Commentary on Job, part 9

The next section of the commentary is on a phrase that is peculiar to the Septuagint:

“and the arrogance of the serpents is extinguished” (4:11)

Perhaps the anger and vice and pride in your spirit have been extinguished. These are the nourishment of Satan, who is allegorized in the ant-lion. This will be destroyed.

Perhaps it is proper to apply the principle of lectio difficilior in order to infer that "ant-lion" is the proper reading of the Biblical text? That seems more plausible than to presume a translation error on the part of the LXX.

The mystery of the ant-lion (Commentary on Job, part 8)

The next surviving verse commentary is on Job 4:11. The Armenian mrjownariwtsn (մրջունառիւծն) is a calque on the Greek μυρμηκολέων (literally 'ant-lion') of the Septuagint. The Hebrew is lysh (ליש), which just means 'lion.' So where did 'ant-lion' come from? Perhaps relevant is Strabo's Geography 16.4.15, which describes a region on the Red Sea where 'elephants and lions called ants (μύρμηξιν) abound.' Is the ant-lion an ant or a lion or neither? And why did the LXX use this word here?

In any event, Stepanos interprets the compound word as a description of Satan:

“The ant-lion perished for lack of food” (4:11)
 Satan is a lion toward sinners and an ant toward the righteous. Some people read with a question ‘lion and the voice of a lioness’ (4:10).

 

Commentary on Job, part 7

We saw in the previous post that Stepanos views Job as a type of Christ, prefiguring through his suffering and restoration the passion and resurrection of Jesus. That foreshadowing is indicated by the claim that God uses Job to show Satan that he will be conquered by an "earthly human." In effect, Job serves as an early warning to Satan. The mouse has been given notice of the mouse trap that is to come.

The fragmentary nature of the commentary becomes clear now as we move ahead to chapter 2. The next comment is on Job's response to his wife's demand that he curse God and die:

“But he looked at her and said…” (2:10)

He answered in anger. The face is the servant and mirror of the heart, and it indicates anger by the movement in his look.

Commentary on Job, part 6

The commentary now turns to Job 1:12, where God grants all Job has to Satan but demands that he not touch Job himself. Stepanos cites Zechariah 3:2 and Judah 9 to support the view that God speaks to Job through an angel. The Judah verse is interesting since it alludes to the dispute between the archangel Michael and Satan concerning the burial of Moses. According to Jewish tradition, Satan, accusing Moses of being a murderer, refused to allow Moses' body to be buried (see "Moses" in the Encyclopedia Judaica). This tradition is presented in the Assumption of Moses, an apocalyptic work from the first century.  

“Behold I give you all [that he has]…” (1:12)

 ...so that I may show to Satan that he is conquered by an earthly human. It is thought that God’s demand was given through an angel, as in the prophet Zechariah, where the angel says to Satan, “May the Lord who chose Jerusalem rebuke you” (Zechariah 3:2). Likewise, in the catholic epistle concerning the body of Moses, Michael said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9) One must understand it likewise here. Now the demand and response were not spoken in the manner of a human voice, but as an incorporeal being must speak to an incorporeal, that is, through the intellect.

Commentary on Job, part 5

Stepanos tells us more about Job's place of origin. He follows the Septuagint, transliterating Greek Ausitis as Awsit, rather than the Hebrew Uz. The connection to Damascus is perhaps derived from Josephus, who claims that the eponym of Job's hometown is the founder of Damascus. Stepanos uses Josephus as a source for his commentary on the Gospels.

“There was a man in the land of Ausitis.”

There is a large country near Hamath, and there is a small village in it named Ausitis, which became the preeminent city of the Arabs, although it is called Damascus in the scriptures. But the place where he resided in his tribulations and where his grave is now is in Arabia.