(May 4, 2022 at 8:45 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: He told Job he can't even begin to comprehend the machinations of the divine.
Of course there are as many interpretations as interpreters. There is a Christian version that's maybe not mainstream, but fascinating.
The point in this reading is that Job doesn't give up demanding an explanation. He doesn't suffer patiently (despite the legendary "patience of Job"). He is unsatisfied with all logical explanations and rationalization.
What he gets is not logical, conceptual knowledge. What he gets is a direct vision of God, out of the whirlwind. Despite the words God speaks here (basically, who are you to question me?) Job gets a kind of knowledge which no one else in the story has -- direct vision.
For mystical Christians, such a vision is life-changing and fulfilling, even without gaining any new conceptual knowledge.
The epilogue in which his riches return is symbolic of the new richness of life he finds due to his vision. These riches have to be expressed in material terms to the reader, because very few of us will ever experience such a vision, and know its ineffable satisfaction.