He is the messenger and type of the Lord (chap. He thinks that God treats him in an unrighteous way and yet hopes that God will finally accept him. 11:5-16).īut Job desperately sticks to his righteousness and sincerity. 8:8).įinally Zophar in a haughty and legal way traces Job's sufferings back to lack of obedience in respect to God's demands (chap. 4:8).īildad who addresses Job three times also gives reasons for his philosophical statements with tradition (chap. They thought God was punishing Job for any sins and could not see that God uses suffering also to refine and to teach believers.Įliphaz bases on human experience in all three speeches (chap. Job's three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were not able to understand these ways of God. With his three friends Job discussed the problem why a righteous God allows that a righteous man has to suffer innocently. God allowed Satan to take away from Job his wealth, his family, and his health. Job was a wealthy but righteous and God-fearing man. Nevertheless these ways of God with mankind have always a good purpose ( Romans 8:28). The subject of the book of Job is God's dealings with mankind in His governmental ways in a world in which Satan, the adversary of God, has introduced sin, suffering and death. Hebrew poetry is not marked by metre and end-rhyme but by pictorial language, parallelisms and partly by rhythm and alliteration or stave rhyme (compare 'The Psalms', paragraph 3a 'Hebrew Poetry'). Hebrew poetry is very different to the western poetry. 42:7-17) are written in prose whereas the speeches in between are written in the form of poems. The book of Job is a 'link and frame story'. ketubim) in the Hebrew Bible, which is the third part of the OT.

The book of Job is considered being part of the poetic books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs) in today's Bible editions. The Holy Spirit confirms Job's history by being mentioned as a historical person in the Old Testament ( Ezekiel 14:14 Ezekiel 14:20) as well as in the New Testament ( James 5:11).

In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) Job is even identified with Jobab, the second king of the Edomites ( Genesis 36:33). 1:1) is generally suggested eastwards of river Jordan towards the border to Arabia in the land of Edom (compare Lamentations 4:21) or its vicinity. These and further details would suggest the times of the patriarchs. Job and his friends knew God as 'the Almighty' as did Abraham.The mentioning of the 'kesitah'-coin ( Job 42:11), which is else mentioned in Genesis 33:19 and Joshua 24:32 only (JND-Translation).The habit to offer at home (only meat offering!).In any case the events occurring in the book would indicate a very early time of origin. The oldest supposition dates the book as far back as the time of Moses or even before Moses. But all these suppositions are uncertain. This is why this so very special book cannot be arranged in precise historical order.ĭuring the course of time the following authors have been supposed: Job himself, Moses, Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Baruch. The book of Job does not mention any indications of data and only very few indications of places.

Book of job