It agreed upon by most Bible scholars that the story contained within the book of Job occurred (writer unknown) before Moses and the Law, mainly because within the last verses of the last chapter (ch. 42) contains the clue. V. 15 says that though Job had 7 sons, he gave his 3 daughters "inheritance among their brothers". In the OT this is only done if there are no sons. Also, I find it interesting that the 3 daughters' names are the only ones given, those are usually omitted in Bible.
The writing was post Moses (Torah) but obviously not pre-Abraham as we see that 2 of Job's friends are descendants of Abraham. See Job 2:11 (Eliphaz is a Temanite which is a descentant of Esau [cf Gen. 36:11], and Bildad is a Shuhite, descendant of Abraham by his 3rd wife Keturah [cf Gen. 25:2]....also, Job's 4th friend who doesn't come into the picture until ch. 37 is a Buzite, a descendant of Nahor, Abraham's brother [cf. Gen. 22:21].
The writing was post Moses (Torah) but obviously not pre-Abraham as we see that 2 of Job's friends are descendants of Abraham. See Job 2:11 (Eliphaz is a Temanite which is a descentant of Esau [cf Gen. 36:11], and Bildad is a Shuhite, descendant of Abraham by his 3rd wife Keturah [cf Gen. 25:2]....also, Job's 4th friend who doesn't come into the picture until ch. 37 is a Buzite, a descendant of Nahor, Abraham's brother [cf. Gen. 22:21].
Another interesting fact is the pre-law burnt offering (given by Noah, Abraham and Isaac). God Himself tells Job's friends to offer 7 bulls and 7 rams (42:8). This whole issue of pre-law burnt offerings is very interesting and deserves its own study.
Job 42:10 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, we see that Job's fortunes were not returned to him two-fold after he repented (in 42:1-6), but rather (v.10) "the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends". Showing us the importance of prayer, but also of intercessory prayer and what Jesus said in Matt. 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
On a lighter note, I heard Chuck Swindoll's study on Job on the radio a while back, and recall his humorous observation was that God is full of grace...because He gave Job two-fold of everything he owned (42:12-15).....except children - restored to him were exactly what he had before: 7 sons and 3 daughters). That one made me LOL!
May the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob bless you!
Lu
Job 42:10 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, we see that Job's fortunes were not returned to him two-fold after he repented (in 42:1-6), but rather (v.10) "the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends". Showing us the importance of prayer, but also of intercessory prayer and what Jesus said in Matt. 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."On a lighter note, I heard Chuck Swindoll's study on Job on the radio a while back, and recall his humorous observation was that God is full of grace...because He gave Job two-fold of everything he owned (42:12-15).....except children - restored to him were exactly what he had before: 7 sons and 3 daughters). That one made me LOL!
May the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob bless you!
Lu
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