river, human being. They shall be joined by a multitude of the timid (Walker 1989: 289).

Woman Wisdom's Way: Ecokinship Shirley Wurst Introduction Mainstream scholars have assumed that, because the Wisdom materials in the Hebrew Scriptures deal with creation, they are also, by extension, concerned with ecojustice: justice for Earth community. The implication: these texts are therefore less anthropocentric than other texts in the Hebrew Scriptures. However, even a cursory glance at the Wisdom corpus demonstrates its focus on the world of human beings, and male human beings in particular. These texts are concerned with the world of men: commerce, government, administration; this worldview is characterized by hierarchies, self-aggrandizement, power over, control, status and wealth. If Earth community is included in the equation, it is perceived and presented as a model and a resource for achieving and ensuring success in this male world. Earth is a means to an end: wealth and status, and the extension and securing of power in the hands of the few 'wise' men (read 'economically rationalist' in contemporary terms) who have learned their lessons well! In contrast to the androcentrism apparent in many parts of the book of Proverbs, some sections of Proverbs 1-9 also present intriguing glimpses of Woman Wisdom1 and her way, a way that I contend is not the same as the way extolled by the Adult Teacher2 in the same section of Proverbs.3 These glimpses can be highlighted and teased out through counter-reading strategies that search out and re-present 1. Most scholars agree that the female character in the text, HEIDIl, chokmah, variously translated as 'Woman Wisdom', 'Wisdom', 'Dame Wisdom7, 'Lady Wisdom', the 'Wisdom Woman', is presented in this text as a character, who speaks to the reader/audience (in Prov. 1, 8 and 9). I follow Claudia Camp (1985) in naming her 'Woman Wisdom'. 2. This is the non-gendered name I have adopted for the primary voice in the text of Prov. 1-9 in my unpublished doctoral thesis (1999). 3. I argued this in the opening chapter of my doctoral thesis (1999).

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alternative coherences than those maintained and entrenched in the malestream4 tradition.5 Contrary to the assumptions of many scholars in the past, not all the texts in the Wisdom corpus within the Hebrew Scriptures are Earth-friendly. The way of Woman Wisdom is ostensibly advocated by the primary voice in this section of Proverbs —an Adult Teacher, addressing a younger pupil or child. The Adult Teacher assertively presents Woman Wisdom's way as the means to live in the world and enjoy all the good things life has to offer: wealth, prosperity, respect and status in the community, longevity, and God's blessing. Michael Fox, in his analysis of the key voices in this text, confirms my observation that there are at least two understandings of wisdom in Proverbs 1-9,6 'each conveyed in its own voice and each... belonging to a different literary stratum' (1997:613)7 Even though these voices deal with the same core subject—how to be wise in the world —'the two voices do not blend entirely, but are heard in counterpoint' (1997: 613). I agree with Fox's view (1997: 616) that the voice ascribed to Woman Wisdom can be retrieved as a separate stratum. He asserts that the 'differences become prominent enough to indicate diverse origins' (1997: 616), and that the 'most striking difference is in the concept of Wisdom... The ideologies of Wisdom...consistently reinforce the separation of the two strata' (1997: 617). Like Fox I assert that Woman Wisdom sees her way of wisdom as 'not only about doing; it is about knowing' (1997: 613). I go even further than Fox —I assert that her way is a way of being. And this way of being is, I contend, characterized as ecokinship. Before focusing on Woman Wisdom's way as ecokinship, it is illuminating to explore how the text construes Woman Wisdom's place in the world, and in the society implied in the text of Proverbs 1-9. 4. Mary O'Brien (1991) coined this term to refer to the patriarchal androcentric and phallocentric dominant mainstream in Western traditions. 5. In this text, the Hebrew term "p"f, derek, usually translated as 'way7, is richly evocative: as well as referring to a route or path, it also invokes more elusive notions of way of life, manner, custom and conduct. It is most often used in this latter metaphoric sense, a shorthand way to denote how someone is, and how they choose to live their life. 6. In my doctoral thesis, I suggested that there were three wisdom voices in this text. 7. A chapter in my doctoral thesis, 'Whose Voice?7, demonstrates how these two voices-in-the-text can be discerned as different: in style, message, mode of address to audience, and rhetoric.

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions Woman Wisdom: A Woman Who Successfully Challenges the Malestream and Builds her Own House

The notion of a mother's house —a vet'em, DN fTD —is rare in the Hebrew Scriptures. As Carol Meyers (1991: 40) demonstrates, the idea is found in only three places in the extant version of the Hebrew text.8 The notion of a woman's house is also rare. Usually, households are ascribed to men; they are the house of the father, the vefav, inherited by the sons of the father. Several women's houses are depicted in Proverbs 1-9.9 Most significantly for my argument, Woman Wisdom is depicted as a householder in Prov. 8.34: 'Blessed pKJN, 'ashre) is the human person who listens to me, vigilantly watching at my doors every day, waiting at the door posts of my entrance'. In Prov. 9.1, she is described as a housebuilder: 'Woman Wisdom has built her house (HPTD, veytah), she has hewn her seven pillars'.10 Furthermore, Woman Wisdom invites young men (ne'arim, D"")!?]) to her house to enjoy her banquet, and learn from her. Her house is a house of women (see Prov. 9.2-3a); young men are invited to enter, and engage in a celebration of food and wine, as they learn the way to be wise in the world from Woman Wisdom and her young women. [Woman Wisdom] has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has set her table. She has sent out her young women (£"1*1") JJ], na'aroth), she calls from the highest places in the town, 'If only you that are young, naive and easily deceived (T12, peti) will turn in here!7 To one without sense Q7 "1DH, chasar lev), she says 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

8. Meyers cites Rebekah in Genesis, the book of Ruth, and the Song of Songs; she also notes that 'Proverbs contains several references to a household or a house in association with a woman'. She observes that these 'occurrences of "mother's house" are striking in view of the overriding importance of the "father's house" in the Hebrew Bible' (1991: 40). 9. The Strange-and-Foolish Woman (my name for the 'other' woman in the text of Prov. 1-9) is closely tied to her house, described as her veytah (HPTD is the Hebrew term for house with a feminine particle of possession). In some parts of the text, the woman virtually becomes her house: entering her house is entering her, and fast-tracks the young, naive and easily deceived young man into Sheol, the place of the dead. 10. There are several interpretations of the significance of the seven pillars. See McKane 1970: 362-63 for a summary of major scholarly perspectives.

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Lay aside immaturity (D'KHS, petayim), and live, and walk in the way ("pi, derek) of insight (iim, viynah)... ...For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life' (Prov. 9.2-6, II).11

In Proverbs 7, the two key terms for the young men targeted by Woman Wisdom, T1S, peti, and D^ "DPI, chasar lev, are linked with HUD, naar. Looking at other uses of naar in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is apparent that this term refers to those who are young and unskilled, those who are learning how to 'be' in a variety of adult roles. A naar is a neophyte, a young apprentice undergoing training for a particular role in adult life. The use of the feminine plural of this same term to refer to the young women in Woman Wisdom's house implies that her house is a place of learning: young, inexperienced men and women are learning how to be wise from the source of wisdom herself, HQDn, chokmah, Woman Wisdom. Another interesting feature of this house of wisdom learning is its location. In the text of Proverbs 1-9, each time Woman Wisdom speaks, her location-in-the-text is specified by the Adult Teacher. Figure 1 demonstrates the locations given to Woman Wisdom by the Adult Teacher in the text of Proverbs 1-9. As the figure demonstrates, through specifying her speaking location, the Adult Teacher moves Woman Wisdom inexorably to the heart of the ancient urban setting implied in the text. In only one instance — in Prov. 8.1 — is Woman Wisdom located, significantly for my reading of the text, outside the city. Later in Proverbs 8, an even more provocative locating occurs: in Prov. 8.22-31, Woman Wisdom locates herself 'before the beginning of Earth'. This location is the ultimate credential that confirms that she is wise, that confirms that she is the one who celebrates Earth and its inhabitants, that she can reveal the way of Earth to all members of Earth community; notably in Proverbs human beings are the focus of her attention. It seems that even in the era preceding ours, human beings needed to be educated about their responsibilities as part of— not selfishly dominating —Earth community! In her article in this volume, Laura Hobgood-Oster observes that 'to be wise one must know Earth intimately and passionately'. Woman Wisdom's presence 'at the beginning' is all that is required, as Prov. 8.22-31 demonstrates, for her intimate and passionate, and celebratory, knowing. 11. Translations throughout this article, are my own. There are a number of reasons for seeing the intervening verses (Prov. 9.7-9) as an addition; other scholars agree that Prov. 9.5-6, 10-11 constitutes the words of Woman Wisdom in this chapter. See Fox 1997b: 63.

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Initially, when she is introduced in the text in Proverbs 1, Woman Wisdom is depicted as speaking in the streets, squares, corners and entrances to the city gates. At the end of this section of Proverbs, in ch. 9, the text implies that her house is located 'on the heights'; she now speaks to her target audience inside her house; her location demonstrates that she is a powerful insider in the society depicted in the text. high places

gates, portals

squares, corners

streets outside the city beside the way, at the crossroads

Proverbs 8 Proverbs 9

Proverbs 1 Proverbs 8

Proverbs 1 Proverbs 8

Proverbs 1

Proverbs 8

NB: thicker border and higher position represent greater power of the location in terms of the ancient Israelite system Figure 1. Location of Woman Wisdom, in relation to centres of male power, as depicted by the Adult Teacher/herself in Proverbs 1, 8, and 9.

As I demonstrate below, the apparent paradox of her location outside the city at the beginning of Proverbs 8 serves another purpose in this text: it represents a momentary —but vital —hiccup in her movement to the heart of male power in the city. It is my contention that her location outside in Proverbs 8 serves to prepare us for the astonishing revelation in the second half of Proverbs 8, where Woman

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Wisdom is intrinsic to the processes that construct Earth and Earth community relationships as we know and experience them. It is my view that the text of Proverbs 8 demonstrates that Woman Wisdom's way informs, and is informed by, her understanding of Earth community ways, her role in creation, and her celebration of Earth community. Her intimate connection with the foundations — the birth —of Earth community is the ultimate credential that ensures that she is the exemplary wisdom teacher of inhabited Earth. As YHWH's intimate and co-creator of Earth and Earth community, she is the voice of Earth wisdom for human beings. Her role in creating Earth community inevitably informs the way she offers to those who listen to her message in Proverbs. When Woman Wisdom builds her house —the seat of her power within the human system —she chooses the highest places within the town. Just as her role in the creation of Earth community involves her being 'beside', at the right hand of the highest deity, so her role in creating human community requires she mix with, be beside, the most powerful members of human community. As she asserts, 'by me monarchs reign, and rulers decree what is just' (Prov. 8.15). Just as she is beside YHWH as the chief adviser —YHWH founds the Earth 'by her' asserts the Adult Teacher in Prov. 3.19 —so she is 'beside' human rulers who dispense justice, including, as I contend, ecojustice —and, even more importantly, ecokinship. As archaeological surveys of ancient cities demonstrate, the houses of people with power and status in the ancient world were located on the heights: the highest locations within the cities (Stambaugh 1992: 1040). Ancient cities were often built on hilltops, or on the mounds of earlier cities, and the temple and palace were always located at the highest point. As these two sites were inhabited by the most powerful elites in the ancient world, those who had power and influence in the society built their houses as close as possible to them. Woman Wisdom's prestige and status are underlined further by the description of her house. Her house has seven hewn pillars —its considerable size and the materials from which it is constructed reveal that she is presented as a powerful person within this ancient society by the authors of the text. As Figure 1 subtly reveals, she brings her 'outside-the-city' knowledge with her, into the heart of the urban lifestyle in this ancient city. This is implicit in her dual location at the start of Proverbs 8: in the same section of text, she is depicted outside the city, and then inside; her location changes but her message does not. Ultimately, it is her location at the beginning that clinches her role as Earth mediator, as

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the voice of Earth community's non-human members. By presenting her as building her house in the power-base of the city, the text also implies that she is as 'at home' in the city as in the world outside the city. Even more appositely, she is depicted 'at the crossroads' where she 'takes her stand'. She represents a choice: her stance —her perspective, the understanding that informs her message —is 'on the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads'. 'Beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals', she speaks this message. Subtly this text underlines the key message this chapter promotes: Earth wisdom is vital for Earth communities, especially the human community. For those who argue that Woman Wisdom is not depicted as a rural person in Proverbs 1-9, it is apposite to draw attention to her role in the creation of Earth community. In her contribution to this volume, Laura Hobgood-Oster observes that 'all life is a web'. In the light of Prov. 3.19-20, it is not difficult to perceive Woman Wisdom as the 'web' that links all Earth community —she is the means, the way God 'found[s] Earth...establishes] heavens'. With the knowledge she provides, the 'deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down dew'. As Gen. 2.5 demonstrates, water is essential to life on Earth: 'no plant of the field was yet in Earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up — for YHWH had not caused it to rain upon Earth'. As the one who links and interconnects Earth community, Woman Wisdom is both frolicking12 child and trusted, intimate artisan. She is the key to YHWH's founding, establishing and maintaining of Earth community (Prov. 3.19-20; 8.22-31). This is why she is 'the first, before the beginning of Earth [and Earth community]' (Prov. 8.23). Woman Wisdom is there when the seas are encircled and limited, when Earth's foundations are sunk. When sea, ground, Earth and sky are conceived, Woman Wisdom is beside YHWH, advising, delighting, connecting, and celebrating Earth community, and human beings. She is there at the birth —the beginning of Earth and Earth community, at the beginning of life as we know it. Woman Wisdom is the Earth Mother. She is the spider of ancient Indigenous wisdom, spinning and weaving and webbing together Earth. She is the creative Rainbow Serpent of Indigenous traditions: she shapes the Earth with her body. Her knowledge of Earth and Earth community is physical and embodied: in this shaping her body is imprinted with Earth, and imprints Earth. She herself, in her body, knows and understands Earth. She is a 'hands-on' creator. In her 12. The term is borrowed from Hobgood-Oster's chapter in this volume.

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creative shaping, spinning, weaving and webbing Earth, Woman Wisdom knows in every way all there is to know about Earth community: bodily, spiritually, intuitively, intellectually she knows Earth wisdom. As Job 28 asserts, God 'declared', 'established' and 'searched...out' Woman Wisdom (Job 28.27) in her 'place...[at] the ends of Earth... under the heavens7 (Job 28.24). God's finding, knowing, recognizing, and working with Woman Wisdom is linked with God's giving the 'wind its weight', apportioning 'the waters by measure', the 'decree for rain, and a way for the thunderbolt' (Job 28.25-26). In Australian Indigenous traditions, the Earth Mother comes from the sea, shapes the land, and constitutes kinship, community, between all living things: humans and other animals, birds, plants, and places. The Woman Is an 'Insider' - But What Does her Way Entail? The key to Woman Wisdom's way is expounded in her longest discourse: Proverbs 8. This vital 'heart' of her wisdom message is linked by two shorter discourses: Prov. 1.22-33, and Prov. 9.1-6, 10-11 that operate as opening and closing 'bands' or markers. An evocative description of Woman Wisdom, presented by the Adult Teacher in Prov. 3.16-20, also underscores what she offers and the source of her authority. In essence, this short section offers a concise summary of key elements of Woman Wisdom's discourse in Proverbs 8. In Proverbs 1 Woman Wisdom urges people to listen to what she has to say, and to take her advice on board. She is speaking in the street and square, at the busiest corner and in the gates; in an ancient Near Eastern city, these locations are the centres of commerce and public affairs, the places where men gather. The text implies that she is directing her message to the young, naive and easily deceived (DnnS, petayim), and scoffers and fools (^D'U^, letsim, kesilim). She warns her audience: 'Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of YHWH, would have none of my counsel, and despised my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the young, nai've and easily deceived, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster7 (Prov. 1.29-33).

In Prov. 9.6, Woman Wisdom promises her followers that they can 'lay aside immaturity, live and walk in the way of insight' by listening

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to her wise words. As a consequence, they will have long, rich lives! In Prov. 3.16-18, the Adult Teacher tells us that Woman Wisdom is a life-giver. Her way also leads to maturity, prosperity, and insight: Long life is on [Woman Wisdom's] right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. [Woman Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed ("1CJK, "ashre).

In Prov. 8.32, 34, those who listen to her, and watch vigilantly at her doors, at her entrances, are promised blessing: 'And now, children, listen to me: blessed (*ICtfN, 'ashre) are those who keep my ways. ...Blessed ("I2JK, 'ashre) is the human who listens to me, vigilantly watching at my doors every day, waiting at the door posts of my entrance/

The Adult Teacher also observes that Woman Wisdom is an integral part of God's creative activity. YHWH by Woman Wisdom founded Earth; by understanding YHWH established sky; by YHWH's knowledge deep seas broke open, and clouds drop down dew (Prov. 3.19-20).

In Prov. 8.22-31, Woman Wisdom is even more specific about her role in YHWH's creative enterprise. As in the other discourses, Woman Wisdom's location-in-the-text is clear: in Prov. 8.1, she is speaking from the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads. This is the first time in the text where the speaker is located outside the city wall; however, later in Proverbs 8, her location outside the city is even more explicit. In Prov. 8.22-31, Woman Wisdom is implicated in the creation of ground and sky, seas, mountains, and arable soil. Together with YHWH -she is YHWH's ]1Q&, "amon: the Hebrew term connotes both a skilled artisan and a darling child — she structures a world that is able to be cultivated, and is inhabited by living beings, including humans. The text depicts her as a laughing, playful child, the delight of her begetter and co-creator, and delighted by both the inhabited world, ^DH, tevel, Earth, and by human beings: D"1N n DD, veni "adam, literally the children of humankind. In Prov. 8.2 her location is as we have come to expect: 'beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals'. Her instruction, offered to 'the children of humankind', concerns her wise way, linked with cleverness or astuteness — political know-how — knowledge and prudence:

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I, Woman Wisdom, live with cleverness, and I attain knowledge and prudence... By me, monarchs reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me leaders rule, and nobles, all who administer justice... Riches and honour are with me, hereditary wealth and justice. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than silver purified by fire. I walk in the way of justice, along the paths of just government, endowing with wealth the ones who love me, and I fill their treasuries (Prov. 8.12,15-16,18-21).

This section of the discourse focuses on the urban lifestyle, and its strategic knowledge. The promises of Woman Wisdom are integral to economic, financial and personal well-being in an urban economy. Woman Wisdom's Way Is More than Economic Rationalism However, there is more to Woman Wisdom's way. The key, as I have already asserted, lies in the latter part of her longest discourse. It is only after she has made the claim she asserts in Prov. 8.22-31 that she can build her house, and be a woman whose location and status puts her at the heart of the city, and beside human power brokers and rulers. A key phrase, DIN ''DD, veni 'adam — literally, children of humankind —is found at the beginning and end of this discourse (Prov. 8.4, 31). This indusio — the technical term for a pairing that marks the beginning and end of a section of text in Hebrew — acts as a bracket, underlining that this text is a unit. This bracketing subtly underlines the fact that Woman Wisdom's credentials in Earth community also apply within urban lifestyles. So, what is the claim she makes in this central text, and what does it have to do with ecokinship? YHWH brought me into existence, the beginning of YHWH's way, before YHWH's works in the past. Ages ago I was installed, at the first, before the beginning of Earth. When there were no deep seas I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before mountains had been sunk, the face of the hills, I was born — when YHWH had not yet made ground and fields, or the first clods of world. In YHWH's establishing sky, I was there, in YHWH's drawing a circle on the face of deep seas, in YHWH's assigning a limit to seas, so that waters might not transgress YHWH's command, in YHWH's inscribing the foundations of Earth, I was beside YHWH, a darling child and skilled artisan; and I intensely delight YHWH every day, celebrating before YHWH always,

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This core text underlines that Woman Wisdom has a special relationship with YHWH, the creator: YHWH is either her birth mother, or present at her birth in some capacity, perhaps as a midwife, or father. The relationship between YHWH and Woman Wisdom is ambiguous but insistently underlined in the text through repetition. The text uses a term specifically related to birth, ^Fl, chyl, twice (Prov. 8.24, 25). Julia Foster (1994: 95) argues that chyl is used unambiguously for birth: to bring forth in pain, to writhe in labour, and that, in this text, Woman Wisdom is depicted as YHWH's firstborn.13 The first verb in Prov. 8.22, !"[]p, kanah, is more contested —it is used in several ways in the Hebrew Scriptures; in Wisdom materials it is often translated as 'acquired'. However, in Gen. 4.1, it seems to be used to refer to the birth of a child. Prov. 8.22-31 also demonstrates Woman Wisdom's Earth community credentials, and underlines that these are the source of her wisdom way for being in the world. She is also there at the birth; she is instrumental to Earth's birth. As Earth mother, she gives Earth life and being, physicality and relationship. Her presence at the beginning is also underlined through repetition, as is apparent in my translation of the text. Subtly, Woman Wisdom's role as the voice of wisdom for Earth community is hinted at in the NRSV translation of Prov. 8.4: 'my cry is to all that live'.14 In Prov. 8.30, Woman Wisdom delights YHWH; she is at YHWH's side, and is described as ]1QK, "amon. The meaning of this term is also contested by translators. I prefer to see both its main meanings held in tension in this text: Woman Wisdom is YHWH's darling child, and YHWH's chief expert artisan, in the process of structuring Earth and Earth community. She is, indeed, a precocious firstborn! As Prov. 8.22-31 demonstrates, Woman Wisdom is present at the big events of creation: she witnesses God's equivalent of contemporary astrophysicists' 'big bang'; and she oversees the big structural shapings of the mountains, the seas, the springs and rivers. She is 13. See also Lang 1986 and Trible 1978: 62-68. Foster observes that a 'return to the original language of the text can be surprising and illuminating... God begets, bears, molds, speaks. No single image can hold the divine presence7 (1994:102). 14. This point is made by Hobgood-Oster in this volume. Unfortunately, this translation is not sustained by a literal reading of the Hebrew text; my translation, 'the children of humanity', is an accurate rendition of the Hebrew terms, and focuses on the audience as human beings.

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there, with YHWH, when the seas are constrained, and the deep sea fountains are restricted. She witnesses — as birthing Earth mother, as midwife — the birth of Earth: land massess, ground, mountains; sky, rivers, seas — all the things that give substantial shape to Earth as we know it, and provide the basics for cultivation and habitation: soil and rain. These are also the big picture events that facilitate life on Earth, that make Earth community possible. Perhaps the most evocative section — elliptical in the tradition of all Hebrew poetry — is Prov. 8.30b-31. These two verses have all the qualities of Hebrew verse: sparse and evocative terms; in addition, they are closely connected, wrought in a structurally tight and nuanced chiasm. I intensely delighted (UKOT) YHWH every day, celebrating (pTO) before YHWH always, celebrating (pPIC?) YHWH7 s inhabited world (^H), and my intense delight the children of humanity

The chiastic structure (ab x ba: I?M pnttf x p!12J UKHJID) links delight and celebration in Earth and human beings with Woman Wisdom's celebration with YHWH and YHWH's delight in her. Like any human mother and birth-giver, she delights in the products of her labour! As Claudia Camp observes (1985: 272), the text subtly demonstrates that Woman Wisdom is a mediator between creator and creation.15 Delight, connected to her, mediated by her — her delight in Earth community; YHWH's being delighted by her — facilitates God's celebration of Earth, Earth community and human beings! Woman Wisdom's source of delight, and her cause for celebration, is creation: the inhabited world and its inhabitants — Earth community—and human beings, as one group within the whole. Because the text aims to provide her credentials as a teacher of wisdom to human community, this subset of Earth community is separated out for special mention. However, it is only because she is the web, the interconnector between YHWH and Earth, between the members of Earth community in all their diversity, that there is celebration. In this reciprocal celebration, there is connection and understanding, and intercommunication is possible. For some readers of the Hebrew text, her connection with Earth

15. Terrien (1978: 355) agrees: The function of Wisdom is the instrument of rapprochement between God and man [sic] is delineated more sharply in...Prov. 8:22-31'. Yee (1982: 64-66) also observes that Wisdom is portrayed as the ultimate mediator between God and humans in these verses.

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community is underlined by her house having seven pillars:16 in Hebrew symbolic number systems, seven is the number for the universe, completeness and totality; it is made up of three, the number for sky, and four, the number for Earth (see Cooper 1978:117). Woman Wisdom's delight is infectious: YHWH is delighted with her, and celebrates with her, and delights in the newly created Earth community. The writer of Psalm 104 also makes this link: 'may YHWH rejoice in YHWH's creation' (Ps. 104.31b). Implicitly, this delight also infects Earth community: each celebrates and delights in each other. Through Woman Wisdom's mediating delight and celebration, mutual and reciprocal delight is possible. This reciprocal delight and celebration is at the heart of ecokinship. It makes ecokinship possible. And this is the message conveyed in the intricate chiasm in Prov. 8.30-31. Conclusions: How Can We Be Ecokin in the New Millennium? Sallie McFague (1997) outlines what delight in the inhabited world means for human beings. Using Marilyn Frye's evocative image of the 'loving eye', she argues for an ecokinship characterized by respect, sensitive understanding, and mutuality. It is an ethic of care, it is risky, and it is linked to the survival of Earth community. As Gilligan (1982), Tronto (1987), Welch (1990), Dietrich (1998-99), and McFague (1987; 1993; 1997) argue, it is also linked with women's ways of being, women's work. It is most apposite then, that Woman Wisdom's women's house should be the source of this ecokinship for the authors of the Woman Wisdom material in Proverbs 1-9. Spelman, in her discussion of the 'double-edged sword' of the 'language of inclusion' —the 'power to include implies the power to exclude' (1988:163)-observes that real knowledge...requires a kind of apprentice-ship; and making oneself an apprentice to someone is at odds with having political, social and economic power over them (1988:179).

In Woman Wisdom's house, young inexperienced men and women learn from Woman Wisdom. They undergo an apprenticeship that will ensure a change in the way they understand themselves and Earth community, in the way they perceive their living as part of Earth community. 16. See Julien 1998: 294. The 'doctrine of the Cabbalah relies on the symbolism of numbers, geometrical figures and the Hebrew alphabet. Through this system that is based on combinations of these factors, "one can glimpse fundamental laws and predict truths that would otherwise be impossible to see" '.

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Spelman observes that real knowing, which she describes as the 'strenuousness of knowing other[s]' (1988: 181), is about more than imagining. It involves perceiving, and is a 'slow and often painful labour' (1988: 181). It is grounded in a new way of being in relationship with others (1988:181). Marilyn Frye advocates that ecokinship necessitates a 'loving eye' that 'acknowledges complexity, mystery, and difference' (quoted in McFaguel997:34). [The loving eye] recognizes that boundaries exist between the self and the other, that the interests of other persons (and the natural world) are not identical with one's own, that knowing another takes time and attention...It knows the complexity of the other as something which will forever present new things to the knower.

Sallie McFague sees this loving eye, the eye of ecokinship, as necessarily embodied. Like Spelman, she recognizes that this type of knowing takes both time and effort, and involves a new paradigm for being in Earth community: [T]he route to knowledge is slow, open, full of surprises, interactive and reciprocal, as well as attentive to detail and difference. And it will be embodied. The disembodied, distant, transcendent, simplifying, objectifying, quick and easy arrogant eye becomes the embodied, lowly, immanent, complexifying, subjectifying, proximate, and 'make-do' loving eye...the messy body's eye, and those lowly senses (the so-called female ones of taste, touch, and smell) are allowed back into the knowledge game (1997: 34-35).

To learn Woman Wisdom's way, young men and women have to live with her; she nourishes them, and they grow in her presence. Beside her, they learn the wisdom of her way of being Earthkin. It is a way of being, an embodied knowing, a knowing with and through the body. Contemporary feminist theologians and scholars are arguing for a new paradigm in our relationship with the whole Earth community: an ecokinship characterized by the loving eye, in contrast to the arrogant eye that seeks to master and control. This loving kinship is acquired in an apprenticeship, in an intimate relationship with a more experienced and skilled artisan. It is a lived relationship, an ecocentric way of being. As Proverbs 9 demonstrates, Woman Wisdom establishes her house of wisdom studies in the heart of the town. She invites the young future leaders of society into her house. Together with her young women, they learn at her table. The image evokes the older idea of

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apprenticeship: the young would-be artisan lived with the more experienced artisan, sharing the home, food and skills and experiences of the more skilled expert in the trade. This is a lived relationship, where learning takes place at the table, and on the job. In a paper exploring paradigms for understanding others, Maria Lugones asserts that '[pjlayfulness is...the attitude I recommend as the loving attitude in travelling across "worlds" ' (1990: 399). [A] playful attitude involves openness to surprises, openness to being a fool, openness to self-construction or reconstruction and to construction and reconstruction of the 'worlds' we inhabit playfully...[It] is characterized by understanding, lack of self-importance, absence of rules or a not taking rules as sacred, a not worrying about competence and a lack of abandonment or resignation to a particular construction of oneself, others, and our relation to them (1990: 401).

In Proverbs 8, Woman Wisdom's playfulness is implied in her presentation as ]1QN, "amon, YHWH's young child artisan. Her playful celebration of Earth community —the inhabited world —and her infectious delight in human beings are shared by her progenitor, YHWH. As Hobgood-Oster observes, both Woman Wisdom and YHWH frolic on Earth. Val Plumwood, in an article exploring ecokinship, makes the following observation: The dominant traditions in Western culture have made it difficult for us to recognize continuity and kinship with the other creatures... Overcoming this alienation involves learning to recognize other species, neither as extensions of ourselves nor as inferior humans, but as 'other nations'. Recognizing them as other nations involves meeting them as beings to be understood both in terms of their similarity to us as centres of desire or striving and in terms of their differences as beings-forthemselves, each with their own particular excellences and lifeways, and as especially mysterious others who are not to be known or encompassed in their entirety. It also means recognizing them as fellow claimants on this earth (1992: 54, 55).

She strongly asserts that [a] culture that views the natural sphere as a mere instrument of its own ends, defined as separate from it, and as a field upon which to display human mastery and control, cannot treat it with care and respect (1990: 533).

In showing us her way in her household, Woman Wisdom invites us to learn from her as apprentices. Her teaching promises a release from immaturity, and assured access to insight, Hm, vinah. It is hardly surprising that the Hebrew term vinah is understood by Hebrew

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scholar Gesenius (1979) as intelligence and insight, especially focusing on skill at any art or learning. As the work of contemporary feminist scholars demonstrates, ecokinship involves an apprenticeship, and demands a new paradigm of knowing, a loving and playful eye that sensitively seeks to perceive and respect the other as separate and inherently valuable, and refuses to see human beings as the centre of the world. In Proverbs 8 and 9, Woman Wisdom reveals that her knowledge and wisdom, demonstrated by her place at God's side in the shaping of the world, the setting in place of the parameters of our world —Earth and sky, mountains, rivers and seas, seasons — are applicable to life at the heart of the political, social and economic polity, the urban centres of power, the location of much human being. Her intimate reciprocal interconnection—represented in this text as her delight and celebration in Earth community —means that she is the universal knower, and, as such, the perfect mediator, and a valid voice for Earth community members. As such, she facilitates reciprocal knowing, epitomized as celebrating and delighting in each other, between YHWH and Earth community, and between members of Earth community. By her, YHWH knows how to construct Earth and Earth community; by her, those who have the power know how to discern and dispense ecojustice (Prov. 8.15). And, together with her, they embark on a lifelong apprenticeship in ecocentric understanding and being. Like those she teaches, she is open to new insights: Woman Wisdom herself attains knowledge and prudence (Prov. 8.12b). That her knowledge of Earth and the participants in Earth community, including human and other living species, is essential to urban life is underlined by the chiasm in Prov. 8.30b-31. Woman Wisdom is YHWH's delight, and she brings her delight in Earth and Earth community into YHWH's presence. Woman Wisdom delights YHWH because she delights in Earth and Earth community. She is part of Earth community, and brings the wisdom from every domain into other parts of the complex community that inhabits Earth. Her celebration involves respecting, listening, observing, reciprocal sharing — she teaches and learns. She is delighted by the surprises, the challenges, the innovation and recreation she sees in the world around her, and she shares her insights freely with human beings and other members of the Earth community. In Proverbs 8 and 9, Woman Wisdom invites her followers into her way, characterized by maturity, knowledge and skill, and celebration and delight in our ecokinship with Earth community and each other. That this is a new paradigm is apparent from her strategy: having

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established her credentials, she builds her house at the heart of the ancient power system, and focuses her teaching on the young men and women who will be the future leaders Only in celebrating and delighting in Earth community with Woman Wisdom is the life and prosperity of our ^DD, tevel — inhabited Earth —assured. Like Woman Wisdom's house guests, we will become mature, insightful members of a thriving and prosperous Earth community if we listen to her way of being ecokin in the world.

Earth First: Inverse Cosmology in Job Norman C. Habel There is no single cosmology in Job, no stark image of the way the ancient cosmos was thought to be constructed. The simplistic diagrams of an ancient Israelite cosmology frequently found in Bible dictionaries are totally inadequate when we listen to Job or —as we hope in the Earth Bible Project—we listen to Earth. For the cosmology of Job as a character in the plot emerges from his life experience, his suffering, his encounter with God. His cosmology differs, therefore, from that of the friends, Elihu, the voice from the whirlwind and even the voice of the prologue which introduces Job. Our aim in the Earth Bible series is to read the Bible from the perspective of Earth, to find ways for the voice of Earth to be heard, to do justice to Earth as an oppressed subject (Habel [ed.] 2000: chs. 1, 2). Appropriate strategies for reading the Bible from the perspective of Earth may vary from text to text. My primary aim in this study is to listen to the voice of Job, the protagonist, as he struggles with an unjust world and hopefully, through Job, hear the voice of Earth —or at least discern the perspective of Earth. More specifically, I shall focus on the cosmology of Job as a character who challenges the cosmological wisdom of his day. Subsequently I shall analyse the view of Earth which the character of YHWH presents in response to Job's radical cosmology. Before proceeding, however, I need to state my understanding of a key feature of the Joban story. The character called Job, I contend, indulges in three fantasies — imaginative faith scenarios — that fly in the face of his pathetic condition. In the first Job anticipates a future time when he will be able to take God to court and win. In the second Job expects his friends to be exposed and get their just deserts. In the third Job longs for a journey into the wonderful world of Sheol. It is the last of these three desperate dreams that I shall explore in this paper. As I accompany Job on this journey, I shall also keep in mind the ecojustice principles that inform the Earth Bible Project. I am especially

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interested in how, during the course of his faith journey, Job values the Earth over against heaven and how he becomes a vehicle for mediating the voice of Earth as they both resist the domination of heaven. Integral to the search for a meaningful understanding of the cosmos is the question of purpose: what is the essential function of Earth in its relationship with humans and God? The Set-Up - Between Two Domains The faith journeys of Job are made possible by the way in which the frame narrative of the book constructs Job's world. Job is set up by the narrator; Job is framed. This frame narrative, commencing with the prose story of chs. 1-2, establishes two domains: the domain of the council of heaven from which God operates and the domain of Earth where Job dwells. The tension and polarity between these domains is made explicit in Job's initial response to the disasters which YHWH and the Satan inflict on him. Job says: Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. YHWH gave and YHWH has taken away; blessed be the name of YHWH (Job 1.21).

