When Was the Book of Job Written?

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Are you wondering when the Book of Job was written? The Book of Job is frequently described to as one of the best masterpieces of world literature. What’s more, its subject is the important question of why innocent people should have to suffer when the wicked escape suffering and are allowed to have security and comfort at the same time.

Not only Jews, but all people sooner or later confront that universal problem. Some of the Hebrew prophets tried to deal with that question as it influenced the nation as a whole. However, the writer of the Book of Jobs handles it on a regular basis.

In its present form, the book is loosely divided into five parts:

• the prologue
• the symposium
• the speeches of Elihu
• the nature of poems
• the epilogue

Overall, the book seems to have been written as a direct challenge to the time-honored doctrine that people are punished or rewarded according to their merits.

When Was the Book of Job Written?

According to scholars, they agreed that the Book of Job was written between the seventh and fourth centuries BCE, along with the sixth century BCE, as the most likely time for different reasons.

Keep in mind that the book of Job is also one of the oldest books in the Bible. It shows that the book was written after the Towel of Babel but before Abraham was conceived. Imagine if the book was written by Moses. If that’s the case, then it was written at least 1485 to 145 BC. If it was written by Solomon, then the date is perhaps 950 BC.

If the book was created by Job, then the book was written before the period of Moses, as the age of Job shows he lived during the period of the ancient patriarchs. For instance, Job 42:16 describes that Job lived 140 years after the scenarios described in the book.

On top of that, the early chapters of Job show that he had a huge family and was extremely rich. That recommends that Job was an older man in Job 1. Thus, since Job lived 140 years after the events narrated in the book, Job might have been 200 years old already. Further, Abraham lived until the age of 175 years. Most likely, Job existed before Abraham.

The Book of Job itself offers no comment about its date or authorship. Allusions and linguistic clues recommend that it was written after the Babylonian Exile throughout the Persian Period. Nonetheless, given the highly stylized, literary Hebrew of Job, considered to be the most complicated of any Bible’s book, it’s extremely challenging for scholars to date exactly.

On top of that, people don’t know whether a single author wrote both the poetic and prose versions of Job or whether they’re the product of various hands later made into a single text.

What is the Message You Can Obtain from the Book of Job?

The message of the Book of Job is that righteous individuals can suffer although they haven’t done anything wrong. The underlying them of the book is why does Job work for God? That answer to that question is because He is God, and we are, but men.

On top of that, the accounts of the events that happened began in chapter one, when people are told that Satan go to God and God told him that Job was a righteous person. Satan complained, declaring that Job served God only because He defended Job and blessed him.

In response, a competition follows. God permits Satan to cause Job to suffer from difficulties. He loses his kids and all of his riches. Only Job and his wife remain, and Job becomes sick as well. The happenings narrated in Job become a lesson for everyone. People found that they can suffer although they have done nothing wrong. People will suffer for shameless sin, and they can suffer although they’re righteous.

Through the book, people found that the three friends of Job gave him bad counsel. They constantly attempted to help Job find the root source of his suffering. On top of that, they didn’t know the agreement and discussion in heaven, so they faulted him for all his suffering.

In Job 38 to 41, God speaks to Job and offers him remarkable insight into His power and character. Job then responds with humility. Further, in 42:7 to 9, God also rebuked the friends of Job. Finally, God doubled the family and wealth of Job.

To sum up, keep in mind that the message of the Book of Job is that the righteous person can suffer although they have not sinned yet. God will do as He desires, and people should respond as Job did. The next time you suffer, make sure you do not assume you have sinned and understand that a contest might be in process.

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