Bible Timeline · Set in the days of the patriarchs

Job: Suffering and the Sovereign God

Job was a good man in the land of Uz who lost his wealth, his children and his health in a short time. His friends said he must have sinned, but God Himself answered Job from the whirlwind. Many believe Job lived around the time of Abraham, though the book's writing date is debated.

Read it in the Bible: Job 1:1-22 Job 2:1-13 Job 19:25 Job 38:1-41 Job 42:1-17 James 5:11

Job was a righteous man who lost almost everything in a short time: his wealth, his ten children and his health. The book of Job tells how he wrestled with God, how his friends got it wrong, and how God finally spoke to him out of a whirlwind. Many believe Job lived around the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, before Moses. When the book was written is debated. It is the Bible's deepest look at the question nearly everyone asks: why do good people suffer?

When Did Job Live?

The book does not give a date, but there are clues that it is set in the age of the patriarchs:

Job lived 140 years after his trials, in Job 42:16, a lifespan like the patriarchs in Genesis.
His wealth is counted in livestock and servants, like Abraham's.
Job offers sacrifices for his family himself. There are no priests, no temple and no Law of Moses mentioned.
Uz and some of the names in the book, like Eliphaz the Temanite, connect to families listed in Genesis.

That is why this timeline places Job around 2100 BC, in the days of the patriarchs.

Who Wrote the Book of Job?

The author is not named. The Talmud says Moses wrote it. Others suggest Job himself, Elihu, Solomon or a later wise man wrote it down. The traditional view is that the story is set in Abraham's time, and some say Moses wrote it down. Many modern scholars date the writing to about 600 to 400 BC, because of its language and the big questions it asks. Either way, copies of Job were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including one written in the old Paleo Hebrew script from about 200 BC, and an early Aramaic translation too.

What Happened to Job?

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. Job 1:1

The book opens with a scene in heaven that Job never sees. God points out Job's faithfulness.

Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:8

Satan replies that Job only serves God because God protects him. God allows Satan to test Job, but sets limits. In one day, raiders steal his animals, fire falls, and a wind collapses the house where his children are feasting. Job's response is one of the most famous lines in the Bible.

saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.” Job 1:21

Then Job is struck with painful sores from head to toe. He sits in the ashes scraping himself with broken pottery. Still, the book says, "In all this, Job did not sin in what he said," in Job 2:10.

What Did Job's Friends Get Wrong?

Three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, come to comfort him. To their credit, they sit with him in silence for seven days. That was the best thing they did. Then they open their mouths.

For most of the book, the friends argue that God always punishes the wicked and blesses the good, so Job must have done something wrong. Job insists he has not. He is honest and raw with God. He complains, he asks why, he wishes he had never been born. But he never lets go of God.

But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

In the end, God says the friends did not speak rightly about Him, and Job did, in Job 42:7. The friends had a neat formula. Job had real faith with real questions. God preferred the honest questions.

How Did God Answer Job?

Finally God speaks out of a whirlwind in Job 38 to 41. Surprisingly, He never explains the scene in heaven. Instead He asks Job a long list of questions about creation.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Job 38:4

God takes Job on a tour of the stars, the sea, the storm and wild animals. The point is not "be quiet." The point is that God's wisdom and care reach far beyond what Job can see. If God runs the universe this well, He can be trusted with Job's pain too. Job's answer is humble and beautiful.

My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Job 42:5

Job does not get every answer. He gets God, and that turns out to be enough. Then God restores Job, and he receives twice as much as he had before, along with ten more children.

Why Do Good People Suffer, According to Job?

The book does not give one simple answer, but it teaches some very important things:

Suffering is not always punishment for a person's sin. The friends were wrong to assume it.
There is more going on than we can see. Job never knew about the scene in heaven.
God allows honest questions and lament. Job's complaints are in the Bible.
God is sovereign. Even Satan had to ask permission and stay within limits.
God is good, even when life does not make sense.

How Does Job Point to Jesus?

Job longed for a mediator who could stand between him and God, in Job 9:33, and he said his Redeemer lives. Jesus is that Redeemer. He is the truly innocent sufferer, the One who lost everything though He had done nothing wrong, and who was vindicated when God raised Him from the dead. James points to Job as a model of endurance.

See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11

If you are hurting today, Job gives you permission to bring your real questions to God. You may not get every why answered. But you can know the God who is full of compassion and mercy, and who in Jesus has suffered alongside us.

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Questions People Ask

When did Job live?

The book gives no date, but many believe Job lived around the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He lived 140 years after his trials, offered sacrifices himself without priests, and measured wealth in livestock, all like the patriarchs in Genesis.

Who wrote the book of Job?

The author is not named. The Talmud says Moses wrote it, while others suggest Job, Elihu, Solomon or a later wise man. Many modern scholars date its writing to about 600 to 400 BC, though the story itself is set much earlier.

Is Job the oldest book in the Bible?

Some believe it is, if Job lived before Abraham or Moses and the story was written down early. Others date the writing much later. We don't know for sure, but its setting is among the oldest in the Bible.

Why did God allow Job to suffer?

Job 1 and 2 show Satan claiming Job only served God for the blessings, and God allowing a test within set limits. God never explains this to Job, but shows him His wisdom and care in creation. The book teaches that suffering is not always punishment and that God can be trusted when we don't understand.

Sources

4Q101, Paleo Job, Dead Sea Scrolls Bible Translations

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