job for life Quick reference
A Dictionary of Human Resource Management (3 ed.)
...job for life is a concept that is believed to be increasingly rare for most employees. There was a time when people entered an occupation fairly certain that they would be able to pursue the same line of work until they retired. Nowadays, technological developments and economic demands mean that flexibility and constant change are required in all jobs. Theorists suggest that career and job changes are increasingly common, and some prophesy that in the future everyone will be expected to undertake a variety of jobs and experience periods of unemployment...
job for life
Job Reference library
James L. Crenshaw and James L. Crenshaw
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...the absence of Zophar's; the attribution of specific material to Job that expresses views elsewhere rejected by him but articulated by the friends; and the presence of introductory formulas for speeches different from all previous ones (‘Job again took up his discourse and said’ ( 27:1; cf. 29:1 ) as opposed to ‘Then Job answered’). In addition, the isolated nature of ch. 28 and the longer introductory formula in 29:1 suggest either an editorial hand or an effort to set apart this material for some unknown reason. It has been surmised that the author never...
Revelation Reference library
Richard Bauckham and R. N. Whybray
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...as in 6:12–14 , but may also anticipate 21:1 b . v. 12 , for the books, cf. Dan 7:10; 12:1–2 . They represent the exposure of the truth of each person's life so that judgement may be passed on it. Judgement ‘according to their deeds’ is a formula used throughout the Bible ( Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; Job 34:11; Jer 17:10; Mt 16:27; Rom 2:6; 1 Pet 1:17; Rev 22:12 ). It implies not a legalistic notion of retributive justice, but an assessment of the fundamental alignment of a person's life (either to God and the good, or to evil) as evidenced by their...
Climate, Flora, and Fauna Reference library
Oxford Bible Atlas (4 ed.)
...to various creatures in God's responses to Job ( Job 38: 39–39: 30; 40: 15–41: 34 ) are but two examples, and more will be given below. (The precise identification of some of the creatures mentioned in such passages is uncertain.) Domesticated animals The herding of animals was an important part of the way of life in rural communities, not only among true nomads and...
Philippians Reference library
Robert Murray, SJ and Robert Murray, SJ
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...‘sacrifice’ in a cultic metaphor, meaning the life of Christian faith. (In 2:25, 30 the financial sense is more prominent.) v. 18 , Paul ends this section with a burst of joy (‘I am glad’) using not different words (as NRSV) but chairō four times, twice compounded with sun -, to express his own joy and to call the Philippians to the same. Timothy and Epaphroditus, Paul's Go-Betweens ( 2:19–30 ) This section introduces two of Paul's helpers, but tells us more about his affection for them than the reasons for their journeys. On Timothy see Acts 16:1–3;...
Habakkuk Reference library
Donald E. Gowan and Donald E. Gowan
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...the frequent occurrence of the ‘messenger formula’: ‘Thus says the Lord’; Westermann 1967 : 98–128 ) this may be an allusion to the delivery of God's message by his prophet. 2:4 is the thematic centre of the book, but the first half of the verse is difficult. NRSV paraphrases, using ‘proud’ to represent a word that occurs only here in the OT, but which seems to be formed from a root meaning ‘to swell’, so others translate it ‘puffed up’. ‘Spirit’ is not the best choice for nepeš , which is better rendered ‘life’. 2:4 a must be a contrast of some sort to...
2 The Sacred Book Reference library
Carl Olson
The Oxford Companion to the Book
...the warp of a woven cloth, metaphorically suggesting that the teachings were made into phrases that could be memorized.) The text in this case is the Pāṭimokkha , which forms the basis of the regulations for monastic life. There are four parts to the Sutta-vibhanga . The initial part is a narrative or narratives that present the actual human circumstances for a particular rule. Secondly, there is the actual rule. Then, there is a commentary on each term of the rule. It concludes with a narrative indicative of any mitigating circumstances, which exemplify...
Zechariah Reference library
Katrina J. A. Larkin and Katrina J. A. Larkin
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...of ideas about creation and origins (the Urzeit ) being projected forwards onto the end of time (the Endzeit ). 12:2–13:6 comprises the next major section of the book, compiled on different principles from chs. 9–10 or 11, and relying on introductory and continuation formulae containing the phrase ‘in that day’, whose origin is controversial. It has a range of meanings, although in Zechariah it is eschatological, referring to the coming ‘day of YHWH’ ( OCB ). This is a relatively late usage. Further distinctive features of chs. 12–13 are their...
1 Corinthians Reference library
John Barclay and John Barclay
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...many may be introduced by the formula ‘now concerning’, which occurs not only in 7:1 , but also in 7:25 (on the topic of virgins), 8:1 (on food offered to idols), 12:1 (on spiritual gifts), 16:1 (on the collection), and 16:12 (on Apollos). Moreover, with the aid of a little imagination, we may even reconstruct what the Corinthians thought about some of the issues Paul addresses: in some cases Paul seems to cite back at them their own formulae, such as ‘all things are lawful for me’ ( 6:12; 10:23 ), ‘it is well for a man not to touch a woman’ (...
Lamentations Reference library
P. M. Joyce and P. M. Joyce
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...case, it may be wrong to seek one consistent identity (see the rhetorical reading in Mintz 1984 : 32–3 ). A grim picture is painted of the man's suffering, with many parallels with Job (e.g. v. 4 , ‘He has made my flesh and my skin waste away’; cf. Job 7:5; 30:30 ). He sinks to a despairing low point ( v. 17 ). All hope has gone: ‘Gone is my glory, and all that I had hoped for (RSV: “my expectation”) from the Lord ’ ( v. 18 ). ( 3:19–39 ) A Glimmer of Hope It is interesting that it is in the middle sections of the middle chapter of this book that the most...
