Our question is purposefully vague. When did Job live? When were parts of the book written? When did it reach the form in which we read it now?
We start with the epic narrative about a character named Job. Presuming for now that the account reflects a historical figure whose story gained entrance into the traditions of Israel at some point, when might he have lived? As we will see in the next chapter, Job’s age suggests that we are to be thinking of the patriarchal period, in other words, about five centuries before God made the covenant with Israel at
Mt. Sinai. According to Ezekiel 14:14,20, Job’s reputation for righteousness had become part of Israel’s national narrative; he was right up there with Noah and Daniel (Dan’el in the Hebrew text). Note that …show more content…
Additional texts from Mesopotamia that wrestle with the problem of suffering include
“Man and His God,” a text from the second millennium BC Sumer, and “I Will Praise the Lord of
Wisdom,” copies of texts discovered in 7 th century BC Nineveh but likely representing second millennium BC as well.] We have our own cultural icons, people who have triumphed over exceedingly difficult tragedies and whose stories become part of our sub-culture’s language. If we are “journaling types,” we have likely done the same for ourselves. It seems to be in the human DNA to record anguish as part of the effort to triumph over it.
In similar fashion, perhaps the narrative of a man named Job was deeply embedded in Ancient Near
Eastern cultural lore and came to be preserved within the developing Israelite sacred literature. In this regard, it was unlike other parts of sacred Scripture, much of which was revealed from God through the prophetic voices. Nevertheless, it was perfectly positioned and adapted to serve the purposes of God’s
Spirit in addressing the universal problem of human suffering. As Israelites adopted the story,
We start with the epic narrative about a character named Job. Presuming for now that the account reflects a historical figure whose story gained entrance into the traditions of Israel at some point, when might he have lived? As we will see in the next chapter, Job’s age suggests that we are to be thinking of the patriarchal period, in other words, about five centuries before God made the covenant with Israel at
Mt. Sinai. According to Ezekiel 14:14,20, Job’s reputation for righteousness had become part of Israel’s national narrative; he was right up there with Noah and Daniel (Dan’el in the Hebrew text). Note that …show more content…
Additional texts from Mesopotamia that wrestle with the problem of suffering include
“Man and His God,” a text from the second millennium BC Sumer, and “I Will Praise the Lord of
Wisdom,” copies of texts discovered in 7 th century BC Nineveh but likely representing second millennium BC as well.] We have our own cultural icons, people who have triumphed over exceedingly difficult tragedies and whose stories become part of our sub-culture’s language. If we are “journaling types,” we have likely done the same for ourselves. It seems to be in the human DNA to record anguish as part of the effort to triumph over it.
In similar fashion, perhaps the narrative of a man named Job was deeply embedded in Ancient Near
Eastern cultural lore and came to be preserved within the developing Israelite sacred literature. In this regard, it was unlike other parts of sacred Scripture, much of which was revealed from God through the prophetic voices. Nevertheless, it was perfectly positioned and adapted to serve the purposes of God’s
Spirit in addressing the universal problem of human suffering. As Israelites adopted the story,