Seder 20: Comparing Abraham and Job

 In her book Subversive Sequels in the Bible, Judy Klitsner identifies a number of parallels in the biblical narrative and places the parallel accounts in conversation with each other.  

One of her examples comes from Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac.  At the end of the chapter are listed some names of the children of Abraham's brother Nahor.  Three of these names also show up in the book of Job, but not in many other places:

• Uz is Nahor's first son (Ge 22:21), and Job lived "in the land of Uz" (Job 1:1).
• Buz is Nahor's second son, and Elihu in the book of Job is a "Buzite" (Job 32:6).
• Chesed is another son of Nahor (Ge 22:22), and in Job 1:!7, some Chaldeans (plural of Chesed) make a raid on Job's camels. 

There are also parallels between Abraham and Job themselves:

• Both feared God (Ge 22:12; Job 1:1).
• Both compare themselves to "dust and ashes" (Ge 18:27; Job 42:6).
• Both are old and contented when they die (Ge 25:8; Job 42:17).

Their narratives contrast two different ways to react to the prospect of a sudden loss.  Abraham responds to God's directive in uncomplaining obedience, while Job vocally questions God.  Their widely divergent responses have recently been discussed in Richard Middleton's book, Abraham's Silence;  The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God.