Benedicere vs. Maledicere The patristic of IOB 1,5 and 2,9
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This paper deals with the exegesis made by the Western Church Fathers of the Hebrew verb ברך) bārak) in verses 1,5 and 2,9 of the Old Testament Book of Iob. Although the main meaning of bārak is ‘to bless’, this verb has often been interpreted as a euphemism used in place of its antonym, ‘to curse’, which—according to the majority opinion—had to be avoided when the object of the action was God. After offering a global overview of the phenomenon,
I examine the interpretation offered by some late-antique authors of the Western Church, namely the author of the Anonymi in Iob
commentarius, Augustine of Hippo, and Gregory the Great. The reception of the Book of Job in these authors constitutes, on the one
hand, a fundamental link between the first exegesis of the text and modern interpretations and, on the other hand the only tradition
preserved of some translations of the Bible.
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