WRT201 Drozd: Researching the "Book of Job"

The Book of Job

Scholars have analyzed The Book of Job in two ways:  as literature and as a religious text.  Therefore, the databases we use to discover secondary resources about The Book of Job will have articles with these two approaches.  

The Book of Job as Literature:

To think critically about literature, you are going to analyze the text.  So, think about how the author uses the following:

• Literary devices such as symbolism - objects that signify meanings other than their literal meaning
• Writing Style - tone, structure, description, dialogue, etc.
• Historical Context - the social, religious, economic and political conditions that existed when the work was written
• Theme - central idea or message of the work

The Book of Job as Religious Text:

• Biblical exegesis - official terminology for critical explanation or interpretation of the Bible
• Spiritual message and insight of the work

All of these online resources are available to you off-campus.  When prompted, type in your Bergen user name and password.  

Search Tip:  Remember to use quotation marks around titles and phrases; e.g., "book of job"  If you don't find what you need, modify your search or try another source. 

The scholarly articles that you find about the Book of Job in these databases are written by experts on literature and/or religious studies, and will have a particular point of view.

Bible Commentaries

Bible commentaries are critical interpretations of the Bible.  Each chapter and verse is critically analyzed and interpreted by a scholar in order to give the reader deeper insight into the meanings of the religious text. 

Here is a respected Bible commentary about The Book of Job:  

https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/jamieson-fausset-brown/job/

From: Jamieson, Robert, A R. Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1871. 

While the Library is closed during Fall 2020, we are not able to access our print copies of Bible commentaries. 

Finding eBooks in the Library Catalog

The Library has lots of eBooks on literature that are available to you at home through the Library catalog.

Example of an eBook about Job:  https://bergencc.on.worldcat.org/oclc/899265123

Go to the Library website and look for the search box in the middle of the page. Once you click search, a new tab will open.  Look at the menu options on the left of your screen.  Filter your search results to “Bergen Community College.”  You can also filter by Format to just "eBooks". 

For example:  "book of job"

Another example: job bible  (results will be different!)

Here is an example of how to search for eBooks about The Book of Job:

You may need to check the table of contents or the index to find the information you are looking for. 

Search Tip:  Spelling counts! If you do not get results, check your spelling.