Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online

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Hiob
(3,272 words)

The title figure of the biblical Book of Job stands for human suffering, brought about through no fault of man and permitted by God. It is precisely the inexplicability of Job’s suffering and his vulnerability that has repeatedly provided the occasion for picking out this figure as a metaphor for human and especially Jewish suffering tout court in modern times. If, in the 19th century, this occurred with a certain irony, in the 20th centur…

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Bodenheimer, Alfred, “Hiob”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0314>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20200106



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