Survey on the Book of Job
A SURVEY ON THE BOOK OF JOB
I. Background:
A. The Man Job
Job was a prosperous man living in the land of Uz. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Job is blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil.
•Where: Uz
•Occupation-:wealthy, landowner and livestock owner
• Relatives: wife and first ten children not named. Daughters from the second set of children : Jemimah, Keziah, Keren-Happuch
• Contemporaries:Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu
B. The Book
1. Author: The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The most likely candidates are Job, Elihu, Moses and Solomon.
2. Date of Job’s Writing: Although the time of the events may be placed with a great deal of certainty, the date of the writing of Job is far less clear. The following dates have been offered for the composition of the Book of Job: 1. before the time of Moses. Some pro and con arguments include: a. It would be natural to assume that the composition of Job would occur soon after, if not contemporaneous with, the events in the book of Job. b. However, some would argue that there is no compelling reason to believe that the effects of the Mosaic law would be felt in the land of Uz or Teman even as late as 1,000 B.C. c. If Job had been written close to the events, then most likely it would not have originally been written in Hebrew but was later translated to Hebrew from some other language. d. Some point out that the worship of the sun and moon mentioned in Job 31:26 point to a late date, however, it has been shown that the sun and moon were worshiped far back into the Patriarchal age. e. Some say that just because the Book of Job excludes any references to the
Mosaic law, that does no mean that it had to be written prior to the law.
However, it is
I. Background:
A. The Man Job
Job was a prosperous man living in the land of Uz. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Job is blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil.
•Where: Uz
•Occupation-:wealthy, landowner and livestock owner
• Relatives: wife and first ten children not named. Daughters from the second set of children : Jemimah, Keziah, Keren-Happuch
• Contemporaries:Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu
B. The Book
1. Author: The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The most likely candidates are Job, Elihu, Moses and Solomon.
2. Date of Job’s Writing: Although the time of the events may be placed with a great deal of certainty, the date of the writing of Job is far less clear. The following dates have been offered for the composition of the Book of Job: 1. before the time of Moses. Some pro and con arguments include: a. It would be natural to assume that the composition of Job would occur soon after, if not contemporaneous with, the events in the book of Job. b. However, some would argue that there is no compelling reason to believe that the effects of the Mosaic law would be felt in the land of Uz or Teman even as late as 1,000 B.C. c. If Job had been written close to the events, then most likely it would not have originally been written in Hebrew but was later translated to Hebrew from some other language. d. Some point out that the worship of the sun and moon mentioned in Job 31:26 point to a late date, however, it has been shown that the sun and moon were worshiped far back into the Patriarchal age. e. Some say that just because the Book of Job excludes any references to the
Mosaic law, that does no mean that it had to be written prior to the law.
However, it is
References: 1. Life Application Study Bible 2. http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Job.html 3. http://theopenword.org/ots/18_job.pdf