curse God, and die” (2:9), but Job stands firm. For example, certain words used in the book of Job appear also in the Pentateuch, but nowhere else in the Old Testament; many other words common to both Job and the Pentateuch are seldom used by other Bible writers. In ch 36 he promotes a performance based gospel and that if one disobeys God will kill them. Either way, Job denies sinning, and calls on the heavens to testify on his behalf. Ezekiel (about 622 to 570 BCE) mentions Job together with Noah and Daniel as men of ancient renown (Ezekiel 14:14). Others believe the book to be the work of an unnamed author, perhaps of the time … Location: a. Uz was located in northern Arabia 3. b. Job’s friend, Eliphaz, came from Teman, a city in Edom. Further, the image of God as Creator and Sustainer aliens well with the creation narrative that is presented in the book of Genesis which was written by Moses. To Job’s charge Elihu replies that God speaks to man in many ways, as in dreams and visions of the night, by which He instructs men and seeks to turn them away from doing evil that would destroy them. Was Elihu rebuked? Again, many scholars believe this part wasn’t in the original book but was added by a later editor, this time because it seems oddly out of place. Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, and analysis from Israel and the Middle East, © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved, Fragments of a shattered plate on which the Book of Job had been written, Get email notification for articles from Elon Gilad. new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of…. In the book of Job, it becomes clear that the first three of Job's friends - Eliphaz, Blidad, and Zophar - speak wrongly. He is then blessed much more than he already was. The most likely candidates are Job, Elihu, Moses, and Solomon. ... We do not know whom the Spirit used to write the book of Job, but it may very well have been Job himself. More telling are the religious beliefs presented in the book, which features Satan as a member of God’s council. Elihu’s essential verdict is that Job did not speak “what is right” about God, he spoke as a “wicked man” (34:36). The book’s theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central But Satan is not mentioned in pre-exilic biblical books. What statements of Elihu did Job agree with (verse 5)? The Talmud (Bava Barta 14b) says it was written by Moses, but then on the next page (15a), rabbis Jonathan and Eliezer say Job was among those who returned from the Babylonian Exile in 538 BCE, which was about seven centuries after Moses’ supposed death. He asks Job a rhetorical question - Did Job kill the Behemoth and the Dragon, as he has? Seriously—look at the facts. As Chronicles is believed to have been written in the 4th century BCE, Job would have been written before that. God’s explanation - if you can call it that - is that Job, being a mere human, cannot hope to understand his actions. On the other hand, Satan is not presented as an all-powerful force of evil, as he is in Chronicles. Elihu did seem to think he represented God. Similarly, the Book of Job does not mention reward and punishment in the afterlife. The book of Job was also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the Ketuvim (“Writings”). 11“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The book then wraps up with a happy ending - Job’s fortunes are restored and he is given a new set of children. Elihu and his dissatisfaction with the answers of Job's friendsSo these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Elihu charges Job with adding to his sin by multiplying words against God without knowledge (34:1-35:16). (see upcoming show time) YesNo. Crediting Moses for the authorship of the book of Job does not exclude the possibility that most of material may have already been there in a written form by Job himself. When was the book of Job written? The bulk of Elihu's speech then focuses on the justice of God, which Elihu feels Job has maligned. Finally, the title ’El–Shaddai, “the Almighty” is used 31 times in the book of Job and 6 times in the book of Genesis, but doesn’t occur in this particular form anywhere else in the Bible. It appears as if Elihu’s speech was also inspired as to content, and certainly this was true of God’s final and conclusive word. please notice that God specifically rebukes Job's three friends, addressing Eliphaz, and that God does not rebuke Elihu. Elihu’s four-part speech is followed by God breaking His silence to directly answer Job. please notice that the scripture 100% clearly says God has been speaking to Job, not Elihu. Job 32-37. Elihu and Job's friends were relating difficulties in this life with what? There is much support to the early assertion that credits the writing of the book of Job to Moses for he spent 40 years in the land of Median. The most popular theory now is that Job was written by someone whose first language was Aramaic but whose literary language was Hebrew, and that the use of archaic language was deliberate. The Book of Job has aspects that seem to predate the Babylonian Exile that began in 586 BCE, and elements that seem to post-date the exile. The scholars that attest to that base their claims on the fact that the subject matter of Job is much different from that of the other books of Moses. In Job 36 and 37, Elihu magnified the great God. , one who can interpret and reveal the truth concerning God and His ways." As a public testimony to all creation, God allowed it. Date of Writing: The date of the authorship of the Book of Job would be determined by the author of the Book of Job. 8. However, these later claims don’t have enough evidence to support them. Also, Moses’ Egyptian heritage explains the hints to Egyptian life and practice that appear in the book. But after Job showed that he did in fact love God more than all else in the world, there was another purpose that God sought to achieve by letting his suffering drag on for several months. This writer cannot accommodate to the opinions of some very respected commentators who understand Elihu's speeches as not merely commendable, but actually appropriate as an introduction to what God Himself would say in the following chapters. The very same page of Talmud suggests that Job is not a real person and that the whole book is just an allegory; also, that Job was the contemporary of Jacob or Abraham. Job, possibly the strangest book in the bible, is based on legends going back thousands of years, and is written in a very unusual form of Hebrew. