Paul as Job

Richard Hays has pointed to Job allusions in various writings of Paul. One of these occurs in 2 Timothy 1:12: “I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

Hays points out that the form “I know that” in several of Paul’s letters alludes back to Job 19:25 among other passages. Though the form is not the same here, Paul’s confidence that he knows the one who redeems and “guards” is a more distant echo of Job. This eminently fits the context, where Paul is talking about the suffering he endures for the sake of the gospel. Like Job, he suffers in hope, knowing that the Redeemer will intervene to save. And this helps to establish what Paul means by saying that he will not be ashamed. Shame is the result of defeat. Paul is confident that he, like Job, will be finally vindicated “in that day.”