WCH

Would the authors of Job have read Plato? That is to say... did Plato inspire the use of dialogue structure in Job, or did it arise independently?

Chris Weimer

Odd - before I clicked on this thread I had a gut instinct that it was going to be about the dating of Job. I'm no expert, but you might want to look here for the discussion we had a while back at my old forum (before it was hacked). The ending of it was lost, unfortunately.

WCH

Well all I'm really concerned with is the notion of dialogue. Wikipedia's article basically suggests that Plato "invented" dialogue around 400 BC, which leads me to wonder how to categorize Job.

Can Job be compared to a Platonic dialogue, or is it a fundamentally different genre? Both of them are dramatized vehicles for expressing an argument, which is the way in which I use the term dialogue, but are they related or independent? This is complicated by the fact that most dating things I've read place Job anywhere within 200 years of Plato -- earlier or later than him. So, I'm confused, and I come to the superior brains of the BC&H forum to see if they can sort me out.

Chris Weimer

It's entirely possible, I suppose, but it would depend on ultimately on the dating. It would have to be before Alexander's army conquered Judaea. So if Job predates the fourth century BCE, then Plato cannot have an effect on it. If it comes right around that time, there is still doubt that Plato had an effect. Afterwards, though, giving it long enough for the people to not only learn Greek, but to learn the ideas and read the material, then we might be able to make a connection.

Toto

I have never thought of the dialogue in Job as especially Socratic. Why do you think it might be?