Can fundamentalists explain Job 26:12-13 for me?

Job is a morality tale dealing with some pretty profound questions like why do bad things happen to good people and when that does happen how should a theist of his period respond.Trying to pretend it is a Creation Myth or biology text serves no purpose and has no value.

Nope, it really shouldn't be used and it does not put Job into context, rather it simply avoids dealing with the actual context of Job. Which even if true is still just a total irrelevancy, a pointless exercise in avoiding discussing what Job is all about.

From Message 10 Phat...

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Job is a morality tale dealing with some pretty profound questions like why do bad things happen to good people and when that does happen how should a theist of his period respond.

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AbE: All of the evidence shows that different cultures from all over the world and all periods of time came up with similar creation myths. One recurring theme is some serpent or dragon or great fish that represents chaos and slaying the critter brings about order. In addition regional cultures adopted and exported the myths to and from their neighbors. Who has priority on some concept or image really seems irrelevant when discussing a story where such passages are used only as a plot device.Edited by jar, : see AbE:

As I have pointed out above, regardless of whether or not anyone held real, literal, rock solid historically accurate belief (with regards to the primeval age and the associated "creation") conveying that belief was not the purpose of the Book of Job.Historically the Book of Job was included in the Poets and like Proverbs and Ecclesiates part of the Books of Wisdom, the Ketuvim. It is 42 chapters long and you are picking two lines out of only one chapter and trying to weave whole cloth.It don't work.In addition, to even find any reference in those two lines to creation or some primal chaos you need to even cherry pick the translation.Here is the passage from the American Standard Version:

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Job 26:12-13American Standard Version (ASV)

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12
He "note a"stirreth up the sea with his power,
And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
13
By his Spirit the heavens are "note b"garnished;
His hand hath pierced the "note c"swift serpent.
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Job 26:12 Or, stilleth
Job 26:13 Hebrew beauty.
Job 26:13 Or, fleeing. Or, gliding

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Douay-Rheims:

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Job 26:12-13Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

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12 By his power the seas are suddenly gathered together, and his wisdom has struck the proud one.

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13 His spirit hath adorned the heavens, and his obstetric hand brought forth the winding serpent.
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

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KJV:

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Job 26:12-13Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

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12
He divideth the sea with his power,
and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13
By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens;
his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

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I will post even more if needed.The important point is that Job is a long poetic (and almost certainly incomplete) story about why bad things happen to good people and how theist should respond to their god character when shich things happen.

And the evidence for that is absolutely as good as the evidence that Harry Potter had a literal conversation with Professor Snape or that between Echo and Juno (or Hera).

And as I have said, even if true it is still just an irrelevancy and distraction from the subject matter of Job.

Even if true they are still simply irrelevant and just another cause to miss the whole point of Job. And again even what you post does not support a primal serpent. There are actual serpents you know and they are far more common than any primal serpent.

A serpent.There is no dragon in Job.And you continue to simply quote mine, to take small sections out of context.I agree that is also what fundamentalists and so called "Biblical Christians" do but it is as pitiful and silly when you do it as when they do it.

Yes I disagree with what you and the scholars you quote say, not based on my own authority but rather on what is actually written and the fact that I see quote mining and taking pieces parts out of context as dishonest, irrelevant and a total waste of time meant only to obscure and pervert the Bible stories real purpose.

You gotta stop misrepresenting the facts. jar did not ever say, hint, intimate or assert that he preferred the KJV or any particular translation, rather jar has said that quote mining, regardless of the version, translation or edition and trying to compare passages taken out of context and even from different stories is dishonest and no productive and just the typical con game for fundamentalists of any streak.