In my previous study, I mentioned two ancient Middle Eastern texts that are similar to the Book of Job, wherein the authors of the texts suffered much and wondered why God would permit such a thing to occur to one who sought so much to obey him. The texts are Dialogue Between a Man and His God, which is an ancient Accadian text, and A Man and His God, which is an ancient Sumerian text. Both works have been compared to the Book of Job by some scholars. I wonder, if it isn’t a bit more than that. What I mean is, do they represent three completely different ancient works, having nothing in common but the desire to know why a righteous God permits human suffering, or do they all have a common source, and, if the latter is true, what would that mean to our study?
An example of what I mean is the Biblical account of the Genesis Flood. Nearly all ancient civilizations have an account of a great flood; the Gilgamesh Epic is one of those ancient literary accounts, and the Atrahasis Epic would be another. There are many similarities in the accounts and many differences. Some accounts seem farfetched and even silly, but when read in the context of the Genesis account, some things that sound silly are seen in a new light. For example, according to the Atrahasis text, God complained men were too noisy and caused a great flood to wipe them out, but seen in the light of the Genesis Flood, which God brought about due to the violence that consumed the earth, the “noise” was probably the evil report of men’s behavior that had come to God’s attention (cp. Genesis 4:10; 18:20-21). In that context the noise is a report of violence, and is no longer silly, when viewed in this light!
Therefore, if we compare the Accadian and Sumerian texts, mentioned above, with the Book of Job, we may be able to get a picture that is quite astonishing. Keep in mind that the Bible claims that all men knew the truth at one time (Romans 1:18-20). Men knew God, but didn’t glorify him as God (Romans 1:21), and they suppressed the truth they knew (Romans 1:18). Some of the details of the other texts show some Biblical truths that seem to have been lost to later generations, until we come to the time of Moses. The Accadian text says: “I do not know what sin I have committed. Have I [eaten] a very evil forbidden fruit?” Thus, it concludes the Lord is displeased with and judges one’s sinful behavior. The Book of Job also expresses confusion over his suffering, but he maintains that he hadn’t done anything to deserve what he perceived was the Lord’s judgment upon him. In the Sumerian text we find the understanding that confession of one’s sins is necessary, God accepted the righteous words (prayers) of his servant, and it is God who absolves man of his sins.
It may be that, just as the ancient flood records point to a common catastrophic event, the ancient Accadian and Sumerian texts, concerning “A Man and His God” are actual records of a more ancient event that occurred in the life of a certain man of God after the Flood, probably during the time of Abraham. However, one may ask, so what! What’s the point in all this? Well, we’ve already seen that, if we take the Bible as our only true source for what occurred in the past, there is no evidence of an angelic rebellion. We see only the rebellion of mankind, who sought to separate himself from God. If this is so, then all that occurred to Job, his sudden loss of wealth, social position and the loss of his family etc. were all caused by men.
In other words, what happened to Job was a man’s idea, and, probably, one man is ultimately responsible for making it happen. There were no spirit beings involved. The Satan in the text was a man, Job’s enemy.[1] He caused it all. Therefore, if the Accadian and Sumerian texts reflect a common tradition with that of Job, all of them had to have been written prior to the establishment of Israel. Furthermore, since we’ve already taken note that some things written in the Accadian and Sumerian texts reflect common truths held in the Bible, it seems evident that these ancient texts hadn’t yet become totally corrupt, as men began suppressing the truth in their walk away from the Almighty (cp. Romans 1:18-21).
If all this is logical and true, we may find some things recorded in the ancient Accadian and Sumerian texts that, when compared with Job, offer a clearer explanation of what occurred than what modern commentaries offer us. For example, the Sumerian text says: “My herdsman has plotted malice against me, although I am not his enemy.” Does this explain the repeated references in chapter one that “I alone am escaped to tell you” (Job 1:15, 16, 17, 19)? If a spirit being didn’t do this, how is it that, after each tragedy, we have a single person who escapes to tell Job what had occurred? Is this simply coincidence, or was it planned that way? Were these men partners with Job’s “herdsman [who had] plotted malice against” him? We don’t know for certain, but the idea fits the context, and unveils a betrayal not so unlike that of Judas in the New Covenant text.
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[1] Some scholars want to say that satan is an angelic figure similar to a prosecuting attorney. He is simply doing his job the Lord gave him to do, and pointing out alternative points of view. While this understanding is interesting, I don’t accept it.
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