Metaphorical Landscapes and the Theology of the Book of Job

Metaphorical Landscapes and the Theology of the Book of Job demonstrates how crucial spatial metaphors are for the theology of the book of Job. Themes as central as trauma, ill-being, ethics, retribution, and God's character are conceptualized in terms of space using imagery that is dependent on, for example, boundaries, distance, direction, containment, and contact. Not only are spatial metaphors ubiquitous in the book of Job-possibly the most frequent conceptual metaphors in the book-they are essential to its theological reasoning. Job's spatial metaphors form a metaphorical landscape in which God's character and his creation are challenged in unprecedented ways. In the theophany, God reacts to Job's landscape. This book presents a pragmatic, accessible synthesis of conceptual metaphor theory and spatial semantics whilst demonstrating their interpretative potential.