Job 19 · a question people ask
"I know that my Redeemer lives" (19:25). Who is Job's Redeemer?
In Hebrew my Redeemer is go'ali, my go'el, from the verb ga'al, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "redeem, act as kinsman"; go'el is the word Ruth uses of Boaz: "for you are a near kinsman" (Ruth 3:9) (tap Redeemer). Job has spoken before of someone on his side in his case with God. First, "There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both" (9:33). Then, "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high" (16:19), "that he would maintain the right of a man with God" (16:21), where maintain the right is, in Hebrew, the verb behind umpire in 9:33. Then he asked, "Now give a pledge. Be collateral for me with yourself. Who is there who will strike hands with me?" (17:3). Now, "I know that my Redeemer lives" (19:25), and "then I will see God in my flesh" (19:26). Job doesn't name his Redeemer, and the New Testament never quotes these verses. The book doesn't say whether the umpire, the witness, the one asked for a pledge and the Redeemer are one, and these notes set them side by side without a verdict. Christians read who the Redeemer is in two main ways, each resting on its verses. Both agree on what the chapter says: Job says "I know" (19:25), he says his Redeemer "lives" and "will stand upon the earth" (19:25), and he says he will see God (19:26-27).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
God himself, taking up Job's case
Those who read it this way hear Job speaking of God himself as the one who will stand up for him. A go'el was family: "his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold" (Leviticus 25:25), and "The avenger of blood" is the same word (Numbers 35:19). Other Scripture gives the word to God: "LORD, my rock, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14), and "Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 41:14). And a go'el pleads a case: "for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you" (Proverbs 23:11), where Defender is go'el, and "Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life" (Lamentations 3:58). Job wants such a hearing: "I have set my cause in order. I know that I am righteous" (13:18). They note that his next words name God: "then I will see God in my flesh" (19:26). On this reading Job, even while he says "God has subverted me" (19:6), looks to God himself to stand up for him in the end, and the verse is read in Job's own setting.
Leviticus 25:25 · Numbers 35:19 · Psalm 19:14 · Isaiah 41:14 · Proverbs 23:11 · Lamentations 3:58 · Job 13:18 · Job 19:26 · Job 19:6
Jesus, the living Redeemer
Those who read it this way hear in Job's words the Redeemer the New Testament names. Paul writes of "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:13-14), and that "God sent out his Son, born to a woman" (Galatians 4:4), "that he might redeem those who were under the law" (Galatians 4:5). Since a go'el was a near kinsman (Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 3:9), they set beside it that "the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same" (Hebrews 2:14). Beside "There is no umpire between us" (9:33) they set "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5); beside "my Redeemer lives" (19:25), Jesus' own words, "I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever" (Revelation 1:18); and beside "then I will see God in my flesh" (19:26), "we will see him just as he is" (1 John 3:2). On this reading Job, without naming him, speaks of the one the New Testament calls "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13), who also shared in flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14).
Titus 2:13-14 · Galatians 4:4-5 · Leviticus 25:25 · Ruth 3:9 · Hebrews 2:14 · Job 9:33 · 1 Timothy 2:5 · Job 19:25-26 · Revelation 1:18 · 1 John 3:2
The verses
“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in my flesh, whom I, even I, will see on my side. My eyes will see, and not as a stranger. “My heart is consumed within me.”
“He said, “Who are you?” She answered, “I am Ruth your servant. Therefore spread the corner of your garment over your servant; for you are a near kinsman.””
“There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both.”
“Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor!”