The Catchall
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Job 1:1 NASB
Turning away – Finally, a participle. To this point Job’s character has been described with adjectives (as we would expect). Now we come to a participle, an action description of the human paradigm of religious conviction. And we find that it is all about direction. Sur is the Hebrew for “turn aside.” But this word covers a very wide group of translated words. Here is the list from the NASB:
sur (693b); a prim. root; to turn aside:—abolished(1), avoid(1), beheaded (1), cut off(1), degenerate(1), depart(45), departed(7), deposed(1), deprives(2), do away(1), escape(1), get(1), go away(1), gone(1), keep away(1), keeps away(1), lacks(1), leave (2), left(2), move(1), pardoning(1), pass away(1), past(1), put away(12), relieved(1), remove(45), removed(43), removing(1), retract(1), return(1), separated(1), strip away(1), swerve(1), take(2), take away(7), take off(1), taken away(14), takes away(1), took(3), took away(2), took off(2), turn(8), turn aside(25), turn away(12), turn … aside(1), turned(2), turned aside(24), turned away(3), turning aside(1), turning away(3), turns aside(1), turns away(3), undone (1), wanderer(1), withdrawn(1).[1]
Can we conclude that there is certainly nothing in the translations that would indicate attraction? This word is about getting away, going in the other direction, shunning, and evading. As a description of Job, it clearly means that he did everything he could to stay far away from evil and disobedience.
Unlike most of us.
Most of us skirt the edges of unconditional obedience. Yes, we’re pretty good in the main, but we have questions (and issues) and our religious commitment usually follows the track of “good enough most of the time.” We’re not fanatics. We might wish we could be more faithful (we recognize the goal, at least), but life gets in the way—constantly. We compromise. A little here, a little there—just enough so that the neighbors don’t start an inquisition. After all, we really just want to be happy, and that seems to lead us toward just enough moral fermentation to feel a buzz but not enough to get an angelic DUI from heaven. Yes, Job is our hero, but maybe he’s not really our model. He’s an exception to human behavior. That means most of us are like Job—and we really don’t want to be. Bad things happen to good people, and apparently worse things happen to really good people. Better to be just “good enough,” rather than a limelight target.
At least that’s our excuse. The problem is that ultimately it just doesn’t work. Life without ultimate commitment just isn’t worth living. The routine might protect us from the enemy, but it never gives us the victory. No one really wants to be a nobody forever. Job points us toward infinite duty, toward final devotion. Perhaps his answer, “Even if you slay me, I will worship you,” is the true heroic answer for each of us. Perhaps life is difficult on purpose, so that we can have the opportunity to experience heroic victory—or die trying. Maybe, in the end, Job is the only real human being.
Topical Index: turning away, sur, commitment, evil, Job 1:1
[1] Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