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. Biblical scholars suspect him to be a later addition to the book, mostly because while the first three friends are mentioned in the introduction, Elihu appears from nowhere. His wife looking at what happened told Job to just curse God and die, but Job would not. Date of Writing: The date of the authorship of the Book of Job would be determined by the author of the Book of Job. There's a snag, though. Does Job contain wisdom literature? In fact, we know that it was extremely ancient. Author: The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The bulk of Elihu's speech then focuses on the justice of God, which Elihu feels Job has maligned. Was Elihu rebuked? They had argued that suffering is basically punishment for sin and prosperity is reward for righteousness (4:7–8). Job accuses God of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that Job's sin caused his suffering. This land would give him a good background of the land of Uz. Satan tells God that Job is only virtuous because he is well off; were he to suffer, he would surely “curse thee to thy face” (1:11). By this Elihu brings light into the darkness and brings Job into the presence of God. In fact, archaeologists have uncovered quite a few written tales from the ancient Near East about gods punishing a completely upright man: they could be equivalent to Job in some ways, or even be the origin of the story. And then he takes it upon himself to spend about five chapters—an eighth of the entire book—spouting off his thoughts. It is likely that in the very cosmopolitan world of the Persian period - sometime between 550 to 350 BCE - a Jew, living anywhere from Egypt to Palestine and Babylonia, whose mother tongue was Aramaic, - took one of these oral legends and wrote it in Hebrew. A seal in Aramaic found at Temple Mount, used to mark objects as appropriate for use by the Temple. Job, in the Bible, was a wealthy and righteous man living in the land of Uz around the 6th century BCE to the 4th century BCE. He did not write the book during the exchange of speeches, but only after it was all over. Genesis of Genesis: Where did the biblical story of Creation come from? True, the book is written in Hebrew, but it is very strange Hebrew indeed. In Job 36 and 37, Elihu magnified the great God. Who wrote Job? When God finally Himself speaks to Job he has to confess: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee. Now, when no one has been has been successful in finding the answer, we must look to God for the ultimate solution. Job was blameless and upright and feared God. Elihu did seem to think he represented God. Since Elihu’s verdict is the opposite of Yahweh’s, Elihu’s verdict is to be rejected. Elihu is a man in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Job. What did Job say that was right? If Moses was … i. 10because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hide trouble from my eyes. Though Job’s words have often been spoken in ignorance, his essential position is correct. He is said to have descended from Guz who may be from the line of Abraham. Since Elihu’s verdict is the opposite of Yahweh’s, Elihu’s verdict is to be rejected. It could have been through a dream or through a vision of the night that God warned Job to repent (He keeps back his soul from the Pit), but Job wasn’t paying attention. 8-13 Elihu charges Job with reflecting upon the justice and goodness of God. Since Elihu is a descendant of Buz, it would put him in the same lineage of Abraham, Abraham 22:20-21. Therefore Job must have sinned grievously. However, the fact that God did not address Elihu, nor say anything about him, probably clues us into the fact that Elihu did speak for God, preparing Job to meet God, although Elihu may not have realized to what ex-tent God would use the young man. Others believe the book to be the work of an unnamed author, perhaps of the time of Solomon, or of the time of David, or of the era of the Captivity. Job 32:2-4. He concludes his speech with an effort to speak on God's behalf and … If anything, Job's Satan is most similar to the Satan of the Book of Zechariah, written in the early Second Temple period, which may indicate that Job was written during the same period - the late 6th century BCE or the early 5th BCE. Job now did not understand that God, whom he called upon to answer him (Job 10:2; 13:22; 23:5), was already speaking to him in various ways. Author: The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The reason Elihu was not chastised along with Job's other 3 friends is because he didn't tell Job that his trials were caused by sin. Elihu Rebukes Job's Friends 1So these three men ceased to answer Job, ... Job 3:10-11. Job may have known and even applied the strict letter of God’s law, but he fell far short of knowing the magnificent wonder of the Creator. He preserveth not the life of the _____. Job decides to talk directly to God. JOB 37. 4. So he winds up saying to Job, \"Is not your wickedness great!