The Four Gospels in Synopsis Reference library
Henry Wansbrough
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...( v. 36 ). Probably for the prayer itself Mark is using or imitating already the formulae of early Christian prayer, with the Aramaic abba immediately followed by its Greek translation ( ho patēr ). This double formula of a particular Aramaic word, regarded almost as a talisman, occurs elsewhere in the NT ( 1 Cor 16:22; Rev 1:7 ). Jesus' consciousness that God was his Father was treasured by the early community; this usage, stemming from Jesus himself, was greatly extended, especially in John. However, the use of abba for God is not, as Jeremias (...
Ecclesiasticus, or The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach Reference library
John J. Collins and John J. Collins
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...of a particular people. ( 40:1–41:13 ) Life in the Shadow of Death This cluster of short poems is framed by two reflections on death. Consistently in Sirach (except for 25:24 !), death is viewed as the end for which humanity was created rather than as punishment for sin. Cf. 17:1–2 . The language recalls Gen 3:19–20 , but here the ‘mother of all the living’ is the earth, not Eve. The grim picture of life also accords with Genesis. Cf. Job 7:1–2; 14:1–2 . The anxiety of disturbed sleep is also noted in Eccl 2:22–3; Job 7:4 . The prevalence of anxiety is...
1 & 2 Kings Reference library
Walter Dietrich, Walter Dietrich, and Walter Dietrich
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...were referred to in the concluding formula of almost every king. The historical information for the framing formula is taken from these books. These Annals seem to have been kept in both royal courts (by the end, naturally, only in Judah), and contained the names and dates of each king as well as short reports of important events occurring during the time of his reign. The authors of Kings chose sections of the Annals which seemed to them to be of especial importance. Such reports remained partly in the concluding formulae of a frame, were also placed into the...
7 The Book as Symbol Reference library
Brian Cummings
The Oxford Companion to the Book
...a metaphor for what the scroll contained—and perhaps in an extended sense also for the mystery of the relation between the physical text in which God’s words were contained and the spiritual sense of what those words were taken to mean. The laws given to Moses were written on stone tables, which in turn are taken to stand as the embodiment of divine ordinance. The law is then said to be ‘written with the finger of God’ (Exod. 31:18). Those who are of God are written into His ‘book’ (Exod. 32:32); those who have sinned are blotted out. Job reinvents the...
The Wisdom of Solomon Reference library
William Horbury and William Horbury
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...Wisdom also avoids the imagery of waking ( Dan 12:2–3 , echoed in other respects). Wisdom then probably reflects preference for the notion of spiritual immortality—no insubstantial form of life ( wis a .9). Contrast the common epitaph-formula ‘no one is immortal’ (attested at the first-century bce tomb of Jason in Jerusalem, SEG 33.1276). To interpret martyr-like suffering as probative or sacrificial ( vv. 5–6 ) was traditional ( Job 23:10; Song of Thr 17 ), to cite afterlife in support ( v. 7 ) rather less so. ‘Visitation’ ( v. 7 , taking up 2:20 )...
John Reference library
René Kieffer and René Kieffer
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...superabundant food for the five thousand people ( vv. 1–15 ). The greatness of Jesus is also expressed by his walk on the sea during a storm and his leading of the disciples to the land ( vv. 16–21 ). The following discussion ( vv. 25–59 ) is introduced by vv. 22–4 , and because of the contents and the different protagonists can be divided into four parts ( vv. 25–7, 28–40, 41–51, 52–9 ). Jesus opposes the perishable food to that which endures for eternal life. Even the bread that Moses gave in the desert is contrasted to the bread of life that the Father...
Ezekiel Reference library
J. Galambush and J. Galambush
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...prospects for anyone saving the current generation are slim indeed. The scenario recalls YHWH's predictions in ch. 5 and 7 that he is about to bring these four levitically prescribed punishments against Jerusalem and Israel. The use of the technical term for trespass against sancta ( m῾l , translated ‘acting faithlessly’ in NRSV) suggests Jerusalem's own defilement of YHWH's sanctuary by idolatry and his name by treaty violation. The chapter's conclusion thus comes as no surprise: Jerusalem (which is patently not inhabited by Noah, Dan᾽el, or Job) will not...
Tobit Reference library
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, SJ and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, SJ
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...taunt of Job's wife ( Job 2:9 ). Her vituperation finds a parallel in that of the maid in 3:8 . 3:1–6 , Tobit's prayer: in this first formal prayer of the book, Tobit begs God for pardon from offences unwittingly committed and for release from this life, which he finds so greatly burdened with affliction, distress, and insult. 3:6 , ‘eternal home’, i.e. Sheol, described in Job 7:9–10; 10:21–2; 14:12 as an abode from which no one returns; ‘it is better for me to die’, cf. Jon 4:3, 8; also Num 11:15 (Moses); 1 Kings 19:4 (Elijah); Job 7:15 (Job). (...
Baruch Reference library
Alison Salvesen and Alison Salvesen
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...3:1–8 ) a heartfelt plea for mercy ends this first section of Baruch. Although the people of Judah have turned in repentance, they are still suffering the punishment incurred by their ancestors. The Eulogy of Wisdom ( 3:9–4:4 ) The second section of Baruch commences without preamble, and with no obvious connection with the preceding section. The poem shows indebtedness to the style and ideas of Deut 30:15–19; Prov 1–9; Job 28:12–28; Sir 24 . ( 3:9 ) ‘Hear the commandments of life, O Israel’, or, ‘Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life’, is deliberate verbal...