The first domain is Earth, or more precisely Mother Earth. This is the domain from which Job claims to originate and to which he will return at death. When Job declares that he comes from his mother's womb, the image is ambiguous: it could mean either the womb of his biological mother, or the womb of Mother Earth; perhaps he means both. But when he says he will return 'there', the reference is clearly to the tomb, and hence Mother Earth. 'There' is an obvious euphemism for the tomb or land of the dead in Job 3.17. Job cries out that 'there' is where 'the wicked cease raging' (Job 3.17), 'there' both 'small and great' are together (Job 3.19). The womb of Earth becomes the tomb. Earth is the beginning and end of life for Job. Earth is his home, his mother, his kin (Habel 1985: 93). Earth comes first for Job. By referring to Earth as mother, Job introduces Earth as a subject, a silent character in the story. As the faith journey unfolds, Job will relate to this subject in powerful personal terms. In so doing, he enables the voice of Earth to be heard. We can almost hear Earth answering, 'Bless you, my child', even though he is still conditioned to expect blessing from YHWH. The second domain is heaven —or, as the context indicates, the court of heaven where YHWH makes decisions to intervene in life on

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Earth by giving to and taking from mortals. Job is caught between these two domains. Life on Earth is that interim period between originating from Earth and returning to Earth. The narrator, at this point in the plot, has Job piously accepting that this is the way things are. So he blesses the name of YHWH and survives. Within the poetic dialogue of Job in the chapters that follow, however, the tension between these two domains intensifies. Life on Earth becomes hell because of the intervention of God from heaven. Job is trapped on Earth by the God of heaven and there appears to be no escape. The council of heaven in the domain above apparently meets periodically to review matters on Earth. The members of that council are 'the sons of God', heavenly beings who attend God's presence. One member of that council, the Satan, plays the role of roving reporter, a kind of celestial patrol officer who travels to and fro on Earth in much the same way as Persian spies (Habel 1985: 89). The Satan travels between the domains of Earth and heaven. Heaven is the domain from which divine surveillance over mortal activity on Earth is conducted. On Earth there appears to be no way for humans to escape the watchdogs in heaven. The storyteller has God bragging to this patrol officer about a superior mortal on Earth, a wise man called Job. 'Truly there is no one like him on Earth' (Job 1.8). Job is the supreme representative of the best that Earth has to offer. The narrative then reveals another dimension of heaven: its potential to intervene in matters on Earth, even without good cause. The focus is on the function of heaven operating not only from beyond Earth but also on Earth. The second assembly of the heavenly council exposes an even more disturbing feature of the world above. God admits that the framing of Job was due to God's weakness, that the Satan had, in fact, incited God to 'swallow' Job for no good reason. Job's suffering was the result of an arbitrary heavenly wager. Sad to say, God does not seem to learn from this wager and its consequences. When confronted with the Satan's second challenge, God is ready to make another wager and reduce Job to a sickly shell of a man in the process. There is, however, an ironic proviso. The Satan has to continue the celestial task of 'watching' Job to make sure he does not die. God wants this prize victim alive —no matter what his condition or the suffering he endures. So Job, ignorant of the wager, is framed and the domains of heaven and Earth set up for the forthcoming struggle. The narrator portrays heaven as the land of celestial watchers with God as the supreme

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watcher who surveys, reviews and intervenes in life on Earth, giving and taking at will. Earth is the home of humanity and is the mother of mortals—but also a domain dependent on blessings from heaven above. Life on Earth is an interim period of mixed blessings for mortals before they return to Earth. This unfriendly two-tier cosmology presented in the prologue is modified — and to some extent deconstructed — by the character of Job in the poetic text which follows. The Trap - Escape into Sheol Once he has been afflicted with the evils imposed by God, Job is trapped on Earth—watched by the Satan to make sure that he does not die. The anguish of the man caught in this trap is depicted in Job 3, a poem Clines describes as one of world stature. This stature, he argues, derives from 'its exclusive concentration on feeling, without the importation of ideological questions' (1992: 251). The poem describes what it feels like being trapped on Earth by the hunter of heaven. Caught in that trap, however, Job also dreams of how to escape—he dreams an imaginative faith scenario of an innocent sufferer. Job, it seems, is powerless —a pawn in God's game. Perhaps the catalyst for his faith scenario —his dream of taking control —is the suggestion of his wife to 'curse God and die' (Job 2.9). Whether his wife's proposition was provoked by sympathy or by disgust, the desirability of death becomes a live option for Job. In the opening stanza of the poem (Job 3), Job first imagines the possibility of not having been born, a very real cry of those in anguish. I recall many years ago visiting a distraught woman in a psychiatric hospital. 'I do not want to live,' she said, 'and I do not have the courage to kill myself.' 'What other option is there?' I asked in my naivety. 'That I had never been born', she replied. Job, it seems, feels the same way, wishing that the doors of his mother's womb had been forever shut. Job's dream of non-birth becomes, in effect, a reversal of the process of creation given in Genesis 1. Job's longing for oblivion even anticipates summoning destructive cosmic forces to achieve his end (Perdue 1994:133). The second half of this poem advances an even more radical possibility —dying at birth before experiencing the cruel intervention of heaven. If that had happened, Job claims, he would have immediately returned to Mother Earth. He imagines the wonderful world of those who have died and now live at peace in Earth below. Significantly, in this chapter the poet does not yet have Job refer to

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this world by using the term Sheol—with its possible negative overtones—as he does elsewhere (Job 7.9). Rather, he imagines there is a place within Earth: a land of peace and rest, far from the harassment of heaven. Earth is valued as the abode of happiness; Job places Earth first. Earth is not simply the domain to which Job returns, as in the prologue. Within Earth is an ideal world: the wonderful world of the dead. Surprisingly, perhaps, Job's portrait of this place of peace in Earth is similar to the image many Christians have of heaven. This home in Mother Earth is especially a place of escape from the trap of living with God —or, as Job describes it, a life 'hedged around by Eloah' (Job 3.23). The Satan had insinuated that a 'hedge' of blessing prevented Job from facing reality; now Job views the hedge that surrounds him as a trap set by heaven to imprison him on Earth. Within Earth, among the dead, life is different. In that place, monarchs and commoners are equals, enjoying rest together. In that place, slaves do not have to hear the slavemaster's voice; in that place, even slaves are free. In that place the oppressed no longer endure the injustice of the wicked. In that place, those exhausted by the turmoil of life under heaven, and who long for death, find joy and rest (Job 3.11-26). The character called Job, it seems, begins his speeches with a functional cosmos —or a 'sufferer's cosmology' as I have described it (Habel 1985: 154) —in which life on Earth is a trap set by heaven above. Death means return to Earth, to a peaceful domain where the hand of God can no longer intrude or trouble humans. In this cosmology, it seems divine surveillance is limited. In his opening cry, then, Job imagines an inverse cosmology, a radical reversal of the traditional worldview of his day. The oppressive presence of heaven is like hell and the imaginary world of the dead within Earth is like an abode of heavenly rest. Does Job develop this cosmology further, or is this but an initial fantasy of a suffering soul? The image of heaven as the locus of divine surveillance over Earth continues to be a cruel reality in Job's suffering. Job bewails the insensitivity of God, the watcher, spying incessantly on one miserable mortal. In ch. 7, Job again describes life as an interim period on Earth, a period he experiences as nothing short of 'forced labour', (tsaba") with no hope of liberation (Job 7.1-6). The language and imagery of the opening lines suggest that the poet is drawing on the Babylonian Atrahasis myth in which Nintu creates humans to 'carry the toil of the gods'. In this myth humans are created as labourers on Earth to liberate the oppressed lesser deities from their onerous duties (Habel 1985: 157). In Job's revision of this image, the focus moves from

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necessary service to enforced labour arbitrarily imposed by the supreme taskmaster in heaven. This Babylonian portrait of humans as the labourers of the gods is sometimes viewed as the background to the biblical image of all humans 'ruling over' creation. Gen. 1.26-28 is viewed as an Israelite reversal of popular Babylonian mythology in favour of a high view of humans (cf. Bird 1981:144; Vawter 1956: 43). In extremis, Job seems to repudiate the royal orientation of Genesis 1 and reverts to the popular perspective: humans are but lackeys and labourers for their creator. There is a hint of glee in the final lines of the first stanza of this chapter as Job anticipates a day when he will no longer be on Earth and God will be frustrated, no longer having his favourite slave to spy on: Remember, my life is but wind; My eye will not see good again. The Seeing Eye will not spy on me! Your eye will be on me —but I will not be (Job 7.7-8; translation my own).

Job pursues his hope of escape from God's spying eye even further. Those who descend to Sheol do not rise from the ground. Sheol means safety in Earth below. God can wait forever, but Job will never return for God to eye once again (Job 7.9-10). For Job the very idea of rising from the land of death and 'living forever' is terrifying. Who wants to live forever under the penetrating gaze of that heavenly eye (Job 7.16)? In a later outburst, Job pleads with God to lift this oppressive gaze because, after all, humans only live for a few months on Earth (Job 14.5-6). In the final stanza of this tirade, Job dubs God the 'watcher of humans7, a vindictive divine figure viewing Job as a target in God's sights (Job 7.20). Job challenges God to reveal just what Job has done that makes him such a danger to God that God must maintain endless surveillance. What does God have against Job? What kind of evidence against Job is God seeking? Job finally dismisses these questions with another gleeful piece of ironic —maybe even black—humour. Why not forgive me, whatever it is you think I have done, because I will soon 'not be' and you will then be frustrated trying to find me to 'watch' me —because I will not exist on Earth any more! Save yourself some eternal frustration, God! Why not pardon my transgression And remove my iniquity? For soon I will lie in the dust And you will seek me —but I will not be! (Job 7.21; translation my own)

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At this point in the scenario, lying in the dust seems to be the only hope on the horizon. From Job's perspective, returning to the dust—to Mother Earth —is much better than harassment from heaven and torment by the inquisitorial ruler on high. Death, moreover, will foil God's sardonic plot. In ch. 16, Job focuses again on God's obsession with hounding innocent humans. Job even reaches the point of calling God the enemy, a celestial hunter chasing him with a pack of marauding archers willing to throw him into the hands of the wicked (Job 16.6-14, cf. 19.6-12). In this context, Earth is again summoned to come to the rescue: O Earth, cover not my blood And let my cry have no place. Surely my witness is in heaven, He who can testify for me on high (Job 16.18-19; translation my own).

Earth is called upon to guarantee that the blood which God has shed in cruel and unjust acts of violence against Job will cry out for vindication, like the spilled blood of Abel, and be forever audible. Job summons Earth rather than the blood itself; Mother Earth has long been his source of hope. Here, however, he first anticipates that perhaps, if Earth forces Job's blood to cry out long and hard, someone in the council of heaven might bear witness to his plight and bring the matter before the court of heaven. The imaginative scenario of bringing God to court is not the focus of this paper (see Habel 1985: 54-57 for a discussion of this scenario). Earth, however, as his ally in this struggle, may play a role in facilitating this court case. Job even explores the wild dream of hiding in Sheol, in the heart of Earth, until God's rage has passed. Sheol, in this scenario, is a place of concealment, a sanctuary safe from God's fury. Job even imagines a future time —set by God —when Job would rise from Earth; at that time Job would finally appear before a subdued God to present a case without fear of intimidation (Job 14.1317). For Job, trapped on Earth and longing for escape or rest in Sheol, the relative values and functions of the cosmos seem to be the inverse of most popular readings of the Hebrew Scriptures. The imaginary cosmology of Job, is depicted, in summary form, below. Are Job's apparent reversals of value mere fantasy? Or do they reflect a genuine hope that there is more to life than being hounded by heaven? Is Earth, in fact, a genuine source of life and meaning in the face of celestial injustice?

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions Sheol haven of rest/hope/escape within Earth barrier beyond which God/heaven cannot reach Earth

mother, source of life and support Between Heaven and Earth locus of life where heaven watches and intervenes on Earth to 'give and take' barrier bevond which Earth/humans cannot reach Heaven domain of divine council surveying life on Earth God the supreme eye, watcher and hunter of heaven

The Earth itself, of course, may challenge the ideals of its human champion. Why does Job, in fact, value the Earth? Because he recognizes Earth's intrinsic worth, or because it is simply a better alternative than the heaven he has come to know? Why does Job want to return to Earth? Because he affirms Earth as a mother with whom he believes all life is intimately connected, or for purely selfish personal reasons? Is Job then the epitome of anthropocentrism? The answer to these challenges depends to some extent on whether Job is viewed only as a symbol of unjust human suffering or of something greater than humans on Earth. Is Job also the voice for the wider Earth community? In ch. 7, Job clearly focuses, first and foremost, on the human condition, but in ch. 12 Job voices the plight of more than humans: Now ask the cattle and they will instruct you, The birds of the sky and they will tell you. Or speak to Earth and Earth will instruct you, The fish of the sea and they will inform you. Who among these does not know That the hand of Eloah has done this? (Job 12.7-9; translation my own)

These verses can simply be read as a poetic way of describing how the Wisdom school derives social truths by observing natural processes. According to von Rad, Job is here appealing to an accepted tradition according to which the wise are instructed in the primeval order revealed through creation (1966: 162-63). Job, however, is not talking

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about the orders of creation or hidden mysteries of the cosmos. Job is asserting that the oppressive intervention of Eloah's hand is experienced by all life —animals, birds, fish and Earth itself. Job is speaking for the Earth community. He does not suffer alone. In his 'doxology of terror' (Job 12.13-25), Job describes the destructive power of divine providence (Perdue 1994: 151). This interfering deity turns the leaders of society into mindless figures lost in a wasteland, like drunkards groping for the light (Job 12.24-25). But not only society suffers. The wisdom and power of God combine to destabilize creation: by unleashing a range of destructive forces God 'overthrows Earth' (Job 12.15). The verb 'overthrow' (hpk) is the term used in Genesis to describe the total devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19.25). In an earlier doxology of destruction, Job used the same term to describe the way God overthrows mountains who are ignorant of why they must suffer (Job 9.5-6). This elusive unseen deity commits unbridled acts of destruction with no one, it seems, to restrain or question them (Job 9.5-13). Yet Job does precisely that, whether God intends to answer or not. According to Job, not only humans suffer unjustly at God's hand — mountains, lands, living creatures and Earth also know the anguish of oppression. Job is voicing more than his own pain; Job dares to challenge the way heaven is treating Earth. Job, it seems, also speaks for Earth. Perhaps that is why Job closes his declaration of innocence (Job 31) with an oath that the ground/Earth would of itself produce cursed thorns if Job had ever exploited the ground and caused the furrows to weep (Job 31.38-40). Job clearly claims to be in touch with Earth. The Challenge - The Bigger Picture

How does God respond to Job's experiences of reality on Earth? Job has hurled a barrage of assertions about God's violent treatment of Earth and its inhabitants: God's persistent spying and harassing of humans which makes them appear guilty; God's hunting down of mortals as targets for divine attacks; God's unwillingness to face the consequences of God's unjust actions against creatures and creation; and Sheol as a domain to be desired over Earth. Trapped on Earth beneath the weight of heaven, Job has not conceded an inch—he pronounces God the offender. In the end, rather than trying to escape, Job flings the evidence of all his experiences — and those of the wider Earth community— into the face of God. Suddenly this tiny trapped mortal is hit by a hurricane from

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heaven—another heavy-handed intervention (Job 38-39)! Is God's response but another example of insensitive interference from above? Challenging Job to gird his loins and fight like a hero seems to lack any hint of genuine compassion for the suffering experienced by Job and the Earth community. Challenging Job to answer a quiz about the cosmos seems to avoid the fundamental issue of Job's frustration over God's unwillingness to face the crisis Job has so forcefully portrayed. God's word from the whirlwind is clearly not a direct answer to the many real-life questions Job has raised. God virtually ignores humans in the larger scheme of things; there is nothing anthropocentric in this design of the cosmos! It is almost as if, by his also championing the cause of a suffering Earth community, Job's personal complaints are forced to take a back seat. Monitoring the mysteries of creation does indeed fall within the orbit of God's wisdom. God therefore challenges Job with a fresh set of questions, the kind of questions the wise must face if they hope to go beyond simplistic mechanistic answers about the nature of the things on Earth. Here it is God the sage, not God the eye, who confronts the human heart and mind of Job (Habel 1992). In that confrontation, God challenges the cosmology Job constructed to sustain his hope of relief and vindication. God's reflection on the cosmos begins with Earth (Job 38.4-7). Even for God, it seems, Earth comes first! God does not portray Earth as a mother, a residence for the resting dead, or a place under attack from heaven. Rather, God describes Earth in terms of its original construction as a massive edifice with deep foundations and precise measurements. Was Job there to check these measurements or the way the foundations were laid? The mystery of where and how the pillars of this grand piece of architecture called Earth are sunk and secured still remains for Job — and perhaps for God. Earth is a cleverly designed structure with mysteries still to be explored. Job may think of heaven as the abode of a spying heavenly council. God, however, remembers another image —a day when the council, the children of God, joyfully celebrated the raising of the cornerstone for this edifice called Earth (Job 38.7). God remembers singing in heaven, not just council debates about mortals. God remembers being the architect (Job 38.5a), surveyor (Job 38.5b) and engineer (Job 38.6) who built this house called Earth. God is portrayed as a proud builder. The poet's use of the image of Earth as a 'building' is provocative. Is this just a poetic way of saying Earth is constructed by God, or does the image anticipate what follows? Earth is the 'household' for all

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creatures, from the arrogant ostrich to lion whelps in their lairs. Clearly, God is the steward of this oikos (household); God, first and foremost, takes care of this household called Earth; God is explicitly named as the one who sends rain on the wilderness, the land where no humans live7 (Job 38.26), Or as Tucker says, The wilderness is —quite literally — not God-forsaken. These lines (Job 38.25-26) bring a very important voice into the conversation concerning the environment and respond to what is all too commonly viewed as the main line of the Bible's understanding. The notion that all creation is to serve human interests is rejected (1997:14).

The second feature of Earth that God describes is Sea (Job 38.8-11). Job may have complained about being trapped, 'hedged in' by God's heavy intervention. Job may have bewailed his birth from his mother's womb and may have longed for a reversal of the creation process. God, however, looks at the bigger picture and sees turbulent Sea being born from some unspecified primordial womb. An unruly 'baby' like Sea had to be kept under control, 'hedged in' by boundaries and enveloped with a covering of cloud. God, the parent, treats Sea like a child and gives Sea orders not to move beyond the prescribed 'limit'. In-built boundaries and controlling processes are part of the ecology of Sea and, by implication, of Earth itself. God then explores a third dimension of creation: the locus of light and darkness in the vast expanses of Earth (Job 38.12-15, 18-20). Job may have sought to remove the day and night of his origins from the calendar (Job 3.3-10) and longed for peace in the darkness of Sheol. In the bigger picture, God highlights significant Wisdom concepts of the cosmos, illustrated by the way light and darkness operate. The order and functioning of creation is not arbitrary or subject to direct divine intervention. Everything has its assigned makom (place), its designated locus, whether it be dawn (Job 38.12), darkness (Job 38.19), or even Wisdom herself (Job 28.12, 20). Everything has its derek (way) or operating principle in the ecological design of Earth, whether it be light (Job 38.19), lightning (Job 38.24) thunderstorms (Job 38.25; cf. Habel 1972: 137-38, 154-55). Wisdom demands that Job reflect on the wider ecology of creation rather than pursue a myopic concentration on the anomalies in his own life as a mortal. The terms makom (place) and derek (way), as they are used here, seem to be indicators of an ancient ecology. This ecology, I suggest, is a belief that Earth is not governed by direct divine intervention, but by internally regulated systems within which each component of Earth has its locus and function in the system. This concept of

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systems, each with an in-built mind or governing principle, is further emphasized also by the assertion that there is chokmah (wisdom) in phenomena such as the clouds (Job 38.36). It is not God's wisdom or daily direction that moves the clouds and the canopy of the skies in their patterns, but the wisdom integral to the system itself. The ostrich alone, or so it seems, lacks the natural wisdom to survive (Job 39.17); the rest of creation functions with its own place, way, mind and wisdom as integral to its being. Perhaps the most pointed divine reflection relates to the domain of death that Job saw as a place of escape and hope (Job 38.16-17). Humans have not penetrated the depths of Earth or Sea, the nether limits of the ancient cosmos. These interior domains remain the ultimate mystery in the balance of natural forces, of life and death, of Earth and the vast expanses beneath Earth. Have you penetrated the sources of Sea Or walked through the recesses of Deep? Have the gates of Death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of Death's gloom? Have you discerned the expanses of Earth? Tell me if you know all this! (Job 38.16-18; translation my own)

By summoning Job to report on the gloomy realms of the underworld, God is challenging Job's assertion that Sheol is a desirable land of equals (Job 3.16-19) and a potential refuge from God's anger (Job 14.13-15). Job's dreams were dreams of faith; he had not experienced the underworld at first hand. Job had not visited the realm of death, 'the meeting house of all the living' (Job 30.23). According to the voice from the whirlwind, however, the realm of death is an integral part of the cosmic order, even if its precise function remains part of the greater mystery of things, the door which Job has yet to penetrate. The artistic portrayal of the animal world (Job 38.39-39.30) is far more than a zoological listing typical of the onomastica of ancient Egypt. This majestic poem acclaims the wonders of the wild, the capacity of the natural order to survive, the free spirit of untamed fauna and the inherent wisdom of soaring bird life. All these creatures survive, celebrate and soar without the aid of human hands. In fact, they defy human domination. Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night beside your crib?... Can you trust him to harvest your grain And gather it from the threshing floor? (Job 39.9,12)

The humour of sleeping under the protection of a wild ox is matched by the comic image of the wild ass laughing at the furore of

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the city (Job 39.7, 9). It is a joke to think that humans 'rule7 these creatures. In fact, this entire poem seems to be a repudiation of the mandate for humans to have dominion over all that walks, creeps and flies (Gen. 1.26-28). Or, as Clare Palmer writes, The animals are completely independent of humanity: the hawk, the mountain goats, the wild ox, the leviathan; they are not made for humanity, not made to be humans' companions, nor even made with humans in mind. They live their own lives (1992: 70). Conclusion

Based on his traumatic experience, Job deconstructs the cosmology of his day with a bold inversion of values: • • •

heaven is exposed as a dominating, hounding, threatening world that makes life miserable for mortals, intervening to give and take at will; the 'in Earth7 domain is one of equity and rest, the world of the dead who are free from the harassment of heaven; the 'on Earth' domain is one where mortals are caught between the interfering forces of heaven and the inviting mystery of Mother Earth below.

Is Job's inverse cosmology dismissed by YHWH's ecological vision? Hardly! If God exposes the false belief that humans should dominate Earth, Job rails against an equally unacceptable experience of a heaven that dominates humanity and intervenes on Earth unjustly. However unsavoury the initial game of the council that made Job the 'guinea pig', God in the end declares that Job has 'spoken the truth' (Job 42.7). God the spy, heaven the hunter, and their incessant intervention from above, are not part of the way life on Earth ought to be. Earth has its own integrity, wisdom, beauty —neither God nor humans should destroy or devalue this domain. By speaking for the wider Earth community as well as himself, Job has raised the basic question of the function of Earth. Is Earth but an oppressed domain that humans must endure en route to death? Significantly God's answer from the whirlwind is not a defence of heaven but a new understanding of Earth. Job's fierce faith scenario provokes God to unveil the mysteries of Earth. Earth is a complex combination of creations, each of which has a designated way, place and wisdom. The function of Earth is not first and foremost to serve the interests of humanity or heaven. Earth is a magnificent and mysterious oikos for all to celebrate —from the morning stars to the laughing ostrich.

Job 12: Cosmic Devastation and Social Turmoil Alice M. Sinnott

Introduction Job 12, one of Job's darkest speeches, raises the spectre of Earth as a place of devastation and social disorder. In this text, we hear the character Job rebutting the arguments of his three friends who have come face to face with the terrifying anomaly of a righteous human being immersed in suffering. However, in their speeches so far the friends have paid little attention to Job's plight but have opted for the accepted belief in their world that the righteous are rewarded and the wicked suffer. They have recycled accepted teachings and beliefs about suffering and its causes. By invoking the mystery of God's superior and hidden wisdom, the authority of the ancestral tradition and personal revelations, each of the visitors concluded that Job's miserable situation must be due to his having sinned. While the friends have invoked God's 'wisdom and understanding', they have not questioned or explained how Job's predicament fits in with their notions of this 'wisdom and understanding'. Perhaps the worst thing about the speeches is that their arguments have enabled the friends to avoid seeing and hearing their immediate world. Their familiar platitudes convinced them that they already knew the reasons for Job's situation without needing to look at or listen to Job and the earthly situation in which he and they are living. Job, on the other hand, cannot escape his sufferings, which he believes God has meted out to him. He insists on discovering why God is treating him in this way. Our aim in the Earth Bible series is to read the Bible from the perspective of Earth, to find ways for the voice of Earth to be heard, to do justice to Earth as an oppressed subject (Habel [ed.] 2000: chs. 1, 2). Keeping in mind the ecojustice principles that inform the Earth Bible Project, my aim is firstly to read the text of Job 12 from the perspective of Earth. I shall do this by listening to the voice of Earth ('erets) through Job as he refutes his friends' explanations of his plight and

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challenges God to 'explain7 why he, a righteous man, is suffering. Secondly, I am especially interested in discovering how, throughout Job 12, the character Job views Earth and mediates the voice of Earth. Thirdly, in this search for the voice of Earth, I want to examine how Earth functions in this text. The word 'Earth7 as used throughout this article is a translation of the Hebrew Berets that appears approximately 660 times in the NRSV. The Hebrew 'erets has a broad range of meanings but is most commonly rendered 'earth', 'country' or 'land'. 'Earth' is used for 'erets throughout Job 12. Even though 'erets is feminine in gender, the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures nowhere acknowledge a divine 'Mother Earth' or Earth goddess. Reading the Text of Job 12 from Earth's Perspective In Job 12 the speaker—Job —satirizes his visitors' arguments regarding his suffering and challenges them to pay attention to their experience of Earth (Berets). This speech is a vehement parody of a typical Wisdom discourse.1 Beginning with an ironic compliment to the friends' wisdom (Job 12.2-3), Job parodies their arguments and language. By exaggerating their use of Wisdom figures, proverbs, traditional sayings and hymn forms, he highlights the problems inherent in bland and overused language. Job voices the devastation and disorder experienced by Earth but concealed by the visitors' speeches. He claims that his friends misuse words and proffer explanations that do not tally with either his experience or that of Earth. Most striking in this parody is the way it enables the speaker, Job, to reveal how his friends' words are divorced from their environment, Earth. Examples of this appear in (a) his claim that the visitors see themselves as the ultimate representatives of wisdom (Job 12.1-6); (b) his questioning of their claims that God's infinite wisdom transcends the created world (Job 12.7-12); and (c) his comprehensive dismissal of their claims for God's careful supervision and ordering of the Earth (Job 12.13-25). Parody allows Job to mimic their speech, and thus underscore and highlight the inherent contradictions in the friends' claims. In contrast, Job gives utterance to Earth's voice from his own observation and experience of life. Job 12 consists of three strophes: Job 12.1-6, 7-11, 12-25. In the first strophe Job caricatures the way his 1. The inherent weakness in parody is that it exposes the inadequacies of cliched speech but does not provide an alternative way to talk about reality. The author of Job overcomes this in the following chapters by exploring alternative ways of speaking about God and Earth.

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visitors have presented themselves as quintessentially wise: 'truly you are the people with whom wisdom will die' (Job 12.2).2 He attests his own wisdom, which he says is just common knowledge (Job 12.3), and mocks both Bildad's appeal to the wisdom of the ancients (Job 8.8-10), and Zophar's appeal to hidden mysteries (Job 11.5-6). Job 12.46 is like an aside in which Job echoes comments he has overheard about himself. He is now a laughing stock to his friends, but in the past, he was just and blameless, he called upon God and God answered. The phrase 'just and blameless' (tsadik tamim, Job 12.4) recalls the narrator's description of Job in 1.1 (cf. Gen. 6.9), and now emphasizes the contradiction between Job's 'just and blameless' conduct and God's conduct towards him.3 Clines' rendition of Job 12.6 is probably the most apt here: 'Those whom God has in his power (hand)' (1979: 275), as it anticipates the reference in Job 12.10 to 'in God's hand' (Clines 1979). Job contrasts his present ordeal with the peace and security of those who have been actively evil (Job 12.5-6), and at the same time refutes Zophar's claim that security is a blessing for those whose lives reflect the order of the created world (Job 11.1319). The issue of the fate of the wicked, introduced only briefly in these verses, becomes the principal topic of the friends' speeches in Job 15,18 and 20, and is paramount in Job's speech in Job 21. This first strophe could be read as dismissing arguments that do not address Job's situation and setting the scene for the central issue which Job addresses in the second and third strophes. Earth Is Teacher In the second strophe (Job 12.7-12) Job uses the command 'ask' to advance his parody of the friends' complacent view of Earth and Earth's relationship to her creator. Parodying their method of argument, he turns their words against them (cf. Job 11.5-9) when he portrays in stark language how God treats Earth and her inhabitants. Ask the beasts and let one [of them] teach you Also the bird of the air [heavens] and let it tell you. Or speak to the earth and let her teach you and let the fish of the sea declare to you (Job 12.7-8).

2. Davies 1975: 670-71. Interestingly, Job 12.2 could also be interpreted to mean that the friends are killing wisdom. See Good 1990: 234. 3. 'One who calls upon God and God answers' is a person in God's favour (cf. Pss. 55.12-15; 99.6).

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In Job 11.5-9 Zophar reminds Job that he could never attain the boundary of God's knowledge as it transcends four dimensions: high heavens, depths of Sheol, wide Earth, and broad seas. Job defies and mocks such arguments by appealing to the authority of Earth and her inhabitants to teach. Earth ('erets), rather than the four-dimensional world alluded to by Zophar, is central to Job 12.4 Job's world does not parallel Zophar's world unless we translate 'erets as 'underworld' (Dahood 1963: 58), instead of the more common 'Earth'. Israelite tradition seldom treated the underworld as a source of knowledge (Perdue 1991: 152 n. 1). 'Earth' is by far the most common usage. The direct admonition by Job to 'speak to the Earth' characterizes common Earth knowledge as the clearest indicator and revealer of divine action. Job's command to his visitors to speak to Earth implies that they have not done so. Their speeches suggest that they see only what fits their beliefs and ignore or deny anything that might call their beliefs into question. Job's recommendation that they learn from Earth and her inhabitants suggest that he is not only an advocate for Earth, but also listens to and learns from Earth. This legitimization of his knowledge contrasts sharply with the wisdom of the ancients, and personal revelations claimed by his friends. Earth teaches by direct experience, on a one-to-one basis. Job attests to this when he speaks for Earth and makes Earth central in his speech by shifting the issue from what is not accessible — the boundary of God's knowledge— to what is readily accessible. Knowledge and experience of how Earth works is well within reach of creatures. Job indicts God's oppression of creatures as evidence of divine misrule (Job 12.7-10, cf. 7.7-10).5 He reminds his audience that his life and all life is breath —the vital force which enters humans at birth and returns to its divine source at death (cf. Job 10.12; 23.3; Gen. 2.7; Qoh. 12.7). Continuing the parody of a Wisdom discourse Job poses three consecutive rhetorical questions (Job 12.9-12), the first of which asks: 'Who among all these does not know that the hand of YHWH has done this?' (Job 12.9).6 Here the word 'this' may refer to Job 12.10 or may refer back to Job 12.4-6. The ambiguity is probably deliberate in this parody as cliches 4. I agree with Mabel's claim that '[tjhere is no single cosmology in Job, no stark image of the way the ancient cosmos was thought to be constructed7 (Habel, this volume). Earth is paramount in Job 12. 5. God refutes this claim with the assertion that YHWH is the true 'Lord of the Creatures' who provides for the sustenance of animals (Job 39.26-30). 6. These words also appear in Isa. 41.20b where they are probably an anti-idol polemic.

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can always be turned against those who use them. They provide but false security. Earth and her inhabitants reveal the unpredictability of God's conduct. The usual setting for the prayer, 'In God's hand is the life of every living creature, and the breath of every human being' (Job 12.10), is in hymns of thanksgiving for divine protection from disaster (Isa. 49.2). However, here Job, who is suffering intensely at the hand of God, utters these words, so the image is not one of care but of dismay.7 The divine breath gives life just as its withdrawal brings death (Ps. 104.29-30). For Job this assertion does not express trust in a deity who gives and sustains life. It is a dire warning about a God who destroys inhabitants of Earth. All of life is subject to the whim and caprice of this malevolent power. Thus, Job warns his audience to pay attention to the silent revelation that Earth utters against the Creator. By posing a second rhetorical question, 'Does not the ear test words as a palate tastes food?' (Job 12.11), Job reminds his audience of the need to rely on the senses in order to learn from Earth and her inhabitants. This is possible for those who expose generally accepted knowledge to critical judgment.8 Job points out that the friends' appeal to creation acknowledges that God's ways are unfathomable and that if they ponder the inexplicable workings of Earth, they will experience this fact. However, while they acknowledge the incomprehensibility of God's ways, they simultaneously claim to understand them. In appealing to a four-dimensional world, they are claiming that human beings can expect order and predictability, but Job claims that God reveals darkness and chaos. Job characterizes Earth as subject to the whims of the creator (Fishbane 1971: 153).9 His visitors' anthropocentric worldviews serve to justify God's behaviour at Job's expense. In their defence of the divine management of Earth, they renounce God's freedom to act as God. Their narrow and restrictive view is inadequate to address one of life's most pressing problems, the suffering of the blameless, not to mention the mystery of God and of God's relationship with Earth. Job's third rhetorical question attacks a traditional Wisdom notion, a basic tenet of Wisdom teaching: is wisdom with the aged and understanding in length of days? (Job 12.12). 7. See Job 1.11; 2.5; 6.6; 10.3, 7, 8; 13.21; 19.21; Qoh. 9.1. 8. Elihu uses the same saying in Job 34.3. 9. In Job 3 Job curses the day of his birth: 'that day! Let it be darkness7 (Job 3.4), yehi choshek, an inversion of the words in the creation narrative 'let there be light' yehi "or. God's first speech challenges Job with 'who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?' Fishbane (1971: 153) describes Job 3 as a 'counter cosmic incantation7.

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The traditional affirmation that wisdom belongs to those advanced in years forms an inclusion and returns to Job's personal attestation of his own wisdom in Job 12.2-3. If wisdom goes with age then God, the 'ancient of days', is the wisest. The positioning of this question means that it leads into and forms the basis of the third strophe, which is a satirical doxology caricaturing God's wisdom and counsel.10 Subversion and Destutilization

In the third strophe, Job the righteous one, who is suffering, parodies a doxology of confession.11 This doxology to the destructive power of God begins with what appears to be praise of God's plan in creating and ruling the world. The strophe consists of three general statements (Job 12.13, 16, 22) followed by seemingly supportive concrete examples in subsequent verses which actually destabilize the meaning of the general statements. With God are wisdom and strength; God has counsel and understanding (Job 12.13).12 If God tears down, no one can rebuild; if God shuts someone in, no one can open (Job 12.14). If God withholds the waters, they dry up; if God sends them out, they overwhelm the land (Job 12.15).

Job's address contains the phraseology and themes typical of the traditional doxology. His proclamation of these common idioms of praise is subversive in that his perceptions of God's governance of Earth are not words of praise. Rather, he uses in a negative way conventional pairs of verbs ('tears down...rebuild'; 'shut in...open up' [Job 12.14] that appear elsewhere in positive contexts defining power and authority. For example, in Isaiah, opening and closing suggest regulation; in Jeremiah, reconstruction follows destruction (cf. Isa. 22.22; Jer. 1.10). Job 12.14 features one type of action: 'tears down', 'shuts in', while Job 12.5 describes God as engaging in two complementary actions: 'withholding' and 'sending out', both with devastat10. Job 13 also repeats the claim that Job's knowledge is equal to that of the friends (Job 12.2-3, cf. 13.1-3). This repetition marks a turning point in the speech as here Job abandons parody, irony and acerbity and adopts an earnest and passionate form of speech, employing the legal metaphors used in Job 9-10. 11. A doxology is a plea uttered by an accused person who is seeking legal redress in the sanctuary or is a confession recited by a person who has been found guilty of a crime. 12. Job attributes to God qualities of the ideal ruler (Isa. 11.2).

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ing results. Job examines these words in the light of his understanding to decide what they say about his own experiences of God's control of Earth. The destructive manipulation of water in Job 12.5: (If God withholds the waters, they dry up; if God sends them out, they overwhelm the land [Berets]') contrasts sharply with the images presented in Ps. 107.33-37, where water is dried up and released specifically as punishment and blessing: God turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. God turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there God lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.

Subverting the image of blessing in Psalm 107, Job represents God as withholding the waters, causing drought, and then sending a deluge, wreaking havoc on Earth (Job 12.15). Job, continuing to voice Earth's complaints, highlights the destructive, restrictive elements of God's relationship with Earth. With God are strength and wisdom, the deceived and the deceiver are God's (Job 12.16). God leads counsellors away stripped, and makes fools of judges (Job 12.17). God looses the sash of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins (Job 12.18). God leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty (Job 12.19). God deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders (Job 12.20) God pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong (Job 12.21).

By placing 'deceived' and 'deceiver' at the end of the sequence of divine qualities (Job 12.13-16), the author creates an utterance that is literally contradictory. He portrays the God of wisdom and understanding as a God of error and manipulation. Mocking the idea of human wisdom and understanding (chokmah tevunah), Job portrays the God of wisdom and strength, counsel and understanding, as identical with the God who promotes destruction, disorder and arbitrary, tyrannical power rather than peace, order and stability. Job continues to develop a perception of God as preventing constructive activity by the Earth in Job 12.16b, which subverts Job 12.16a. Here begins a series of claims that portray God as wreaking

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destruction on the Earth and her inhabitants. Job 12.17-21 reads Wisdom's claim to be the source of just and effective human government (Prov. 8.17-27) subversively. Personified Wisdom lists nine categories of persons who provide political, religious, and social leadership in communities (Habel 1985: 216). In contrast, Job's doxology, which maintains the parody form used throughout this speech, describes actions by God that destroy just governance: depriving leaders of wisdom so that they do not have counsel and understanding (Job 12.17b, 20), causing the defeat and humiliation of leaders by depriving them of strength and effectiveness (Job 12.17a, 18-19, 21), and stripping leaders of the power to govern (Job 12.24-25) (Pritchard [ed.j 1954: 98-99). Proverbs claims that God gives wisdom to counsellors and kings —those who make military and legal decisions—which affect the well-being of the nation (Prov. 24.3-6; 31.2-9). In one metaphorical use of this tradition, Wisdom praises herself as the one who enables kings to rule wisely and well (Prov. 8.15-16). Job asserts that God withholds the gift of wisdom that enables rulers to guide nations. Without the light of understanding leaders wander lost in the chaos (tohu, Job 12.24),13 which God had uncovered. It seems that God orders the rise and fall of kingdoms on a whim. Thus, the chaos experienced by Earth is analogous to that which befalls humanity. God uses God's wisdom and might not to support but to destroy.14 We see this illustrated clearly in the third example of destabilization: God uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light (Job 12.22). God makes nations great, then destroys them; God enlarges nations, then leads them away (Job 12.23). God strips understanding from the leaders...and makes them wander in a pathless waste (Job 12.24). They grope in the dark without light; God makes them stagger like a drunkard (Job 12.25).

The hallmarks of such a deity are anarchy and violence, a form of rule that negates the very nature of wisdom as the ordering principle of Earth and of human society. Job, Earth's voice, shows this 'deceiver' and 'misleader' to be capable of treating water, the land, counsellors, judges, priests, elders and all leaders destructively (Job 12.15-25). He 13. Tohu denotes primordial chaos in Gen. 1.2 and Jer. 4.23, while Deut. 32.10 uses the term to refer to the desert. Both sea and wilderness were seen as symbols of lifeless alien chaos. 14. This claim is refuted when God speaks from the whirlwind (Job 38-42).

