Comparing Free Will In Oedipus The King And Job In The Hebrew Bible

Both Oedipus in Oedipus the king and Job in the Hebrew Bible are faced with a test of critical decision-making, associated with divine struggle. Both the story of Job and Oedipus are faced with the divine controversy of fate and divine will. In both cases, the two characters are faced with the temptation of exercising their free will in the struggle for grace, power, and happiness. Fate refers to that which has been pre-determined by supernatural powers hence human subjects have no control over it. In contrast, free will entails the capacity that one has in choosing between the various courses of action available to them. Fate refers to that which has been pre-determined by supernatural powers hence human subjects have no control over it. In

The fall of Oedipus is a result of fate predestined by the gods and spoken by the oracle. Oedipus' actions are a fulfillment of the foreshadowing through two prophecies that Sophocles outlines earlier in the play. Before his birth, Oedipus had no power of choice as he could not dictate who his parents would be or whom he would marry when he came of age. However, his father, King Laius receives a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi that he would have a son with Queen Jocasta (Puchner 397). Therefore, it is worth arguing that the birth and life of Oedipus had a divine course foretold before his

Notably, Oedipus and his family are aware of his predestined fate while Job is acting in faith. Hence, it is worth arguing that free will plays a vital role in the fall of Oedipus as depicted by his actions, and the decisions of his parents. For instance, after the oracle came to Laius that he would die at the hands of his son, he decides to abandon him thinking that this would prevent the fulfillment of the oracle (Puchner 399). The decision by the king is an example of free will as the king decides out of the free will to alter the future. Besides, queen Jocasta's free will aims at preventing Oedipus from discovering who he is in an attempt to prevent fate. Also, Oedipus' fall from happiness caused by the pain of his mother's decision to hang herself can be attributed to free will since the play does not give a prophecy from the oracle about her death. Therefore, some of the things that lead to the fall of Oedipus such as the death of his mother could be prevented by free