Opus 2013-73: Book Review: When Bad Things Happen to Good People, part 5 of 7

In chapter 2 Kushner begins to work through the book of Job.  I thought we would now see some solid answers.  At this point I still thought he would be going to the Bible as a reliable source.  My first red flag came when he totally misrepresents what the Bible says.  Consider his take on the cause of the suffering of Job.

“God accepts Satan’s challenge.  Without in any way tell Job what is going on, God’ destroys Job’s house and cattle and kills his children.  he afflicts Job with boils all over his body so that his every movement becomes physical torture.”  page 33

Something did not seem right about his reference to what happened so I took a bold step and read the passage in question myself.  The problem is this is not what the Bible says.  You might construe this from the first step,

(Job 1:12 NAS77)  Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

(Job 1:12 KJV)  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

(Job 1:12 JPS)  And the LORD said unto Satan: 'Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand.' So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

I give you three translations, the last is by the Jewish Publication Society.  Since I am not familiar with Hebrew this is the best I can do, but they seem consistent.  The obvious difference comes in the next encounter between God and Satan.

(Job 2:6-7 NAS77)  So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life."  Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

(Job 2:6-7 KJV)  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.  So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

(Job 2:6-7 JPS)  And the LORD said unto Satan: 'Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.'  So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot even unto his crown.

Here it is clear that Satan is doing the smiting, not God Himself.  This is totally at odds with what the author says.  You would think that someone who is trained as a Rabbi would be able to quote primary sources a little more accurately.

When I read this kind of distortion it tends to make me lose confidence in the rest of the thesis being presented.  If I cannot trust someone to be accurate and honest about something this clear and simple, how can I believe the rest of his discussion?

To be continued...

Kushner, Harold S.  When Bad Things Happen to Good People.  New York:  Schocken Books, 1981.

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