Job and His Wife: Zosima Redeems Ivan’s Returned Ticket

• In Event: The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in Russian Thought and Literature

Abstract

Zosima embraces God’s world, but Ivan rejects it. This paper shows how Zosima reinvents Job's blessing while Ivan’s indignation mimics Job’s wife's. Where Ivan and Job’s wife remain stuck, Job and Zosima emerge as intermediaries between divinity and humanity, as priests forged by overcoming unjust suffering.

Author

• Michael Ossorgin, Fordham U