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reminds his audience that they are insignificant before this omnipotence (Job 12.22; cf. Job 3.4-5; 10.21-22), and denounces the paradigm of strict retribution posed as an explanation of his own situation. In Job's view, God is at fault and he holds God responsible for Earth's sufferings, which of course include Job's ordeal. Job 12.21-25 appears to echo sentiments expressed in Psalm 107 but on closer examination reveals a subversive reading of this psalm. This thanksgiving psalm has four sections, each telling of people in distress: desert travellers smitten with hunger and thirst (Ps. 107.4-9); prisoners (Ps. 107.10-16); those who were sick (Ps. 107.17-22); and seafarers in a storm (Ps. 107.23-32). Of each of these groups we read, Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and God delivered them out of their distress' (Ps. 107.6, 13, 19, 28). The psalmist exhorts each in turn, 'Let them thank the Lord for God's steadfast love, for God's wonderful works for the human race!' (Ps. 107.8, 15, 21, 31). The psalm concludes with a hymn (Ps. 107.33-43), extolling the providence of God, who is sovereign over nature and human beings. Ps. 107.39-42 affirms the wise intervention of God to deliver the poor and needy from their oppressors, and celebrates God's justice and mercy as experienced by Earth and her inhabitants. Job 12.21-25 reinterprets Psalm 107 by subverting the reading, for example, when Job, speaking for the Earth, depicts this terrifying image: 'God uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings to light deep darkness' (Job 12.22).15 This use of images that are familiar from the psalm does not however bring with it the consoling message of the psalm: 'Some sit in darkness and the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains' (Ps. 107.10); 'God brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder' (Ps. 107.14). In Psalm 107, those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death are prisoners whom God brings forth to freedom.16 In Job this menacing shadow of death is itself the prisoner whom God brings forth and sets free. Psalm 107 begins and ends with the image of a leader bringing together a scattered, directionless people and settling them in an orderly and prosperous land (Ps. 107.2-9, 33-41). Their oppressors were the ones whom God caused to wander, lost in the wilderness, whereas Job depicts God's power to disorient as directed, not at oppressors, but at those whose responsibility it is to lead. We see this 15. Divine warriors either threatened to or did actually turn the day into night in theophanic hymns (cf. Amos 5.8). 16. Reference to God's knowledge of things deep and dark appears also in the doxology in Dan. 2.20-23. Here God is praised as the revealer of mysteries.

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clearly portrayed in Job 12.21, 24, verses that are reinterpretations of Ps. 107.40: God pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes (Ps. 107.40). God pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong (Job 12.21). God strips understanding from the leaders...and makes them wander in a pathless waste (Job 12.24).

In the psalm, God is the one who rescues, but in Job, God's action has a disturbing quality of purposelessness: They staggered, reeled like drunkards... they cried to God... God rescued them (Ps. 107.27-28). They grope in the dark without light; God makes them stagger like a drunkard (Job 12.25).

Job 12.25 shifts the focus from inexplicable divine activity to the pathos of disoriented leaders groping and staggering like drunks. God's power nullifies the efficacy of society's leaders, rendering them foolish and impotent. By depriving trusted elders of their capacity to discern truth, Job claims that God fosters darkness instead of promoting discernment and enlightenment. God exercises wisdom by demolishing what humans have constructed. 'God makes nations great, then destroys them; God enlarges nations, then leads them away'(Job 12.23). Job, as Earth's voice, here makes explicit the disharmony and conflicts that afflict life on Earth and identifies God as the author of this situation. Job is the voice of Earth as he rails against Earth's plight, as he sees himself and all of nature as at the mercy of God. Instead of giving a clear 'way', derek, so that human beings can identify their purpose and destiny in life, God sets in motion tohu, 'chaos', that resembles the primordial wasteland. Such conduct is not in accord with wisdom according to the code of behaviour upheld by the Wisdom tradition. While Bildad claims that the mysteries of God are deeper than Sheol, Job asserts that God releases the darkness from the depths of Sheol to envelop the world, create disorder, and disorientate the universe. 'God uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light' (Job 12.22). To call such a God wise is totally absurd. This God unleashes 'deep darkness' from the underworld to confuse mortals. In Job 12.13-25 Job's tone of mockery is intense as he speaks of God's hidden divine wisdom, might, counsel and understanding

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(chokma, gevurah, 'etsah, tevunah). Zophar lauded the depth, hiddenness, and mystery of God's wisdom (Job 11.6, 8), so Job mockingly catalogues those characteristic phenomena that show God's wisdom (Job 12.14-25). Except for Job 12.22, every line in Job 12.14-25 reverses what conventional wisdom claims to be a manifestation or revelation of the wisdom of God in human affairs.17 Job portrays God, not as overthrowing oppression by deliverance, but as frustrating all human effort at ordering existence (Job 12.14-25). Job 12.14-17 parodies and subverts Eliphaz's hymn to God's transforming power and sovereignty in creation (Job 5.8-16). Eliphaz said of the wicked that 'they meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night' (Job 5.14), but Job accuses God of dealing with everyone in that way (Job 12.24-25). God plunges all of life into tohu, 'waste and darkness' (Job 12.24-25).18 Job claims that this is the depth and the hidden mystery where God's wisdom resides. In the midst of specific examples of divine wisdom, he inserts an accusation. This indictment not only picks up his own creation language from Job 3.4-5, but reverses the conventional understanding of divine intent in 'let there be light' (Gen. 1.3), by characterizing God as a malevolent creator (Job 12.22) who 'Unveils the depths from darkness, and brings forth to light deep darkness (tsalmawet)'. This poem compels the audience to consider a terrifying and unfriendly notion of the creator that contrasts sharply with notions of the creator appearing in, for example, Genesis 1-2, Proverbs 8 and Job 38-42. It seems that Job as Earth's voice is accusing God of revoking the gift of light (Gen. 1.3) that dispels the darkness and enables life to exist on Earth (cf. Isa. 45.18-19). Job perceives that the darkness into which he has been plunged may be allowed to triumph over the Earth. Images and threats of disorder continue to be depicted in Job 12.23 with the claim that God makes nations great and destroys them. In his opening speech (Job 3.1-4) Job asks why the creator gives light to one born to experience trouble. In the biblical tradition, light is not simply life, but all that life on Earth entails. Yet in Job 12.22 Job accuses God of not being content with tsalmawet as the deeply concealed mystery of darkness. Creation's ultimate purpose, claims Job, is to reveal the primordial reality behind creation. The cruelty of this revelation lies in a series of contrasting notions as seen in the meaning and understanding that human beings invest in the image of 'light'. 17. We see another example of this reversal in Job 7.17-18 where the author stands Psalm 8 on its head. 18. These terms echo the 'formless void' of Gen. 1.2.

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By invoking the image of light the author evokes God's primal creative acts ('let there be light' [Gen. 1.2], but not, however, to confirm our expectation that all is well. Rather he now subverts everything implied in God's primal creative act with Job's anguished claim that deathly darkness 'deeper than light' is primordial and is the final word.19 Job claims that God created light to reveal the deep character of the primordial reality and that reality is deadly darkness (tsalmawet). Here the author uses imagery reminiscent of Psalm 2320 to portray God as leading nations and leaders astray into darkness and formless waste (Job 12.24-25). Thus he reveals the depths of existence as hostile darkness. Job claims that Earth's designer is one who promotes violence, a God who fosters destructive chaos on Earth that is God's handiwork. The text never suggests that God's disastrous acts are acts of punishment, but portrays them as expressions of the fickle temperament of a God who is a mighty oppressor of Earth and its inhabitants. God exercises wisdom by demolishing what humans have constructed, and nullifies the efficacy of society's leaders. At the city gate, the court, and the temple, God renders community leaders impotent and deprives trusted elders of their capacity to discern truth. Instead of promoting discernment, God blunts it; instead of promoting enlightenment, God fosters darkness; instead of stirring the human intellect, God creates victims and dupes (Job 12.24-25). Job describes corruption among authorities primarily to indict God for elevating and sustaining such immoral and incompetent leaders (Job 12.17-25, cf. 9.24). Conclusion

Job indicts God for his torment and for the sufferings of Earth. He subverts the notion of the hiddenness of God's designs by asserting that the supposed God of justice and order symbolized by light, is, in reality, a God who delights in scrambling that order, a God who brings to light the real secret of reality as pernicious darkness. In the face of such a situation, the accepted teachings and tradition —comfortably familiar jargon —do not suffice for deeply held beliefs 19. In Job 3.11-23 Job's questions have a covenantal character as they lead him to turn to God in complaint and accusation. In Job 12.13-35 Job appears no longer to wait on God for answers, but to formulate his own answers unilaterally. This extreme form of question highlights Job's desperation. 20. Psalm 23 portrays God as a shepherd who is present in the valley of deadly darkness and who leads the flock to safety.

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authenticated by experience. Job refuses to accept the established teaching and understandings about Earth but insists on confronting God. His conclusion to this speech legitimates his claims: Took! my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it' (Job 13.1).21 His insights are from the Earth, based and grounded in his own experience. Job 12 began with Job refuting his visitors' arguments regarding his suffering. This was but an introduction to the central issue of this poem, which is that Job, the suffering one, articulates Earth's sufferings. He attributes to God all that happens to Earth and her inhabitants. Familiar biblical categories provide the basis for his exposition: 'animals', 'birds', 'fish', and 'Earth'. Earth and her inhabitants will instruct/teach' he assures his audience. Then Job announces the content of the teaching they will receive if they but ask —'the hand (power) of God has done this' — and pairs this pronouncement with a reminder that 'in God's hand is the life of every living thing'. Job clearly sees himself as one with Earth, who can give voice to Earth's experience and knowledge. Job's own sufferings have plunged him into chaos and from his dunghill, he believes that he understands Earth and can speak for her. Job —a just man—can find no satisfactory explanation in the tradition for his miserable situation. He considers his situation an example of the lack of justice and predictability in God's treatment of himself and of Earth. Earth and her inhabitants continually suffer at the hand of God so can testify to divine injustice. Perceiving himself to be a victim of injustice, Job identifies with and speaks for Earth, whom he also perceives as a victim. He will not rest until he can confront the God who exercises such harsh power to destroy the innocent and sustain the wicked. In Job 12, Job, Earth and her inhabitants highlight the apparent perversity of God. Job 12 provides a compelling argument for valuing the Earth and acknowledging our need of Earth. Clearly Job values Earth and promotes her as teacher, perhaps the highest accolade that the Wisdom tradition could give. Does Job champion Earth because he regards her as a larger reflection of himself or because he has come to recognize the sufferings of Earth through his own torment and suffering? Job 12 provides evidence that Job genuinely cares about Earth. He voices Earth's claims and identifies with Earth's suffering. He not only places himself with the earthy creatures, but also promotes them as competent to answer questions and to teach about Earth and God's 21. Although Job 12 segments Job's speech at 12.25,13.1-2 corresponds in form and content to the words with which Job opened his speech in 12.3.

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relationship with her. Job will not accept the traditional explanations for his suffering nor will he settle for similar explanations of how Earth works. Job starts with God as a transcendent, interfering power. As a wise man, he looks to the created world for wisdom and focuses on how he sees the transcendent interfering deity treating the Earth. Is Job's 'reading' of Earth's relationship with God accurate? Probably, if the book of Job maintained the image of a transcendent interfering God. However, the text does not sustain an image of God as a capricious intervening force. Eventually God speaks from the whirlwind (Job 3842) and we hear and see a creative and participant artist and artisan within an interconnected world whose vision embraces Earth's inhabitants from the least to the greatest. Job, who relied on what he heard and listened to 'with his ears', can now look at Earth and say to God 'my eye sees you'.

Who Cares? Reflections on the Story of the Ostrich (Job 39.13-18) Izak Spangenberg Introduction Throughout the ages New Testament scholars have been fascinated by the letter to the Romans while Old Testament scholars have been intrigued by the book of Job. There is a certain degree of similarity between these books. Both are occupied with the relationship between God and human beings. Because of the wealth of meaning of these books, scholars identify different themes in them, or perceive their main themes differently. Some are of the opinion that these books deal with the doctrine of retribution, that is, how God rewards and punishes. Others maintain that they deal with theodicean issues, those of sin and suffering. Again, others identify the main question as: How can there be contact between the transcendent God and lowly human beings? Or: What is the relationship between God's transcendence and God's immanencel Is God merely someone who remains aloof and watches from a distance how creatures are struggling to survive, or is God intensely involved with what is happening, not only on Earth but in the whole of the cosmos? Does God really care, or is God care-less? While reading the book of Job once more (keeping the words care and careless in mind), I realized that the themes mentioned above are not unrelated, but are actually inextricably intertwined. Moreover, the two words care and careless sensitized me to the 'music' in the text, a music which may help believers realize that '[a] theology which knows nothing but the lonely family history or family tragedy between God and human beings, is a thing of the past' (Zink 1997: 58). Our theology today should reflect our concern for Earth and respond to the voice of its inhabitants. In my opinion the book of Job can contribute more substantially to this than can Paul's letter to the Romans, since the latter is more concerned about the family tragedy, and less about Earth. In the end, the book of Job shuns this fixation with the fate of human beings, and introduces a sense of wonderment for the natural world and Earth.

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The Caring Person Job A number of Old Testament scholars agree that the book of Job was written during the Persian period (539-333 BCE) and should be classified as Wisdom literature. One of the central tenets of this literature is the idea of retribution. This motif, however, can also be found in other sections of the Old Testament such as the book of Deuteronomy. The blessing and curses found there are reciprocal to actions which can be classified as for or against the stipulations of the Covenant (cf. Deut. 28). Some scholars argue that this idea pervades the whole of the Old Testament (cf. Schmid 1968; 1971) and that one even finds traces of it in the New Testament (cf. Jn 9.2). The arguments of Job and his three friends seem to revolve around the idea of retribution. The friends try to convince Job that God is just and righteous and that the afflictions and misfortunes which have befallen him are the inevitable outcome of his sins (Job 4.7-8; 8.4-7; 11.13-15; 22.6-10). Job, on the other hand, flatly denies that his suffering is a direct result of transgressions which he committed (Job 23.1022; 27.5-6). According to him, God is bending the rules. God does not adhere to the doctrine and capriciously rewards and punishes as God wishes (Job 9.22-24; 16.12-17; 24.1-12; 30.20-26). In the poetical section of the book (Job 3.1-42.6), Job is presented as a person who belonged to the wealthy upper class of society. He possessed gold (Job 31.24-25), fields and flocks (Job 30.1; 31.20), slaves (Job 19.14-15; 31.13) and herdsmen (Job 30.1). He was a respected citizen whose advice was sought after; one who acted as a judge in the city gate, and was part of the city's ruling body (Job 29.7-10, 21-23). Job was not only a wealthy person, he was pious as well. His piety is primarily reflected in his attitude towards his wealth. In the section where he laments his afflictions and declares his innocence, he observes (Job 31.24-25, 28): If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much; this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.

He clothed the poor and gave them something to sleep under (Job 31.19); shared his food with orphans (Job 31.17); took pity on the widows and fulfilled their wishes (Job 31.16). Moreover, he took up the cudgels on behalf of the oppressed and the exploited (Job 29.13-

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16). 'His piety demonstrates above all else that he used without reservation his position and possessions to improve the life of impoverished groups in the population' (Albertz 1990: 248). Job is presented as a wealthy aristocrat who maintained a healthy distance between himself and his riches. His aim in life was not to amass wealth —on the contrary, he knew that he had been blessed and that he had a responsibility towards those in the lower strata of society. He fulfilled his social obligations and on account of this expected to experience honour, health, prosperity and longevity. The theory of retribution (that good deeds are rewarded and bad and evil deeds punished) constituted part of the philosophy of his past life. His lament (Job 3) and declaration of innocence (Job 29-31), therefore, reflect the tension between his philosophy and his experience of life (Job 30.24-26): Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help. Did I not weep for those whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness came.

According to Job he did not turn a blind eye to the exploitation of the poor. He cared for those in need. The wicked, however, oppressed the poor, orphans and widows and God apparently could not care less about them (Job 24.2-3,12): The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. They drive away the donkey of the orphan; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

A number of scholars do not regard Job 24.1-12 as part of Job's speech, but from the content it is evident that the remarks are congruent with what Job had been arguing right from the start. God seems to be capricious; there is no evidence that God really cares about those who live an upright life or those who are in dire need. The wicked exploit others and God merely turns a blind eye. It is against this background, I contend, that the following discussion on God's care should be read.

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In the discourses with his friends, Job pleads with God from time to time to come and discuss the issue of divine retribution with him (Job 13.1-3, 22-24; 23.1-7). When God eventually arrives to converse with Job, God 'chooses the arena of creation and not the palace of justice' (Van Wolde 1997: 117) as Job requested. God does not defend or explain the actions God has taken towards those in need, or towards those who take pity on the poor. There is no word about God's 'preferential option for the poor' (cf. Lohfink 1987). God immediately focuses on the complexity and wonders of creation—nothing is said specifically about retribution in the human sphere. In his defence, Job never focuses extensively on whether God cares for Earth, or for trees, plants or any other creature, though in his hymn to chaos (Job 12.12-15), he portrays God as a destructive force against nature, something the animals already know (Job 12.7-11). Job focuses primarily on human beings as though they are the only important creatures on Earth —the only ones who need to be cared for. God on the other hand explicitly concentrates on Earth and the processes which play a role in sustaining life on Earth. The first speech of God (Job 38-39) reflects this in an interesting way. The speech can be divided into two sections. The first section (Job 38.4-38) concerns the wonders of inanimate nature and the second (Job 38.39-39.30) concerns the world of animate nature —or as Loader (1992: 294) prefers to call it, 'the abiotic and the biotic aspect of creation'. In the first section of the first speech, different phenomena in the natural world are listed. Prime position is given to Earth and its foundations (Job 38.4-7); secondly, the sea and the limits which God has laid down for it also feature in God's circle of care (Job 38.8-11); the dawn of a new day (Job 38.12-15) follows as a third; a forth section concerns the netherworld with its waters (Job 38.16-18). In the fifth place, there is a section on the place of light and darkness (Job 38.1921), followed by three sections (some scholars take this as a single unit) concerning weather conditions: wind, lightning, hail, snow, rain and dew (Job 38.22-24, 25-27, 28-30). Before returning to rain and lightning (Job 38.34-38), there is a section about the constellations of stars and the laws which govern them (Job 38.31-33). What strikes one is how many times reference is made to rain or other meteorological phenomena as the means by which God cares for and sustains life on Earth. At least four of the ten subsections mentioned above (Job 38.22-24, 25-27, 28-30, 34-38) concern these

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phenomena. If one divides the section into five subsections (Job 38.411,12-15,16-21, 22-30, 31-38) as Gross (1986:131-34) does, two out of five of the subsections concern life-sustaining meteorological phenomena (Job 38.22-30, 31-38). Job 38.36, on the other hand, is all the more interesting in this regard. Scholars differ on how one should translate this verse since there are two difficult Hebrew words in the text. One (sekwi) is a hapax legomenon (occurring only once in the Hebrew Bible); the other one (tuchot) occurs twice (once in the Psalms and once in Job), but the meaning is unclear. The NRSV (1989) provides a rather 'blunt' translation: 'Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?' Rowley (1970: 314) translates it as 'Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists?' which may not make good sense either. The Good News Bible (1976) translates the verse as: 'Who tells the ibis when the Nile will flood, or who tells the cock that rain will fall?' A number of scholars prefer this translation and interpretation (cf. Holscher 1952: 90; Fohrer 1963: 489; Keel 1978: 60; Dhorme 1984: 591; Gross 1986: 134) and in my view, it makes good sense. The ibis and the rooster were both regarded as 'weather prophets' whose activities were to the benefit of human beings. God gave them wisdom to announce seasonal and weather changes and human beings profited from this. God's care for human beings and the sustaining of their lives is reflected in an astonishing way— via the world of birds. In the second section of the first speech (Job 38.39-39.30) the focus shifts to the biotic part of nature. Scholars differ on how many animals are mentioned. According to some, seven creatures are described — the lion, the mountain goat, the wild donkey, the buffalo, the ostrich, the horse and the hawk (Gordis 1985: 195). According to others ten animals are described — the lion, the raven, the mountain goat, the deer, the wild donkey, the buffalo, the ostrich, the horse, the hawk and the eagle (Keel 1978: 63; Habel 1985: 532). A few scholars identify only nine wild animals. They either read the subsection concerning the mountain goat and the deer (Job 39.1-4) as a section dealing with only one antelope, or they read the subsection about the hawk and the eagle (Job 39.26-30) as a section concerning only one bird of prey (cf. Kroeze 1961: 431; Fohrer 1963: 510-17). Gordis (1985: 195) concluded that there are seven animals since he revocalizes the Hebrew word Vorev ('to the raven') in Job 38.41 as Verev ('at evening'). The first subsection (Job 38.39-41), like the rest, then concerns only one animal. I prefer Gordis' viewpoint, since seven is (to use his words) 'in accordance with a widespread usage in

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biblical, Oriental and Rabbinic literature' (Gordis 1985:195). The different commentaries made me realize how scholars selected a subsection which, according to their view, reflects the main thrust of the second section. Gordis (1985: 195-96), for example, selected Job 39.5-8 (the wild donkey) as a unit which reflects the thrust of Job 38.39-39.30. According to him, the idea that human beings are not central to God's purpose and joy in creation, and that the animals have not been created solely for their use, is emphasized. According to Rowley (1970: 317), God confronts Job with the secrets of animal and bird life, and birds' behaviour. The subsection which is the most brilliant of them all is (according to him) the unrivalled description of the war horse. Keel (1978: 71), however, argues convincingly that we should not focus on one of the animals only, but should look at the overall picture. According to him there are two reasons why the different animals are mentioned: (a) they are part of the world which poses a threat to human existence; (b) most of them are animals which ancient Near Eastern kings were fond of hunting. The hunt, which is often depicted in drawings, reflects the attempt to control chaos. Although Keel's arguments seem reasonable, the subsection concerning the ostrich (Job 39.13-18) continued to fascinate me: The wing of the ostrich rejoices; She has gracious plumage and pinions. But she leaves her eggs on the ground And lets them get hot in the dust. She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or a wild beast trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; She does not care if her labor is in vain. For Eloah deprived her of wisdom And withheld her portion of discernment. But when she rears up on high She laughs at horse and rider (Habel's translation, 1985: 519-20).

The first section of the first speech of God (Job 38.4-38) probably closed with a remark about two birds which were endowed with wisdom, the ibis and the rooster (Job 38.36). The ostrich, however, is described as 'careless' and 'devoid of wisdom' (Job 39.14-17). Why these negative comments about a bird whose feathers reminded the ancient Egyptians of righteousness and wisdom; a bird whose feathers were associated with the goddess Maat (Assmann 1990; see Figure 1)? This question encouraged me to read what commentators and ornithologists wrote about the ostrich and to comment on how this relates to the theme of God's care in the book of Job, and our carelessness about

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Earth which is persistently being 'raped' by Western civilization (cf. Metz 1997: 35). The Careless Ostrich

The research of experts on bird behaviour (Holmgren 1972; Milstein 1983; Houlihan 1986; Paz 1987; Del Hoyo et al 1992; Maclean 1993) reveals that the description of the ostrich as being 'careless7 and 'devoid of wisdom' is quite wrong and, it would seem, rather unfortunate. The perspective presented in these verses is not really that of God, but that of human beings who have not made a thorough study of the ostrich, and have as a result given us a distorted picture.

Figure 1. Maat, the goddess of wisdom and righteousness, with an ostrich feather in her headdress. Apparently the symmetry of the feather reflects balance and this led to its association with righteousness and wisdom. (Hand copied from Assmann 1990, frontispiece.)

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Some of the facts about the female ostrich in this section of the book of Job are quite mistaken. She is neither careless about her eggs, nor cruel to her chicks, as the text of Job 39.15-17 avers. Moreover, she does not leave her eggs on the ground for the heat in the sand to warm them (Job 39.14). These are merely casual observations, and not a scientific study of the real situation. During the breeding season the male bird will gather a small 'harem' in a territory of 2-5 km2. He will then prepare a number of nests in this territory. The dominant female will select a nest and then start to lay her eggs in the middle of the nest. The other subordinate female birds will also lay eggs but on the outer rim. When predators stalk the breeding female and succeed in gaining access to the nest, they will only snatch the eggs on the rim. In this way the dominant female's eggs are protected. The male sits on the eggs from late afternoon until sunrise the next day, and the dominant female for the rest of the day (Maclean 1993: 2). Adult ostriches, furthermore, look after their young and shelter them under their wings during hot summer days or when it rains. When potential predators threaten, adults will perform a distraction display. The bird first rushes forwards and backwards at the predator and then drops down pretending to be injured. During this display the chicks either run for cover, or they scatter and lie flat on the ground so it is difficult to see them (Del Hoyo et al 1992: 81). In short, ostriches possess all the wisdom necessary to rear their young. The information about the ostrich's plumage and ability to outrun a horse (Job 39.13,18) is correct. The ostrich is the only bird species with two toes. The inner one is thick and strong and functions like a foot. Their two 'feet' make them the fastest runner birds in the world. During short sprints, they can reach up to 70 km/h (Paz 1987: 11). Their plumage, however, is one of their drawbacks. Ostriches have no uropygial gland and therefore are unable to waterproof their feathers. During rain their feathers tend to become sodden. On the other hand, they have an unusually large number of primaries on their wings (16), which may have developed in order to make their display during breeding season more spectacular in the case of males (Del Hoyo et al. 1992: 77). Their primaries and tail feathers have always been sought after. They have been used for adornment by human beings for at least 5000 years, as is evident from Mesopotamian and Egyptian art (cf. Figure 1, and Houlihan 1986: 2). It was, however, people from Europe who posed a real threat to this species. During the nineteenth century the soft white feathers of the males' wings and tail became fashionable for ladies' hats, as the famous 'aigrettes' and 'ospreys'.

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This threatened the survival of the ostrich, with the result that they almost became extinct in the Middle East and North and South Africa (DelHoyoetal.l992:81). The Careless Hunters Most commentaries have made no serious efforts to test the accuracy of this biblical portrait of the ostrich in the book of Job. A remark by Van Selms (1984: 195) in his commentary on Job may serve as an example. His last sentence about the ostrich reads:' Vreemd dier, zonder verstand, maar er is geen gevaar, dat ze uitsterven zall' My translation of this sentence would be: 'Strange bird, devoid of wisdom, but there is no danger that it will become extinct!'. This remark reflects Van Selms7 ignorance. The subspecies referred to in the book of Job has already become extinct! The ancient Near East had its own endemic subspecies known as Struthio camelus syriacus. It was smaller than the African subspecies Struthio camelus camelus. These ostriches used to roam the area ranging from the Syrian Desert to the Arabian Peninsula. At the beginning of the twentieth century they were still fairly common in places, but the proliferation of firearms (after the First World War), coupled with the availability of motorized transport, led to the extinction of some populations and the virtual extinction of the subspecies by 1941 (Paz 1987: 11; Del Hoyo et al. 1992: 82). Ornithologists are now trying to reintroduce ostriches in Israel by using the African subspecies as breeding birds. Reading this information, I was reminded about the statement by Celia Deane-Drummond (1996: 4): 'By the turn of this century millions of animals, plants and insects are expected to be driven to extinction by human activities. By the year 2050 half of all existing species could be lost forever/ The Syrian ostriches were almost wiped out during the nineteenth century when they were hunted for their plumes. The plumes were sold at $500 a pound at the height of the ostrich feather craze. During the twentieth century they eventually became extinct because of the carelessness of hunters. Ostrich farms, established in the early nineteenth century, are largely responsible for the survival of ostriches in Africa. The first modern ostrich farm was set up in the Cape Province in 1833, and others soon appeared all over South Africa. Were it not for the farmers who could supply the growing demand for ostrich plumes, the birds might have been wiped out from the surface of Earth (Milstein 1983:10).

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Conclusion: Loving Care

The question as to why the ostrich is presented as 'careless7 and 'devoid of wisdom' has elicited a number of answers. According to Habel (1985: 547) God is challenging Job to demonstrate discernment, and not to act obtusely like the ostrich. Other scholars are of the opinion that the subsection is an interpolation which serves to mock the 'wise' readers who agreed that the ostrich is a foolish bird. The last sentence 'when she rears up on high, she laughs at horse and rider' (Job 39.18), restores her honour and the 'wise' readers are embarrassed because of their verdict that she is foolish (cf. Van Oorschot 1987:176-78). In my opinion, this subsection is, first of all, addressing the issue of reward and retribution. Right from the start Job expected to be rewarded for caring for the orphans, widows and the poor. He accused God of not caring about those who live upright lives, or about those in dire need. By focusing on the ostrich, God is driving home the point that rewards should not be the primary concern of human beings. According to the text, the ostrich does not care about rewards. She apparently does not care whether her efforts to lay eggs and incubate them will deliver a brood. When the chicks hatch, she does not care whether they will survive or not. Reward is none of her business, since God, as the custodian, takes care of the animals and birds in God's reserve. God, the creator, is watching over creation and therefore all creatures could (and should) enjoy life. To try to fathom God's ways is beyond Job's ability. It is through nature that his eyes are opened to see this (cf. Loader 1992). It could be argued from the portrayal of other biotic creatures that God has instilled within them the necessary wisdom, instinct, courage, strength or skills to survive in the wild. God has fitted them with the capacity to 'grow up in the open' (Job 39.4), 'scorn the city' (Job 39.7), 'laugh at fear' (Job 39.22) and 'nest on high' (Job 39.27). It could also be said that God takes care of these creatures indirectly rather than personally. Is there, however, also a special bond between God and these creatures, a sense of kinship and personal loving care? There is a suggestion in the text that God personally takes care of ravens when their young cry out for food (Job 38.41) and acts as a midwife to mountain goats in their season (Job 39.1-3). The case of the ostrich, however, makes the personal caring ways of God quite explicit. God is portrayed as making the ostrich 'careless' so that God's care for the survival of the ostrich is made necessary.

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The inaccuracy of the portrayal of the ostrich is irrelevant. The artist in this text embraces a popular tradition that ostriches are devoid of wisdom —by divine design! They are a biotic exemplar of the fact that creatures need special care to survive. They are 'careless' but God is the custodian of the careless. God seems to have a parental love, a bond with all creatures — even those that are 'fools' without wisdom. The odd case of the heartless ostrich proves the point. There are many 'foolish' humans who may take heart from the ways of this God. We would be wise, however, to remember our role as custodians even of creatures that appear to be less than loving and wise.

Divine Creative Power and the Decentering of Creation: The Subtext of the Lord's Addresses to Job Dale Patrick

Approaching a familiar text with concerns deriving from the interpreter's cultural horizon can make for surprising discoveries.1 The question of ecojustice is certainly on the contemporary agenda. While it is doubtful that it was on the horizon of the Job poet and his audience, by asking how the drama depicts creation and cosmic order, one discovers a confrontation of perspectives on divine creative power. The definition of power may well have import for a theology which takes ecological health as a responsibility. I will limit my exposition to the poetic portion of the book, Job 3.142.6, adhering to the extant text, though I think the text is composite and disturbed in places. Occasionally I will note how rearrangement might enhance the coherence of the book. We will be watching for passages in the mouth of Job and his companions which describe the deity's creation and governance of the cosmos, or which draw analogies from nature to describe divine governance; in the second half of the study, we will note what YHWH has to say on these subjects and the possible implications of this for an ecojustice reading of the text. Divine Creative Power in the Dialogue

Job and his companions occasionally describe the creation of the cosmos and divine activity in natural processes in order to depict the creator's power and purpose and to characterize the human situation. In this section I will identify these references and categorize them this way: 1. 2. 3. 4. 1.

depiction of the deity's action at the cosmological level; likening the deity's action to natural phenomena; the imperfection of all creatures; death. For the concept of 'horizon', consult Gadamer 1986: 273-74, 337-38, 358.

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Each category will be defined before texts are identified and expounded. Cosmogonic/Cosmological Depictions

To this category belong references to the deity's originating or governing cosmic powers and individual beings. While divine governance may be a bit more difficult to identify and draw theological conclusions from, it should complement the cosmogonic depictions. The cosmic scale might be characterized as the 'big picture': nature in its full dimensions. Both Job and his three companions refer occasionally to cosmic powers, often under names of supernatural beings. Although most of these references characterize the power and wisdom of the deity, the first reference, Job's curse of the day of his birth, calls upon diviners to 'rouse Leviathan' (Job 3.8). Here Leviathan represents supernatural power over against the deity, power which might be harnessed to undo the order of the world. Not even Leviathan, though, could abolish a past event; the curse is a graphic way of expressing Job's complaint about the created order. Job draws on the myth of primeval battle between God and chaotic cosmic powers in Job 7.12. He asks whether he is a threat to God on the order of the Sea (Yam) or Tannin, a dragon mentioned in several biblical texts (Gen. 1.21; Ps. 74.13).2 Job assumes that God has subdued these forces but asserts that Job himself is no threat to God's sovereign rule; his complaint is that he is being treated as if he were. In the next discourse, Job acknowledges the deity's power and wisdom (Job 9.4). He images God's power in destructive events of the natural world (Job 9.5-7); destructive activity is partly balanced by images of ordering (Job 9.8a, 9), but in the middle of ordering is the subduing of the sea (Job 9.8b). Job's 'praise' concludes with acknowledgment of God's inscrutability (Job 9.10). The lesson is that no creature can control the deity. Later in this same discourse Job praises the deity as his own creator (Job 10.8-13), following the pattern Westermann3 terms 'contrast motif: 'Your hands shaped me and fashioned me/only to turn around and destroy me'. The imagery in this passage is unique among Job's descriptions of the deity's activity: the delicate act of forming by hand, knitting, even the organic image of ageing milk into cheese. These clash violently with the sadistic turn in the present. Job 2. 3.

The names seem to be largely interchangeable in the dialogue. See Westermann 1967:155-58,182-83.

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takes his relationship to the creator very personally. In Job 12.7-15, Job draws upon the praises of the creator to introduce his tragic view of life. In Job 12.7-9, he notes, echoing hymnody which calls creatures to praise (e.g., Ps. 148.3-4, 7-10; Isa. 44.23), that even dumb creatures know the deity is responsible for the existence of the universe. There is no evidence of beneficial purpose in the deity's actions, which consist of destructive droughts and floods (in Job 12.14-15); they are simply designed to maintain a monopoly of power. The rest of Job 12 underscores this point: the Lord of history is engaged in overthrowing all human powers. There are only a few scattered verses in the extant text in which Job's companions appeal to the creator's activity. Eliphaz's first discourse counsels Job to 'seek God', and incorporates a psalm of praise (Job 5.9-16) to characterize the deity. At the top of the list of God's wondrous deeds is provision of water for the ground (Job 5.10). The remainder celebrates God's saving work within the human community. God's power is beneficial. To enjoy its fruits (Job 5.17-26), humans have only to submit. In Job 11.7-9, Zophar appeals to the boundless extensions of deity as evidence of his incomprehensibility. There is no mystery, however, as to the cause of human distress (Job 11.11): God's ontological superiority guarantees his justice. Bildad asks a rhetorical question in Job 18.4 which classifies Job's discourse as an effort to exempt himself from the order of the universe. He believes Job's effort is futile and self-destructive. In Job 26.5-14, we find a full-fledged creation text depicting the power of the deity over all being, even the land of the dead (Job 26.56). Creation of the cosmos is likened to the work of a master builder (Job 26.7-9), who sets limits to the sea and a boundary between light and dark (Job 26.10). The creator's capacity derives from a primeval battle in which chaotic cosmic forces4 were killed (Job 26.12-13). Creation began in the elimination of opposing power and therefore the creator has a monopoly on power in the universe. Praise of the creator concludes by affirming the indescribability of divine power, imaged as thunder (Job 26.14; cf. 26.11). In the extant text, Job 26.5-14 is attributed to Job. Job certainly could have said it, for it coheres with Job 7.12 and Job 9.5-9; cf. also Job 12.710, 14-15. However, these other passages portray the power of the creator as arbitrary and destructive, whereas Job 26.5-14 extols it. Perhaps it was displaced from a discourse of one of Job's companions. Job 24-28 is, of course, notorious for its confusion, and rearrange4.

For this translation, see Habel 1985: 364-65.

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ments are common. The most compelling proposal is to attach Job 26.5-14 to Bildad's truncated discourse in Job 25, where Job 25.2-3 would make a fitting introduction.5 With the exception of Job 3.8 and Job 5.10, the references to the cosmos in both Job's and his companions' discourse make the point that the deity holds a monopoly of power in the order of being. For Job, this power is violent and arbitrary, whereas the companions regard it as beneficent and just. All agree that power is a zero-sum game: more power for deity means less for creatures. Indeed, creation begins in the suppression of all counter-power. Job's depiction of his own creation (Job 10.8-13) is an interesting and suggestive exception. Before we leave this category, we should incorporate the evidence of that latecomer to the dialogue, Elihu, although it seems likely that his speech is a later insertion by an outraged reader. In Job 33.6, Elihu describes himself as a creature formed of clay, but the statement has no cosmic import. Job 34.13-15 does. It appeals to the deity's power as creator as the reason his decisions are unimpeachable. God is guilty of no wrong! Shaddai does not pervert justice! Who entrusted the earth to him? (Job 34.12-13a)6

The reasoning seems to be: since the creator originated the created order, creatures must accept his definitions of right and good. Power is a divine monopoly. Elaborate depictions in Job 36.26-33 and Job 37.1-13 of the deity's meteorological activity are much longer and more focused than any other appeal to the creator's activity in the dialogue, an interesting synthesis of natural knowledge and theology. To confront the deity is as futile as to try command the wind and rain (Job 37.14-22); the proper attitude is fear (Job 37.24). Analogies between Divine Action and Natural Phenomena To this category belong sayings which use natural phenomena as metaphors or similes for God's action. God is not acting toward the creature in the natural phenomenon, but like it. A sampling will suffice. 'Darkness' can be found regularly on the lips of both Job and his companions. Darkness is, of course, a universal metaphor for 5. Habel (1985: 37-39, 364-75) offers a minimal rearrangement along these lines; I am actually attracted to Westermann's proposed relocation of Job 25.2-3; 26.5-14; 25.4-6 at the end of Bildad's first discourse (in Job 8): see Westermann 1981:132-33, and Patrick 1977: 27-28,100. 6. Habel's translation (1985: 473).

