Job, The Book of

[He. Iyyob “Persecuted”]

Courtesy of Alexander Scourby(Bible Audio)The Book of Job

Background: The story of Job is found is in the first 2 and the last chapter of the book. Satan is allowed to bring several major tragedies into the life of this good and religious man. The main section of the book is a discussion between Job and 3 friends as to why Job has suffered so much trouble. The questions raised are not only human suffering but about God: is he fair? Is he even good? Traditional, contrite answers are shown to be inadequate. 42chs

Author: Unknown. Some believe Moses but there is no solid evidence.

Date: The early date (2000BC) is suggested by such things as:

*The patriarchal lifestyle seen in this book

*The use of the ancient patriarchal name for God (El Shaddai, “The Almighty, used 31 times)

*The absence of any mention of Israelite history

Location: in Israel for an Israel audience

Purpose:

^To address the question of why innocent people suffer

^To promote faith and trust in God, whose ways are higher than those of mankind (42:1-5 compare Is55:9)

Unique Features:

*unique appeal to all religions

*Job like Zechariah, gives a brief glimpse of confrontations between heavenly beings

*reference to Dinosaurs (“Behemoth” and “Leviathan”, 40:15; 41:1)

Comparison:

Genesis

^Job’s description of earth early history (38:4-11) provides a complimentary parallel Ge1

^Both use the Hebrew expressions for “sons of God” (2Ge6)

^Ancient patriarchal name for God, El Shaddai “The Almighty”, occurs in Ge and Job more than in any other books

Ecclesiastes

^Job explores the meaning of suffering; Ecclesiastes explores the meaning of life

Abbreviations: Job/Jb

MV: Mt7:8

Bib1Yr: Mt13, 14The Parables