Reading: Historical Setting (Video Slides)
#4 Introduction to the Book of Job: The Historical Setting
The Historical Setting of Job
- Location:
Somewhere in Mesopotamia (“Land of Uz,” “people of the east”)
Where is the land of Uz?
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- “Mesopotamia”
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“Between the Rivers”
Tigris & Euphrates
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- Could also be:
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Yemen?
Sinai Peninsula?
- Time of Occurrence:
Probably during the Patriarchal period of Genesis (+/-2000 B.C.) (agrarian patriarchal society)
Events
- Job is Described:
Location: “Land of Uz” (1:1)
Character:
Blameless (1:1): “feared God and shunned evil”
Rich (1:2-3): many children, much possessions
Proactive (1:4-5): initiated sacrifices even when there was no specific evidence of wrongs
- Job is Tormented:
After a discussion in heaven about Job, everything is taken from him except his life and his wife!
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- Round 1—All his goods and children are destroyed in a single day
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Interlude: Job remains stoic and godly, but Satan questions further
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- Round 2—Job’s own physical health is sapped and pained
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Interlude: Job remains stoic and godly, but his wife gets annoying and his friends get pastoral
The Historical Setting of Job
- Connection with other biblical literature:
Paul quotes Job 5:13 (1 Cor. 3:19) & 41:11 (Rom. 11:35)
Ezekiel (14:14) & James (5:11) refer to Job
Written in Hebrew and found only in the Hebrew Bible
- More meaning will emerge through the dialogues
But for now, we leave Job in his misery
And we reflect on the great misery found in this world:
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- Who causes it?
- Who is in charge?
- Who sets the moral standards of human life?
- What response ought to be made?
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