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incomprehension, disorientation, mystery, evil, danger, doom. In Eliphaz's first discourse, divine punishment of evil-doers is described as death-dealing 'breath of God' (Job 4.9); the term 'breath' evokes the desert wind which kills plants and threatens animals. Although Job and his companions could well have regarded wind as God's breath (see Job 37.9-10), the wind in Job 4.9 is not instrument but analogy. When Job compares his fate to a leaf or straw blown by the wind (Job 13.25), he is speaking metaphorically. He uses the same image in Job 30.22, and it is described as the fate of the wicked in Job 27.21. Several times Job likens God to a beast of prey (Job 10.16; 16.9); in the laments of the psalter, this image is used of enemies (e.g., Ps. 22.12-13,16, 21). Job also likens God to a bully who shoves him into the mud (Job 9.3031; 30.19); mud evokes a sense of uncleanness, shame, and rituals of mourning. Perhaps Job's most elaborate analogy drawn from nature is directed at his companions: in Job 6.15-20, Job describes a wadi bed that looks at a distance as though it might have water available for thirsty desert travelers, but turns out to be bone dry. Job's companions often invent images from nature to underline the cause-and-effect relationship of deed and consequences, a conceptual scheme entitled the 'fate-creating deed'.7 Eliphaz asserts that those who suffer reap what they sow (Job 4.7-8). In Job 4.10-11, he describes predatory cats dying for lack of prey, apparently an instance of this natural law. Bildad compares the fate of the wicked to papyrus without enough water (Job 8.11-12). Zophar draws out the image of food that sours in the stomach as analogy for the way wickedness makes the indulger suffer (Job 20.12-16, 23). In Job 20.18-20, wickedness is pictured as a gluttonous appetite. Job does not employ this type of analogy; indeed, it is the argument that most divides Job from his companions. Job realizes that the world is unjust, that consequences do not match the deed. He formulates a counter 'fate-of-the-wicked' argument at the end of the second cycle (Job 21).8 In it he imagines the life of a secular person (Job 21.14-16) filled with tranquillity and success. Among his images is the productivity of his cattle herd (Job 21.10). How do the analogies used by Job and his companions correlate with their depictions of the deity's power over the cosmos? All participants in the dialogue regard natural phenomena as agents or instruments of the deity. Job and his companions divide over their purpose. Eliphaz and friends are adamant that the moral order is firm 7. 8.

Consult Koch 1972:130-80. More of this argument is found in Job 24.

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and precise; nature is analog and instrument. Job has become convinced that God's actions are capricious,9 and that God turns malevolent when his prerogatives are challenged. The analogies Job draws from nature to characterize the God who oppresses him are audacious and provocative, designed to shock and disorient his companions and the reading audience. Nature takes on a particularly sinister visage in this verbal combat. The Imperfection of Nature A particular argument for the inherent impurity and unrighteousness of all humans recurs three times in the discourses of Job's companions (Job 4.17-21; 15.14-16; 25.4-6), an argument based on the order of being. The fundamental point is articulated in Job 4.17: 'Can a human be righteous before God? A man be pure before his maker?'10 The reasoning goes: if creatures higher in the hierarchy of being are untrustworthy and impure, how much more mortal creatures. In Job 4.18, angels are imperfect, in Job 15.15 'holy ones/heavens', in Job 25.5, moon and stars. In all three passages, a moral quality is paired with a ritual one (impurity), leaving ambiguity as to whether the imperfection of creatures is due to moral turpitude or ontological deficiency; perhaps the argument relies upon this ambiguity. Job acknowledges the point in Job 9.2-4, but construes righteousness as a forensic rather than an ontological or moral category, and considers it unthinkable to contest God's righteousness in a trial. It is when he does the unthinkable, challenging God to join him in judicial contest, that Job severs the correlation between the moral and ontological order. Death This category is determined solely by subject matter. While death is part of nature, it is also social and existential. The fact of death undoubtedly shapes human attitudes toward nature; in our discourses it has a cosmic dimension as well. Job's meditations on death are pervasive, and probably the most profound exploration of the meaning of death to be found in Scripture. He begins in his opening utterances; the curse of the day of his birth (Job 3.1-10) sets the tone. The curse is a kind of fiction, for it would mean that his entire life would be erased from existence. The theological implications of Job's wish are enormous, though indirect: 9. Cf., e.g., Job 21.23-26. 10. For the grammatical problem in this verse, see Habel 1985:116.

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it would be better for a person never to have existed than to suffer, knowing they will soon not exist. Yet God seems intent on keeping him alive against his will. Job wishes that God would finish him off (Job 6.8-9); however, his will to live is strong and fear of extinction great. He soon begins to protest God's decree of death (Job 7.6-10, 21cd; see esp. 30.23). The theme of the shortness of life begins in Job 7.6-10, returns in Job 9.25-26, Job 13.28, and Job 14.1-3. Job concludes every discourse in the first cycle with a description of what it is like in Sheol (Job 7.21cd; 10.21-22; 14.18-22). The idea grows on him of being 'hidden7 in Sheol until God's anger is spent, after which he would be reconciled with God with the aid of an ombudsman appointed by God (Job 16.18-21; 19.23-27). In Job 16.16-17, death takes on a contradictory aspect: Job's death will provoke a judicial hearing which will resolve his case (Job 16.18-21), yet his death will end hope for reconciliation (Job 17.11-16). In his next discourse, he comes to a firmer conviction that his death will bring reconciliation (Job 19.23-27).n Job's companions have little comprehension of the existential meaning of death. Death can be punishment; both Bildad and Zophar ring the changes on that subject. Very little is said about the death that faces all humans. Eliphaz does describe the 'good death' (Job 5.26) — in old age, with honor, inheritance and offspring. Death is a stigma on the face of creation. It is an integral part of the rhythm of life. But human beings are aware of death as the end of their experience of the world —the end of the world as experienced. Job alone acknowledges this deep scar, and he alone can glimpse a personal hope, paradoxically, in his coming demise. The Cosmos from YHWH's Perspective Although new aspects of the world of nature are presented in the poem on the inaccessibility of wisdom (Job 28)12 and Job's peroration (Job 29-31),13 it is YHWH's first address (Job 38.1-40.2) which introduces a radically new perspective. The very fact that YHWH focuses his whole address on the origin and governance of creation indicates something new. Why does YHWH start so 'far away' from Job's 11. Cf. my study (Patrick 1979: 268-82). 12. Job 28.1-11 provides the only depiction and celebration of human ingenuity in probing and exploiting part of the natural world. No sooner has human ingenuity been extolled than it is contrasted with the quest for wisdom. 13. Job's oath of clearance devotes one conditional self-curse to his proper care of his cropland (Job 31.38-41). Another self-curse concerns worship of Sun and Moon (Job 31.26-27).

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complaint? Obviously YHWH is positioning Job—and the reader —to regard his troubles in a new light. YHWH's address begins with two bicola (Job 38.2-3) addressed to the human party to the dispute. YHWH has accepted the debate format requested by Job; YHWH answers Job by questioning him. At the end of the discourse, YHWH asks whether this disputant has a rejoinder (Job 40.2). The whole discourse is framed as a debate with legal overtones. Within YHWH's barrage of questions there is an occasional aside to Job, challenging him to answer (Job 38.4, 12, 18, 21). The questions themselves are intermixed with description, and the descriptive portion grows in proportion as the discourse progresses. The subjects have solely to do with the creation and ordering of the creaturely world: origins (Job 38.4-11), the temporal oscillation of day and night (Job 38.12-15), cosmic 'regions' (Job 38.16-21), sources of meteorological phenomena (Job 38.22-30), control of the constellations (Job 38.31-33), control of weather (Job 38.34-38); then animals, first providence (Job 38.39-41; 39.1-4), then endowment of species with unique qualities (Job 39.5-30). What is YHWH asking Job? YHWH describes Job as the one who obscures 'etsah, which can mean either 'counsel', i.e., the act of deliberation, or 'plan, design', what is arrived at in deliberation. An argument can be made for either construal. What knowledge does Job lack? Has Job sounded off on creation? What he has said about creation would seem rather peripheral to his complaint, and driven by his bitter experience. Has YHWH simply changed the subject? YHWH's questions are designed to put Job —and all humans —in their place. 'Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?' (Job 38.4a). Job's answer would have to be: I did not exist. 'Who fixed its dimensions?' Job had never expressed any doubt about God's role; the questions must be aimed at reinforcing the ontological chasm between creator and creature. In Job 38.12, Job is asked whether he has commanded the morning. Here the question has to do with power: who is in charge of this universe? Does Job have power equal to God's? Questions alternate between knowledge and power. Has Job inspected the cosmic realms removed from humans (Job 38.1621)? He can no more explore them than he can go back to the beginning of time (cf. Job 38.21). Knowledge and power are correlates; only the one who made the world can know its inner workings and 'escort [light and darkness] to their places' (Job 38.20).u Human knowledge is mere speculation. 14. Mabel's translation (1985: 518); the argument is Vice's (1961: 52-53).

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Job gets the point of YHWH's interrogation: he pleads silence (Job 41.4-5). Humans do not have the knowledge and power of the creator, and therefore are in no position to criticize God's performance. But Job's complaint has not been addressed, and YHWH must say something more to convert Job's lament to praise; the first address has only silenced his lament. The Implied Argument of YHWH's Interrogation The explicit argument is negative, a censure which puts Job in his place. In describing creation and the creaturely world, however, the first address also communicates a perspective which builds upon and transforms the audience's understanding of creation. The first discourse appears to be based upon praise of the creator.15 YHWH formulates assertions of praise as questions to be answered in declarations of praise. The many parallels to Psalm 104 support this analysis. The audience would understand the import of the first discourse from their acquaintance with praise psalms. Thus, the revelation to Job, his companions, and the reading audience builds upon what they already know —what they acknowledge in worship. What is new in this revelation, beyond the fact that YHWH speaks, is how YHWH describes creation. The artistry of YHWH's long and poetic discourse has force in its own right. The poet suggests without asserting, evoking a sense of wonder at the creator's mysterious ways. The address is equally concerned to describe natural processes and creatures, arousing a sense of awe and wonder at things so often taken for granted. The first discourse envisages a created order independent of humans. One can see this in its celebration of the 'wildness' of nature —forces not only outside human control, but without value to humans. Nothing in this address speaks of the good of creation for humans. Nor does it conform to the human moral order. This is a world that is good in a non-moral sense, each being existing for itself and participating in the community of being. Such a world has intrinsic worth apart from any human valuation. There is another, more subtle feature of the imagery: the creator's action is not described in images of violence or subduing or suppressing. The language used by Job and his companions is gently, 15. Westermann (1981: 108-15). This thesis does not preclude parallels of other sorts, such as the Wisdom list pointed out by von Rad, as used by Habel (1985: 529-35).

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surreptitiously altered, transformed, purged. The change is so well hidden that I was not even aware of it until I embarked on this project. In what follows I will formulate the significance of this change and trace it in the language. Divine Creative Power We can describe YHWH's subtle re-visioning of creation in terms of definitions of power. Power is frequently defined as the capacity to accomplish what the possessor or actor intends. That has usually been taken to imply that the more power one actor has, the less others have. Power, by this definition, is a zero-sum game (Pasewark 1993: 199), the object of which is to attain a monopoly of power. Pasewark (1993: 197-207) has proposed that power be defined differently-as the 'communication of efficacy7. For theology, this would mean that the world created by God is not a threat to divine omnipotence, but an expression of it.16 What follows applies the concept of power as communicating efficacy to the first discourse from the whirlwind. The first act of creation is described as a construction project (Job 38.4-7)—from measuring out a ground plan to laying foundations. Perhaps the singing of stars and divine beings recalls ceremonies of laying foundations for temples. The impression given the reader is of a joyous occasion for all being; there is no counter-force, no resistance to be overcome. The next unit (Job 38.8-11) describes a scene which Job and his companions would have rendered as a violent battle: the subduing of the sea. YHWH does mention putting limits on this mighty force, but the sea is like an infant, just emerging from the womb, and it is wrapped in 'swaddling clothes'. This organic image of birth is daring and mysterious. It balances the construction image —the universe is organism as well as artifice. Moreover, an infant does not represent a dangerous power, but a being who must be trained to live in society — a nurturing activity. Logically, limiting the sea should precede the construction of the cosmic building. That is the order one finds elsewhere (e.g., Ps. 89.9-12). Perhaps the order has been reversed to 16. Pasewark (1993: 200-202) finds his concept of power in Luther: 'God's sovereignty is a necessary precondition of divine omnipotence, but it is not sufficient. Power arises in the communication of efficacy to creatures. What applies to the event of creation applies also to God's preservation of the world. All things are upheld and preserved by the Word of power...All gifts of God are intended for the life and power of creation; power itself has the character of a gift, a sharing of blessing'.

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further subvert the idea that subduing chaos precedes the construction of the universe. When YHWH comes to the meteorological elements, there is mention of their use to 'wage war' on the land (Job 38.23). In contrast to Elihu's disquisition on God's control of the weather, there is no hint that bad weather expresses YHWH's wrath. Rather, YHWH seems to enjoy the excitement; the violence of the natural world is part of the flourishing of being. Hence, predators must be fed at the expense of prey. YHWH even enjoys a joke — the absurd ostrich. There are passages in both Job's and his companions' speeches which view God's creating and sustaining of the creaturely world as empowering creatures. Above all, in Job's depiction of God's creation of himself (Job 10.8-12), using images of fashioning and nurturing, there is no hint of suppressing counter-powers or guarding the divine monopoly on power— until we come to the present reversal. The voice from the whirlwind draws on this side of the creation tradition in its transformation of the understanding of God's relationship to creation. But note the difference: nothing that God says indicates any particular preference for humans. The discourse 'decenters' creation; it is decidedly not anthropocentric. This is a world designed for the benefit of the whole community of life, indeed of inanimate nature (by our definitions) as well. Humans must find their niche within this dynamic, dangerous, but vibrant ecosystem. The poet portrays the creator's activity as endowing creatures with the capacity to participate in and contribute to the community of being. There is ordering, but no suppression of counter-power; the ordering enhances the good of all, including the beings limited. The order includes violence and catastrophe, but these are not a struggle or war of all with each; the aim is the flourishing of each species within a niche in the community of life —an aim that anticipates the interconnectedness of ecosystems discerned in contemporary ecology and espoused by the Earth Bible Project. Divine sovereignty is exercised not at the expense of creaturely power, but in the realization of each species' capacity to thrive. The Second Address

As benign and catholic as this understanding of power is, it is disconcerting and even threatening to humans who seek the protection of the deity. Nowhere is there any consolation and support for humans. Its relevance to Job's complaint is its disregard of the values which gave rise to it —as if God had said, I have the whole universe to

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govern; your particular problem is not worthy of cognizance. God seems to side with ancient agnostics who say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through thick darkness?' (Job 22.13) —the creator is too preoccupied with the cosmic level to watch over the moral order. Job is silenced, but not converted. To elicit Job's praise,17 YHWH must say more. How is the understanding of divine creative power communicated in the first address to be applied to the human quest for justice and salvation? The answer to that question, I think, is the agenda of the second address.18 YHWH begins his interrogation with questions quite germane to Job's complaint: 'Will you really annul my judgment? Condemn me in order that you might be righteous?' (Job 40.8, my translation). This is the thesis that will be proved in the interrogation. It has the force of accusation, or at least censure. Implicitly it questions Job's assumption that if a righteous person suffers so, then God is unjust. How is YHWH to show the fallacy of this assumption? The remainder of the address appears to be about power. The lead unit (Job 40.9-14) concerns the rule of history: can Job overthrow the proud as God does in hymns of praise?19 The section concludes with an unexpected promise to honor Job if he pulls it off (Job 40.14). One could read this promise as straightforward encouragement to humans to take charge of their own destiny, but I take it as ironic.20 Later in the address, Job —in a company of hunters —is challenged to capture and domesticate Leviathan (Job 40.25-32). The section ends with a taunt (Job 41.1) and then a comparison: 'Is he not ferocious when aroused? But who can take their stand before me?' (Job 41.2). If humans cringe before this creature, how much more before God.21 Throughout this address, power is depicted as coercive. Have we reverted to power as a zero-sum game? Must God maintain a monopoly on power at the expense of creatures? An alternative is to construe the point as warning humans to recognize limits on their power to dominate and to control their destiny. This is the explicit, negative thrust; as in the first address, Job —and the audience —must 17. Or repentance, if that is the interpreter's construal of Job 42.1-6. I have published an argument for praise (1976: 369-71); cf. also Morrow 1986: 211-25. 18. Westermann 1981:108-15; I have altered the nomenclature to fit our passage. 19. E.g., Pss. 33.10-17; 147.6,10; 1 Sam. 2.4-8. 20. Job 40.8 calls for a negative answer, and the effort to control human destiny is regarded as sinful elsewhere in Hebrew Scripture, e.g., Hos. 14.3; Isa. 2.12-17. 21. The point of the descriptions of Behemoth (Job 40.15-24) and Leviathan (Job 41.4-26) continues to baffle me, but one can at least note that both are described as under God's control (Job 40.19, 24; 41.4).

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recognize that humans are not God's equal. If God decenters creation in the first address, God disillusions the human will-to-power in the second. In the Earth community humans are not created to dominate but to fit within the limits of their ecosystem. Is there an implicit positive affirmation, one which could elicit Job's trust and praise (Job 42.1-6)? It may be hidden in Job 41.3. The text is cryptic and has spawned an array of translations and emendations.22 Taken literally, Job 41.3a (in Hebrews 41.11a in English) reads: 'Who has confronted me and I have requited (or restored)?'23 On the surface, the answer would seem to be 'no one'. No one can force God to reverse his judgment. But wait: what has Job done? He has confronted God; he has survived. Perhaps YHWH has granted Job precisely the hearing he had pleaded for and thereby established justice (cf. Job 13.16). This would be an exercise of divine power which had no need to defend its prerogatives and could therefore communicate efficacy to human creatures. Conclusion

At the outset, I noted that the question posed here arises from our contemporary concern for ecojustice. The question certainly brought out an aspect of the poetic drama that I had not noticed. What relevance do our findings have for our contemporary existence? One cannot expect a blueprint for the ecological movement in an ancient text. We can, however, discover ourselves in the mirror of this work and hear again the theophanic discourse. Our ancestors sought in a deity protection against dangerous natural forces. The result was, though, oppressive —as Job testifies. Since the Enlightenment, Western humans have sought to control nature through science and technology. What we have accomplished is awesome. We can, at one level, answer those questions thundered at Job. Most of us tolerate the oppression of technology to enjoy its benefits; the price exacted from our fellow creatures is awful. The voice from the whirlwind censures us and invites us to take our place in a community of beings empowered by a creator who delights in the flourishing of life. And to regain our own freedom in the bargain. 22. Dhorme (1967, 1984: 630-32), and Pope (1965: 282-83), emend first person pronouns in Job 41.2, 3 (in Hebrew; 41.10,11 in English) to third person. 23. The clause 'under all of heaven7 in Job 41.3b could be a continuation of 3a, but that would leave 'he [or it] is mine7 dangling. If we translated the hemistich 'everything under heaven is mine7, according to Habel (1985: 551, 555), it introduces a new thought; one is tempted to emend // to mi with Pope (1965: 283).

Plumbing the Depths of Earth: Job 28 and Deep Ecology Katharine J. Dell Job 28 is generally designated a 'hymn to Wisdom'1 and yet it does not so much praise or describe Wisdom as indicate her inaccessibility to human beings. In the course of the hymn the quest by humans to find Wisdom in the only domain that they know —that of the earth (hereafter Earth) —leads to a rich description of the breadth and depths of the created world. Furthermore, the description of God's knowledge of Wisdom leads to reflection on the profound order to be found in the world. Thus, although the inaccessibility of Wisdom is undeniably a major theme of the hymn, we might consider highlighting other aspects of this poem. We might focus on the close link between Wisdom and Earth in this poem in that a particular link is forged because of the description of Wisdom residing in Earth's depths. We might also usefully consider God's relationship not just with Wisdom, but with Earth, too. Job 28 gives us profound insights in relation to human attitudes to Earth and to the well-being of all its creatures, as stressed in the principles of deep ecology. Reading from the perspective of Earth would seem to me to have much in common with applying the principles of deep ecology to texts. I have explored this elsewhere in relation to the Wisdom literature (Dell 1994: 423-51). Naess, the man who coined the phrase 'deep ecology', argued that 'the essence of deep ecology is to ask deeper questions' (quoted in Devall and Sessions 1985: 74). This involves an ethical and religious consciousness as well as an ecological one. It involves 'digging deep' like the humans in our passage (Job 28.9-11). Deep ecology offers the principle of interrelatedness and interaction—i.e. links between human activity and the natural world, 1. Within the context of the book of Job, this chapter does not fit into the rounds of speeches that have been taking place between the friends and Job. It is thought therefore that this 'hymn' may have had a separate existence and was placed at this point in the book of Job, either by the author of the dialogue, or by a later redactor.

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an understanding and valuing of the natural world, and an appreciation of the essential goodness of creation, linking up with its divine origin. We can see this in Job 28 in the parallel drawn between humans and animals (Job 28.7-8), as so often used in imagery of the Wisdom literature (Dell forthcoming). We can perhaps also note interaction with the elements, too, in the personification of the Deep and the Sea, Abaddon and Death, in Job 28.14, 22. We find echoes of the goodness of creation in the praise and delight found in the description of the non-human world and we can find the divine dimension in the interaction of God with this entire process. There is vital concern in deep ecology for the well-being and flourishing of all life and an emphasis on its richness and diversity —one thinks again of the praise of created world contained in particular in the first half of the poem, and of Earth's witness to God (and to Wisdom). We might compare Job 38, the beginning of the first speech of God, where the mysteries of creation point to divine sovereignty beyond human understanding. There is a recognition of the inherent value of life and concern to sustain it in deep ecology—God is in relationship, creating and sustaining Earth. The Israelite worldview is a united one in that there is no separate 'nature' apart from God. There is an essential difference between the 'creator7 and the 'creation' and yet creation is regarded as a process, always dependent upon its creator who gives and sustains life.2 There is also a primary place for order in the creative process.3 With these principles from deep ecology in mind, reading Job 28 from the perspective of Earth might cause us to do the following: 1. 2. 3. 4.

to shift the emphasis from the quest for Wisdom to the praise of the created world as depicted in this text; to recognize not only humanity's quest for Wisdom but also the description of the non-human creation contained within its lines; to look again at God's relationship with the created world; to examine the human response of praise to God as creator, following in the path of Wisdom and the necessity of a moral response.

These are thus the four areas of concern into which I shall divide my discussion in this article, but I shall also ask a further important question in each section: 'Where is the voice of Earth in this?' 2. See discussion in von Rad 1984:144-65 and 1962: 426-27. 3. According to Perdue (1994), the keynote of the portrayal of creation in Wisdom is order.

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions The Created World and its Hidden Wealth

Von Rad described this hymn as a 'powerful, expansive poem which almost luxuriates in words'.4 It has often been noted that there is a rich and exotic vocabulary of precious metals and stones and of the processes by which they are extracted from Earth. The chapter opens with a description of mining for silver and gold, iron and copper — this is about the human attempt to plumb the depths of Earth to its darkest corners in order to find precious metals and about human ingenuity in refining and smelting the raw materials. One might regard this as simply an example of the lengths to which humans will go in their greed for gold. However, it is not simply to be seen as a description of human avarice; rather it is about the hidden riches that are to be found in the depths of Earth that only human beings can access and process. The thought moves on to include precious jewels, bright stones shining in the darkness of the mines. A contrast is drawn in Job 28.5 between the 'bread' that comes from the surface of Earth and the 'fire' underneath —probably referring to volcanic fire, but a connection with the idea that this in some way influenced the forging of the stones in Job 28.6 is probably intended.5 The thought of Job 28.1-6 continues in 28.9-11 where we go back to human action in cutting and digging deep in order to bring hidden things to light, with 28.7-8 belonging more naturally to the thought of 28.12-22.6 4. Von Rad 1972: 146. He also highlights the theme of Wisdom's inaccessibility as the keynote of the thought of this hymn. He writes (1972: 148): 'The line of thought in the poem, is, rather, this. Wisdom, the order given to the world by God, is the most precious thing of all. But while man [sic] has eventually found a way to all precious things, he [not sure if Mark is in original] [sic] does not find the way to the mystery of creation. Only God knows its place, for he has already been concerned with it at creation. If man [sic] cannot determine this mystery of creation, it means, of course—this consequence is already envisaged in the poem —that it is out of his arbitrary reach. He [sic] never gets it into his [sic] power as he [sic] does the other precious things. The world never reveals the mystery of its order. One can scarcely go further than this in the interpretation/ 5. It is thought that sapphire was not known as a stone until Roman times and so most commentators suggest that this is a reference to the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. 6. The structure of the poem is generally seen to be in four strophes: Job 28.111 (human pursuit of the hidden treasures of Earth); 28.12-22 (the inaccessibility of Wisdom); 28.23-28 (God's knowledge of Wisdom's whereabouts) and 28.28 (human wisdom), with a questioning refrain—'Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?', in 28.12, 20.

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An interesting aspect of this first section of the passage to which I wish to draw attention is the double entendre in the referent in these verses. We read in Job 28.3 and 9-11 that 'Miners put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness',7 and that 'Miners put their hands to the flinty rock and overturn mountains by the roots. Miners cut out channels in the rocks; and their eyes see every precious thing'. It is clear that whilst such activities do belong to the human realm, they also refer to God's activity in creation and that the double entendre here is deliberate. In Job 28.3 there is a parallelism between humans searching out to the limits or bounds, and God's successful search for Wisdom as described in Job 28.23-26; God alone can go beyond those bounds. There is also an overtone of Job 11.7-9, which describes the inability of humans to find out the deep things of God—God's 'limit' is higher than heaven and deeper than Sheol. Sheol is the place of the dead at the lower limit of God's domain in the description of deep darkness (cf. Job 10.21-22). Thus this mining imagery leads to a parallel between the probing activity of humans in the world, and God's probing for Wisdom in the divine realm.8 In Job 28.9-11, too, these human actions of overturning mountains and cleaving rocks parallel the action of God in creation (Job 9.5; Ps. 78.5). While traditional interpretation of this section of our passage has emphasized human ingenuity in uncovering the 'secrets' of Earth, a more Earth-centred reading might put the stress on the fact that such treasures exist and on the fact that this poem praises the richness of Earth's gifts —the upper surface giving sustaining food while the deep recesses yield fine metals and jewels. Nowhere else in the Old Testament is there such a fine description of the quality of Earth's treasures. This links up with descriptions of Wisdom's preciousness (Prov. 8) and we begin to see a close link between Wisdom and Earth in that Wisdom resides in it —it is there that her mysterious hiddenness becomes inaccessible to humans, which suggests that Earth has secrets beyond human comprehension. The voice of Earth therefore states that human beings do not know it all —that there are hidden dimensions and beauties of which we human beings have only an inkling. Earth gives of its gifts but not of all its secrets. 7. RSV translation of Hebrew (adcmi) is 'men'. NRSV, in its attempt to be inclusive, renders 'men' as 'miners', and uses the plural 'they' instead of 'he' in these verses. 8. There is also an interesting overtone of this passage in Job 3.21 where the digging for death by those who desire it is likened to digging for hidden treasures.

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In Job 28.7-8 we find mention of certain animals. They appear to be compared to humans unfavourably in that they do not know the way to Wisdom, nor do they have the human capacity to plumb the depths. And yet there is a note of praise in the description of the animals here. Even the falcon's eye has not seen the path to Wisdom — and the falcon's eye does not miss a trick, such is its accuracy. And even the highest and proudest of the beasts —the lion—has not stumbled across Wisdom. The function of the passage is perhaps not to belittle the animals' quest but simply to stress the complete hiddenness of Wisdom. There are overtones here of the descriptions of animals that we will find in the speeches of God in Job 38-41. There the context seems to be the belittlement of Job in the light of that which he does not understand. But again there is a note of praise of the beauty, richness, diversity and sometimes strangeness of the animal world. There is a recognition that animals have different habits and skills to those of humans —they also do things that do not seem to conform to human ideas of order or justice. An example is the ostrich who, according to popular tradition, abandons her eggs and hence her young (Job 39.1318). Yet the message here is that the human perspective is not the only one —animals do things that are different from human behaviour and for very good reasons known only to God.9 Job is forced to acknowledge the wider ecological picture in the speeches of God —he is part of a larger world.10 There is an inherent criticism of a highly anthropocentric view of the world both in Job 28 and in the speeches of God later in the book, to which this poem has often been likened.11 We

9. See discussion in Dell (forthcoming). 10. Dyrness (1987) finds the point that human creation need not always have a relation to human lives in the speeches of God in Job and argues that this relieves human beings of the pressure to make creation useful for human society. 11. This poem has even been counted as part of the speeches of God by some scholars, e.g. Pope (1965), who argues that the chapter does not belong here with Job desiring to bring God into court and question him, and belongs much better with the theophany; Szczygiel (1931) even goes so far as to move this chapter to follow Job 42.6. Other scholars regard the insertion of the hymn at the present juncture as a deliberate technique by the author to provide a pause, indicating that the dialogue is at an end (Westermann 1981); Habel (1985) regards it as a midway point, deliberately echoing the pious attitude of Job in the Prologue, following Dhorme (1967), who regards it as a general judgment on the previous discussion.

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might also note Job 12.7-9, in which the wisdom that the animals might teach human beings about the nature of God's action is described. In Job 28.12-22 the poem moves more centrally to the issue of Wisdom's inaccessibility. The question is asked: Where is its 'place7? Habel (1985) shows in his commentary on Job how 'place7 and 'way7 are key themes in this passage. We find here, paralleling the personification of Wisdom herself, a personified description of Deep12 and Sea, neither of whom know the way to Wisdom. The value of Wisdom is thus seen to be greater even than that of those precious stones over which so much effort has been spent.13 Wisdom is then described as hidden from the living, but Abaddon and Sheol, again personified, have heard a rumour of it. It is an interesting idea that in the very depths of Earth there is an inkling of Wisdom's existence.14 In this section of the poem, the non-human world is described, both in terms of animals and with an emphasis on the most profound elements of sea and Earth that make up the world. An Earth-centred reading might emphasize these factors more than the inaccessibility theme. The voice of Earth in this reading is a reiteration of the inaccessibility theme —the message that Wisdom may be manifest in the elements but even they do not know all its secrets. Earth is the guardian of Wisdom and the way to her is a path that is forever unknown to human beings and is known only to the creator, God. God's Relationship with the Created World

In Job 28.23-27 we come to the climax of the poem—God alone knows the way to Wisdom who is herself the ordering principle in creation. Here is another example of double entendre of referent; this time God is being described in human terms, notably in Job 28.24, 'For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens', sentiments that echo the activities of those who mine deep in Earth. This is a description of God's relationship with the created world in that God interacts with that very principle of order that allows creation to occur —i.e. Wisdom —and in doing so establishes an absolute claim

12. This description recalls creation—one might note the use of tehom here and in Gen. 1 which may indicate a mythological background. 13. Interestingly glass was considered a valuable commodity in those days. 14. There is some tension in the Old Testament about whether there is continued existence in Sheol —in 1 Samuel Saul calls Samuel back from Sheol to consult him. However, in the book of Job, Job longs for Sheol in the bowels of Earth as a place of complete escape from God.

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over creation.15 We may wish to find significance in the fact that Wisdom is a female principle, thought by some scholars, for instance Lang (1975), to be the vestiges of a goddess image. The figure of Wisdom in Proverbs is introduced in a picture of a woman standing at the gate of the city calling to young men to follow her path (Prov. 1.20-33), and then, in Prov. 8.22-31, this image is extended to the idea of Wisdom as a principle of order in creation. It is only in the later Wisdom books that Wisdom becomes equated with the Torah (Sirach) and becomes a hypostasis, i.e. an emanation of the godhead (Wisdom of Solomon).16 In Job 28 we cannot yet speak in such terms: although we can see this poem as being in essential continuity with other hymns to Wisdom, it is at an earlier stage of development; we find here a feminine aspect to creation and to language about God.17 Perdue (1994: 185) argues for a primary image in this passage of God as craftsman and judge 'who shapes a reality of beautiful proportions and then issues decrees that regulate the order of creation'. Perdue describes Wisdom as 'that revealer of divine reality and activity and the meaning of the cosmos' (1994:186). While I would agree with the craftsman image and see it linking up with human ingenuity as described in the first part of our passage, I would take issue with the judge image —Wisdom is herself the principle of order and justice. Perdue (1994: 186) wrestles with the relationship between God and Wisdom, arguing that Wisdom originated in God's imagination, that God 'saw her in his mind and then spoke her into existence. He then "established" her much as he secured the foundations of the world.' But we don't have evidence of her having existed in God's imagination here —surely the point is that she herself was a vital part of God's activity in securing the foundations of the world. God is separate from Wisdom in that God has to seek her out, but she is the very agent of creation itself. Wisdom herself has an essential separateness from God. Habel (1992: 21-38) argues for an image of God as the first sage in this passage. He argues that it is only one Wisdom that human beings and God seek to acquire, preferring not to make a distinction between

15. A connection has long been noted by scholars between personified Wisdom and the Egyptian concept of Maat, the principle of order in the world. See BauerKayatz 1966. 16. See discussion of these issues and of the centrality of the personification of Wisdom in the theological character of Wisdom literature in Dell 2000. 17. One could link the Wisdom image loosely with ecofeminism in its stress on the close association of woman with nature; see Salleh 1984.

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divine and human wisdom.18 He points to the imagery of discovery — Wisdom, like the precious metals in Earth, has to be 'found7 in the hidden depths of Earth. But the message is that it cannot simply be found as the jewels are found — its place is secret and known only to God. Because God has discovered Wisdom God is the first sage. Habel (1992: 31) writes: 'Wisdom is not something in God but is a mystery of the cosmos7. Thus Habel sees Wisdom as a separate entity from God, discovered in the process of creating and enabling the ordering of the world that is so integral to its structure. He writes (1992: 32): Wisdom here seems to be viewed as the integrating design that gives the cosmos coherence, momentum and purpose. Her presence is revealed in the process of designing creation, in the measuring, weighing, ordering and establishing of natural laws. She is like a primordial blueprint that holds the secret to how things work in the chaos of this world.

This image seems to me a more accurate description of the relationship than Perdue7s, although rather than characterizing God as 'sage7, I would argue that God as creator is the primary image in God's 'establishing7 of Earth (cf. Prov. 8.23). In Habel's article on Job in this volume he produces a helpful chart of the structure of Job's 'cosmos7. In the section between heaven and Earth, there is seen to be a meeting place, a locus of life where heaven intervenes on Earth to give and take. That is where the figure of Wisdom, as also in Proverbs 8, comes in —the bridge between human wisdom and divine Wisdom.19 Here in Job 28, however, the two types of wisdom are differentiated —Earth's realm is seen to be separate, the world of the dead only just bordering on the edges of the divine world. Wisdom is seen to belong to the divine world and yet the very fact that she is being searched for in Earth and resides there is an indication of her being a bridge between heaven and Earth. There is a barrier beyond which Earth/humans cannot reach and that is the realm of God; yet Wisdom is at the limits of that barrier. There is a link with the quest for understanding the principles of the universe — the mystery of the order of the world is not in human power. Earth

18. A distinction made strongly by R. Gordis (1965,1974). 19. G. von Rad (1984:161) points to the differences between Prov. 8 and Job 28. He notes that Job 28 is 'gloomy and resigned: man's [sic] questioning strikes up against the impenetrable barrier of the secret and is thrown back. In Proverbs 8 on the contrary, the poem is a proclamation made by the secret of itself/

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has its own secrets, and the central one is the hiddenness of its ordering principle, Wisdom. An Earth-centred reading then acknowledges the mysterious relationship between Earth and its creator, with an emphasis on Wisdom as an intermediary and ordering principle. It is interesting that the search for Wisdom is not in heaven or elsewhere —it is in the very place where human beings reside and where we think we have dominion. The voice of Earth tells us that there are more profound aspects of Earth that only God knows and that we cannot use Earth for our own exploitative aims. Earth is the place where Wisdom herself resides —a divine Wisdom that transcends our human attempts to master life. Earth is the home of a great treasure beyond all the precious stones embedded in its depths. Human Response A further key aspect of deep ecology is the need for human response to the principles that have been established, and that response is primarily conceived as an ethical one. This links up with the final verse of Job 28, the injunction to fear God and notably depart from evil —that is, to live a moral life. There is thus a stress on human responsibility to enable the process of creation to continue and be open to change and contradiction; recognition of the inherent value of nature apart from human interests; appreciation of God's action in nature and the inherent value of life. Earth and all its resources are at human disposal, not for humans to exploit and ravish but to explore and enjoy alongside Earth's other inhabitants —there is a profound inter-relationship of the human and non-human creation and of both of these with God, as mediated through Wisdom. And so, finally, in Job 28.28 human beings are told to fear God and depart from evil, that is, to behave piously and morally in the face of their limited understanding.20 There are echoes here of the prologue (Job 1.8, 2.3) —that is, Job's pious response to the afflictions that are sent upon him. There are also echoes of Job 42.7—the rebuke of the friends-in that the attempt to limit the activities of God is implicitly 20. Questions have been raised as to the authenticity of this verse by scholars who see the move to human wisdom as misplaced in this passage. Whybray recently argued (1999: 231-45) that it is a very different kind of wisdom that is being described here and that nothing in the passage suggests that there is any link between the two. However, most modern scholarship tends to view the poem as a unity.

