18th book of the BIBLE, Old Testament and 1st among the 5 wisdom or poetic books
Many believe the Book of Job to be the earliest book of the Bible.
Job is set during the times of the patriarchs
Factors to indicate a Patriarchal Age setting for Job:
Job lived about 140 years after the events of this book took place (42:14). Therefore, his life span must have been around 200 years. Abraham lives 175 years.
Job’s wealth is measured in terms of livestock (1:3; 42:12) rather than silver and gold.
Like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Job is the priest of his family and offers sacrifices.
The social unit is the patriarchal clan.
Job uses the characteristic patriarchal name for God, “Shaddai” (“the Almighty”).
There is no reference to:
Israel
The exodus from Egypt
The Mosaic Law
The Tabernacle
Job wrestles with the great question, WHY?
The land of Uz (1:1) is adjacent to the land of Midian where Moses lived for some 40 years.
