Fate And Fate In The Book Of Job And Oedipus Rex

The view of fate the book of Job expresses, though similar in that it originates from God, differs in a few important ways. In Job, situations are predetermined to occur, but the personal choices of the people involved determine the outcome of the situation. The story of Job opens with Job's fate of suffering being planned. Satan presents himself in an audience before God. God makes example of Job, and Satan rebuffs, stating that Job's constancy is only because of God's preferential treatment. Satan tells God, "But put forth thy hand now and touch all he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."(40). In response, power is given to Satan to torment Job as a test. Job's life and finally health are viciously mangled and destroyed by Satan. Though Job does not know the reasons behind his great suffering, we are told that "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."(41), and "In all this did not Job sin with his lips."(41). Self-pity creeps into Job's thoughts and words, but there is no disenchanted turn from God. Instead in Job the reader sees a turn to God for relief and

In the book of Job God boasts to Satan about Job’s goodness, but Satan argues that Job is only good because God has blessed him abundantly. Satan challenges God that, if given permission to punish the man, Job would no longer worship him and turn from him and curse God. In one day, Job receives four messages, each bearing separate news that his livestock, servants, and ten children have all died due to marauding, yet Job continues to bless God in his prayers. Satan appears again with another test for job yet this time; Job is afflicted with horrible skin sores. Eventually he is also told by his wife to curse god but yet Job refuses her request and accepts the outcomes.

The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as

The Book of Job is of wisdom genre. Job was a righteous, rich man. God and Satan have a confrontation regarding Job’s faith in God. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his family, sheep, camels, and servants. Job was passed the test. Job was tested again. This time it was his health that was taken away. Job speaks to his three friends and curses the day he was born. The four of them have a lengthy conversation as to why Job is being punished. Elihu enters the conversation and becomes somewhat angry with Job’s lack of faith in God. God speaks to Job in question form. Job repents. God speaks the three friends and advises them to sacrifice a burnt offering. Job was them made prosperous and was “given twice as much as he had before” by God.

     Job is a man very limited by God. As illustrated, he has only a negligible amount of agency to begin with. By the time God and Satan finish with him, he has virtually no control over his own life. The fragment of agency he does cling to is his ability to choose whether or not to curse God. No one, except himself, could prevent Job from cursing God. Yet, he refuses to curse God, even though He is responsible for his suffering.

Each character in The Book of Job was given a specific role. The main hero is Job with his rich but complex nature. As one can deduce from the name of the book, he plays the most important part. His wife, even though appearing rarely, also has an essential role of showing the readers the opposite of her husband. The authors structured her in a way that readers can compare two spouses’ personalities and ponder which one had a better reaction on the book events. After all the tragedies, happened to the family, Job’s wife chose to abuse God and commit suicide. Her behavior proves readers that her faith in God largely depended on the gifts, He was providing. She showed us an example of a person, who Satan was speaking about on the heaven council. Job with his behavior, which is the opposite to his wife, only verifies his faith in God. He refuses to listen to his wife and insists that he have done nothing to deserve the sufferings.

Job faces three trial conglomerations: curses, comforters, and unanswered inquisitions. The curses he deals with cause Job extensive agony: he loses his livestock, servants, children, and health. Although his physical health and social stature have diminished, Job's faith never wavers. The comforters, three friends and a wife, offer Job advice they presume will end his anguish. The friends believe, to be so cursed, Job has sinned horribly and they tell him he must repent his sins so God will forgive him. Job knows he has not sinned and, therefore, does not deserve the torment brought upon him.

Although God appears to be insulted by Job’s rage, he recognizes the love, loyalty, and appreciation Job has for Him. In return, after all the troubles, God gives Job a long life filled with joy, happiness, and peace.

Are all events predetermined? Does everyone have a prophetic destiny that they must fulfill? If so, who determines their fate? Who—or what—binds them to their fixed ending? Is there really no way to resist? Is fatalism—the theory that all events are preset and inevitable—true? And if it is—is there ever such a thing as free will?

Oedipus does not deserve all the tragedies that happened to him, and he is a victim of fate. The gods had already proclaimed Oedipus fate even before he knew it. His fate has been bound since the day he was born and there is no way it can be avoided. The herdsman says “If you are the man he says you are, you’re bred to misery”. (1361-1362) This means that he was born to be miserable, no matter what kind of person he turns out to be. Everyone already knew the outcome would turn out horrible as it is expected. E.R Dodds says “…is that man has no free will but is a puppet in the hands of the gods who pull the strings that make him dance.” (35) This shows how the gods are controlling him and his future life. The gods had cursed him which means he has been controlled since the beginning just like puppets. This metaphor serves as a perfect example of what Oedipus goes through.

In stark contrast to God’s presence in Genesis, the character of God in Job strays from the ideal perfection of the divine. The concept of the ideal manifested in Genesis is embodied in God’s moral, reasonable, and rational behavior. In Job, on the other hand, rather than being reasonable, methodical, and creating life, God displays more human characteristics and plays the role of both creator and destroyer. The book of Job begins with God’s boastful bargain with Satan, which subsequently leads God to allow the total destruction of Job’s family and livelihood. Job is even attacked physically with “loathsome sores… from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In an uncharacteristically immoral decision, God gives Satan the power do

Why does God allow Satan to cause such tragedy in Job’s life, a man whom God has already acknowledged as “my servant Job, that there is none like on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”(1.8) From the beginning, it is known that Job is in no way deserving of his injustices, so a reason must be given. God gives Job an opportunity to prove that under any circumstances Job will still have faith. This simply a test for Job. The whole Book is a “double” journey for Job -- he shows God his faith and realizes the faith God has that Job will not stray from his path. Job knows deep down that God has not forsaken him.

The prologue of the book, set in prose style, is made up of chapters one and two with the introduction of Job and his family and how successful he is and that he is blessed by God wonderfully. It goes into Job's first test which Satan presents himself before the lord. God said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). This is when Satan puts up the challenge for God saying, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his

Alas, poor Job is left to ponder why such misfortunes were heaped upon him, for God never really answers this question. Moreover, throughout history, people have been pondering the very same question. Many books and essays have been written on "The Book of Job" in an attempt to try to explain the cause of suffering, but the theories that have been extracted have had primarily western theological overtones.

In Oedipus king wrote by the dramatist and philosopher Sophocles, Oedipus is the only responsible of his destiny. Oedipus was the one who held his fate and destiny in his hands. Because of his actions that he made, the curse that he swore and the prophecy about him, he had to be punished for his actions and sins.