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criticized. At this point we move from the divine realm back to the human one. Because of the limitations on human knowledge this kind of reaction is ultimately at least one answer for human beings. Perdue (1994) regards this as rather an unsatisfactory answer in its echoing of what came before, but in fact one could argue that it is the answer we end up with in the repentance of Job in the face of the theophany of God.21 It is also the conclusion that the book of Ecclesiastes reaches in the Epilogue (Eccl. 12.13-14). It may not be the only answer that the book of Job throws up, but it is certainly one of them. This final verse can be regarded more positively as the call to humans to respond in three ways —first to acknowledge God with an attitude of reverence; second to follow in the path of Wisdom; and third to have a sense of moral responsibility. An Earth-centred reading, in its effort to redress the balance in regard to the stress on human beings, must not forget humanity's place in the world as the species that has been able to seek out the hidden things of Earth, as described in the first part of this hymn. The final verse of this poem gives that aspect its rightful place. The voice of Earth calls on humanity to be responsible— to fear God, to listen to Wisdom's voice, to learn truth and to act with reverence towards the created world. Plumbing the depths of Earth does not mean mining for treasures with human greed and exploitation at the forefront of our minds. It means digging deeper than simply into the physical world to hear the voice of God, who speaks to humanity via Wisdom, who is housed in Earth and is the deepest of Earth's mysteries.

21. Rowley (1958:192) wrote: 'in humble reverence towards God and obedience to His will man's [sic] truest wisdom is to be found'. He saw this verse as anticipating the position that Job reaches after the divine speech and thus making the rest of the book an anticlimax (1958:167-207).

'Go Forth into the Fields': An Earth-Centered Reading of the Song of Songs Carole R. Fontaine

The Task of Interpretation Few books have acquired the variegated theological history that belongs to the Song of Songs. Almost from its inception as part of the canon of the Hebrew Bible, both synagogue and church have puzzled over its presence, its content, and its ultimate meaning to people of faith. That frankly erotic poetry celebrating the consummation of physical love between a pair of young lovers who are nowhere said to be married should have edged its way into Scripture is strange enough for conventional religious thinking. Add to this the fact that the Hebrew national god is nowhere mentioned in the book—unless one counts the strange grammatical formation in Song 8.6, or the alliterative oath in Song 2.7 and 3.5, which may signal a euphemistic reference to the divine (Gordis 1974: 26-29; see discussion below) — and we understand why the anthology causes outright shock to those who view embodiment as a transitory, fallen, inappropriate or altogether unsatisfactory theological category. Several interpretive strategies have been developed to deal with the perceived lack of 'theological meaning' within the book, thus allowing the tradition to maintain the Song within its canon. The first and most prevalent solution for dealing with the book was to force an allegorical reading onto all of its parts in order to rinse them clean of their earthy sexuality. The synagogue chose to view the songs of yearning lovers as reflective of the husband-wife metaphor used by the Hebrew prophets to express the connection between the national god YHWH and the people Israel (Pope 1977: 93-111, 153-82), here 'feminized' as the female partner in the historically stormy relationship (Frymer-Kensky 1992). For Christians, the Song was allegorized into a story of the love between Christ and 'his' church-bride, or Christ and the individual soul-bride (Pope 1977: 112-31, 183-91; Barr 2000). Later, sacramental Christians would also discern in the Song

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many references to Mary, Mother of God, and use it in liturgical contexts devoted to her. In both synagogue and church, then, religious ideology usually triumphed over content and attentive close reading of the poems. The earthy Song was turned into an allegory of something more important than human love in the midst of flowing gardens. It should be noted, of course, that there were in fact genuine elements in the Song which invited the kinds of allusive allegory favored by conventional true believers. Modern biblical scholars have long noted that many of the images, activities and locales mentioned in the Song in fact derive from the fertility traditions of those surrounding ancient Israel and the church. The so-called 'sacred marriage' interpretation of the Song was built upon an examination of the Song's appropriation of old elements from the Mesopotamian sacred marriage rite, a sympathetic magical ritual in which the weather god (played by the king) and the fertility goddess (played by the high priestess) mated, thus ensuring fertility for soil and womb alike (Pope 1977:14552). While it is unlikely that Israel practiced anything like an exact analog of this liturgical celebration of sexuality, the prophetic metaphor of the husband-wife relationship between YHWH and Israel should warn readers not to dismiss the idea of fertility survivals in the Song out of hand. Certainly, such an understanding of the interactions of Heaven (male) and Earth (female) as 'marital' was part of the oral thought world in which the Song was conceived, crafted and repeated. The 'immanent referentiality' invoked by oral literature's use of epithets, repetitions and plot patterns calls up that whole world of allusions as the backdrop for the oral performance (Foley 1991). It is in this way that the Song evoked the former world of fertility religions in which horned male quadrupeds are invariably portrayed feeding from fruited trees (Song 2.16; 6.2-3; 7.7-8) Liberating Content?

This much disputed collection of love poems, even when allegorized, presented real problems for interpreters who looked to it to support the status quo of power relations between the sexes, or by implication, Heaven and Earth. The Song sports, for the most part, a lack of patriarchal constraints on gendered behavior, showing the female lover to be the amatory instigator of secret trysts, and features her voice the F voice of female subjectivity more often than the male's (Falk 1993: 232; Brenner and van Dijk-Hemmes 1993). For all these reasons and more, this loosely woven assemblage of love lyrics has

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been hailed by feminist liberation theologians as a sort of salvific gap within patriarchal hegemony (Ostriker 2000). The work presents an opening which invites women of faith to look in a textual mirror and find themselves reflected as beloved rather than bred, partnered rather than patronized; validated rather than vilified, vocal rather than voiceless.1 Though some feminist voices raise a need for a less glowing evaluation of the Song (Exum 2000; Brenner forthcoming), it still remains a much valued resource for those trying to imagine new power relations between the sexes. Our task here is to discover whether the same can be said of the Song when the readerly choice is made to place Earth in the center of our interpretations. Given the well known philosophical and metaphorical associations between the categories 'woman' and 'nature', may we assume that better treatment of the one heralds an equally generous handling of the other (Griffin 1994; Dinnerstein 1976)? Does the anthology invite us to hear the melodies of wind in the trees of the garden as central, or does it only rehearse the same old song? Naturally, poets attempt to set their perfect 'true love' in the most agreeable of contexts for pleasures to be realized. Does the dominant floral and faunal (as opposed to social) imagery of the Song serve as anything more than scenery upon which the lovers lean back, sated with their own explorations of the most intimate dimensions of human sexuality? Are we attempting to impose a new allegory that better suits modern needs and tastes, or does the Song really offer us a new way to understand the theological dimension of human and divine concepts of Earth? Imagery in the Song Imagery in the Song may be considered under three general headings, each of which constitutes an 'imaginative field': court imagery (including the military imagery used of the female), family imagery and nature imagery (Munro 1995: 19-20). Since poetry operates by invoking the metaphorical dimension of language, we are met with the typical features of metaphor as we encounter each of these domains. That which is specific and well known (the image or 'vehicle') is juxtaposed with that which is less known or more diffuse (the 'tenor' which the vehicle explicates). In the process, the unknown becomes known. However, the tenor is not just'identified' by a comprehensible 1. Hence the lovingly used abbreviation, SoS, for the book in much feminist theology.

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image, but rather a new apprehension of its subtle meanings and effects is forged by the (often) surprising juxtapositions of the metaphor (Camp 1993). The beloved's belly is a shuddering heap of wheat (Song 7.3b) as she dances? Surely not! To moderns at least, the image is nearly grotesque —completely so, to some critics (Brenner 1993; Black 2000). But it certainly commands attention for the audience/ reader: are we simply to assume a pendulous belly —in a subsistence agrarian setting, surely the sign of feast instead of famine —or should we be thinking instead of the acrobatic feats of a belly-dancer as the beloved 'dances' atop her lover in the male's fantasy of consummation? Or are we perhaps being led to consider the fruitful outcomes of such dances in pregnancy (also a sign of blessing in the culture that sang this Song)? At any rate, the juxtaposition of the woman's belly with the heaped wheat which signifies successful harvest (and hence the community's survival through another season) leads the audience to know that this woman does not simply feed her lover good things; she is herself a food which he requires and celebrates (Brenner forthcoming). It is the interplay of the surprising relationship between the terms compared which opens up the possibilities of multiple interpretations and enhanced meanings. While we will mainly concern ourselves here with the use and meaning of nature imagery in the Song, it must be noted that all the imaginative fields of dominant imagery in the Song in fact exist in relationship to each other. We cannot think of the 'family farm' in the Song without noting the somewhat hostile acquisitiveness with which the royals of the city seem to eye it and those who keep it (Song 1.6; 8.11). We must not think of the paradisaical gardens of the poem without noting their role in food production, which in turn makes us think of family survival, and royal appropriation of family-held land. In other words, the 'nature' found in the Song should not be thought of as an unspoiled domain in which no human footprints appear. As always, the images in the Song are gestures toward the referent Nature as it is known through the lens of human sight and values. Earth in the Song

For our purposes, we will depart from other schemata of the Song's imagery to one that focuses exclusively on the uses of natural imagery. Here, we are able to discern three main uses of nature imagery: Earth as location; Earth as metaphor for the love object; and Earth as index of power. We will explore each of these in turn.

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Earth as Location 1. Refuge. Earth and its geographical features serve as a backdrop for the drama of privacy—or lack of it! —which dominates the lovers' quest in the Song of Songs. Because they are not married, nor is it clear that they are formally betrothed, the lovers suffer under the burden of constant exposure to the community. The beloved longs to take her lover to her mother's 'inner chamber' (Song 3.4; 8.2), or they tryst beneath the tree where the girl was conceived (Song 8.5). Repeatedly, the male voice uses natural imagery to signal both his appreciation and frustration with the inaccessibility of his beloved: she is a lily among the brambles (Song 2.2), a locked garden, a sealed fountain (Song 4.12), a dove hidden in the rock coverts (Song 2.14). She dwells in a garden, unseen (Song 8.13) while he yearns for just a glimpse of her, or the sound of her voice. Not surprisingly, then, given the cultural code which requires male family members to guard the chastity of female relatives before marriage, and enforce their fidelity after it (note the girl's brothers' sentiments in Song 1.6 and 8.8-9), the young lovers of the Song know the heated frustration of those who have no place to be alone, and no legitimate reason to be seen together. They long to 'get away from it all', and they turn to Earth to shelter them in their secret attempts to see one another. The girl wants to follow her beloved shepherd into his sheep pastures (Song 1.7). The boy invites his love to come down from the mountains of Lebanon (Song 4.8, probably to be associated with Canaanite war goddess Anat, sister to the weather god Ba'al, in her aspect as Mistress of the Beasts; see Pope 1977: 475-77; for associations with Ishtar, see Keel 1994: 154-60). They urge each other to go out into fields, to spend the night camping perhaps, to investigate the nut orchards, to come to the garden that is the loved one's actual body (Song 2.10; 6.2, 11; 7.11-13). The wilderness, backdrop of YHWH's attempt to woo Israel in early times, also figures in the geography of the Song, and represents the transition from wild to tame. A wedding procession comes toward the city out of the wilderness (Song 3.6-11). Late in the Song, the lovers, fresh from a seeming consummation, return from the wilderness, having known arousal under the very apple tree where the girl's mother conceived her (Song 8.5). 2. Workplace. The hidden, growing places of Earth do more than offer the lovers a taste of privacy they seem unable to achieve anywhere else. The venues of the land described in the Song are also places where humans work. Shepherds, male and female, watch their sheep

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graze the good pastures, and are furnished with images they weave into their love songs in praise of each other. The fruitful Earth brings forth produce which implies cultivation —human work in partnership with the land—rather than a total Edenic garden where food just drops from the trees without any effort required on the part of farmers (Brenner forthcoming). The foodstuffs mentioned in the Song, while paradisaical to the modern ear, reflect the actual produce of the land of Israel (cf. Num. 13.23): wine, oil, honey, milk, pomegranates, nuts and so on. Indeed, the descriptions in the Song are resonant with the very stereotypical formulae used to designate the land God gives Israel as 'good': the Earth is flowing with milk and honey for the lovers (cf. Exod. 3.8, 17; 13.5; 33.3; Num. 13.20, 23, 27; 14.8; 16.13; Deut. 6.3, 11.9; 26.9, 15 and so on). So closely allied to the land's production is their love that they find milk and honey in tasting each other's mouths during the exchange of sweet kisses (Song 4.11; 5.1; cf. 7.8-9 for kisses scented with apples, tasting of wine). This linking of love and food produced by work on the land obliquely reminds readers that while love is nourishing, it too requires ongoing cultivation on the part of humans. Earth as Metaphor for the Loved One

Typical of the genre of love poetry is the descriptive fascination with the features and qualities of the love object which disclosed him or her as lovable, and the Song of Songs is no exception. It is in this connection that we find another focus for the use of nature imagery: it depicts both the male and the female lover. Comparisons are made using both metaphorical statements ('your eyes are doves', Song 1.15; 4.1) and similes (Song 5.12, 'his eyes are like doves'), and imagery of flora and fauna is used to describe both genders (Meyers 1993). The Semitic literary genre of the was.f or descriptive song of physical praise is found in Song 4.1-7, 6.4-7 and 7.2-8, portraying the girl, and Song 5.10-16, describing the boy. The point of the detailed attention to the physical representation is 'arousing emotions consonant with those experienced by the suitor as he beholds the fullness of his beloved's attributes (or so the maiden as she speaks of her beloved...)' (Soulen 1993: 222). That so much of the imagery in these poems relies on nature to make its emotional effect felt in the minds of the audience tells us that the Earth functions here as a resonant domain which evokes the most profound of meanings for the expression of human joy. Further, the imagery of the senses which perceive and enjoy all Earth has to offer (tasting/eating/drinking) serves as a cover metaphor for sexual consummation in which the male lover 'eats' and 'drinks' his female partner (Brenner forthcoming).

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Some critics have taken up the question of distribution of natural imagery between the sexes to intuit an implicit 'gender code' whereby some parts of nature are seen as being more symbolic of the female, with others attributed to the male. We might say, generally, that the male is imaged as a gazelle or wild stag, implying his freedom of movement, his wildness, and the astonishing way in which he 'feeds' from the woman who represents 'culture' to his 'nature' (Song 2.8-9, 16-17; 6.2-3; 8.14). The figures applied to the female are usually more static. She is a garden, fruitful but in a fixed location (Song 4.15-5.1b); she is a fountain spring or well, locked and sealed —again, critical in the bringing forth of plants and food (Song 4.12-15), but subject to restricted movement. He is the one who feeds (action); she is the one eaten (acted upon). However, these gendered distinctions in the usage of nature terms should not be overdrawn: both lovers are likened to trees (boy, Song 2.3; girl, Song 7.7-8). In Song 1.13-14 and elsewhere, the boy is compared to spices and fragrant blossoms of henna (restricted movement); in Song 1.9 the girl is likened to a mare in Pharaoh's cavalry (freedom of movement, although controlled by humans), decked with finery. Both lovers are compared to small, horned quadrupeds: her breasts are 'twins of a gazelle' (Song 4.5; 7.3); in Song 2.17 and 8.14, he is invited to 'be like a gazelle'. In Song 2.10; 4.8; 6.13, the boy calls to the girl to 'come away', and 'return', into the fields, garden, or out of the dens of lions, indicating her movement. In Song 5.14-15, the girl uses concepts related to architecture to describe her lover, emphasizing his 'immovable' aspects. In an Earth-based reading of the Song's nature imagery, we do indeed see an understanding of the gender-full aspects of flora and fauna, but neither sex totally monopolizes any one domain. Nature appears largely without conflicts (with the strange exception of the 'little foxes' in Song 2.15; see below): one creature does not need to eat another in the gardens, orchards and wilds of the Song. Similarly, the male human does not need to dominate the female. A restoration of sorts deliberately reverses the curses of Eden and a kind of 'peaceable kingdom' is opened wide to invite humanity's participation (Landy 1983: 183-265; Trible 1993). Surveying this paradise of language, it is not too far to go to conclude that in the particularized vision of the lover we apprehend the universal by means of the specific. Perhaps if moderns were better readers of the Song's subtext of peaceful relations, we might extend its metaphor of harmony to encompass our own species' uneasy habitation of Earth. Perhaps we, too, can

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learn to be gazelles, sated and content on a mountain of spices without having to rip it open for economic 'resources' in order to perceive its intrinsic value. Earth as Sign of Power

Perhaps the most interesting function of nature imagery in an Earthbased reading is its use as a sign or index of ultimate meaning, or power: ungovernable by human acts, largely unknowable except in its effects, but potent and laden with significance. We might explain this by citing the old proverb, 'Where there's smoke, there's fire'. Smoke is a 'sign' (or more technically, in linguistics, an 'index') that fire must be present, even when it is not immediately visible. The smoke is not just a 'symbol' for fire, linked together because of arbitrary linguistic conventions; smoke is actually a part of the whole complex of 'fire'. Just like the old index card in a library card catalogue (remember?), when this sign is present, one knows that the library owns that book for which the index card acts as a 'marker', and a borrower can follow its notations to the book's location on actual shelves. Another more modern example might be the role of the visual icon or image map in computer documents posted on the World Wide Web: when we move our cursor over the 'active' icon and click there, we are immediately transported to another page or site on the Web. The icon links one piece of information to another, without the user ever having to learn the underlying programming code that makes the transition possible. When we consult the Song's index cards, or 'click' on its image map of specific features of Earth (the environment, not the literary character; see below), we are transported and linked to the powers of fertility that are woven into the land's very existence. In the Song, at the most basic level, the 'marks' found upon the Earth (as workplace or refuge), or left by its action (as literary character derived from fertility deities), serve as indicators of presence. These marks may indicate the lovers themselves, their animals, their fertility (or their hopes for the same), or the raw, cosmic power loose in the world. When the girl longs to know her lover's whereabouts, she is advised to search for the 'tracks of the flock' (Song 1.8). Where she finds these, she will be linked to the path to her lover (where there are sheep, there are shepherds). The location of the sheep discloses the location of her love. These 'markings' or 'signs' of Earth (environment or character) are of three types: vegetal, animal, and elemental. 1. Vegetal Links of Power. Throughout the Song, the produce of the growing seasons serves as an sign that the love story celebrated there

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takes place within the context of rich, nascent fruitfulness. Whether blossoms or spices, foodstuffs or decorations of a palanquin, everywhere the produce of Earth heralds the presence of the success of the life-force. Lilies are associated with the nourishing breasts (Song 2.16, 6.2-3); milk, wine, oils and spices with the flow of male and female sexual juices. In every quarter where the yield of Earth appears, it signifies the relentless press of life to reproduce itself at every level. The Green Couch. In Song 1.16, the boy tells the girl, after a praising statement, that 'our couch is green'. This is paired in the following verse with a 'house of cedar' and 'rafters of pine' (Song 1.17). Now, although this second statement puts us in mind of fragrant woods, harvested for human use, it is clear that the 'green couch' indicates more than leafy boughs spread upon the divan when the physical act of love is to take place. The 'green couch' is an index of all that may be conveyed by the color of growth and a textual link to the life-force of Earth intensely at work in the real world, whether in the maturation of the great trunks of cedar and pine, or in an act of love, or the fertility that is its culmination. While it is customary for commentators to remark on the absence in the Song of the Hebrew Bible's fixation on procreation as the main 'thrust' of sexuality, the green couch reminds readers that in fact a fertile outcome of the lovers' coming together is implicit in the nature imagery used to describe them and the locales they frequent. The Fertile Tree. The powerful icon of the tree and its products continues beyond Song of Songs 1 with its green couch in a house of aromatic woods. The girl is compared to a palm tree, the symbol of the fertility goddess of Mesopotamia, in Song 7.7-8, but her brothers think of her in more worrisome, cultural terms in Song 8.8-9. At the time of her betrothal, they hope that she will be found to be a 'wall' (chaste), but fear that in fact she is a 'door' (opened by sexual experience). If their fears are realized, they will 'enclose her with boards of cedar'. Here the boards of the cut cedar tree are an index of the power of the sexual drive. The sexes perceive this drive differently: it is negatively understood by males socialized to regard female sexuality in terms of their own family honor and shame, rather than as an example of the undeniable, overwhelming power of life. Trees throughout the Hebrew Bible carry similar overtones in the uses to which they are put (Gen. 1-3; Ps. 1; Ezek. 31.1-9 and elsewhere in that book). Given that the fertility goddess of Canaan, Asherah, was imaged in the form of a branched, fruited tree, the presence of tree

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imagery as an sign of the power of Earth in its fertility aspect should occasion no surprise (Keel 1998: 20-55, Fig. 1). 2. Animal Links of Power. Little Foxes. One of the few indicators of hostile forces in the Song is disclosed in the sudden, troubling appearance in love's garden of 'the little foxes that spoil the vineyards' (Song 2.15). Some commentators have concluded that here the girl must be singing a fragment of some rustic song, since it seems to surface out of nowhere in its current context. Endless allegorical meanings have been attached to this verse, ranging from the understanding that the girl herself is the vine, whose fruitfulness is at risk from other malicious suitors, to the notion that the foxes represent the small nations surrounding Israel (the vineyard) that strive to extinguish the people's grasp of the land (Pope 1977: 401-405). It may well be that here the foxes are indeed just foxes (cf. Freud's famous non sequitur, 'sometimes a cigar is just a cigar'), since their love of grapes is the stuff of which fables are made (Aesop's 'Sour Grapes'). However we may understand them, they represent the possibility of competition and plunder. If blossoming vines are a sign of the power of life, the foxes become harbingers of the power of death —but only as seen through a human lens. Only one species —our own —seems to think that it can possess exclusive rights to Earth's produce. From Earth's point of view, it may be that the grape clusters, so diligently cultivated by farmers, are intended for broader distribution than those farmers might wish. In an Earth-based reading, we might as easily choose to view foxes feeding as the index of the ongoing circle of life rather than as a sign of human frustration with the need to share. Gazelles and Wild Does. In Song 2.7 and 3.5, we read the strange oath spoken by the beloved to the daughters of Jerusalem: 'I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the wild does of the field, that you do not stir up nor awaken love until it please!' Like the little foxes, these gazelles and hinds have presented an interpretive riddle for commentators, even though they appear throughout the poems as animals to which each lover is compared (cf. also Prov. 5.18-19). One suggestion for understanding this passage views the term 'gazelles' (tsevaot) as a euphemism for one of the epithets of the national god YHWH as Lord of Hosts (tsevaot, 'hosts'), while the words for 'wild does, hinds of the field' ("ayelot hassadeh) stand for '£/ Shadday, sometimes translated as 'God Almighty'. In this reading, the presumption is that the invocation of the names of God in an erotic context was felt

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as inappropriate, so that a more fitting substitution was made in those cases where the divine might be invoked — much in the same way that English speakers might say 'Jiminy Cricket!' for 'Jesus Christ!' or 'Gosh!' for 'God' while cursing (Gordis 1974: 28; Murphy 1990a: 133). Ancient versions seem to understand such a force at work, as the LXX translates 'by the powers and forces of the field', while the Targum favors 'by the Lord of Hosts and by the Strength of the land of Israel' (Pope 1977: 385). Scholars who favor the use of archaeology to uncover the iconographic predecessors of some of the Song's imagery point to the strong evidence of the association of gazelles and does with the Semitic goddesses of fertility (Pope 1977: 86). Gazelles, deer, goats, fruited branches and palm trees, as well as anthropomorphically portrayed goddesses, abound in the glyptic evidence in Syria-Palestine, as well as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Such animals were considered sacred to the goddesses of fertility, and are regularly featured in representations of them (Keel 1994: 90-94, see especially illustrations 45-51), as well as being invoked in fertility incantations against male impotence. The baby gazelle is also a major figure in lullabies from Mesopotamia, where the mother/care-giver invites the crying baby to become like the quiet, invisible baby gazelle who has been 'tucked' out of sight and danger while the mother feeds (Farber 1989). Whichever reading we choose to endorse —and both have merits — for our Earth-based reading, what is important is that the gentle, fertile creatures of the field are considered adequate and fitting signs of divine power in the context of oath-taking. They are links to the cosmic power which enforces solemn pronouncements. Oaths in the ancient world have an almost magical role as the trigger for releasing powerful divine action into the world (we might think of the way parents still teach their children to regard the polite formulae of 'please' and 'thank you' as 'magic words'). The woman who speaks these oaths to her female chorus of well-wisher girlfriends is attempting to guard the unfolding of the love relationship so that it may proceed at its own time and pace. When she asks her companions to 'swear', she seeks the most forceful verbal form of binding to achieve her purposes: she swears by animals associated with the goddesses of fertility, whose multi-valent names also have the power to evoke the person and protection of the national god. At such a dramatic moment, only the most potent and efficacious concepts will serve. Almost as a matter of course for our earthy Song, the singer turns to the creatures of Earth to empower her desires. While some commentators fret about the absence of direct reference

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to God in the Song, in fact the power that undergirds the cosmos speaks everywhere through the natural images employed by our poets. What we do not find in the Song is an anthropomorphic male version of God; rather, the divine takes the shape of Earth in all its forms: animal, vegetable, elemental, geographical. Those who look for God in human form in the Song will find only the singing lovers, male and female as Earth created them—but perhaps this is one of the most basic messages of this account of human love. When humans fall in love, they are at their most god-like and they speak the language of Earth; simultaneously, when human lovers mate, they embrace their creaturehood most authentically and fulfill Earth's promised birthright to their species. 3. Elemental Links of Power. Earthly Elements. The final way in which Earth imagery is used as a cipher for the power of the life forces of Earth occurs in the use of elemental images of earth, wind, fire and water. The changes in the weather that bring the growing season are resonant with the power of the ever turning wheel of growth, death and rebirth (see above on Earth as workplace). That power is felt whenever the seasons turn, and yield up fruits fresh and dried, which the lovers enjoy. Winds, too, are invoked to bring the lovers together by spreading the scent of growing things which signals the Earth's rebirth and invite the lovers' participation (Song 4.16), just as the 'dew' on the boy's hair during a night encounter indicates his readiness for consummation with his beloved and his sexual identity with the 'drops of the night' (Song 5.2, RSV). When the Song becomes philosophical in its closing chapter, treating us finally to a set of conclusions about the essence of love, it turns to the Earth-identified language of dangerous waters and raging fires to describe love's ever-present dominion in human life. Finally, Earth takes on a role of full character: eternally acting, feeling, restless with the drama of the life cycle. We read in Song 8.6-7: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned (RSV).

Here we see the astonishing reliance on Earth's elements to betoken ultimate power, with the surfacing of dynamic images from Canaanite mythology. The god of death, Mot, who destroyed the weather god

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Bacal during the yearly (or seven-year) agricultural cycle is dredged up from his underworld dwelling to serve as a comparison to Love's awesome strength. Mot is known most especially for his voracious appetite, with his mouth spread wide to swallow all that lives —yet Love is equally as strong. (Indeed, we should not forget that the denouement of the Ugaritic fertility epic portrays Anat, warrior/ huntress, sister and perhaps lover of Bacal, conquering Mot.) The negative aspect of Love, jealousy, is also compared to the underworld abode of Mot, the 'grave', which is always hungry for more (Prov. 27.20; 30.16). The destructive waters and floods that tried to slay Ba c al in the form of Yam, Trince Sea, ruler River', emerge here too —yet Love is as strong, a flame no force of Earth can extinguish (Pope 1977: 669-77). Human touchstones of power —the wealth of a man's household—have no place in the calculation of this elemental emotion, which can be as beneficent or destructive as any 'natural force'. In fact, in this little summation, Love is itself promoted to the level of a mythologized, natural force on equal footing with flood and flame. While there is not much evidence of Tire' or 'Flame', as an important deity in most of the ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible seems to envision a strong connection between YHWH and flame/fire (Watson 1995b). The element appears as a sort of minor deity whose presence indicates that (a usually angry) YHWH is not far behind (Joel 2.2-3,19-20; Pss. 29.7,104.4,106.18; Isa. 29.6, 30.30, 66.15; Ezek. 20.47). In fact, the difficult term translated 'a most vehement flame', shalhevetyah, is best understood as 'flames of Yah', reflecting the short form of the name of YHWH (Murphy 1990a: 191-92). Celestial Elements. In Song 6.10, we come upon the elemental signs of power, now projected outward from Earth into the Heavens. The man is speaking, imagining a song of praise of his beloved, placed in the mouth of the ladies of the court and harem: Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners? (RSV)

Here, as above, Canaanite and Mesopotamian mythology supplies the clues for understanding the references evoked to render the beloved as superlative on Earth as she is in Heaven. The Hebrew Bible is well acquainted with the deified dawn of the Canaanite pantheon (cf. Job 3.9; 41.18 [10]; Pss. 57.8[9]; 108.2[3]; 139.9). Here, the maiden 'looks down' from heaven as dawn does (we may also think here of Rossetti's 'blessed damozer for the reuse of this image), and the verb

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used to describe this act is particularly associated with God who looks down from Heaven at Israel (Deut. 26.25; Pss. 14.2; 85.11 [12]; 102.19[20]; Lam. 3.50). Moon and sun, deified throughout the ancient world, are here indicated by poetic forms ('white [disk]'; 'glowing fire', Keel 1986: 220) rather than their usual typical names, and their presence helps us understand the reference in the final line, 'terrifying as an army with banners'. Given the context of the celestial 'court' of deities, the referent of the military image must be understood as the starry array, or the 'hosts of Heaven' who fight alongside or at the behest of the great gods (Judg. 5.20; Deut. 17.3; Jer. 8.2). The military image, combined with the celestial, indicates awesome power in a female form and is known iconographically from cylinder seals. The militant and lusty goddess Ishtar is frequently imaged dressed for war, surrounded by a circle of stars (the heavenly host), along with symbols for the sun and moon. Typically, her divided skirt is split open and one foot is positioned forward of the other in a sort of 'action shot', showing that she is preparing to march into battle (usually in support of her consort, the reigning king). Where the previous verses of Song 6.8-9 emphasized the beloved's incomparability among human women, this concluding verse sets the beloved even further beyond any mortal rivals, for here the human female, when loved, is a direct representative of the powers of Ishtar (Keel 1994, Figs. 124-25). All this is immanent within the use of these images, and again the singer resorts to ancient nature mythology — even though those celestial referents are displaced by a human figure, now equal in awe and power to the sky deities. Conclusion: 'Its Interior Cunningly Woven' (3.10) Like the sumptuous wedding palanquin, whose inner decorations are the work of the elusive 'daughters of Jerusalem', the Song of Songs is a female-friendly human construction whose interior features form a richly woven tapestry of Earth-anchored meanings. Because it operates within the heightened sensual context of human sexual attraction, it presents a visual, visceral entry point into an awareness of the power of Earth which is different from that found in the historical traditions. In the experience of loving another, the partners encounter a breakdown of individual ego and cultural boundaries between male and female, culture and nature. Perceptions are intensified in this 'altered state' because isolation has been breached by an emotional force as commanding as any distant sky-deity. Loving mutuality creates a system of shifting, shared traits between

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the sexes and the species: the boy is king and shepherd, gazelle and spice; the girl is garden and fountain, military tower and war horse. Both are trees, gazelles, doves, and fruited land. Beyond this general state of enhanced egalitarian perception of Earth (as environment and character) and its creatures made possible by love between the human partners, we may summarize the salient features of Earth imagery in the Song of Songs: 1.

2.

3. 4.

The Song envisions a world in which there is harmony between the sexes and between humans and their environment. These spirited harmonics interpenetrate, so that each sex is imaged in terms of nature, and nature serves as an emblem for the beloved other. Nature imagery operates as an emblem for human livelihood and its location on the land, a metaphorical domain which provides the most arresting associations for apprehending the loved one. This imagery functions as a locus of power, personified in ancient mythological terms borrowed from surrounding cultures and transmuted to fit the sensibilities of Second Temple Judaism. Joyous consumption by humans is fully balanced by work on the land, presenting an implicit insight into sustainability and responsibility toward the Earth. The theology of the Song displays a fluid displacement between the terms 'Earth7, 'loved one', and 'deity7. Repeatedly, Earth appears as a metaphor for the loved one, and as a coded reference to the ancient deities of nature and fertility. In the theologies proposed by later commentators, Jewish and Christian, the male lover was taken as an allegorical reference to the national god YHWH, or the Christian Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whereas the female beloved was seen as a symbol of the people or land of Israel, or the Christian church or soul. This creates an ever-renewed circle of associations: Earth displaces the loved one, who displaces the deity, but the deity is also manifested most visibly through the powers of Earth or in the human lovers. In other words, Earth becomes person, person becomes Earth, and both are identified with the divine. While this represents another way in which humans try to 'cut Earth down to size7 by projection of human characteristics onto nature, it also continues to set forth the basic identity between what is divine (super-natural) and what is natural.

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Human sexuality is a prized expression of the impulses of Earth, with benefits for both our species and the ecosystem. Our human capacity in that context to experience oneness with and delight in the planet suggests that this ability has been shaped by an enduring evolutionary value to both —or else this state would not have chosen to manifest itself so decisively during mating, perhaps the most critical phase of the human life cycle. Drugged on our own pheromones, pounding blood awash in mind-altering, biochemically active neurotransmitters as the organism prepares to reproduce, dazed and overwhelmed by stimuli, we experience (an almost mystical) union with Earth that is fueled by sexual sensory overload.2 Flooded with perceptions of riotous beauty evident wherever we look with the eyes of love, we burn bright with an earthly flame which cannot be doused. Only fools ignorant of love3 can maintain that the divine is absent from this most sublime Song. From the tracks of the sheep to the dewy drops of night, the Really Real looks out at us through the lattices of culture, and calls us to meet upon the mountains of spices. A New Reading: Earth the Beloved

An old Motown rock'n'roll tune by the Supremes from the turbulent 1960s presents an all-girl African-American group singing a haunting refrain of loss and yearning: 'Now it's the same old song/but with a different meaning/since you've been gone'. I resurrect it here to suggest that while the Song of Songs cannot be said to be totally free of the anthropocentric presentation of Earth or an androcentric understanding of the power relationships between its creatures, it nevertheless provides a significant point of departure not emphasized elsewhere in the biblical tradition. Critically, we might also observe that reading the Song now, allegorized or literally, is in essence to read it differently than it had been read/heard in the pre-industrial, agricultural context. By human agency, the ancient confidence in the continued stability of the planet has been dissipated as surely as the ozone layer. The Song accrues new meaning as the group receiving it 2. This overload is experienced all the more forcefully in cultures where the sexes remain largely segregated. Mystery and the imagination that unravels it are the most powerful aphrodisiacs of all. 3. Fools who know love sing a different tune.

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seeks to understand its referents in a radically altered landscape. Ecological crisis is the backdrop against which modern believers must hear this old ditty; we know little of the fluid harmony of earth and its creatures presented there. For those who are themselves products of a contemporary consumer mentality, appropriating the Song uncritically might lead to just another pointless round of consumption of luxuries which simultaneously deplete the earth and perpetuate social injustice between industrialized and 'developing' countries, leaving the consumer physically sated but spiritually unsatisfied. Instead, I propose a new hearing of the Song for our own time and place —an Earth-identified reading, if you will. The female character in the Song has always been identified with the 'lesser' partner in male-female interactions, the one whose more elemental nature must be controlled, tamed and constrained by the more rational, culturally valued male member of the breeding pair. Indeed, it was the universally assigned inferiority of the female partner which made her such a suitable representative for the human, limited side of the divine-human pairing in the work of the allegorists. Yet many have noted above that the female voice in the Song defies the social conventions of her day: she seeks and yearns, dreams and grows, nourishes and acts. If 'female' also equals 'Earth7 in this equation of interlocking terms, then it is a reasonable step to extend the observations on the female beloved to the Earth, the character with which she is so closely allied. In this new interpretation, Earth the beloved is no silent, passive partner in the love story between humanity and its planet. In fact, it is Earth the beloved who initiates the search for unity, and who brings forth the product of that union. She yearns for humans, seeks us out, follows our tracks, and offers us fruits new and preserved. Her search is not always rewarded, nor is it risk-free (Song 3.1-4; 5.2-7), but she perseveres. As strong as the death-impulse of our species, her lifeforce braves fire and flood for us, traverses heavenly courts and human harems, passionately seeking her human partners. She comes to us out of a wilderness, reminding us that we were conceived beneath a sacred tree. Can our species leave off its drive to control and subdue her and enter into a more egalitarian, mutually respectful relationship, as does the male gazelle of the Song? It is up to us to make it so: only when we become willing to exchange dominion for desire shall our earthly gardens become the paradise they so transparently emulate.

