Often we can think we are not good enough to do what God is asking, but God is so much stronger than any of our excuses. Read More. Your email address will not be published. Authorship The author is uncertain. Purpose of the Book Many suggestions have been made as to the purpose of the book of Job.
Related Articles. Christian Living. Job lived in the land of Uz Job , but no one really knows where Uz was located. The Israelites categorized Job within their wisdom literature. The book includes language from ancient legal proceedings, laments, and unique terms not found elsewhere in the Bible.
In addition, the majority of Job is written in parallel lines which are indicative of poetry. The book delves into issues near to the heart of every human who experiences suffering. The prologue provides a fascinating peek into the back story—why God allowed Satan to afflict Job with such pain and turmoil. Then, through a series of dialogues and monologues arranged in a pattern of threes, human wisdom attempts to explain the unexplainable, until finally God Himself speaks.
God allows pain for good reason, but He may never reveal those reasons. Job did not reject God, but Job did challenge and accuse Him.
The Almighty quieted Job decisively when He finally thundered His own perspective on the situation. Job was punished. Therefore Job must have sinned grievously. A fourth character then enters the story — Elihu, who accuses Job as well chapters Biblical scholars suspect him to be a later addition to the book, mostly because while the first three friends are mentioned in the introduction, Elihu appears from nowhere. Either way, Job denies sinning, and calls on the heavens to testify on his behalf.
Strange Hebrew. Since the story lacks any historical context and no historic individuals are mentioned, it is very hard to date. The Talmud redacted at about CE has several versions. The very same page of Talmud suggests that Job is not a real person and that the whole book is just an allegory; also, that Job was the contemporary of Jacob or Abraham.
Modern biblical scholars on the other hand think they do have a clue. There are no historic reference points but they can analyze the language and theology, and compare them with other Hebraic writings of known provenance. There's a snag, though. Arguments based on the alleged lateness of the language is precarious. The book may have been editorially updated from time to time. Be that as it may, the linguistic evidence is so ambiguous that some scholars have reversed the argument.
The subject matter by some is believed to be too developed for an early writing, but as Alden warns:. The idea should be resisted that ancient peoples were primitive and therefore incapable of thinking of or discussing the subtle issues that fill the pages of Job Alden, It is inconceivable, as has been often said, that a writer of a late date, say of the time of Captivity, or of Josiah, or even of Solomon, should, in a long work like the Book of Job, intentionally and successfully avoid all reference to historical occurrences, and to changes in religious forms or doctrines of a date posterior to that of the events which form the subject of his narrative Spence-Jones, xv.
Harris ultimately pursues an early dating as well, and offers this interesting bit of information:. As to the historical background of Job, it seems to fit well with ideas and literature of the second millennium B. Kramer The First Job. Pope offers extracts from these works. They can be read conveniently in ANET. It should be noted that these works consider the problem of suffering, as does the book of Job, but their answer is quite different.
While Harris supports an older date, he lists a number of men who have held to later dating of exilic or post-exilic, including Pope, but also Pfeiffer, Driver, A. He also mentions "More scholars have now veered toward a pre-exilic date" Harris, 8. It was already noted that a number do hold to a very early dating. In the 19th century and largely late into the 20th as well , Job was considered Wisdom Literature and that largely fostered the argument for Solomonic era dating e.
Lange et. However, that association has recently been challenged, as Kaiser notes:. Until the last quarter of the twentieth century, Job was predominantly classified as Wisdom literature. But then a strong voice of opposition arose claiming that Job was either utterly unique or it was in a lament genre, a form that was not firmly established until recently Kaiser, 8. Aben Ezra about A. He does note as well theories conjectures of contemporary to the events authors which would have authorship mainly in the Patriarchal period :.
The most ingenious of the conjectures put forward is that of Dr. Mill and Professor Lee, who think that Job himself put the discourses into a written form, and that Moses, having become acquainted with this work while he was in Midian, determined to communicate it to his countrymen, as analogous to the trial of their faith in Egypt; and, in order to render it intelligible to them, added the opening and concluding sections, which, it is remarked, are altogether in the style of the Pentateuch.
A far less probable theory assigns the authorship of the bulk of the book to Elihu Spence-Jones, xvi. Since the author is ultimately unknown, that does not help much with dating, and one's decisions about dating or authorship influence the conclusions one draws for the other.
Harris believes dating of Ezekiel is fairly certain at roughly BC, and the mention of Job in that book , 20 affirms the work being at least prior to that Harris, 4.
Indeed, the reference in Ezekiel assumes a familiarity with the person and his character, and thus assumes a general knowledge of the work. Harris also mentions the similarity of Prov and Job typo in the article has it as Job as probably literary dependence Harris, 4. He states:. The wording of the two passages is identical in Hebrew, except that Job has the divine name, Shaddai, which it very frequently uses, and Proverbs uses the more common name, the Tetragram [YHWH].
Harris' final statement is odd, considering that it is commonly recognized that Shaddai is a far more ancient name and in fact Harris himself notes that later; Harris, 6 , and that Job's extensive use of it is one of the key earmarks of its antiquity. Thus, it is far more likely Proverbs is quoting Job if there is any literary dependence at all. In some further discussion of parallels to Psalms and Proverbs with Job, Harris does admit on the literary relations:. Job [ sic ; should be corrected to Job ] and Psalm Many other parallels to Scripture are discussed in Harris' work and should be consulted for more info on those.
He does end that summary with this thought emphasis added :. To sum up, there are a few interesting verbal parallels with Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, and the Balaam oracles. These are not conclusive, but incline somewhat toward a pre-monarchy date for the writing Harris, 5. The writing of the book is best assigned to the age of Solomon [ca. There is nothing in the book, however, which conclusively refutes the ancient association of this book with Moses Smith, ch.
Unger leans toward "Solomonic era" also Unger, , and Cabal et al. Lange et al. It is a legitimate conclusion It must almost certainly have been written before the promulgation of the Law. On the whole, therefore, it seems most reasonable to place the composition towards the close of the patriarchal period, not very long before the Exodus Spence-Jones, xv. In the absence of definite evidences for late dating and in view of numerous indications of a patriarchal milieu, it seems possible to hold to a Mosaic or slightly pre-Mosaic date in accord with much old Jewish and Christian sentiment.
We may therefore hold our conclusion provisionally expecting further light, especially from linguistic studies Harris, My view of Scripture's formation easily holds to the possibility of a very early, patriarchal date.
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