ANALECTA BIBLICA [dissertationes] - 243

CAO Gia An

Job's Wisdom When Ethics and Aesthetics Collide
2025, pp. 325.

Job’s final response to Yhwh, as poetically wrapped up in Job 42:1-6, represents the culmination of Job’s transformative journey in his understanding Yhwh and himself. The poem is read in light of its literary framework as an attempt to prove that Job’s final stance displays an experiential attitude that can only be properly understood when one takes into account the tension between the two essential viewpoints throughout the book as a whole, that is, the divine and the human. Within the entire drama of Job’s situation from the prologue through the epilogue, the main focus of Job does not present the protagonist as a penitent, but rather as a righteous sufferer. Job’s final stance reflects a sapiential attitude deriving from a direct experience of the righteous sufferer with the aesthetic dimension of the mysterious God..

Cao Gia An, S.J. , is a Jesuit priest, biblical scholar, and educator. Originally trained in chemistry and biology at the University of Pedagogy in Vietnam, he later pursued his vocation by studying philosophy at Saint Joseph Scholasticate in Saigon (2005–2008). After two years of service at Vatican Radio, he continued his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a Baccalaureate in Theology (2013), followed by a Licentiate (2016) and a Doctorate (2022) in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He currently teaches biblical exegesis at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, specializing in Wisdom Literature, with a particular focus on the Book of Job. Beyond academia, he is also a poet and writer. He regularly contributes to several Vietnamese-language programs on Vatican News, engaging in media and theological discourse. His work reflects a profound dedication to both scholarly research and spiritual formation.