Eco-Delight in the Song of Songs Hendrik Viviers

Introduction What Robert Gordis (1985: 199) says about the book of Job and the divine speeches especially, 'Though the poet did not intend to present a religio-ethical basis for ecology, he has in effect done so', squarely fits the Song of Songs as well. It is indeed the case that man and woman's love-play fills the agenda, foregrounded so emphatically that it seems that nothing else but love really matters (Clines 1994: 20). But an 'eco-delight' unmistakably and crisply runs through the Song as an undercurrent without which its main thrust would become meaningless. Earth/Nature is utilized by the poet, who LaCocque argues is a woman, not only as majestic background in the Song, but as a full-fledged signifying subject (LaCocque 1998: 36, 39-53, 56 n. 135); hence the capitalization thereof. There is a growing consensus among scholars today, reading the Song literally as the love-play between man and woman, that it is unquestionably subversive literature. It subverts patriarchy and the moral and religious mores of its time (fourth or third century BCE). The Song promotes gender equality by highlighting the woman's role and voice prominently (see, e.g., feminist scholars Trible 1993; Brenner 1993). It subverts class distinctions by relativizing the opposites of aristocracy and commonality, city and country (Whedbee 1993: 270, 277; Ostriker 2000: 48). It is escapist literature envisaging an alternative, better society (Clines 1994: 21-22). LaCocque underscores this subversive thrust of the Song by pointing out how it uses Israel's sacred repertoire to subvert and parody it (1998: 64,141). An example will suffice: the eating of raisin cakes to celebrate their full-fledged idolatry (Hos. 3.1) makes Israel sick (Hos. 5.13). Song 2.5, echoing 'love', 'raisin cakes' and 'sickness', takes on a completely different meaning. Being sick with love is something to be proud of, and quite the opposite to Israel's evil sickness. To be strengthened with raisin cakes is certainly not a celebration of other divinities, but a celebration

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of love (LaCocque 1998: 85). Neither the transcendent YHWH, nor the idols, but a new 'god', namely 'love7, is all that matters. If the Song is by nature subversive and alternative, then one can also expect alternative sentiments on Nature and its inhabitants. In what follows, the celebrative voice of Earth and its inhabitants, the interconnectedness of the Earth community, and Nature's intrinsic worth will be highlighted (Earth Bible Team 2000: 42-50). The interaction between the lovers and Nature as kin I would like to describe as 'eco-delight'. This delight is reciprocal; humans delight in Nature and vice versa and together they celebrate the goodness of life. Song 2.8-17 will be utilized as the departure text to highlight this ecodelight, along with other applicable texts. The following subdivisions will come into focus: Israel's view of Nature; Earth as 'home'; the interconnectedness of humans and Nature; and the mystical aspect of Nature. Israel's View of Nature To speak of Israel's 'view' of Nature in the singular is rather misleading. Schochet (1984) provides us with a comprehensive 'general' view of Israel's sentiments on Nature, but admits that there are diverging sentiments, in Ecclesiastes for instance (1984: 76); one can also add the book of Job and, as will be shown, the Song of Songs. Israel, as a people living close to Nature, is clearly an agricultural people rather than a people following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle (Landy 1983: 190), like the San or Bushmen of South Africa for instance. Although they utilized hunting as means of survival, a derogatory attitude towards this practice can be detected (cf. Esau; Schochet 1984: 15). It is interesting to note that, according to Schochet (1984: 58), Deut. 22.6 —the prohibition on taking the mother-bird with her young from the nest—is the first recorded legislation in history for the protection of birds. Israel and Judaism have been blamed for harsh cruelty to animals on the one hand (Schopenhauer) and commended on the other for an overwhelming compassion for the natural world, even advancing semi-vegetarianism. Schochet (1984: 3) sees the truth as lying between these two extremes. The Israel-Nature relationship is a rather 'cool', distanced relationship, clearly derived from imitating their transcendent creator. It is a master-servant relationship in which plants and animals mostly have a utilitarian function. They serve merely as 'tools' or property in the hands of humans, rather than being their partners (Schochet 1984: 4). Although humans did not 'make' Nature and therefore cannot 'break' it

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(Schochet 1984: 4), their derived stewardship allows them to harness, control and utilize it (Gen. 1.26). Even though some try to 'save and soften' Gen. 1.26 it seems that 'subdue' (kvsh) does not have a positive meaning in ecological terms (cf. Habel 2000a: 4b-7; LaCocque 1998: 159). Although humans acknowledge their kinship with and compassion for animals and plants throughout the Bible, their main concern is their relationship with the divine and their fellow human beings. This 'cool' relationship, especially in regard to wild Nature, implies that humans need not bother that much about wild animals and plants. They are God's responsibility (Schochet 1984: 5). Israel also demythologized or 'dedeified' Nature (Schochet 1984: 79), betraying the lesser value they attached to it. It is, however, the case that Nature with all its inhabitants served as an excellent model for humans, providing ground-metaphors to think and live by (Eilberg-Schwartz 1990: 117-18). Nature mirroring human life served as both a survival tool and a didactic tool (cf. especially Wisdom literature). Schochet warns against making too much of nature 'poetics', which is only a literary device (1984: 77). It is, however, questionable to regard literary devices only as 'ornamental'. By 'languaging' your world you make fundamental statements as well. You create new 'worlds' to live in, imbued with your deepest values (cf. below). And the Song? Does it go along with this general 'cool' relationship with Nature? An interesting example immediately points to the opposite: the ease with which the Song utilizes (wild) Nature in an alternative way. In Song 5.11 we read 'his locks are wavy black as a raven'. The woman 'divinizes' (Viviers 1999: 613) her lover in this wasf or description song (Song 5.10-16) with an animal which is considered unclean in the rest of biblical literature (LaCocque 1998: 123). Traces of re-mythologization of Earth and its inhabitants to undergird its special status can also be detected in the Song (cf. below). The intention to achieve the peaceful coexistence of all creatures in the first Eden is aptly realized in the better Paradise found in the Song (Landy 1983; cf. also Ostriker 2000: 43,48-50). Earth as Home

John F. Haught (1994: 1-2) points out that not only religion but also cosmology (since Newton and Descartes) has been guilty of promoting 'cosmic homelessness'. And in the sphere of religion not only Christianity but also Buddhism and Hinduism have to take responsibility. Traditional Christian theology has been known to teach that we

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are strangers on Earth, we are on a pilgrimage to 'heaven' and should actually strive to leave Earth behind. In Buddhist teaching, Buddha leaves home to find enlightenment. The same happens in Hinduism: the sannyasin throws off the yoke of home and family in order to be closer to God (Haught 1994: 1). Western science has done the same, especially Cartesian dualism 'that exorcised mind from nature, leaving nature to be understood as mindless, lifeless and purposeless material stuff (Haught 1994: 2). What does the Song teach in this regard? Quite the opposite! The Song celebrates the 'mother's house' as the two lovers' favourite domain of intimacy (cf. Song 3.4; 8.2). The focus on the mother's house instead of the father's house underscores the female bias of the Song (Meyers 1993: 209), subverting patriarchy. The mother's house in the village/city is the female, interior space par excellence of the two lovers' love-making. But the open, cultivated natural spaces —the gardens, the vineyards, orchards and pastures — likewise and more frequently become the 'home' of their love. Even the wild, uninhabited spaces of Nature enfold them and harbour them. Landy aptly describes the Song's principal metaphor as a 'rural retreat' (1983: 31). This implies a criticism of the growing city culture in early Hellenistic times when the Song was probably written, depicting country/ pastoral life as the ideal. 'City' became more and more associated with a dehumanized, alienated environment (LaCocque 1998: 194; Landy 1983: 26). The lovers' 'rural retreat' comes beautifully to the fore in Song 2.817. This neat, chiastically structured poem introduces the lover as 'gazelle' (Song 2.8-9), followed by two 'invitations' (Song 2.10-13, 14) and concludes once again with the 'gazelle' metaphor (Song 2.15-17). It also progresses climactically from courting to sexual fulfilment (Song 2.15, 16). It is interesting that when the lover beckons his beloved to join him for the spring experience in the first invitation (Song 2.10-13), she is at 'home' (Song 2.9). But this specific 'home' with its wall, windows and lattice implies the father's/brothers' home (cf. also Song 8.8-9). To be in this 'home' means to be locked in; it is none other than women's 'social' prison (Butting 2000:147). She must exchange this 'home' for a better one, that of Nature. From here her lover-gazelle comes (Song 2.8) and there he intends taking her. By framing his invitation and caressing her with pet names, 'Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away' (Song 2.10, 13), the lover lures his beloved to set her free. He offers her new life on and in companionship with this 'new' Earth and its inhabitants. Nature is showing its new face, spreading its lovely scents and entertaining with its blithe

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sounds. Its celebrative voice can be heard most clearly in spring. What is a 'home'? A home should be the environment where you can live fully. Home is comfort, ease, familiarity, warmth and safety. Home is where your senses were formed and where you experience the joy of familiar and reassuring sounds, sights, smells and touch with every 'home-coming'. This is the place where you first saw the light at birth (before modern hospitals and maternity centres), and where some sensual experiences came to you even before birth. This is the place where you should be able to continue to come to life. It is exactly this kind of home-in-nature that the lover offers his beloved in the spring song. He is offering her not only a beautiful place, but a living companion—lively Earth infusing all other life with its pulsating energy. This retreat from 'culture to nature' (Landy 1983:190) to live fully is continued in Song 2.15-17. Here in the vineyards their intimate love is celebrated. The little foxes of Song 2.15 refer to other lovers trying to intrude on their lovemaking, their 'blossoming vineyards'. Their vineyard love-nest recalls their 'bed' and 'house' in the woods (Song 1.1617) and the beloved 'awakening' her lover under the apple tree (Song 8.5). The gardens, the pastures and the peaceful villages are a haven for their intimacy (Song 1.7-8; 2.16; 4.12-5.1; 6.2-3,11-12; 7.11-13). Here they are locked in intimate embrace, 'My beloved is mine and I am his' (Song 2.16; cf. also 6.3; 7.10). Here he 'browses among the lilies' (Song 2.16, cf. NIV) and here her gazelle-lover must return to her again and again (Song 2.17). This must never end! And in the same vein she concludes the whole of the Song (Song 8.14). Here in the open, so-called 'male spaces' which are forbidden to 'respectable' women, the woman can live uninhibited and fulfilled. Both of them can enjoy their natural 'haven' as 'heaven'. Remarkably, even wild, untamed Nature becomes a haven to them as much as the inhabited villages. In the second invitation, in Song 2.14, the lover again caresses his mistress with a pet name, 'my dove', and beckons her to show her lovely face and sound her sweet voice. She is likened to a rock pigeon sitting at ease on an inaccessible cliff where only eagles and vultures normally nest. In Song 4.8 her lover again invites her to join him. And note from where she is called: from the densely bushed Lebanon, from the 'homes' where vicious animals like lions, leopards and bears roam about. But she is undisturbed, unharmed and fearless (LaCocque 1998:108; cf. also Landy 1983:103), at ease and at home here in the wild as if the wild animals are her family. Nor is the uninhabited, dry wilderness, the midbar, out of bounds for the lovers as civilized society would prescribe. This also

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forms a natural part of their 'habitat' in Song 3.6: 'What is that coming up from the wilderness, like a column of smoke?'; in Song 8.5: 'Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?' Already in the Spring Song (Song 2.10-13) we are reminded of the appearance of first life as we experience the eternal cycle of new life springing forth from Earth. This is again illustrated in the metaphor of the woman as garden, as pardes (Song 4.12-5.1). Here we again discover Nature as primordial home. With her and in her the lover experiences 'paradise'. She not only symbolizes pristine, natural beauty, but abundant life wanting to burst forth (Munro 1995: 103). She is filled with all kinds of exotic fruits, spices, flowers and an abundance of life-giving water. The lover not only delights in her for momentary love, but also celebrates her as the symbol of all life, 'the natural world from which man [sic] grew' (Landy 1983: 205, 247). She is his source of life and unmistakably his 'home', his 'paradise' where he ultimately belongs. And that is her 'home' too: 'you who dwell in the gardens' (Song 8.13). The Earth community in the Song becomes a far better 'Eden' than the first one in Genesis. This 'paradise' is much lusher than the first one. In this 'paradise' there is perfect harmony between the genders, unlike the first one. In the Song's 'paradise' humans, plants and animals are kin, unlike the first one marked by enmity. And love is the key which unlocks life. This paradise of life is not somewhere 'out there', but found here and now, on beautiful Earth from which we came. The Song knows of no better 'home' than Earth. And it poetically convinces us that we are made up of the same 'fibre', sharing in the same source of energy. Interconnectedness of Humans and Nature, or Earth as Kin A brief glimpse of the cosmological story of the universe highlights our fundamental kinship with it: the primeval fireball was a vast gushing forth of light.. .Hydrogen atoms rage with energy from the fireball, symphonic storms of energy held together in communities extremely reluctant to give this energy up. But in the cores of the stars, hydrogen atoms are forced to release their energy in the form of photons, and this photonic shower from the beginning of time powers our thinking...So fires from the beginning of time fire us now: we are cosmic fire! We are the universe come to consciousness and the psychic energy by which we live is nothing other than the energy of the whole universe (McCartin 1997: 6, quoting Brian Swimme).

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Our bondedness with Nature is as deeply material as it is psychological. The chemistry of our being and all before us, even Jesus of Nazareth, originated from the same primeval Stardust (Earth Bible Team 2000: 45). How does the Song give voice to our fundamental oneness with Nature? From the preceding 'Earth as home' discussion, it is clear that we belong on Earth; this is our 'habitat'. But the Song goes further by poetically acknowledging that we are also part and parcel of the universe and not only 'on/in' it. This deep-seated consciousness comes to the fore inter alia through the 'languaging' (symbolizing) processes of metaphorization and personification. Humanness or the human condition is understood much clearer by concretizing it in terms of our surroundings. In the Song courtly imagery, imagery of family life and, as has been clear already from a people living close to Nature, animal and plant imagery (Munro 1995: 35, 69, 80), are the sources for this symbolizing process. Eilberg-Schwartz (1990: 118) points out that animal metaphors were used more frequently by Israel, because they recognized that human and animal behaviour resemble each other quite closely. In Song 2.8-17 a gazelle or young stag resembles the virile lover (Song 2.9), a dove the lovely woman (Song 2.14) and little foxes the pestering other lovers (Song 2.15). We not only look, act, feel and think alike because of our shared evolutionary origins, but the animal world reminds us of our irrecoverable innocence (Landy 1983: 235). Our surroundings are also personified or humanized so that we can extend or project ourselves in solidarity or oneness with them. Landy (1983: 88) illustrates this in regard to Song 7.5-6: 'the tower of Lebanon sticks up like a nose, the head protrudes like Carmel, the eyes glitter like pools, from a bird's eye perspective'. In our chosen poem Song 2.8-17 we hear the turtle dove 'singing' (Song 2.12). By confirming our solidarity in this way, we also confer value onto Nature, we love Nature as we love ourselves. It is not just a matter of aesthetics (cf. Schochet above), but a fundamental admission that we are of the same 'fibre', so to speak. By depicting Nature or culture (buildings, cities, etc.) in terms of our own 'bodiliness', we intimately acknowledge our deep-seated bonds with it. It is interesting that frequently in the Song personification and metaphorization 'intertwine', becoming reciprocal so that humans and Nature blend, the one mirroring the other. Humans 'becoming' Nature and Nature 'becoming' human are vividly illustrated by the comparison of the lover to a gazelle (Song 2.8-9) and the woman to a dove (Song 2.14). The gazelle leaping over

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the mountains evokes a picture of agility, strength, virility and unlimited freedom. But this gazelle also 'gazes' and 'looks' through the lady's window and 'speaks' to her in Song 2.10: 'Arise, my love, my fair one and come away'. The woman is likened to a dove in the clefts of the rock (Song 2.14), shy and partly hidden. But this 'dove' has a lovely 'face' and a sweet 'voice'. Animals and humans 'blend' with the description of the little foxes in the vineyards (Song 2.15; cf. above). And plants become the vehicle to describe the woman: the 'lilies' amongst which the gazelle browses (Song 2.16) are none other than the woman herself (cf. Song 2.1). Humans and Nature belong together. In the wonders of Nature we rediscover ourselves. A brief reprise of the image of the woman as garden (Song 4.12-5.1) illustrates this reciprocity of metaphorization and personification. Her identity is depicted very sensually in natural metaphors of exotic plants, spices and springs of water. She is beautiful, alive and life- and love-giving. She is as delectable and desirable as can be. At the same time the garden becomes a subject in its own right; Earth is personified in the woman, Nature is humanized (Landy 1983: 91, 104). This garden is a 'person', not only pulsating with life, but sustaining life and, as has been said above, also echoing the appearance of first life. This 'person' in turn also personifies the wind in Song 4.16: 'Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden', to present her. And 'she' invites her lover to come into her and enjoy her (an 'image of the sexual act' [Landy 1983: 107]). Woman becomes beautiful, delectable garden and garden becomes desirable woman. By experiencing the one you sense the other. The way in which humans identify with their world does not only come to the fore in their 'languaging' of it, but markedly also in what they 'do' with it. Leder, writing from a bodily perspective, uses the notion of absorption (1990: 165) to describe our interaction with our surroundings in a physical way: when we become deeply absorbed, as in a natural landscape, it is as if we were swallowed into a larger body. At the same time this landscape is swallowed into our embodiment, transforming it from within.

This implies becoming 'one body' with Nature. The lovers in the Song 'incorporate' each other first and foremost through their sexual union to form 'one body' (Song 2.15,16; cf. also 1.12-14; 2.6-7; 3.4-5; 4.6; 5.1; 6.2; 7.12-13; 8.3-4). And they absorb and incorporate Nature as well. Once again, enjoying Nature is likened to enjoying each other and vice versa. They incorporate their world through all the senses. They feast their eyes and ears on each other's beauty—the agile, galloping

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gazelle (Song 2.8-9, 17) and the shy, attractive dove with the sweet voice (Song 2.14). The intoxicating scents and tastes of their surroundings and each other kindle their desire —delectable figs, blossoming vines and sweet lilies (Song 2.13,15,16). The warmth of the approaching summer (Song 2.11) on their skins likewise warms the heart and soothes the soul. An example of 'being swallowed up' or becoming deeply absorbed is found in Song 2.15, 16. Right after the 'blossoming of their vineyards' amongst the fragrant vines (Song 2.15) follows the woman's sigh of deep fulfilment: 'My beloved is mine and I am his' (Song 2.16). The same happens in the garden retreat of Song 6.11-12. Song 6.12, which LaCocque describes with most other commentators as a downright crux interpretum (1998: 137), is translated by Munro as follows: 'Before I knew it, she set me among chariots of my people, as prince' (1995: 30). The thought of his beloved overwhelms the lover and uplifts his spirit to a kind of princely feeling. Whatever this enigmatic verse might mean, it does point to a 'losing of yourself in, or being possessed by, the great rapture of love (LaCocque 1998:141), after the experience of wonder and awe in this beautiful garden (Song 6.11). To 'incorporate' your world is, as has been implied already, not only an individual experience, but also a shared or social experience. Leder describes this as 'mutual incorporation' (1990: 94): 'I come to see the forest not only through my own eyes, but as the other sees it... We supplement our embodiment through the other.' Sharing the beauty of the world with a loved one is a much richer experience than doing it alone. It therefore makes good sense that the lover urges his beloved to come and share the wonder of spring with him (Song 2.1013); and likewise the invitation of the beloved to her lover to share an unforgettable rural rendezvous in the beautiful villages (Song 7.1113). It is conspicuous, however, that this extension of our bodiliness through another human is not limited to humans only. Earth and all its inhabitants become co-subjects to share and celebrate Nature's gifts. We spontaneously supplement our bodies through Nature all the time, doing it as if it is our second nature. The approaching summer warmth (Song 2.11) infuses all of Nature, the lovers included, with a new vigour and zest for life. The blooming flowers, vines and fig trees (Song 2.12-13) appeal to the lovers to do likewise. And they do! The readiness of the woman to give her love stems from the blooming vines and pomegranates (Song 7.12). As human laughter is 'contagious', so also is the singing of the doves (Song 2.12): all join in and sing along. Most of the time this becoming one body with Nature

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happens without our conscious awareness. But when it is not there, when life around us has diminished or disappeared, we certainly notice a deep emptiness and meaninglessness. It is then that we should hear subject Earth's sharp cry of resistance and protest (Earth Bible Team 2000: 46-48) and even 'revenge' on its irresponsible inhabitants. Humans are not only entertained by stories, but need stories to live. If you don't read or hear them then you will dream them, but you cannot do without them. We live through the characters of a story, we become part of its landscapes and its actions. We broaden our horizons, we deepen our emotionality and become richer beings. In short, we come to life through stories. The same is true of the 'story' of Nature. Humans need Nature; all of Earth's inhabitants need each other to share and celebrate life and to become fully 'alive'. Whether we interpet our world through language, or fully embrace life as animated bodies, we knowingly or unknowingly admit our kinship with the Earth community. We share and celebrate life, drawing from the same source of energy since the beginning of time. The Mystical Aspect of Nature The 'eco-delight' of the Song thus far, the acknowledgment of Nature as home and the spontaneous 'voicing' of the emphatic bond among all its inhabitants, have clearly underscored Nature's worth. Nature's worth is taken a step further by also focusing on the mystical aspect of Earth and the Earth community, adding 'ultimate' value to it. Although the name of God is not explicitly mentioned in the Song, it is most certainly also a 'religious' text, but not in terms of an allegorical interpretation. Allegory portrays dualism with a deep 'disdain for the flesh' (LaCocque 1998:11, 67). The Song is religious in its mystical traits. Kriiger (1995: 58) describes religion simply and effectively as an exceptionally deep experience in which humans are continuously integrating and transcending experience (1995: 55-56). Religion's integrating function implies creating cosmos out of chaos, giving order to the infinite 'showering' of impulses by means of symbols. Haught (1990: 6) refers to this as the sacramental aspect of religion, whereby concrete symbols and images from Nature are utilized to construct meaning. The transcending aspect of religion is referred to by Haught as the mystical aspect, pointing to some deep mystery beyond the symbols (1990: 6). That the Song portrays a very deep experience of love and life is very clear. The moving aesthetic experience of wonder and awe at Nature's

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new spring face that the lover anticipates (Song 2.10-13) unmistakably also points to an overwhelming mystical experience (Landy 1983: 178). The beauty and goodness of Nature awaken a sensitivity to the 'beautiful7, the ultimate 'good'. The gratification of bodily impulses becomes transformed into a deep spirituality. This markedly happens in the deep and joyful experience of sexual union. The celebration of the oneness of body and soul with another leads to heavenly upliftment (Song 2.15-16; cf. also 6.3,12; 7.11-13). The mystical aspect in the Song can be clearly recognized where animals are 'divinized'. An example is the refrain of adjuration in Song 2.7; 3.5 and 8.4. This oath in the name of the gazelles and hinds is a parody of sacrosanct formulas, summarized by LaCocque (1998: 62, 86) as follows: 'YHWH tsebaot [Lord of hosts] has become tsebaot [gazelles]; while El Shadday [God almighty] has been changed into "ayelot hassadeh [hinds of the field]'. God can be 'recognized' in the animals of the fields and as has been pointed out above, so can humans. And God can be 'recognized' in humans too. The image of the 'god'-gazelle in Song 2.7 still subtly reverberates in Song 2.8 where the woman introduces her lover-gazelle. He is a 'god' in her eyes. And his elevated status lingers on in Song 2.17. This 'larger than life' depiction of the lover conspicuously surfaces in the wasfin Song 5.10-16, where the woman describes him in terms of the statuary of the gods (Munro 1995: 60). The woman in turn also becomes a kind of 'goddess' in the lover's eyes in Song 6.10: 'Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?' (cf. also Song 4.9; 6.5). Towards the end of the Song love itself is described as the 'force of all forces' (Song 8.6-7). God is not named in the Song, but is everywhere to be tasted, smelled, heard, seen and touched (LaCocque 1998: 31). A transcendent God is absent from the Song. A transcendent God, according to Catholic environmentalist Thomas Berry, is detrimental to ecological thought. This God severs himself from the natural world even though it was 'created good', and is accordingly imitated by his followers (McCartin 1997: 3). The Song, instead, as has been shown, breathes panentheism: 'God is not the world, but God is in the world. God is present in every individual: plants, non-human animals, and humans' (Reynolds 1999; cf. also Landy 1983: 259). The implication here is also clear. Without the environment or with only a plundered, stripped and impoverished Earth, there can be no deep experience, only empty existence. Without a rich materiality no spirituality! Once again we detect the dark side of Earth, its 'revenging' trait.

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To be overwhelmed by the wonders of Nature and to give voice to these deep experiences highlighting the mystical aspects thereof are perhaps humans' most laudable efforts to acknowledge Nature's intrinsic worth. Conclusion The Song of Songs first and foremost delights in the phenomenon of love. This love between the sexes does not only 'ignite' man and woman to exuberant life, but it also undercuts and subverts the religious and moral mores of its time. The Song simultaneously also delights in Earth and all its inhabitants. This 'eco-delight' goes hand in hand with the deep feelings humans have for each other. Humans have 'eyes for Nature' as much as they have 'eyes only for each other'. Instead of Israel's general 'cool' attitude towards Nature, the attitudes of the lovers speak of warmth and heartiness. Earth is their home, their 'paradise' and its inhabitants their kin. This is where they belong, their perfect 'habitat'. And, amazingly, they feel at home even in wild, uninhabited Nature. They spontaneously and continuously 'voice' their kinship with the Earth community, harmonizing with the voices of Nature. Enjoying Nature is the same as enjoying each other, and vice versa. They enrich their bodiliness by supplementing it with body Nature. They share seeing, breathing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching along with Earth's inhabitants, and become fully alive. Deep down in the mystical depths of the world of the Song, the ultimate good of the universe can be sensed. But can a Utopian love story like the Song change the world? Can it be a model for the love between the sexes and love for Nature? Clines (1994: 23) shows that this love story from antiquity has not changed the world for the better in terms of gender equality, not then and not later either. The same can happen to environmental awareness in spite of the Song's eco-delight. Unless we actively live it! We obviously need scientific reports to make us environmentally aware, but we also need love stories like the Song to touch us deeply. We know that humans are not rational beings only, but operate emotionally as well. As much as a /ogos-appeal via the environmental scientific report is necessary, a pathos-appeal via the world's 'great stories' is indispensable for conservationist action. The world can be 'saved', even by a love story like the Song, as long as we keep it alive.

Ecclesiastes 3.16-22: An Ecojustice Reading, with Parallels from African Wisdom Willie van Heerden

Introduction Few interpreters of the Bible have attempted to read Eccl. 3.16-22 from an ecological or Earth perspective. To my knowledge only James Alfred Loader (1990: 63-64) has suggested that some of the arguments in Qohelet open perspectives which can be developed for an Earth reading of the passage. Lately, members of the Earth Bible Project have identified six ecojustice principles which provide a basis for articulating the key questions they pose as they seek to read and interpret the Bible (Earth Bible Team 2000), namely intrinsic worth, interconnectedness, voice, purpose, mutual custodianship and resistance. Bible readers will not find all of these principles useful in reading a given biblical text afresh. According to the Earth Bible Team any one of these principles, however, may provide the stimulus needed to pose new questions as we converse with the text (Earth Bible Team 2000: 39). This article is an attempt to interpret Eccl. 3.1622 from the perspective of only one of these ecojustice principles, namely the principle of purpose (although the relevance of the principles of intrinsic worth and interconnectedness is also pointed out). The principle of purpose motivates looking at the interaction of patterns which are broader than specific ecosystems. At first glance there seems to be tension between the concepts of purpose (in the sense of an all-encompassing cosmic design) and absurdity, which is how Qohelet repeatedly characterizes Tife under the sun'. After a preliminary application of the principle of purpose to our passage, Qohelet's conclusion that everything is absurd (hevel) will receive attention. Next the difference between hierarchical dualisms and Qohelet's way of dealing with oppositions will be investigated. The conclusion will contain some implications of these analyses for Earth matters. Qohelet was not the first, nor will he be the last, to point out the

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absurdities of life. He was also not the only one to express his ideas in a paradoxical style by refusing to resolve opposites. Therefore, throughout this study I shall refer to traditional African proverbs which express similar ideas or utilize similar techniques. I have decided to include African proverbs for several reasons, one of which is that they too derive from 'what people have seen under the sun'. They reflect experiential wisdom and philosophy (cf. Mugambi 1987: 25; Mbiti 1969: 30). The Principle of Purpose and the Text of Ecclesiastes 3.16-22 The Earth Bible Team explain the ecojustice principle of purpose as follows (2000: 48): The universe, Earth and all its components, are part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has a place in the overall goal of that design. Earth is a complex of interacting ecosystems; it functions according to an in-built design or purpose. These mysterious patterns of balancing interdependent life forces are still being explored by scientists and philosophers, and evoking wonder in poets and prophets.

Qohelet is aware of a complex of interacting patterns in life (under the sun), but fails to see how these patterns form part of one overall goal or design. In Eccl. 3.16-22 he deals with the reality of injustices and delays in judgment. The sages developed several types of theodicy to account for injustices while maintaining faith in God's unbroken justice. The essence of theodicy is to see things differently. Seen in a different perspective, incidents of injustice become insignificant or subordinated to a greater, more meaningful whole. Theodicy does not work for Qohelet. He will not subordinate anomalies he observes to the beliefs he accepts. Injustices are intractable distortions that warp the larger pattern rather than fading into it. He has no hope that human action can correct or even ameliorate wrongs and he sees death as the utter end (Fox 1999: 66). When he looks at life he sees a purposeful pattern; or rather, he sees a number of patterns, but they interfere with each other in ways that seem to rob them of their purpose. In Eccl. 3.16-22, v. 16 spells out the problem, v. 17 appears to solve the problem, and finally the problem is taken up again and expanded in vv. 18-21. The conclusion that follows is to enjoy one's work. Qohelet starts with the observation that in the place of justice (the area of jurisprudence) wickedness was there. It is an immoral state of affairs which was forcefully opposed by the prophets of Israel in the

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name of God (e.g. Isa. 1.16-17; Jer. 22.3; Amos 3.10; Mic. 2.1). In v. 17 he says that God will bring to judgment both the person who is right and the one who is wrong. It would seem that in this case Qohelet takes a positive position which appears to affirm conventional Wisdom literature. For that reason some interpreters treat this verse as a later insertion, or attempt to harmonize it with its immediate context (a phenomenon which will be dealt with later). Verse 17 also explains why a judgment will befall both the righteous and the unrighteous: there is a time for every activity —for the injustice now practised and for the judgment of God. But the immediately following verses concern the fate of death, which strikes equally the most diverse of living beings. All die the same death and are placed on the same level by death, so that right or wrong simply play no role for those who have died. Qohelet draws our attention to two of the many interacting patterns in life: that of wickedness and punishment (or righteousness and reward), and that of birth and death (being taken from Earth and returning to Earth, see Eccl. 3.20). Both patterns are meaningful in themselves and both display a two-directional movement, similar to those found in Eccl. 1.411 and 3.1-8: A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises (Eccl. 1.4-5). .. .a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up (Eccl. 3.2-3).

Many African proverbs give expression to the same pattern, for example: (1) People are like mivule trees: they shed their leaves and grow them again. (Good and bad times follow each other.)1

The problem starts when these patterns interfere with each other, or get out of step with each other. When death strikes before justice 1. The 27 African proverbs which are quoted in this study can be found in the following sources: Areje 1985: no. 22; Combrink 1996: no. 23; Combrink 1998: no. 12; Dzobo 1975: no. 25; Hoch 1966: no. 24; Knappert 1989: nos 4, 5, 9, 11, 16, 27; Knappert 1997: no. 3; Kuzwayo 1998: no. 14; Mbiti 1997: no. 6; Nussbaum (ed.) 1996: nos 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 26; Nyembezi 1954: no. 15; Pachocinski 1996: no. 20.

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is restored, the result is absurdity. To die is normal, but as the great equalizer, death is sometimes unfair. This ambivalence toward death is also expressed in a number of opposing African proverbs. On the one hand death is part of a pattern that no living being can avoid. It has to be accepted as a normal part of'life': (2) Death cannot be bribed with money. (3) You cannot buy life.

Since death takes us all, it has no favourites: (4) Only death is just.

On the other hand, death interferes with other life cycles, or life patterns: (5) Death is as shameless as the killer of babies.

Punishment (or reward) is often postponed, as another proverb says: (6) When God picks up his stone, he does not throw it at once.

This allows death to grab its victim while the stone is still in God's hand. Death interferes like the leopard in the following proverb: (7) The leopard that prowls does not respect a sacrificial goat destined for the lubaale.

The killing of the goat by the leopard interferes with the purpose for which the goat is cared for by its owner. However, we sometimes act as though we think one pattern in life will not interfere with another: (8) 'We ourselves are pregnant. We don't care which ones will be slaughtered/ said the nanny goat to the fat ram. (9) Man is looking for wealth (or justice) while death is looking for him.

The interference of patterns is heightened even more in Eccl. 3.18. Although the beginning of this verse anticipates that God is going to sift people, or distinguish between different kinds of people (vrr), as one would expect in a court of justice, he does exactly the opposite. God shows that in essence people are animals. This comparison calls to mind two more ecojustice principles, namely intrinsic worth and inter connectedness. The Earth Bible Team describes the ecojustice principle of intrinsic worth as follows: The universe, Earth and all its components have intrinsic worth/value...because they are part of these [complex ecological] systems' (2000: 42, 43).

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The idea that in essence people are animals, or that they are of equal intrinsic worth, is hard to swallow, if Bible translations are a measure to go by. The NEB and REB omit this part of Eccl.3.18. The NIV says 'men [sic]...are like animals'. The result of the 'sifting' process, then, is not only that people are of equal worth among themselves, but also that people are of no higher worth than animals (cf. Loader 1986: 44). Traditional wisdom often compares humans, or rather certain humans, with some kind of animal (often an animal that symbolizes stupidity, or that is despised, e.g. the dog, ox, or pig in some cultures) to stress the foolishness of the people concerned (cf. Lauhal978:76). Indeed, some commentators explain this verse along these lines (e.g. Beek 1984: 67). Some African proverbs also reflect this perception: (10) People are like wild animals: some eat their own kind. (11) People are like dogs: they always want more.

However, Qohelet's comparison between humans and animals cuts much deeper: All humans are animals. If humans are of any worth, animals are too. Humans cannot rely on their sense of righteousness to distinguish them from animals (which are not supposed to have a sense of righteousness), for, according to Qohelet, the extent of their wickedness puts them on the level of animals. Humans and animals have the same fate too. These statements are not answers to the question whether humans and animals are of much or of little worth. They rather imply that the intrinsic worth of humans does not primarily depend on characteristics which distinguish them from animals. This dovetails with the ecojustice principle of intrinsic worth, which, as stated above, defines intrinsic worth in terms of being part of Earth's complex ecological systems. The following proverb provides remarkable insight into the concept of the intrinsic worth of everything: (12) Life is life, it does not matter whether it has a skin, or feathers, or fins.

Qohelet's thoughts on the common breath and Earth-boundness of humans and animals link up with the ecojustice principle of interconnectedness. The Earth Bible Team wrote (2000: 44, 45): Earth is a community of interconnected living things that are mutually dependent on each other for life and survival...Humans are an integral part of what has come to be called the 'Earth community7; humans are Earth-bound. All breathing creatures inhale the same air.

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In Eccl. 3.19-21 Qohelet relentlessly continues his argument: human beings and animals have one breath and the destination of all living things is the same. This conception goes back to the traditions of primeval history. According to the Yahwist, 'man' (Gen. 2.7) as well as the animal (Gen. 2.19) is a nephesh chayah, both having the same vital breath, nishmat chayim. According to the Priestly writer the beasts have a ruach chayim (Gen. 7.15). Qoheleth has bound together these statements into a lapidary affirmation of the equality of humans and animals (cf. Schoors 1985: 300). If then human beings and animals share the same origin, there is no reason why they should be different in death. The common origin and fate of humans and animals undercut essential distinctions between them, despite humanity's regal stature profiled in Genesis 1 and Psalm 8. Psalm 104, however, makes no qualitative distinction between humans and animals (cf. Brown 2000: 47). All living beings are interconnected through their bond with Earth. The idea that 'you are dust and to dust you shall return' (NRSV) is not foreign to African wisdom: (13) Earth we are. Unexpectedly the time comes and we die.

Loader (1990: 63) has shown that the similar lot of humans and animals has gradually become a topical issue as people have become more interested in the dialogue between scientists and theologians on ecological matters. Not only human beings, but also animals originate from abiotic soil. This has huge ramifications, says Loader (1990: 63). 'Life out of death' need not only mean that a person rises from death to live on, or that one needs a spirit that lives on after the body has decayed. Scientists sometimes claim that life is nothing more than complicated chemistry. Furthermore, life is impossible without 'lifeless' elements like oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, heat...And both humans and animals must kill to be able to live. From this perspective of the interconnectedness of human beings with all other living beings and non-living things, a new dimension has been added to the idea of life out of death. Loader (1990: 63) in fact suggests that one could prepare a sermon on Eccl. 3.16-22 from the perspective of life out of death, or 'dust' which is entrusted to 'dust'. This perspective is potentially powerful and comforting, because it has an undertone of wholeness, peace and harmony. In one of his poems Edwin Muir (1960: 200) gives a beautiful description of our interconnectedness with Earth:

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I am debtor to all, to all I am bounden, Fellowmen and beast, season and solstice, darkness and light, And life and death.

African wisdom points out that the principle of interconnectedness is an all-encompassing principle on Earth. It applies to the relationship between all humans: (14) A person is a person because of other people; but also to the relationship between diverse things: (15) The groin is made to pain by the sore. (16) The quiver hangs from the strap and the strap hangs on the shoulder.

The following proverb implies that the interconnectedness between all living beings does not apply to death only (cf. Eccl. 3.19-20), but to life as well, in which humans are responsible for all sorts of degeneration and oppression (cf. Eccl. 3.16): (17) Culture is like a tree: if the green branches are carelessly chopped off, then the roots also begin to whither.

