May 15, 2018: The film The Book of Job premieres. Directed by Lindsay Darnall Jr., it stars Joseph Pfaff as the title character, who has been called the original Jew who wonders why so much crap happens to him.
The story dates to about 2,000 BC, after the time of Noah and the Flood, but before almost everything that comes after that in the Bible, although the Patriarch Abraham, if he existed, may have lived at around the same time. The Bible's Book of Job is believed to have been written in "the Persian period," 540 to 330 BC.
According to the story, Job (pronounced with the long O, as "Johb") is a wealthy God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God discusses Job's piety with a character called "the adversary" -- in ancient Hebrew, הַשָּׂטָן, ha-sāṭān, which became the modern name "Satan." The adversary rebukes God, stating that Job would turn away from God if he were to lose everything within his possession. God decides to test that theory by allowing the adversary to inflict pain on Job.
Job is tested through extreme suffering, including the loss of his wealth, children, and health. Yet he maintains his piety, while nonetheless challenging the justice of God. Job defends himself against his unsympathetic friends, whom God admonishes. The dialogues explore human frailty and the inaccessibility of divine wisdom, culminating in God highlighting His omnipotence, and Job confessing his limited understanding. Job's fortunes and family are restored in the epilogue.
The story is considered an important part of Jewish history, even though no archeological evidence has been found to confirm that it happened. In writing God: A Biography, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1996, Jack Miles made the conflict with Job the centerpiece of his narrative.
Job also inspired Jewish writer Franz Kafka to write The Trial, the Coen Brothers to direct their 2009 film A Serious Man, and Terrence Malick to direct his 2011 film The Tree of Life.
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May 15, 2018 was a Tuesday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Mets beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-2 at Citi Field. Noah Syndergaard was the winning pitcher. Devin Mesoraco hit a home run.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at SunTrust Park (now Truist Park) in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland,
Georgia.
* The Miami Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-0 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Trevor Williams allowed 6 hits over 7 innings, and Kyle Crick and Richard Rodríguez completed the 7-hit shutout.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-8 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-0 at Petco Park in San Diego. Jordan Lyles pitched 7 1/3rd innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 10. Kirby Yates and Brad Hand finished the 1-hit shutout.
* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 9-8 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
Guillermo Heredia singled Ryon Healey home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.
* The New York Yankees and the Washington Senators were tied, 3-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning at Nationals Park, when the game was suspended due to rain. The game was resumed on June 18, and the Nats won, 5-3. Reliever Chad Green blew the game for starter Masahiro Tanaka. Anthony Rendon and future Yankee (and future Met) Juan Soto hit home runs. Tyler Austin hit one for the Yankees. Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.
* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Camden Yards. The game was made up on July 12. The Phillies won, 5-4.
Football was out of season. One game was played in the NBA Playoffs: The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-94 at the TD Garden in Boston. LeBron James scored 42 in defeat.
One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the T-Mobile Arena outside Las Vegas in Paradise,
Nevada.
