Folklore of the Holy Land - Reading Diary A

I began reading Folklore of the Holy Land unit. My favorite story in the beginning of this unit was the story of Job and his family. I am familiar with this story from a Christian perspective, but the specific story came from an Islamic legend. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two religions of the same story. The language was a little different such as calling God, "Allah" and the devil, "Iblis." These arabic terms added the to tradition of these legends.

To summarize, Job was a man who loved God, and God tested his faith through both physical and mental pain. He became extremely sick, lost his family, lost his home, but still never lost faith in God. In this story, God rewards him for his faith and gives all these things back and more. I was most surprised when Job promises to beat his wife if Allah heals him. In the end. he chooses to show her some mercy, but this still shocked me that this legend consists of a man threatening to beat his wife who had shown him love and nourishment for seven years.

I enjoyed the beginning of this unit because I am familiar with a lot of the stories, but they are all told in different ways. It is interesting to see how different religions and cultures change stories and pass them on through traditions.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this unit and finding out what else is in store!

Job is covered in sores.

Photo Cred: Wikipedia