The proverb is explained as follows (African Proverbs CD Rom [Nussbaum 1996]): the green branches are a people's language, legends and customs; the roots bind people to Earth and to each other. Cultural degeneration or cultural oppression causes separation from Earth and fellow human beings. Everything is Absurd (Hevel)

As I said above, two prominent patterns in life, which interfere with each other, have been identified by Qohelet: wickedness and punishment (or righteousness and reward) and being taken from Earth and returning to Earth. So why does he conclude that all this is hevel, and why do I contend that 'absurdity' is a good rendering of hevel in this passage? In the Hebrew Bible a literal sense of the word hevel from which several other meanings are derived, is 'vapour'. This sense is evident in Isa. 57.13; Prov. 13.11; 21.6; and Ps. 144.4. Some of the derived senses of the word are (cf. Fox 1999: 28-29) 'ephemerality'— which according to Fredericks (1993: 11-32) is the dominant sense in Qohelet—vanity, nothingness, incomprehensibility/mystery, deceit and senselessness/nonsense. The last two concepts have not been proposed as the meaning of hevel in Qohelet, but they are pertinent

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elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, and their connotations are relevant to Qohelet's usage. In agreement with Fox (1999: 30-31) I prefer to render hevel as 'absurdity)'. Referring to Eccl. 8.14, which closely resembles our passage, Fox (1999: 30) tests some of the above-mentioned possible renderings of hevel. The text reads: There is a hebel that happens on Earth: there are righteous people who receive what is appropriate to the deeds of the wicked and there are wicked people who receive what is appropriate to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this too is hebel.

Fox (1999: 30) explains: Here the two hebel judgments frame a fact. The only antecedent available for the pronoun in the last sentence is the entire preceding statement, namely the fact that there are such occurrences. To call this state of affairs 'vaporous7 gives no information about it; none of the qualities usually associated with vapours apply. It is not 'transitory' or 'fleeting' — if it were, that would be all to the good. Nor is it insubstantial, a 'nothing', an absence. It is quite substantive, very much a reality. Nor is it 'vain', inconsequential. Far from it! Nor is it futile. It is true that the deeds of the righteous may prove futile insofar as they aim at a reward, but the passage also describes the fate of the wicked, and their receiving what the righteous deserve does not imply any futility in their actions. Nor does 'incomprehensible' adequately capture the disturbing quality in the events that disturb Qohelet... Hebel in Qohelet means 'absurd'.

The quality of absurdity is not inherent in a given phenomenon, but is a relational concept, residing in the tension between different realities or patterns, or between a certain reality and a framework of expectations. According to Camus (1955: 22-23) absurdity springs from a comparison, not from the mere scrutiny of a fact or an impression. The absurd lies in neither of the elements compared; it is born of their confrontation or interference with each other. Hence 'the absurd depends as much on man as on the world7 (Camus 1955: 24). This explanation is an exact description of the dynamics of Eccl. 3.16-22. Human beings (participating in the pattern of injustice and punishment or righteousness and reward) are confronted by the world (represented by another pattern, namely being taken from Earth and returning to it). The world (nature, or ecosystems) seems to operate on a given pattern that humans find difficult to understand and to accept, because it does not fit nicely with their constructed pattern of retribution. Absurdity acknowledges both the incomprehensible nature of the world and the individual's relationship to it.

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The incomprehensible nature of the world causes 'intellectual suffering' (Loader 1990: 58) and thoughts that 'burn the stomach' according to the following African proverb: (18) Coffee burns the mouth; thought burns the stomach.

This absurdity can only be recognized by the individual's capacity to 'step back' and view both the world and the self as a conflicted whole (cf.Nagel 1971:131-32). Qohelet and the Art of Dealing with Polarities

The Earth Bible Team (2000: 40) say that modern Western interpreters of the Bible tend to perceive reality in terms of dualisms or binary opposites, and that we are also inclined to assume that these dualisms are necessarily part of the ancient worldview reflected in the biblical text. They deliberately want to challenge such dualistic pairings. Drawing on the work of Val Plumwood, they list a number of key elements of the hierarchical dualisms underpinning Western thought, including the following four, which are recognizable in some of the polarities found in Eccl. 3.16-22: spirit/body (Eccl. 3.21); Heaven/Earth (Eccl. 3.21); human/nature or non-human (Eccl. 3.18-21); animate/inanimate (Eccl. 3.18-21); to which I would like to add: good/bad (Eccl. 3.16-17); the righteous/the wicked (Eccl. 3.16-17); life/death (Eccl. 3.19-21). One of the consequences of describing reality in terms of hierarchical opposites is striving for a singular truth. One member of such a pair of opposites is supposed to be inferior to the other. Body is inferior to spirit; Earth is inferior to Heaven; the non-human is inferior to the human; inanimate is inferior to animate; bad is inferior to good; the wicked is inferior to the righteous; and death is inferior to life. Do the polarities or antinomies in Qohelet reflect real dualisms, or are they (complementary) opposites whose tension is not resolved? In fact, are they really at opposite ends of a linear continuum? In the passage under discussion the above-mentioned list of opposites reflects the hierarchical nature of typical Western dualisms, but Qohelet does not do the 'logical' thing of eliminating the inferior pole.

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He relativizes the validity of the hierarchical element of such polarities by showing how certain real-life experiences, for example death, invalidate such distinctions. The distinctions between the righteous and the wicked and between humans and animals are problematized by death. The distinction between the lot of humans and that of animals after death is also left unresolved by the rhetorical question: 'Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?' (Eccl. 3.21). From these examples it seems that the tensions in Qohelet are not the product of a process by which one first describes opposites in terms of a hierarchical pair and then arrives at a singular truth about the matter. His conclusion that everything is absurd seems to be the consequence of his being unable to resolve the tensions within the observed polarities. He does not resolve these antinomies, but only describes them, bemoans them, and suggests how to live in such a refractory world. The contradictions do not make the book incoherent. On the contrary, Qohelet7 s persistent observation of contradictions is a powerful cohesive force, and an awareness of it brings into focus the book's central concern: the problem of meaning in life (Fox 1999: 3) Qohelet does not resolve the tensions of life, but the same cannot be said of the ways many of the interpreters of Qohelet treat the tensions found in the text. The urge to make sense of a situation lures them into 'making the rough places plain'. Fox (1999: 14-15) has identified at least six hermeneutical techniques for resolving the perceived inconsistencies in the book, namely: • •

• • • •

harmonizing discords (e.g. Abraham Ibn Ezra and H.-W. Herzberg) subtracting alleged later additions to the texts (e.g. Siegfried, Barton, McNeile, and Podechard; see also Crenshaw 1988: 102) discovering quotations (e.g. Levy, Gordis; see also Loader 1979: 95, Spangenberg 1993:11-12) hearing dialogue (e.g. Miller and Perry) detecting dialectic (e.g. Murphy) diagnosing Qohelet's tensions as symptoms of a disturbed soul (e.g. Galling).

When we make tensions vanish, intriguing complexities may disappear with them. On a different level, within the foundational assumptions that produce the tensions, Qohelet the observer is consistent. And on yet another level, that of what he says about the tensions

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he observed, he is also consistent (cf. Fox 1999: 26). His kind of consistency does not demand a singular truth based on hierarchical opposites. Niels Bohr (cf. Deist 1986: 187) must have been happy with how Qohelet presents his observations of life. Bohr said that there are two sorts of truth: trivialities, in which opposites cannot be tolerated, and profound truths, recognized by the fact that the opposite is also a profound truth. Ferdinand Deist (1986:187) maintains that we have to use 'two words' when we talk about God. We must be able to say yes and no. Our theology will be a theology of tensions, or contradictions. For example: God is love and justice; we tremble before God and we are fascinated by God. A singular view of God will always be a halftruth at best. Human language and neat logic will often prove inadequate for dealing with profound truths. If we can easily refute someone's views, we are probably still dealing with trivialities. Injustices and death are not trivial matters. No wonder Qohelet refrained from resolving the tensions inherent in his observations of such matters on Earth. Hierarchical binary oppositions are not found in modern Western thinking only. The following African proverb suggests a similar way of making sense of reality: (19) All things are double, one against another.

This proverb finds a parallel in the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach 33:14-15: Good is the opposite of evil, and life the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly. Look at all the works of the Most High; they come in pairs, one the opposite of the other.

However, African wisdom also recognizes, indeed is perhaps characterized by, an appreciation of the paradoxical instead of oversimplified truths. We should for example not become too otherworldly: (20) If you say 'God, God', hold tightly the tree. (21) If you speak in respect of Heaven, you must say something about Earth too.

The warning against oversimplified truths is neatly expressed in another proverb: (22) A bird cannot fly with one arm.

Singular truths are often applied with great force, but in the end they might prove to be inadequate: (23) A strength which becomes too strong becomes a weakness.

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The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions Conclusions: Implications for an Earth Reading of the Text

I want to suggest a few implications for an Earth reading of this text in view of the discussion thus far, which can be summarized as follows. The absurdity of life as experienced by Qohelet does not seem to lie in the meaninglessness of the observed patterns in life. For example, both the patterns of injustice followed by punishment (or righteousness followed by reward), and being taken from Earth and returning to Earth, are meaningful, or serve a purpose. For Qohelet the absurdity of life lies in how these patterns interact or interfere with each other. In some instances one pattern prevents the other from reaching its goal, or completing its cycle, because the patterns are out of step with each other. Death interferes before injustices are set right (or before righteousness is rewarded). Qohelet's observations and his way of presenting them have some very important implications for issues which have been brought to the text by an Earth perspective. Following the example of Qohelet, we need to be aware of the complexity of the interaction between a multitude of patterns in life. Death, for example, can at any moment interfere with a given pattern. Modern people tend to push aside or suppress the reality of death. Gtinter Altner (1988: 201-202) claims that our suppression of death contributes to the current ecological crisis. He explains this phenomenon as the consequence of the threat posed by life-unfriendly modern technology. Another African proverb gives the same explanation: (24) He who does not talk about death is the spouse of fear.

In contrast to Albert Schweitzer's 'Ich bin Leben, das leben will, inmitten von Leben, das leben will' (I am life that wants to live in the midst of life that wants to live'), the credo of modern societies is 'Ich bin der Groflte' ('I am the greatest'). This ideal of ruling and dominating the world endangers all our relationships with other living beings and non-living things. Goodall and Reader (1992: 39) concur: The transience of human life leads us to try to distance ourselves from death. Society does not know how to handle death, so the 'with sympathy' cards are ambiguous in their phraseology, discreetly expressed so as not to of fend... This would seem to suggest that to most people the area is too painful. America leads the way in many social trends, and it is interesting to note that their undertakers are becoming known as 'thanatologists', a word which has no obvious connection with death, unless you happen to have a knowledge of Greek!

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We have created a gap between ourselves and the rest of Earth in many of our efforts to cope with the reality of death. In an attempt to make ourselves immortal, to avoid the reality of death, we surround ourselves with material things and in so doing we are killing Earth by our exhaustion of finite resources. Ownership is all that many understand. It is worth while caring for living beings and objects, although all of them—in fact Earth as a whole —will eventually die. The end results of our actions 'under the sun' may not be known in our own lifetimes and may, therefore, seem absurd. To be more specific: our generation of human beings expect Earth (including most of its huge variety of life) to be still there when we die, which makes any concerted efforts by humans to 'save' Earth seem absurd. When, according to everyday experience, Earth outlives us by far, we humans seem ill equipped for saving Earth. (25) The needle cannot stitch the earth that has come apart.

But the absurdity of the situation should not prevent us from enjoying our work, which includes care for Earth. Furthermore, to be able to enjoy one's work in an absurd world calls for a specific attitude to life, which I would call faith —the kind of faith described by the author of the letter to the Hebrews: 'All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them' (Heb. 11.13). I think this is why Qohelet summons us to enjoy our work (Eccl. 3.22). It is not only the right thing to do, it is the best thing to do. The following two African proverbs clearly illustrate an attitude of living responsibly and in faith: (26) 'Death finishes off all of us', he says, and still he puts the chicken on the roost to have it in the future. (27) Enjoy life like food: leave some for your children.

God's Design: The Death of Creation? An Ecojustice Reading of Romans 8.18-30 in the Light of Wisdom 1-2 Marie Turner Introduction My ecojustice reading of the text of Rom. 8.18-30 is based on the understanding that Paul drew upon the book of the Wisdom of Solomon for his creation theology.1 From this stance I will address the fourth ecojustice principle, the principle of purpose, in Rom. 8.18-30. The principle states that the universe, the Earth and all its components are part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has a purpose and place in the overall telos of that design. I will argue that for both Paul and the writer of the book of Wisdom the plan of God for all creation was always life, but humankind allowed death into the world. I will offer an ecofeminist reading in discussing the role of the female both in God's original plan for creation and in the restoration of life to creation after humankind allowed death into the world. My interpretation will be thus be twofold. First, I will argue that a theology of life and death is a major concern of Paul in Romans. Second, I will seek to reclaim the crucial role of the female in Paul's creation theology. Brendan Byrne (2000) has offered a reading of Romans 8 in the light of the sin/grace story. His interpretation has left Byrne puzzled at the lack of reference to the resurrection in the 'creation groaning' passage. In addition, Byrne (2000: 201) has referred to 'the unrelentingly masculine imagery of Romans'. Yet when the connections with the book of Wisdom are acknowledged, the place of resurrection theology in Romans 8 is made clearer and the unrelenting masculine imagery gives way to the female figures of Wisdom, Sarah, he ktisis (the creation) and the Spirit. Although the Spirit is grammatically neuter 1. See Turner 1998. Evidence offered includes a 50 per cent correspondence in vocabulary when 20 per cent would be expected, a Wisdom framework to the letter, the influence of the Wisdom of Solomon (from now on, book of Wisdom) in Rom. 1 and Wisdom themes throughout the letter.

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in Greek, it is identified in the book of Wisdom as the spirit of the female Wisdom. What Paul intended to include in the term 'the creation' (he ktisis) has been the subject of debate for centuries (see Lampe 1964). The Wisdom tradition saw creation as incorporating the whole range of existing things, 'from humans to ants, not excluding the abyss and Leviathan' (see Murphy 1985: 6). My understanding is that the term as used by Paul encompasses non-human creation, and that nonhuman creation is therefore an object of salvation from death in God's design. At times Paul differentiates between human and non-human creation. To preserve the ambiguities of Paul's text I will favour the term 'the creation' or 'he ktisis' in preference to 'the Earth' when I am dealing directly with the text. I will retain the Greek original and include the definite article to indicate the feminine gender of the term. It was specifically in the Wisdom literature that the question of death as the ultimate question mark over the creator arose. In Wis. 1.17 the ungodly lament that their life is but a passing shadow. This is the essence of death. An ecojustice reading of Romans 8 through the lens of the Wisdom tradition allows us to explore a theology of life and death rather than a theology of sin and grace. The preferred approach of mainstream scholarship has been to read Romans 8 in the light of the creation and fall narratives of Genesis 2-3.2 In this approach the emphasis is placed upon sin as the enemy of humankind and on the grace of God which justifies humankind. The Wisdom tradition has been noted, however, for its emphasis on life and death. This emphasis is evident in Paul's approach to creation in Romans 8. At the risk of being iconoclastic I contend that for Paul death, and not sin, is the primary enemy. In this reading, hope is not the hope of salvation from sin as it has usually been understood when seen in the light of Genesis, but the hope of life. Anne Primavesi (1991: 1) reminds us of the overemphasis of Christian doctrines on human salvation from sin and at the same time of the fact that Western culture, influenced by Christianity, has had a disastrous effect on the natural world. 2. See, for example, Hooker 1990: 76. The basis for Hooker's emphasis on the differences between Wis. 13 and Rom. 1, namely, that Wisdom is speaking of 'natural theology' where Romans is probably not, does not convince me that this is sufficient reason for emphasising the Genesis rather than the Wisdom connection in Romans. Other scholars who accept her conclusions that Genesis is Paul's source include, for example, Byrne (1990: 33) and Barrett (1962: 17), who agrees with Hooker's assessment of the Adam material as evidence that the Genesis influence is strong in the letter to the Romans.

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Paul's use of the book of Wisdom in Romans 8 has shifted his focus from sin and salvation to life and death and, I would suggest, from an Adam/Jesus parallel to a Wisdom/Jesus parallel. In this approach Paul's theology is seen to be concerned with the plan of God from the beginning of creation that humans be conformed to the image of God's eternity, as in Wis. 2.23: For God created us for incorruption And made us in the image of God's own eternity.

Once death was allowed into the world by humankind it had to be conquered. It was only thus, through the death and resurrection of Jesus as the image of God's eternity, that death could be conquered and creation, including humankind, be restored to its destiny. Paul's concern in Rom. 8.18-30 is to show that in the plan of God all creation is destined for life through the victory of Jesus over death. Life and Death The book of Wisdom is quite clear that there is a design in creation. God created all things to exist and therefore the decay of creation is an aberration from this plan. The writer assigns the realm of death to Hades, which has no right to be on Earth: God did not make death, and does not delight in the death of the living. For God created all things to exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth (Wis. 1.13-14). hotheos thanaton ouk epoiesen oude terpetai ep' apoleia zonton ektisen. Gar eis to einai ta panta kai soterioi hai geneseis ton kosmou kai ouk estin en autais pharmakon olethrou oute hadou basileion epi ges.

Wis. 1.13-14 indicates a distancing of God from the responsibility for death. Humanity, in company with the devil, is implicated in the presence of death in the world, but only those who belong to the company of the devil will experience death (Wis. 2.24). The righteous, however, will experience immortality (Wis. 3.1-3). Paul's statements on the connection between death and sin are similar to those of the sage. Wis. 2.24 states: but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it. phthono de diabolou thanatos eisenlthen eis ton kosmon, peirazousin de auton hoi tes ekeinou meridos ontes.

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Cf. Rom. 5.12: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned. (Dia touto hosper di'henos anthropou he hamartia eis ton kosmon eiselthen kai dia tes hamartias ho thanatos, kai houtos eis pantas anthropous ho thanatos dielthen, eph' ho pantes hemarton)

The similarity between these two texts can be seen particularly in the highlighted phrasing of the Greek texts. It is reasonable to expect that the words eiselthen eis ton kosmon//eis ton kosmon eiselthen would occur in both texts, one as regards death and the other as regards sin, but it is significant that Paul should introduce thanatos (death) in this very context. In Romans 8 a death/glory theology underscores the theme of life and death, because glory denotes a sharing in God's immortal being. When Paul speaks of hope, he means the hope of life. Sin is an enemy because it is associated with the loss of life. Since death came into the world through sin, salvation from death as the effect of sin means life. But it is not human beings alone who await life. In response to its bondage to decay, creation cries out in eager longing for glory.3 Paul uses the word 'glory' 22 times in Romans. It is used for the first time in Rom. 1.23 where Paul says that human beings 'exchanged the glory of the immortal (aphthartou) God for images resembling mortal (phthartou) human beings or birds or animals or reptiles'. This is a text in Romans accepted by mainstream scholarship as influenced by Wisdom 13 (see for example Dunn 1988: 56; Sanders 1983: 135 n. 45). Rom. 8.21 explores the theme of corruption and being set free from this bondage to corruption is paralleled with the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This is the equivalent of final transformation into the glory of Christ. In Rom. 8.17 it is not clear that non-human creation is to be included in the glory of Christ, but there can be no misunderstanding the text of Rom. 8.21 where creation is emphatically included: hoti kai ante he ktisis ('because the creation itself). Paul's use of both kai and ante ('and itself) in this verse serves to emphasize the inclusion of creation in the hope of the freedom from decay (Dunn 1988: 470). In this, Paul is akin to the sage who asserts in Wis. 1.14 that 'God created 3. Newman (1992: 153) is helpful in offering the terms 'sociomorphic' and 'physiomorphic' to categorize Paul's imagery of salvation. He also argues that because there was no word in Greek which exactly matched the concept of the kvd of God the semantic field widened with the use of doxa (glory) to translate this concept.

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all things (ta panto) to exist' and, in Wis. 12.1, 'Your immortal spirit is in everything' (en pasin). Paul has already specifically identified the sin of humankind as idolatry (Rom. 1.23). Not recognizing the revelation of God in creation, human beings, Jew and Gentile alike, exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a 'likeness of an image7 (homoiomati eikonos) of corruptible human beings and animals and human beings became futile in their reasoning (Rom. 1.21). The outcome of this idolatry is that God's plan of revelation of Godself through the good things of creation is thwarted and the result is social chaos for humankind (Rom. 1.29-31). But not only social chaos results. In Rom. 8.20 Paul tells us that creation itself was subjected to futility and is thus placed in the position of the oppressed. Although God is the agent of subjection, it is as a result of humankind's allowing of death into the world.4 Life and Death as a Major Theological Focus of Romans 1-8 A survey of the chapters leading to the question of decay in Romans 8 shows a consistent emphasis on the theme of life and death. In Rom. 1.4 Paul announces that Jesus is declared Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead. In Rom. 1.16-17 Paul establishes cause to hope for the re-establishment of life because 'the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith' and 'the righteous will live by faith'. The theme of corruption occurs in Rom. 1.23 where Paul speaks of those who 'exchanged the glory of the incorruptible (aphthartou) God for images resembling corruptible (phthartou) human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles'. The terms incorruptible/corruptible (aphtharto/phthartou) used by Paul are echoes of Wis. 2.23, as can be seen by a comparison of the Greek texts: hoti ho theos ektisen ton anthropon ep' aphtharsia Kai eikona tes idias aidiotetos epoiesen auton (Wis. 2.23). kai ellaxan ten doxan ton aphthartou theou en homoiomati eikonos phthartou anthropou kai peteinon kai tetrapodon kai herpeton (Rom. 1.23).

Rom. 2.5 echoes Rom. 1.18 as Paul tells the readers: But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be 4. My understanding is that creation was subjected by God. As well as this position being the consensus of scholars, only God could subject in hope, if hope is indeed the hope of life.

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revealed...There will be wrath and fury for those who are self-seeking, but to those who seek for glory and honour and immortality (aphtharsian) God will give eternal life (zden aidnion) (Rom. 2.5, 7-8).

This term (aphtharsian) used together with eikonos ('image') becomes important in situating the source of Paul's use of the word 'image' in the book of Wisdom and will be dealt with in that section. In Rom. 4.18 we move into a section where male imagery begins to give way to feminine images. The first of the images is Sarah. Abraham's hope is that he will become the father of many nations in spite of his own age and the death (nekrosis) of Sarah's womb. The promise is given to Abraham by the one 'who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist'. But the promise belongs also to those who believe in the one who 'raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification' (Rom. 4.25). In this section there is a brief but highly significant section about Sarah that impinges on the resurrection. Abraham hopes against hope in spite of two obstacles, one difficult and the other apparently insurmountable. The first is the state of his own body which, because of his age, is already 'as good as dead'. More significantly, Abraham considers the 'death' of Sarah's womb. From the dead womb of Sarah, God brings life. Sarah is the classic representative of the 'barren woman' and may well be echoed in Wis. 3.13 where we are told: For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled, Who has not entered into a sinful union; She will have fruit when God examines souls.

Paul here lays the groundwork for Rom. 8.22 where he ktisis (the creation) will be presented as bringing forth life. The theme of hope serves as a transition from Paul's discussion of Abraham and Sarah to the section on Adam in Romans 5. Here the male imagery takes over as Paul associates the coming of sin with the story of Adam, even while he is careful to attribute blame to all humankind. Paul tells us that through Christ we have obtained access to grace and can look forward to God's glory (Rom. 5.1). The text discusses the reconciliation wrought by Christ. This reconciliation occurs because we are justified by the blood of Christ. In a qal wahomer ('from the light to the heavy' or 'how much more') form of argument, Paul claims that, if we are reconciled by the death of the son, how much more will we be saved by his life (Rom. 5.10). Thus, while the death of the son is instrumental in reconciliation, there is an even greater emphasis on his life. This discussion in turn leads to the sec-

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tion on death's entry. In Romans 6 Paul clearly states his thesis that death no longer has power because of Christ. This 'sinful body' has been destroyed. The theme of decay is explored in Rom. 8.20 where Paul argues that creation was subjected to futility in hope. It is to ecofeminism that I now turn to explore the role that the female plays in the restoration of life from the dead. An Ecofeminist Contribution to an Understanding of Resurrection The bondage to decay of Romans 8 should be seen in the context of Paul's question in Rom. 7.24: 'Who will rescue me from this body of death (tis me hrusetai tou somatos tou thanatou toutou)?' Stanley Stowers (1994: 260-64, 271-72) has been helpful in pointing to the connections between this cry in Romans and the cry of Euripides' Medea. The scene echoes Medea's monologue in which she struggles with the compassion that she, as a 'weak woman', has to overcome if she is indeed to wreak her terrible vengeance on Jason (Euripides 1967: 11. 1021-69). Paul echoes her cry in the context of self-control. Since he depicts himself in terms of this 'weak woman' as he struggles to overcome the frailty of his flesh, at first reading there is no cause for satisfaction for ecofeminists here. It is at this point in his argument that Paul shifts to the redemption from death won by Christ, first referring to the son sent in the 'likeness' (homoiomati) of sinful flesh (Rom. 8.3), then to the spirit, next to the female creation and then to the image of the son. When the female imagery is reclaimed, however, its crucial role in salvation from death moves into view. Female images reclaimed from the text are the spirit of Wisdom, indicated by Paul's use of the term 'image', and he ktisis (the creation). Image An essential element of God's design is that we be conformed to the image of the son. My contention is that the use of the word 'image' in Rom. 8.29 recalls its usage in the book of Wisdom. The consensus of scholars is that the word 'image' in Rom. 8.29 is influenced by the Genesis texts and the concept of image identifies Jesus as the new Adam.5 Yet Paul does not use the word 'image' when he speaks of Adam in Romans 5. If he has in mind the Genesis usage of the word 5. There have been dissenting voices. See Dunn 1988: 482-83 for discussion of connections between Rom. 8.29 and the 'Wisdom christology' of deutero-Pauline texts.

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to indicate Adam as the image of God, then we would expect him to use 'image' here. He does not do this. When Paul first uses the word eikon (image) in Rom. 1.23 the word comes directly from the book of Wisdom of Solomon. Paul says: 'Professing to be wise they became foolish and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into a likeness of an image of corruptible human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles'. Morna D. Hooker points to the similarities in Greek between Rom. 1.23 and the Septuagint text of Ps. 105.20: kai ellaxan ten doxan ton aphthartou theou en homoimati eikonos phthartou anthropou kai peteinon kai terapodon kai herpeton (Rom. 1.23). kai ellaxanto ten doxan auton en homoiomati moschou esthontos chorton (Ps. 105.20).

Yet when we place the Greek text of Rom. 1.23 side by side with that of Wis. 2.23 the verbal connections between the key words are striking: kai ellaxan ten doxan ton aphthartou theou en homoiomati eikonos phthartou anthropou kai peteinon kai terapodon kai herpeton (Rom. 1.23). hoti ho theos ektisen ton anthropon ep' aphtharsia kai eikona tes idias aidiotetos epoiesen auton (Wis. 2.23).

Hooker is puzzled by the presence of the word 'image' in the Romans text (1990: 73-74 and following), yet it occurs in the Wisdom text. Thus, Paul's usage of the word indicates its connection with Wisdom. When Paul speaks in Rom. 8.29 of our being conformed to the image of the son he is speaking in the context of life and death. In Wis. 2.23, where the word 'image' (eikon) is first used, the context is also life and death. If indeed 'image' in Rom. 8.29 is informed by the book of Wisdom, an argument must still be made to connect 'image' and the figure of Wisdom in that book if we are to accept that 'image' in Rom. 8.29 echoes the figure of Wisdom. Image and Wisdom are connected directly in Wis. 7.6 where the sage tells us that Wisdom is 'an image of God's goodness'. Indirect evidence, convincing in its accumulation, is given by the integral connections made between image, immortality, Wisdom and Spirit. In Wis. 2.23 the sage tells us that we are made in the image of God's eternity, thus connecting image and eternity. For the sage, the word 'image' carries the promise of incorruption (aphtharsia). Thus the sage connects image, eternity and incorruption. According to Wis. 8.17, immortality is the gift which Wisdom is

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assigned to give to humans. Solomon tells us in Wis. 7.1 that he is mortal, but because of Wisdom he will have immortality (Wis. 8.13) and he extends this to the more general statement of Wis. 8.17: 'in kinship with Wisdom is immortality7. Thus the sage connects Wisdom and immortality. By virtue of the connections made by the sage between image and incorruption, and Wisdom and immortality, an argument can be made for connecting Wisdom and image. This connection is supported by the statement of the sage in Wis. 7.26 that Wisdom is an image of God's goodness. Thus the sage himself connects image and Wisdom. Spirit Connections are made between Wisdom and Spirit in the book of Wisdom that have implications for Romans 8. From Wis. 12.1 we know that 'God's immortal spirit is in everything' and, as we have seen, immortality is the domain of Wisdom. From Wis. 7.27 we know that Wisdom passes into holy souls and renews all things. From the parallelism of Wis. 1.7 we know that Wisdom and spirit are identified: Who has learned your counsel Unless you have given wisdom And sent your holy spirit from on high?

There is a striking connection between the texts of Wis. 1.7 and Rom. 8.28, both of which relate to the Spirit. A difficulty exists with the text of Rom. 8.28, as is evidenced by the differences in translation. The RSV translates: The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8.27-28).

The NRSV translates the same text as: The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

It is unclear whether the subject is God or 'all things'. A similar ambiguity exists in Wis. 1.6-8 where it is unclear whether the subject is God or God's Spirit or 'that which holds all things together': For wisdom is a kindly spirit but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words because God is witness of their inmost feelings

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and a true observer of their hearts and a hearer of their tongues Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world and that which holds all things together knows what is said (Wis 1.6-7). Likewise the spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very spirit intercedes for us with unutterable groanings. And God who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that for the ones loving God all things work together [or God works all things together] for good (Rom. 8.26-28).

In both the book of Wisdom and the Romans texts the Spirit is a lover and helper of humankind, God searches what is innermost in human beings and God hears whatever is said. Both texts are ambiguous about the agent of 'holding all things together' or 'working all things together'. My argument is cumulative. No one aspect can decisively connect Wisdom in the book of Wisdom and image in Romans but the verbal connections in Romans between the image of the son and Wisdom seem to me to be much stronger than any Adam/image connection. I conclude that there are strong intertextual echoes between 'image' in Rom. 8.29 and 'image' in Wis. 2.23. Thus when Paul speaks of our being conformed to the image of the son in Rom. 8.29, a conformation which leads to our glorification according to Rom. 8.30, we are able to reclaim this image as having the female Wisdom behind it. he ktisis

The connection which Paul makes between he ktisis (the creation) and the feminine is obvious in the description of creation's groaning in labour pains. The imagery of labour pains applied to creation was not unusual in the ancient world. 'Mother Earth', however, is a secondclass citizen in an androcentric culture which values the 'macho male' as the ideal. In a contemporary reading of Rom. 8.22 we can focus positively on the travail of he ktisis. The danger here is to assume that this positive focus was the case in the thought-world of Paul's contemporaries. In Paul's time the woman was seen as a field for the sowing of the seed of the man, the real life-giver. Yet the female imagery in this section does not focus only on the bringing of life out of the womb of he ktisis. Female imagery can be reclaimed also from the groanings of the spirit and he ktisis together. There is a hierarchy of thought ascending from he ktisis as she groans loudly in travail, then humankind as it awaits life and finally the Spirit, closest to God

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with effective prayers. Paul uses the neuter pronoun auto (itself) to refer to the groaning Spirit. In the Romans text the grammatically neuter Spirit, rather than the feminine Wisdom, is the focus. Yet, by acknowledging the connection between Romans and the book of Wisdom we reclaim the feminine imagery as we acknowledge that it is the Spirit of Sophia who aligns herself on the side of he ktisis, as both he ktisis and the Spirit look to the liberation from death for all creation. When we remember the connections with Sarah and the God who brings life from her dead womb, is it so far removed to conceive of God bringing life from the womb of he ktisis? he ktisis herself is life-giving and destined for eternity through Jesus, the image of God's eternity. There is a danger here, not unacknowledged by ecofeminists, that the hierarchical dualism of male-female, culture-nature will be reinscribed. The groaning of creation reminds us that the Earth should not be considered as the 'lower' of a pair in an ontological dualism. By acknowledging the connection between Wisdom and the image of the son we can go some way towards seeing the life-giving properties of the female as being constitutive of salvation where salvation involves bringing life from death. Conclusion The book of Wisdom confronted squarely the issue of the transience of existence and asserted that we are made in the image of God's eternity. For Paul, this telos of creation is the glory of life, life lost and then restored through the life of Christ. In the metaphor proposed by Wis. 1.12-16, death is not part of God's design for creation, human or non-human. But humankind has made a covenant with death (Wis. 1.16) and part of this covenant is to make use of (chrao) creation during the short time allotted to humankind (Wis. 1.6). Using Wisdom as his inspiration, Paul constructs his own metaphor in Rom. 8.18-30 to depict a creation that depends upon the life won in the resurrection of the son. Ecofeminism is wary of equating the value of the female with the giving of life, yet in this Romans text creation is indeed a real giver of life. My reading has argued that the resurrection of Jesus recalls the female imagery of the Spirit of Wisdom as she pleads for humankind. The original plan of God for creation was bound up in the female and is carried through to its completion in the work of Jesus as the eikon of God's eternity to which we are destined to be conformed.

'Is the Wild Ox Willing to Serve You?' Challenging the Mandate to Dominate Norman C. Habel Introduction Reading Gen. 1.26-28 in the context of the current ecological crisis has proved to be controversial and problematic. As the first text in the Bible which articulates a primary relationship between humans and Earth, this passage has long been considered normative, one of the sedes doctrinae that has priority in developing the teaching of the church. Texts from other traditions in subsequent biblical texts have rarely been given the same attention or accorded the same status. In this paper I shall review briefly recent discussions on the problematic component of Gen. 1.26-28 —the mandate to dominate —and explore how an alternative Wisdom tradition in Job 38-39 challenges and apparently subverts the so-called royal domination tradition (dominium terrae) represented in the Genesis text. I shall pursue this exploration by reading the text from the perspective of Earth in terms of the hermeneutic of the Earth Bible Project. In so doing, I shall focus especially on the ecojustice principle of mutual custodianship, though connections with other principles will be evident at specific points in the discussion. My concern here is not to review the vast array of literature on these texts, but to take into account some of the significant research of writers in the first three volumes of the Earth Bible Series. The principle of mutual custodianship states that Earth is a balanced and diverse domain in which responsible custodians can function as partners, rather than rulers, to sustain a balanced and diverse Earth community. These partners are Earth itself and members of the Earth community, including humans. We acknowledge, from the outset, that Earth has been the custodian of humans since their emergence and continues to sustain all life on the planet. The role of humans, who are dependent on Earth for their survival, is to co-operate with Earth as fellow custodians to help sustain Earth community in all its diversity —both biotic and abiotic.

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In the Earth Bible Project we distinguish between the terms 'custodian' and 'steward'. By 'steward' we refer to a party representing and acting on behalf of someone in power or authority. The steward operates in place of the owner of the house or ruler of the kingdom. By 'custodian' we mean a party who cares for someone or something with which he or she has a close connection or kinship. As is the case with Indigenous Australians — and other Indigenous peoples —a custodian has a necessary kinship with the land, site or species to be tended. Earth and all members of Earth's community, including humans, have a fundamental kinship which is the basis of mutual custodianship. The Mandate to Dominate The text of Gen. 1.26-28 promotes a relationship between humans and Earth community which seems to violate the principle of mutual custodianship. This text has God extending to humans a mandate to dominate Earth and Earth community. This mandate is problematic, whether or not the interpreter links it with the imago dei of Gen. 1.26. This mandate is summarized in the closing lines of the text: God blessed them [the humans] and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth' (Gen. 1.28).