\" (22:5). Elihu’s essential verdict is that Job did not speak “what is right” about God, he spoke as a “wicked man” (34:36). THE CONCLUSION OF ELIHU'S LONG-WINDED REMARKS. and embarks on an extremely long, poetic ramble describing these two mythological creatures that lasts until the end of chapter 41. Elihu charges Job with adding to his sin by multiplying words against God without knowledge (34:1-35:16). Elihu is not mentioned when Job's three friends arrive to comfort him, though he was probably one of many that witnessed Job's affliction. Has the Bible a secret mathematical code that unlocks the future? In the book of Job, Elihu gives a rather lengthy speech to Job concerning what he is going through. The book of Job is a masterpiece of interruption. No speaker is not interrupted and the book ends not with the answering of the questions, but with the end of an incomprehensible and painful interruption to a man’s life. Not only do they incur the indignation of Job and his other friend Elihu, but God himself rebukes them, saying to Eliphaz, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has." That leaves us wondering where Elihu stands with God. The second basic viewpoint of Elihu’s role in the Book of Job is that he is primarily intended to be an ironic character whose self-perception differs greatly from the way in which the author of Job portrays him. 2. Hearing from Elihu. The Babylonian Talmud claims, “Moses wrote his own book, and the passages about Balaam and Job” (Baba Bathra, 14b, 15a). If Moses was … Job first book of the Bible? After all this took place, Job asks God and God answers Job in poetic dialogue (Read in Job 38). A fourth character then enters the story – Elihu, who accuses Job as well (chapters 32-37). That purpose, according to Elihu, was to purge out of Job's life a residue of … If Moses was the … However, the fact that God did not address Elihu, nor say anything about him, probably clues us into the fact that Elihu did speak for God, preparing Job to meet God, although Elihu may not have realized to what ex- tent God would use the young man. What did the three friends say that was not right? But this claim is rejected by many modern scholars and instead they suggest that Elihu, Solomon, and Ezra could be the authors of the book. There are no historic reference points but they can analyze the language and theology, and compare them with other Hebraic writings of known provenance. What egotistical statement did Elihu make in verse 4? The Book of Job is quite possibly the strangest book in the Hebrew Bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. Verse 1. . This page is also available in: हिन्दी (Hindi). In their dialogue we see God’s wisdom, and Job realized it 3 chapters later in Job 42. Job had represented God as severe in marking what he did amiss. No speaker is not interrupted and the book ends not with the answering of the questions, but with the end of an incomprehensible and painful interruption to a man’s life. Ancient Jewish tradition credits the authorship of the book of Job in the Hebrew Bible to Moses. Photo: Babylonian goddess of the night. Modern biblical scholars on the other hand think they do have a clue. Biblical scholars suspect him to be a later addition to the book, mostly because while the first three friends are mentioned in the introduction, Elihu appears from nowhere. But after Job showed that he did in fact love God more than all else in the world, there was another purpose that God sought to achieve by letting his suffering drag on for several months. For God may speak in one way, or in another: Elihu’s thought here is that perhaps God had spoken to Job already, but Job did not perceive it. Author of the book of Job? 1. That purpose, according to Elihu, was to purge out of Job's life a residue of … The book of Job was also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Babylonian Talmud claims, “Moses wrote his own book, and the passages about Balaam and Job” (Baba Bathra, 14b, 15a). One by one bad things started to happen to Job. Elihu made statements that are contrary to the New Covenant and he did accuse Job of some secret sin. It is true that the Bible…, This page is also available in: हिन्दी (Hindi)The Bible says, “I am the Lord . It is possible that with an admonition for Job to stand still and consider the wondrous works of God, Elihu seems to be preparing Job for what is about to follow, namely, the whirlwind.Previously, Job and his friends had been arguing back and forth, and their debates had been thoroughly exhausted until Elihu appeared and proposed a new cause for Job's suffering. A. Elihu’s … What are some of the prophecies that confirm Bible inspiration. When we hear any thing said to God's dishonour, we ought to bear our testimony against it. Netanyahu Making Progress in Bid to Cancel His Corruption Trial, Netanyahu's Plan to Evade His Trial Is Advancing Quickly and Efficiently, Why I, a Moroccan Reporter, Endured Threats to Interview Netanyahu in Israel in 1998, Why I, a Moroccan Journalist, Endured Death Threats to Interview Bibi in Israel, Decades Before Normalization, the religious beliefs presented in the book. The reason for Job's wrong conclusions was that he did not understand that God wanted him to go into a deep trial. Who was the author of Job? Instead, he told Job that his reactionary words were both sinful and rebellious. Get our latest answers straight to your inbox when you subscribe here. There is no question that the book was already written by the second century BCE, since an Aramaic translation of the Book of Job was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Job 42:7 the Lord condemns Eliphaz, and die, but, significantly, is... Features Satan as a member of God wrought iniquity? reveal the truth concerning God and God answers in... Had spoken wrong, and by repentance to unsay it Elihu brings light into the presence of God several! 36 and 37, Elihu, who accuses Job as well did elihu write job chapters 32-37 ) his words! ( Hindi ) strangest book in the book of Job represented God as in! 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