The Dating of Job

The Dating of Job

The story of Job is of great antiquity. Only the accounts of Genesis are of an earlier age. More exact dating however is in great question. Some place Job as a contemporary of Abraham (most certainly incorrect) others as being during the exodus of Israel (equally improbable.) There is internal evidence that allows us to make a fairly accurate estimate. A number of individuals and tribes are mentioned in the biblical account. The following genealogical table will enable us to notice when Job’s contemporaries lived.

JOB (?)	ELIPHAZ & ZOPHAR	BILDAD	SABEANS	CHALDEANS	UZ
Abraham	Abraham	Abraham (Keturah	Abraham (Keturah)	Nahor	Nahor
Isaac	Isaac	Shuah (4)	Jokshan	Kemuel	Huz & Buz Land of Uz (6)
Jacob	Esau	Shuhites	Sheba (5)	Chesed (6)	Uzites & Buzites
Issachar	Eliphaz		Sabeans	Chaldeans	Barachel*
Job (1)	Teman
Jabushites (2)	Zephi (Zophar) (3)				Elihu

 

* While Elihu is the son of Barachel (Job 32:2), Barachel is not necessarily the direct son of Buz. There may be generations in between.

Supporting Texts: (1) Gen. 46:13; (2) 1 Chron. 7:1; (3) Num. 26:24; (4) 1 Chron. 1:35, 36; (5) Gen. 25:1, 2; (6) Gen. 25:3; (6) Gen 22:20-22

From the above chart, it is evident that it cannot be before the fourth generation after Abraham when the story of Job occurs. In fact, the specific mention of Eliphaz and Zophar (Zephi) almost demands that it be in the fourth generation. However, the question is open as to how long of a period should be assigned to a generation. One might reason from Gen. 15:16 that the fourth generation is the generation of the return from Egypt. However, a weakness to this is that Moses is the sixth generation from Abraham (Abraham-Issac-Jacob-Levi-Kohath-Amram-Moses [see Exod. 6:16-18.])

We can also infer with certainty that Job lived before the Exodus since the sacrifices of the last chapter are performed by Job, rather than by a priest. According to patriarchal practice, the firstborn son was the priest of the family. However Tola, not Job, is listed as the firstborn of the family of Issachar. This implies that either Job’s two older brothers had died or that they had not joined him in his immigration to Uz.

The above chart also makes it a reasonable assumption that the Job of our narrative is the same Job who was the son of Issachar (Gen. 46:13).

The Actors

There are five primary actors in the book of Job:

(1)    Job – Living in the land of Uz, descendents of Nahor, the religion of one God was probably predominant. If he was indeed the third son of Issachar, he must have moved northeast to Uz before Jacob took the rest of the family to Egypt. Perhaps he went there because of the famine which spread along the western and southern shores of the Mediterranean. He is called Jashub in Num. 26:24 and 1 Chron. 7:1. There we learn that he fathered a tribe called the Jashubites. If Job’s double blessing included life span, then he would have been 70 years old at the time of the narrative (Job 42:16).

(2)    Eliphaz – The Temanite. From the fact that Teman was his son, rather than his father, we gather that the oldest son had already become the patriarch of the family. This would place Eliphaz at an advanced age, perhaps in his mid-eighties, since he was a generation earlier than Job. This is also implied in the fact that another of the comforters, Zophar, was his grandson. His name means “my God is fine gold,” implying either materialistic parents or that he came from the gold mining region of Ophir in Arabia.

(3)    Bildad – A Shuhite. As the son of a concubine of Abraham, Keturah, Shuah was sent away after the death of Abraham into the east country (Gen. 25:6). Although Abraham was his ancestor, it is questionable whether he followed after the Hebrew religious beliefs. The meaning of his name is unkown for sure, though some trace it to mean “confusing love” or “disputant, son of contention.” However, if John Genung is right in the International Standard Bible Encylopedia, it means “Bel has loved,” thus indicating that his parents were idolaters and followers of the god Bel.

(4)    Zophar – A Naamathite. Naamath was a city in northwest Arabia. The Septuagint calls Zophar the “King of the Minaeans.” These people are identified in the Bible as either the “Maonites” (Jud. 10:12) or the “Mehunims” (2 Chron. 26:7). They apparently dwelt just south of the Seir, on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea. The meaning of his name is uncertain, various lexicographers giving it as “leaping,” “departing,” and “sparrow.” Being the grandson of Eliphaz, he must have been the youngest of the three, perhaps in his forties.

(5)    Elihu – A Buzite. As a descendent of a Abraham’s brother, it is likely that he still held to the pure religion of one God. This is evident in his speech as well. He apparently was very young since two of the other comforters were Eliphaz and Zophar, a grandfather with his grandson. Elihu states clearly that he is younger, probably considerably younger, than the other comforters in Job 32:4, “Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.” This might indicate a man in his twenties. He is spoken on as of “the kindred of Ram.” This may be a shortened form of Aram or Aramea. Aram was a grandson of Nahor and therefore of the same kinship as Elihu. Some of the rabbis, however, take Ram as a shortened form for Abraham. In either case, he would have been from the same family lineage.