Abstract
The Biophilia Hypothesis has emphasised our innate attraction to the natural
world, where we come from. Modern psychologies (e.g. developmental, emotional
and environmental) have built on this and have highlighted the worth of being
exposed to nature. Developmentally it has been shown how exposure to nature
enhances cognitive, emotional and moral development in discovering the self.
Emotionally it is especially the emotion of “awe” (wonderment born out of vastness
and difficult to grasp) that leads to ego-transcendence, humbleness and oneness
with nature. From the environmental perspective the fascination with the nonhuman
environment can be restorative, calming and leading to contemplation and
reflection. The pre-scientific Joban poet has intuitively grasped these emphases of
modern research and celebrated nature and wild animals (unique in the Hebrew
Bible) as good to think, feel and live by. The main character Job, however,
seems not to have accepted this.