In the current ecological context, the various interpretations of this text can be divided into three main categories. The first approach reads the role of humans 'ruling' (rada} and 'subduing' (kavash) Earth as a hierarchical mandate to dominate which unjustly reduces Earth and Earth community to an inferior status. The second approach, emphasizing the royal overtones in terms like 'rule', maintains that humans are given the power to be responsible 'royal' stewards who should govern Earth and Earth community with knowledge and justice (see e.g. Dyrness 1987: 52-54). The third approach softens the import of the key terms 'rule' (rada} and 'subdue' (kavash) even more and suggests that they mean something akin to 'care for' and 'show kindness towards'. Typical of the 'softening' approach is that of Brueggemann, who suggests that 'the dominance is that of a shepherd who cares for, tends and feeds the animals' (1994: 32). It is my contention that the key verbs in question—'rule' and 'subdue' — necessarily imply domination and oppression. At various points in the first two volumes of the Earth Bible Series,

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this mandate to dominate has been discussed. Mark Brett argues that it 'may be possible' to read the verb 'rule' in the sense of 'care for the weak' in line with royal Israelite ideology, but that the 'imperative to subdue the earth excludes a purely peaceful interpretation' (2000: 78). Ellen van Wolde argues that the verb for 'rule' (rada) in Gen. 1.28 has essentially the same meaning as the verb used to describe the 'rule' (mashal) of the sun and moon (Gen. 1.16), a verb which is usually interpreted to mean that these celestial bodies are in the service of Earth. According to van Wolde, 'dominion and dependency go hand in hand' (2000: 153). Anne Gardner accepts the harshness of the mandate to subdue and poses the question of what is being subdued, given that Earth is pronounced good on the third day. She then offers the tantalizing possibility that just as there is apparently a polemic against acknowledging the divinity of the sun and moon in the ancient Israelite world, so Earth as a potential nature deity must be 'subdued' (2000:124). Brett, like many others (e.g. Dyrness 1987: 54; Wenham 1987: 33), appeals to the royal ideology of Psalm 72 to illustrate what 'rule7 might mean in ancient Israelite thought. The argument of these scholars, as I have summarized earlier (Habel 2000b: 31), is that, ideally, rulers in Israel are to reflect the rule of God — they are to rule with justice and take care of the poor in the kingdom. 'Ruling' the Earth community, so the argument runs, means taking care of 'poor creatures' on Earth with a sense of justice. A close reading of this psalm, however, tends to demonstrate the opposite orientation. The first stanza of Psalm 72 does indeed emphasize that the king should reflect God's justice and care for the poor (Ps. 72.1-4). The second stanza is a prayer for prosperity to attend the king's reign (Ps. 72.5-7). It is only in the third stanza that the specific function of the king as 'ruling' is introduced. And the 'ruling' of the king is described unequivocally in terms of the conquest of enemies, nations and other kings who are to Tick the dust' and 'fall down before him'. Here ruling clearly means total domination, not caring or just control. Westermann goes so far as to say that 'people can only remain human in their dominion over the animals' (1984:159) As Keith Carley demonstrates in the first volume of the Earth Bible Series, Psalm 8 heightens this royal imagery of 'ruling' by declaring that 'all things' are put 'under the feet' of humans (2000: 119). Carley points out that human dominion in Psalm 8 is not confined to living creatures, but extended to 'the work of God's hands', which in the light of Ps. 8.3 suggests the wider creation, including the moon and stars. In this psalm humans are given the mandate, it seems, to

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dominate Earth and beyond. The language of domination used may appear to 'honour humans', as Limburg writes (1992: 51), but it hardly respects the integrity of the rest of creation. The forceful domination of creation in Psalm 8 may be a reflection of the crucial image of 'subduing' (kavash) Earth which is part of the mandate to dominate. Wherever the verb kavash appears in the Hebrew Bible it has a clear implications of overpowering force. To subdue the land/Earth means military conquest and forced submission (Josh. 18.1; cf. Zech. 9.15). In Jer. 34.11 the verb is used to describe the enforced subjugation of slaves (cf. Neh. 5.5). And in a later text (Est. 7.8) the verb even refers to sexual subjugation and assault on a woman. To 'subdue' Earth implies forced subjugation of Earth by humans. Earth is not valued, but granted, it seems, as spoil for human conquerors. I see no evidence in the use of the term 'subdue' to suggest that subduing Earth 'refers to the nourishment of human beings' (Moltmann 1985: 224) or even to controlling power. Anne Gardner, following the lead of Auld (1998: 7-13), suggests that the verb 'subdue' may well have been imported into the text from Josh. 18.1 to justify Joshua's heavy-handed conquest of the promised land (2000: 124). Whatever the origin of the term 'subdue' in this passage, it persists as a glaring image of suppression and conquest. The Context The text of this mandate in Gen. 1.26-28, when taken in isolation, may suggest that domination of Earth and Earth community is the normative biblical orientation for human-Earth relations. However, several important elements in the Genesis context illustrate that, while this text may have been important for one school of Israelite thought — presumably the priestly school —it is subverted by alternative perspectives. Such a bold image of domination was apparently not allowed to stand unchallenged even within the book of Genesis. The first of these elements is the narrative of Genesis 2 in which humanity is created as an intimate work of God. In this narrative God plants a garden in Eden for humans to enjoy, a garden full of trees that serve to stimulate the spirit and support the body. The specific relationship of humans with this garden is articulated as follows: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it (Gen. 2.15).

As many scholars have pointed out, the verb 'to till' ('avad) also means 'to serve' (see e.g. Trible 1978: 85). The text may be read simply

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as an indication of the agricultural orientation of the writer who wanted to assert the primordial status of farming. But as Carol Newsom makes clear, the primordial scene is prior to the advent of agriculture and the gan Eden is not really a garden, but a forest with trees and fruits. Perhaps, as Newsom suggests, early caring for the forest was akin to permaculture, to the raking and pruning designed to sustain a productive forest (2000: 64-65). Whatever form of ancient landcare this tradition assumes, the verb implies that such care is a form of 'serving' Earth. The juxtaposition of this narrative with the preceding narrative of Genesis 1, however, forces a comparison. This comparison reveals that the basic verbs of Gen. 2.15 seem to be direct opposites to those of the Gen. 1.28: rule/have dominion — rada subdue/ crush — kavash

v. serve/till — 'avad sustain/ keep — shamar

The force of this comparison is to suggest that the alternative creation story of Genesis 2 not only reduces the mandate to dominate in Genesis 1 to one option about how humans should relate to Earth, but also serves to undermine the authority of humans to treat Earth and Earth community as 'servants'. The role of humans in the Genesis 2 narrative is that of servants of Earth, not rulers —humans are to be custodians concerned with sustaining Earth, not overlords charged with subduing it. A second feature of the context which tends to relativize the mandate to dominate is the appearance of Earth in day three, an appearance which I have designated a 'geophany' in my article in volume 2 of the Earth Bible Series (Habel 2000a). It is significant that Earth, which is described as formless and empty within the primal waters before creation commences (Gen. 1.2), is summoned forth from beneath the waters in a unique way. God does not create Earth but summons Earth to appear. The verb used to describe this appearing (Niphal of ra'ah) is the same verb used to describe the manifestation of God and angels (Habel 2000a: 42). Earth, once hidden by primal waters, becomes manifest—a geophany. Earth ('erets) as the life-giving land emerging from the waters represents — pars pro tot- the whole Earth. This episode and others described in Genesis 1 make it clear that Earth is central to the narrative, uniquely revealed, highly valued and discovered by God to be good, and something in which God delights. There is no reason to assume that Earth, in this context, is a threatening force that needs to be overpowered and subdued. On the contrary, Earth is the very source of life and sustenance for all creatures.

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God appoints Earth as the custodian to provide food and sustenance for all its community (Gen. 1.29-30). The extended story of Earth in Genesis 1 tends to negate the mandate to dominate associated specifically with the story of humans (in Gen. 1.26-28). The mandate to dominate intrudes into a sequence of scenes in which Earth is valued as the revealed source of life and sustenance for the entire Earth community, including humans. The version of the mandate to dominate in Gen. 9.1-7—another text associated with the priestly tradition—reflects a number of significant modifications of the original in Gen. 1.26-28. 'Ruling7 over the creatures of Earth now includes the right to kill 'every moving thing' for food (Gen. 9.3). The natural response is apparently that these creatures will have a fear (morn') and dread (chat) of humans. Human rule of living creatures is not portrayed as harmonious, but as frightening. Gardner suggests that the specific precept to subdue Earth has been deliberately withdrawn (2000: 128). Perhaps so, but the mandate to fill Earth may also imply the need to control it. Gen. 9.1-7, moreover, does not really delete the mandate to dominate, but introduces killing and fear as legitimate dimensions of human rule. The immediate context of the mandate to dominate in Gen. 1.26-28, it seems, reflects not only a continuation of the basic relationship of human authority over living creatures (Gen. 9.1-7), but also an alternative tradition which establishes a relationship of humans serving Earth as their valued source of sustenance — their custodian. The task of tracing how the mandate to dominate is affirmed or negated through the Hebrew Bible is beyond the scope of this paper. Our concern here, in the context of the Wisdom literature being explored in this volume, is to examine the way in which the speech of YHWH from the whirlwind (Job 38-39) explores the fundamental relationship between humanity and creation. Read alongside Gen. 1.26-28,1 would argue, Job 38-39 becomes an extended inquiry into the meaning of the proposition that humans control Earth. Another generation may have written a midrash on Genesis 1 with competing rabbinic voices. Reading these texts from Genesis and Job side by side, I suggest, enables us to hear God asking repeated questions that progressively narrow down the interpretive options; gradually all sense of domination evaporates and the dogmatic mandate is subverted. Job 38: Journey through the Cosmos Already in Job 7, the artist who constructed the book of Job interacts with a number of biblical traditions relating the role of humans on

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Earth. Here Job, drawing on the imagery of the ancient Atrahasis myth (Lambert and Millard 1969: 54-59), complains that mortals are reduced to being slave labour on Earth, forced to do the arduous chores that were once assigned to the lesser gods (Job 7.1-2). Reflecting this orientation and his own humiliating experience, Job parodies the royal portrait of humanity in Psalm 8, turning God's special visitation of humans into continuous unwarranted harassment (Habel 1985:164). What are mortals that you exalt them And set your heart on them? You visit them every morning And test them every instant. How long before you lift your gaze from me And allow me to swallow my spittle? (Job 7.17-19, translation mine)

When God responds to Job from the whirlwind, God does not indulge Job's self-pity and offer him compassionate advice on how to feel better about himself as a suffering mortal. Nor does God correct Job's reading of Psalm 8 and the royal mandate tradition by assuring him that humans are indeed visited by God as creatures who are a 'little less than the angels' and destined to put creation under their feet. Instead God takes Job on a journey through creation, back to the beginnings, across the cosmos and into the wild. On that journey, Job encounters many sites and species —but not the human species. As Patrick Dale argues in his essay in this volume, creation has been decentred; humanity is not viewed as the centre of everything. Yet throughout that journey, the question of how Job, as a representative of suffering humanity, relates to these sites and species is constantly being raised by his divine travelling companion. God's questions are essentially two: Job, do you understand what you are looking at? Do you have any power to control what you see? These questions are not directed at Job simply because he is a complaining individual. God addresses Job as a primordial human. Unlike the first humans of Genesis 1 who are created in the image of God, this first human in the book of Job is addressed as one born at the beginning, before the construction and ordering of the cosmos (Job 38.21). While God's designation of Job as the first human is probably ironic, the questions posed focus on the primary relationship of humans and creation. On his journey through the cosmos, God not only challenges Job's portrait of God's arbitrary and destructive manipulation of creation (Habel 1985: 530-31); God also challenges the model of creation

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depicted in Genesis 1. As readers of the biblical text, we have tended to take the narrative of Genesis 1 as normative. The text of Job 38 clearly presents an alternative narrative that subverts the normative character of the Genesis text. The following comparison illustrates the radical difference in orientation between these two traditions: The Job 38 model Earth is constructed as an edifice with pillars and cornerstone (Job 38. 4-7). Sea is born from a primal womb and contained by limits like a child (Job 38.8-11). Dawn has a place and role in the design of creation and is summoned each day (Job 38.12-15). The watery Deep is the locus of the underworld and the domain of Death (Job 38.16-18). Light and Darkness each have specific loci in the cosmic design (Job 38.19-21). Weather forces play key roles on Earth, including watering wastelands devoid of humans (Job 38.2230, 34-38). Constellations of stars are controlled by the creator and the 'laws of the sky (Job 38.31-33).

The Genesis 1 model A pre-existent Earth emerges from the primal waters (Gen. 1.9-10). Sea is formed when pre-existent waters are gathered as Earth appears (Gen. 1.10).

The watery Deep is the primordial domain from which pre-existent Earth emerges (Gen. 1.1-2). Light and Darkness are created first and identified with day and night (Gen. 1.3-5).

Stars are added to the great lights of sun and moon to rule over day and night (Gen. 1.16-18).

A close analysis of Job 38 highlights how Job, as a representative of humanity, has neither the knowledge nor the power to control creation or rule any of its domains. He is portrayed as ignorant of how Earth was constructed and Sea was born. These are primordial mysteries beyond human ken. Wisdom may have been present at creation to observe their appearances (Prov. 8.22-31), but humans do not have first-hand knowledge of these events. Or, as Katharine Dell says in her essay in this volume, 'Earth gives us her gifts, but not all her secrets'. Without this knowledge and power Job does not have the capacity to rule Earth, much less dominate it. If Job had the power to rule creation, he could give orders like any good monarch, command Morning to appear and execute justice against the wicked (Job 38.12-15). Clearly, Job can issue no such royal decree. Nor does Job know how to reach the gates of Death in the recesses of the Deep. His authority does not extend to the underworld

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(Job 38.16-21), a domain he had earlier portrayed as a realm of peace and equality (Job 3.17-19). The assumed answer to the various questions posed by God is 'No'. Job does not possess the knowledge, skills or power to control creation. The suggestion that the answer to these questions is really 'Yes', and that Job, as a primal man present at creation, like Woman Wisdom in Proverbs 8, could control Earth, is negated by the answers of Job (Job 42.3). Job 39: Journey into the Wild

The author of God's speech meticulously works through the possibilities. Having eliminated any possibility that Job has power over the cosmic realm, God turns Job's attention to domains where creatures live and manifestations of domination by humans are more likely to be seen. Job cannot command the dawn, penetrate the underworld, bind the Pleiades or dispatch lightning on its mission, and so rule the physical universe. But can Job, as the first human, dominate —even domesticate —living creatures in line with the mandate of Genesis 1? When God takes Job on a journey through the kingdom of wild creatures, this possibility is put to the test. In the process, the mandate to dominate seems to be subverted. If Job has authority over lions, then he should be able to match their hunting skills and provide prey for their cubs and enter their lairs to feed them (Job 38.39-40). Ironically, it is humans that are likely to become the prey of lions. If Job understands the mysteries of birth among wild creatures, he should be able to monitor where and when they give birth (Job 39.1-4). But the capacity of wild creatures to survive birth and infancy in the wild, without human aid, is beyond Job's comprehension. The wild is full of mysteries and mysteries are never really dominated. It is especially the questions that God poses about the wild ass and the wild ox that contradict the belief that humans are destined to have dominion over all living creatures (Job 38.5-12). The wild ass has been set free (chophshi) and roams without the bonds that humans seek to impose (Job 38.5). The wild ass defies the world of humans associated with cities and refuses to hear the voice of a human taskmaster. The wild ass is the symbol of freedom in the wild, freedom from human control. God has set free the wild ass and in so doing negated any claim that humans have to dominate this natural domain. In the case of the wild ox, the use of the term 'eved (servant/slave) immediately evokes a comparison with the rule/serve polarity of the

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two Genesis narratives cited above. God asks whether the wild ox is willing to be Job's servant, to treat Job as master, to consider Job his ruler (Job 39.9). The answer is, obviously, 'No!' It is not the norm for wild creatures to be subjugated by humans; the mandate to dominate is here exposed as contrary to the impulses of nature. And, as if to illustrate how ludicrous it would be for wild oxen to be the servants of humans, God creates a delightfully absurd scenario, a parody of the idea that humans should have dominion over wild beasts: Is the wild ass willing to serve ('eved) you? Will he spend the night beside your crib? Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Will he harrow the valleys behind you? Can you rely (vatach) on his great strength? And leave your toil to him? Can you trust (Banian) him to harvest your grain And gather it in from the threshing floor? (Job 39.9-12; translation mine)

The idea that the wild ox would be a faithful servant, sleeping at the bedside and trusted to carry out the duties of the master, is here viewed as ludicrous. Beyond the parody, however, lies an implied rejection of the tradition that humans are commissioned, as part of their basic role under God, to rule over all living creatures. The fact that a few creatures, like the ass or the cow, are domesticated does not negate the challenge of YHWH that the world of the wild is beyond human control and dominion. Subsequently Job is challenged to understand the mysteries of the much maligned ostrich (Job 39.13-18), come to terms with the ferocity of the horse (Job 39.19-25) and discern the way of the hawk soaring in the sky (Job 39.26-30). A striking feature of the horse in this text is that it, rather than humans, evokes terror and dread (Job 39.20). The claim that all living creatures are terrified by humans (Gen. 9.1-7) is reversed. The horse 'laughs at dread, he remains undaunted' (Job 39.22). This creature, whose neck is adorned with thunder, is like the wild ass who laughs at the furore of the city (Job 39.7). Whether or not use of the same verbal root chatat (to terrify) in Gen. 9.2 and Job 39 is accidental, the force of the text in Job 39 is to reverse the perspective of Genesis 9. A significant feature of the portrayal of the horse is that an animal which humans may claim to have domesticated remains wild. In battle, horses become the most terrifying wild animals. Domestication as a form of domination is a sham. In the world of the wild in Job 39, the creatures described live free lives, independent and unafraid of human beings. The suggestion that

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these animals might 'serve7 humans and fear them as terrifying masters is a proposition reduced to the absurd. Even so-called domesticated animals are inherently wild and beyond total human control. Conclusion

The Wisdom tradition of Job 38-39, it seems, undermines the basic mandate to dominate of Gen. 1.26-28. The speech of YHWH from the whirlwind challenges Job— as a representative of primal humanity — to recognize that he cannot 'rule' Earth or Earth community. He does not have the knowledge to 'care for' the mysterious world of the wild — including its fawns and lion cubs. He does not have the power to control creation and command the dawn. And ultimately, he does not have the option of dominating the living world around him. Wild oxen will never be his servants. So-called domesticated creatures, like horses, remain inherently wild and unafraid of humans. Creation is full of mysteries to be admired, not domains to be dominated. The Wisdom tradition of Job 38-39 may not explore the kinship or interdependency of humans and other life, but it does remove the assumption that humans are superior beings who have the right and capacity to control the cosmos and dominate all life. This Wisdom tradition, I would argue, challenges the mandate to dominate and opens the way for a new respect for all creatures as beings imbued with wisdom and mysteries of their own. Earth, as custodian, takes care of its community of wild creatures as long as humans do not intervene with their assumed right to 'rule'.

Bibliography

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INDEXES INDEX OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 1-3 1-2 1

1.1-2 1.2 1.3-5 1.3 1.9-10 1.10 1.16-18 1.16 1.21 1.26-28

1.26 1.28 1.29-30 2-3 2 2.5 2.7 2.15 2.19 4.1 6.9 7.15 9 9.1-7 9.2 9.3 19.25

134 88 70, 121, 160, 183, 184, 186, 187 186 85, 88, 183 186 88 186 186 186 181 104 70, 77, 179, 180, 182, 184, 189 145, 180 181, 183 184 169 182, 183 54 81, 160 182, 183 160 58 80 160 188 184, 188 188 184 73

Exodus 3.8 3.17 13.5 33.3

131 131 131 131

Numbers 13.20 13.23 13.27 14.8 16.13

131 131 131 131 131

Deuteronomy 6.3 11.9 17.3 26.9 26.15 26.25 28 32.10

131 131 139 131 131 139 93 85

Joshua 18.1

182

Judges 5.20

139

1 Samuel 2.4-8

114

Nehemiah 5.5

182

Esther 7.8

182

Job 1-2 1 1.1 1.8 1.11 1.21 2.3 2.5 2.9 3 3.1-42.6 3.1-10 3.1-4 3.3-10 3.4-5 3.8 3.9 3.11-26 3.11-23 3.16-19 3.17-19 3.17 3.19 3.21 3.23 4.7-8 4.9 4.10-11 4.17-21 4.17 4.18 5.8-16 5.9-16 5.10 5.14 5.17-26

66 68 80 67, 124 82 66 124 82 68 68, 82, 94 93, 103 108 88 75 85,88 104, 106 138 69 89 76 187 66 66 119 69 93, 107 107 107 108 108 108 88 105 105, 106 88 105

205

Index of Biblical References 5.26 6.6 6.8-9 6.15-20 7 7.1-6 7.1-2 7.6-10 7.7-10 7.7-8 7.9-10 7.9 7.12 7.16 7.17-19 7.17-18 7.20 7.21 8 8.4-7 8.8-10 8.11-12 9-10 9.2-4 9.5-13 9.5-9 9.5-7 9.5-6 9.5 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.22-24 9.24 9.25-26 9.30-31 10.3 10.7 10.8-13 10.8-12 10.8 10.12 10.16 10.21-22 11.5-9 11.5-6 11.6 11.7-9 11.8 11.11

109 82 109 107 69, 72, 184 69 185 109 81 70 70 69 104, 105 70 185 88 70 70, 109 106 93 80 107 83 108 73 105 104 73 119 104 104 104 93 89 109 107 82 82 104, 106 113 82 81 107 85, 109, 119 80,81 80 87 105, 119 87 105

11.13-19 11.13-15 12

12.1-6 12.2-3 12.2 12.3 12.4-6 12.4 12.5-6 12.5 12.6 12.7-15 12.7-12 12.7-11 12.7-10 12.7-9 12.7-8 12.8 12.9-12 12.9 12.10 12.11 12.12-25 12.12-15 12.12 12.13-35 12.13-25 12.13-16 12.13 12.14-25 12.14-17 12.14-15 12.14 12.15-25 12.15 12.16 12.17-25 12.17-21 12.17 12.18-19 12.18 12.19 12.20 12.21-25 12.21 12.22

80 93 31, 72, 78, 79, 81, 90, 105 79 79,83 80 80,90 80,81 80 80 83,84 80 105 79,80 79,95 81, 105 31, 72, 105, 121 80 34 81 81 80-82 82 79 95 82 89 31, 73, 79, 87 84 83 88 88 105 83 85 73, 83, 84 83, 84 89 85 84,85 85 84 84 84,85 86 84, 85, 86 83, 85-88

12.23 12.24-25 12.24 12.25 13 13.1-3 13.1-2 13.1 13.16 13.21 13.22-24 13.25 13.28 14.1-3 14.5-6 14.13-17 14.13-15 14.18-22 15 15.7-9 15.14-16 15.15 16 16.6-14 16.9 16.12-17 16.16-17 16.18-21 16.18-19 17.11-16 18 19.6-12 19.14-15 19.21 19.23-27 20 20.12-16 20.18-20 20.23 21 21.10 21.14-16 21.23-26 22.6-10 22.13 22.16 23.1-7 23,3 23.10-22 24-28

85, 87, 88 73, 85, 88, 89 85,87 85, 87, 90 83 83,95 90 90 115 82 95 107 109 109 70 71 76 109 80 29 108 108 71 71 107 93 109 109 71 109 80 71 93 82 109 80 107 107 107 80, 107 107 107 108 93 114 84 95 81 93 105

206 Job (cont.) 24 24.1-12 24.2-3 24.12 25 25.2-3 25.4-6 25.5 26.5-14 26.5-6 26.7-9 26.10 26.11 26.12-13 26.14 27.5-6 27.21 28

28.1-11 28.1-6 28.3 28.5 28.6 28.7-8 28.9-11 28.12-22 28.12 28.14 28.20 28.22 28.23-28 28.23-27 28.23-26 28.23-24 28.24 28.25-26 28.27 28.28

29-31 29.7-10 29.13-16 29.21-23 30.1 30.19

The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions 86, 107 93,94 94 94 106 106 106, 108 108 105, 106 105 105 105 105 105 105 93 107 32, 41, 55, 109, 116, 117, 120, 122-24 109, 118 118 119 118 118 117, 118, 120 116, 118, 119 118, 121 75, 118 117 75, 119 117 118 121 119 32 55, 121 55 55 32, 118, 124 94, 109 93 93 93 93 107

30.20-26 30.22 30.23 30.24-26 31 31.13 31.16 31.17 31.19 31.20 31.24-25 31.26-27 31.28 31.38-41 31.38-40 33.6 34.3 34.12-13 34.13-15 36.26-33 37.1-13 37.9-10 37.14-22 37.24 38-42 38-41 38-39 38 38.1-40.2 38.2-3 38.4-38 38.4-11 38.4-7

38.4 38.5-12 38.5 38.6 38.7 38.8-11 38.12-15

38.12 38.16-21 38.16-18 3816-17 38.18-20

93 107 76, 109 94 73 93 93 93 93 93 93 109 93 109 73 106 82 106 106 106 106 107 106 106 85, 88, 91 120 23, 31, 74, 95, 179, 184, 189 32, 44, 186 109 110 95,97 96, 110 74, 95, 112, 186 29, 110 187 74, 187 74 74 75, 112, 186 75, 95, 96, 110, 186 75, 110 96, 110, 187 76, 95, 186 76 75

38.18 38.19-21 38.19 38.20 38.21 38.22-30 38.22-24 38.23 38.24 38.25-27 38.25-26 38.25 38.26 38.28-30 38.31-38 38.31-33 38.34-38 38.36 38.39-39.30 38.39-41 38.39-40 38.41 39 39.1-4 39.1-3 39.4 39.5-30 39.5-8 39.7 39.9-12 39.9 39.12 39.13-18

39.13 39.14-17 39.14 39.15-17 39.16 39.17 39.18 39.19-25 39.20 39.22 39.26-30 39.27 40.2

110 95, 186 75 110 110, 185 96, 186 95 113 75 95 75 75 75 95 96 95, 110, 186 95, 110, 186 76, 96, 97 76, 95-97 96, 110 187 96, 101 188 96, 110, 187 101 101 110 97 77, 101, 188 188 76, 77, 188 76 31, 97, 120, 188 99 97 99 99 99 76 99, 101 188 188 101, 188 81, 96, 188 101 110

207

Index of Biblical References 40.8 40.9-14 40.14 40.15-24 40.19 40.24 40.25-32 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4-26 41.4-5 41.4 41.10 (Eng) 41.11 (Eng) 41.18 42.1-6 42.3 42.6 42.7 Psalms 1 8

114 114 114 114 114 114 114 114 114, 115 115 114 III 114 115, 138 115 138 114, 115 187 120 77, 124

134 88, 160, 181, 185 181 8.3 139 14.2 107 22.12-13 107 22.16 107 22.21 89 23 29.7 138 33.10-17 114 80 55.12-15 57.8 138 57.9 (LXX) 138 72 181 72.1-4 181 72.5-7 181 74.13 104 78.5 119 85.11 139 85.12 (LXX) 139 89.9-12 112 95.11 34 99.6 80 102.19 139 102.20 (LXX) 139 104 60, 111, 160 104.4 138

104.29-30 104.31 105.20 106.18 107 107.2-9 107.4-9 107.6 107.8 107.10-16 107.10 107.13 107.14 107.15 107.17-22 107.19 107.21 107.23-32 107.27-28 107.28 107.31 107,33-43 107.33-41 107,33-37 107.39-42 107.40 108.2 108,3 (LXX) 139.9 144.4 147.6 147.10 148 148.3-4 148.7-10 Proverbs 1-9

1 1.1-9.18 1.20-33 1.20-21 1.22-33 1.22 1.29-33 3.16-20 3.16-18 3.16 3.18

82 60 175 138 84,86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 87 86 86 86 86 84 86 86 138 138 138 161 114 114 23,34 105 105

27, 28, 30, 48-51, 54, 60 48, 52, 55 39 122 28 55 35 55 55 56 28 28

3.19-20 3.19 4.7 4.10-11 4.15 5.18-19 6.6-9 6.6-8 7 7.11-12 7.23-29 7.27 8

8.1-3 8.1 8.2 8.4 8.12 8.15-21 8.15-16 8.15 8.16 8.17-27 8.18-21 8.22-31 8.22-29 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.29-31 8.30-31 8.30 8,31 8.32 8,34 9

9.1-6 9.1-3 9.1 9.2-6 9.2-3 9.5-6

28, 54, 56 42,53 27 28 45 135 25-27 43 51 45 41 45 23, 28, 3941, 48, 5153, 55, 56, 62, 63, 88, 119, 123, 187 28,40 51,56 56 57 57,63 29 57,85 63 45 85 57 29, 51, 54, 56-59, 122, 186 41 35,58 54, 123 58 58 41 29, 59, 60 41,58 29,57 56 50,56 48, 52, 61, 63 29,55 28 50 51 50 51

208

The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions

Proverbs (cont.) 9.6 55 9.7-9 51 9.10-11 51,55 9.11 51 10-21 24 10.1-22.16 39 12.10 24,43 13.11 161 14.4 24,44 14.21 24 38 16.15 19.8 25 21.6 161 22.17-24.22 25,39 23.10 25 24.3-6 85 24.3-4 25 24.21 38 24.22 25 24.23-34 39 25.1-29.27 39 26 25.2-3 44 26.3 27.20 138 29.2 46 29.4 46 30 26,40 39 30.1-33 30.4 46 138 30.16 26,43 30.18-19 26, 27, 44 30.24-28 27 30.24 44 30.29-31 39 31.1-31 85 31.2-9

3.19-20 3.20 3.21 3.22 8.14 9.1 9.4 9.8 9.10 11.2-4 11.5 12.7 12.13-14 Song of Songs 1.6 1.7-8 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.13-14 1.15 1.17 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.8-17

2.8-9 2.8 2.9 2.10-13

2.10 Ecclesiastes 1.4-11 1.4-5 3.1-8 3.2-3 3.16-22 3.16-17 3.16 3.17 3.18-21 3.18 3.19-21

157 157 157 157 30, 155, 156, 160, 162, 163 163 156, 161 156, 157 156, 163 158, 159 160, 163

2.11 2.12-13 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15-17 2.15-16 2.15

30, 161 157 163, 164 167 162 82 30 30 30 30 30 30,81 125

129, 130 147 130 133 132 132 131 134 150 130 132 143 126, 135, 153 145, 146, 149 132, 146, 149, 151 146 146, 149 146, 148, 151, 153 130, 132, 150 151 151 149, 151 151 130, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151 146, 147 153 132, 135, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151

2.16-17 2.16 2.17

3.1-4 3.4 3.5 3.6-11 3.6 4.1-7 4.1 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.11 4.12-5.1

4.12-15 4.12 4.15-5.1 4.16 5.1 5.2 (RSV) 5.2-7 5.10-16 5.11 5.12 5.14-15 6.2-3 6.2 6.3 6.4-7 6.5 6.8-9 6.10 (RSV) 6.11-12 6.11 6.12 6.13 7.2-8 7.2 7.3 7.5-6 7.7-8

7.8-9 7.10

132, 147 127, 134, 146, 147, 150, 151 132, 147, 151, 153 142 130 126, 135, 153 130 148 131 131 132 130, 132, 147 153 131 147, 148, 150 132 130 132 137, 150 131 137 142 131, 145 145 131 132 127, 132, 134, 147 130 147 131 153 139 138, 153 147, 151 130, 151 151 132 131 151 129, 132 149 127, 132, 134 131 147

209

Index of Biblical References

8.11 8.13 8.14

130, 147, 151 130 153 130,147, 148 137,153 126 130,134, 146 129 130, 148 132, 147

Isaiah 1.16-17 2.12-17 11.2 22.22 29.6 30.30 41.20

157 114 83 83 138 138 81

7.11-13

8.2 8.4 8.5

8.6-7 8.6 8.8-9

44.23 45.18-19 49.2 57.13 66.15

105 88 82 161 138

Jeremiah 1.10 4.23 4.27-28 8.2 12 12.11 22.3 34.11

83 85 34 139 23 34 157 182

Lamentations 3.50

139

Ezekicl 20.47 31.1-9

138 134

Daniel 2.20-23 Hosea 3.1

86

5.13 14.3

143 143 114

Joel 2.2-3 2.19-20

138 138

A///OS 3.10 5.8

157 86

Micali 2.1

157

Zechariah 9.15

182

7.24-25 7.25 7.26 7.27 8.6 8.13 8.17 9.9-11 10.4 12.1 13

42 32 176 176 32 176 175, 176 33 32 172,176 1 69, 171

5 5.1 5.10 5.12 6 7.24 8

173,174 173 173 171 174 174 33, 168-70, 176

APOCRYPHA Wisdom of Solomon 1.6-8

176

1.6-7 1.6 1.7 1.12-16 1.13-14 1.14 1.16 1.17 2.23

177 32, 178 176 33, 178 170 171 178 169 170, 172, 175,177

2.24 3.1-3 3.13 a6-10 7 7.1 7.6 7.17-21 7.18-21 7.21 7.22-23 7.22

170 170 173 39 39, 41, 42 176 175 33 42 33 42 42

NEW TESTAMENT John 9.2

93

1.21 1.23

Romans 1 1.4 1.16-17 1.18

168, 169 172 172 172

1.29-31 2.5 2.7-8 4.18 4.25

172 171,172, 175 172 172, 173 173 173 173

210 8.3 8.17 8.18-30

The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions 174 171 168, 170,

178 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.26-28 (RSV) 8.27-28 (RSV) 8.28 8.29

172, 174

171 173, 177

177 176 176 174, 175,

8.30

177 177

Hebrews 11.13

167

INDEX OF AUTHORS

Adams, C.J. 37, 43 Albertz, R. 94 Altner, G. 166 Areje, R.A. 157 Assmann, J. 97 Auld,A.G. 182 Barr,J. 126 Barrett, C.K. 169 Bauer-Kayatz, C. 122 Beek,M.A. 159 Bergant, D. 38,39,41,46 Bird, P. 70 Black, F. 129 Brenner, A. 127-29, 131, 132, 143 Brett, M. 181 Brown, W.P. 160 Brueggemann, W. 180 Butting, K. 146 Byrne, B. 168,169 Camp,CV. 48,59,129 Camus, A. 162 Carley, K. 181 Clines, D. 68, 80, 143, 154 Combrink,]. 157 Cooper, J.C. 60 Crenshaw, J.L. 24,164 Dahood, M. 81 Daly, M. 40 Davies,J.A. 80 Deane-Drummond, C. 100 Deist, F. 165 DelHoyo,]. 98-100 Dell, K.J. 32, 116, 117, 120, 122, 186 Devall,B. 116 Dhorme, E. 115,121 Dietrich, G. 60 Dijk-Hemmes, F. van 127 Dinnerstein, D. 128 Dunn,J.D.G. 171,174

Dyrness,W. 120,180,181 Dzobo,N.K. 157 Earth Bible Team 37, 144, 149, 155, 156, 158, 159, 163, 180 Eaton, H. 37 Edwards, D. 33 Eilberg-Schwart, H. 145, 149 Euripides 174 Exum,J.C. 128 Falk,M. 127 Farber, W. 136 Fishbane, M. 82 Fohrer,G. 96 Foley,J.M. 127 Fontaine, C.R. 33 Foster,]. 58 Fox, M.V. 27, 49, 51, 156, 161, 162, 164, 165 Fredericks, D.C. 161 Frymer-Kensky, T. 126 Gadamer, H.G. 103 Gardner, A. 181, 182, 184 Gebara, I. 40 Gesenius, H. 63 Gilligan, C. 60 Good, E. 80 Goodall, M. 166 Gorclis, R. 96, 97, 123, 126, 136, 143 Griffin, S. 128 Gross, H. 96 Habel, N.C. 31, 65, 67, 69, 71, 74, 75, 78, 81, 85, 96, 101, 105, 106, 108, 110, 111, 115, 120-23, 145, 181, 183, 185 Haught, J.F. 145, 146, 151 Heyward, C. 42 Hobgood-Oster, L. 25, 26, 28, 29, 39, 51, 54 Hoch, E. 157

212 Holmgren, V.C. 98 Holscher,G. 96 Hooker, M.D. 169,175 Houlihan, P.C. 98,99 Johnston, R. 24 Julien, N. 60 Keel, 0. 96, 97, 130, 135, 136, 139 Knappert,]. 157 Koch,K. 107 Kroeze,J.H. 96 Kruger,J.S. 152 Kuzwayo,E.K. 157 LaCocque, A. 143-45, 146, 147, 151, 152, 153 Lambert, W.G. 185 Lampe,G.W.H. 169 Landy, F. 132, 144, 145, 146, 147-49, 150, 153 Lang,B. 58,122 Lauha, A. 159 Leder,D. 150,151 Limburg,J. 182 Loader, J.A. 101, 155, 159, 160, 163, 164 Lohfink,N. 95 Lugones, M. 62 Maclean, G.L. 98,99 Mbiti,J.S. 156,157 McCartin,P. 148,153 McFague,S. 36,40,60,61 McKane,W. 50 Metz,J.B. 98 Meyers, C 50,131,146 Millard,A.R. 185 Milstein, P. le S. 98,100 Moltmann,J. 182 Morrow, W. 114 Mugambi, J.N.K. 156 Muir,E. 160 Munro, J.M. 128, 148, 149, 151, 153 Murphy, R.E. 39, 41, 136, 138, 169 Nagel,T. 163 Newman, C.C. 171 Newsom, C. 183 Nussbaum,S. 157,161 Nyembezi, C.I.S. 157

The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions O'Brien, M. 49 Ostriker, A. 128, 143, 145 Pachocinski, R. 157 Palmer, C. 77 Pasewark,K. 112 Patrick, D. 32, 106, 109, 185 Paz,U. 98-100 Perdue, L.G. 68, 73, 81, 117, 122, 123, 125 Plumwood, V. 62 Pope, M. 115, 120, 126, 127, 130, 135, 136, 138 Primavesi, A. 169 Pritchard, J.B. 85

Rad, G. von 41, 72, 117, 118, 123 Reader,]. 166 Reynolds, B. 153 Rowley, H.H. 96,97,125 Ruether, R.R. 37, 38, 40, 46 Salleh,A.K. 122 Schmid,H.H. 93 Schochet, E.J. 144,145 Schoors,A. 160 Schweitzer, A. 166 Sessions, G. 116 Sinnott, A. 31 Soulen,R.N. 131 Spangenberg, I.J.J. 31, 164 Spelman,E.V. 60,61 Stowers,S.K. 174 Szczygiel,P. 120 Terrien,S. 59 Trible, P. 58, 132, 143, 182 Tronto,]. 60 Tucker, G. 75 Turner, M. 168 Van Oorschot, J. 101 VanSelms,A. 100 Vawter, B. 70 Vico,G.B. 110 Viviers,H. 33,145 Walker, A. 47 Warren, K.J. 37 Watson, W.G.E. 138 Welch, S. 60

Index of Authors Wenham,GJ. 181 Westermann, C. 104, 106, 111, 114, 120, 181 Whedbee,J.W. 143 Whybray,R. 124 Wolde, E. van 95, 181 Wurst,S. 27-29,48,49 Yee,G. 59 Zimmerli, W. 24 Zink,J. 92

213