The Book of Job is one of the Wisdom Books in the Old Testament. It does not contain any historical allusions which makes it difficult to discern the background and time period in which it was written (Gordis, 209). There are many theories about which language it was composed in. For example, one belief is that it is a translated work, which supports why the content is hard to interpret. The translator was most likely incompetent because of his lack of knowledge about the original language he was translating from (211). This undoubtedly caused the interpreter to impose idioms of his own language to the text which consequentially altars the meaning (211). On the other hand, however, many believe that it is difficult to decipher because the text is the original and not a translation (211). Others also pose that it originated in Egypt due to some words and descriptions that reference the culture, such as certain ways of expressing animals and sailing (212). Another possibility is that becuase the elite vocabulary surpasses other Biblical narratives, it is believed to be translated from Arabic but many people have their doubts as well (209). For starters, the select Arabic literature that has survived until current times do not make any references to Job. Additionally, the religious background of the Arabs do not coincide or align with the religious concerns that are developed in the Book of Job (210). The only highly regarded assumption is that the Book of Job was written by a highly educated and knowledgeable Hebrew in his own language (212). He was most likely an elite and was able to travel, which explains any detailed Egyptian references (212). Scholars are also uncertain about the time period in which the Book of Job was written, but many agree on the range of 500 and 300 BCE (Gordis, 216). The most reasonable conclusion is that it was somewhere around the beginning of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (5th century) because of the increased concern with the individual as seen in Job (216). Additionally, Job is aware of the notion of the afterlife but had difficulty accepting this, which was a prevalent mindset in this time period (217).
The Book of Job came into light after a “period of uncertainty” amongst the Jews. They lost the belief that their relationship with God was somewhat of a group commitment which was when the Book of Job surfaced. This is interesting timing since the Book of Job promotes an individual relationship with God as stated in a commentary on the Book of Job. Also stated in the commentary, “In general, we notice that all the works on Job were composed when there existed a contrast between the Alexandrian trend,which interpreted the texts of the Bible by making a large use of allegory, and the Antiochian trend, which gave preference to a literal interpretation”(Simonetti xix). The way the book of Job is interpreted is extremely controversial across religions and these trends have a lot to do with it. It influences the way people carry out their religion and their relationship with God. Another author, Janzen, writes more into the past of Job stating, “...the Book of Job was written in the exile and that the problems with which it deals arose in the existential tension between that historical upheaval and Israel’s religious traditions”(Janzen 5). This suggests Job was written around the time of the Babylonian exile in 597, which causes Jews to interpret human suffering through that historical lens.
Simonetti, Manlio. Job. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Old Testament, 6. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
Janzen, J. Gerald. Job. Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985.
Gordis, Robert. The Book of God and Man: A Study of Job. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.