JOB, BOOK GF

belongs to the ‘Wisdom Literature,’ and deals with.the problem of suffering, which, in the later stages of Old Testament theol., perplexed men. Formerly it was heid that all suffering comes as punishment for sin, and it is against this J. was written. J. was a wealthy and prosperous, and also a pious man, and the Satan, whose function it is to try men, is allowed by God to see whether J.’s piety is merely the result of his prosperity. He does so, and J. is cast down by misery. J.’s friends try to persuade him that he has done wrong. Jd. is bewildered and sometimes defiant, and his friends do not really help him solve the problem. The solution is due to Elihu, who helps J. see the real meaning of his trial, Hlihu’s speeches, which some think a later addition, are meant to emphasize the discipline of suffering. The text of J. is shorter in the LXX than the Hebrew. ‘The date is uncertain. Formerly it was thought to be patriarchal, as J. leads a patriarchal life, and it was conjectured that he was, Moses, as the book was then taken as ay literal history. But its whole tone and refiection on moral and spiritual problems indicate a much later date. These questions scarcely pre ed for solution among the Israeli tes before the VI. cent. B.C. Its language, too, shows traces of Aramaic and Arabic influence which would not be po ible earlier, so J. is probably V. cent.