Job Lesson 01: The Place & The Time

Job 1:1b There was a man: Job was a literal man, not a fictional character made up to teach a lesson.

·       James 5:11; Ezek 14:20

The Land of Uz

Job 1:1b ¶ Job lived in the land of Uz

Gen 10:22-23 Uz was a son of Aram, a son of Shem

·       Job was likely a descended from Uz, the grandson of Shem

·       The land of Uz was an area, not a nation.

Lam 4:21 ¶ Edom, was in the land of Uz. Edom was Esau’s second name (Gen 25:30). Edom was the land of the Edomites.

Daughter of Edom would be a city.

·       Gen 14:8, 19:22-23 Lot fled Sodom into The city of Zoar at the south tip of the Dead Sea.

·       The rock city of Sela or Selah is in Edom many believe this was the city of Petra.

Land of Uz was in the land promised to Abraham or the land of Uz may have been the land promised to Abraham.

·       Remember Deu 32:8

Job 1:3: Job was the greatest of all the men of the east. East would be east of the land of Canaan. Compare this with Mat 2:1. Could the wise men who sought the one born the king of the Jews been descendant of Job?

When Job lived?

Before God brought Israel out of Egypt.

In the book of Job:

·       The law is not mentioned

·       The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) are not mentioned

·       Joseph and Egypt are not mentioned.

Job 42:16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

·       If his years were doubled he would have lived 280 years.

·       Gen 11:24-25 Nahor lives 148

·       Gen 11:32 Terah were 205 five years

·       Gen 25:7 Abraham's lived, an hundred 175 years.

Something else to consider: Job’s substance did not include gold and silver (Ch 1:3 with 42:12-13). Job did not amass a fortune in gold and silver. The first man to be seen with much gold and silver was Abram (Gen 13:2)

Job 31:24, 40

The four “friends” of Job may be tied to the time of Abraham.

The ‘friends of Job” may help place the time when Job lived as during the time of Abraham.

·       Eliphaz the Temanite: Gen 36:10.15; lists an Eliphaz as the first born son of Esau and Teman as his son. (Tema was a area of the land of Edom.)

·       Bildad the Shuhite (Gen 25:1-2) Shuah was a son of Abraham and his second wife.

·       Zophar the Naamathite; 1King 5:1 Naaman was a Syrian name. Naamah was a city of Canaan given to the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:41)

·       Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram (Gen 22:21) Buz and Ram were sons of Nahor, Abraham older brother. Also Buz was an area of Arabia

These men were younger than Job. Job was likely 140 old when these men came to him. Job could have been born at the time of Abraham but before Esau.

Another time considered by some commentators.

Gen 46:13 At the time Jacob took his sons to Egypt , his son Issachar had a son named Job. Some believe this was Job of the book of Job.

·       If this is so Job would have lived during the time of Joseph when Israel prospered in Goshen of Egypt. He would have liver during the 400 between genesis and Exodus.

I see a problem with this teaching.

·       In Job 1:15, 17 the Sabeans and the Chaldeans were used by Satan to kill the servants of Job and steal his possessions. They would have had to go through Edom, Moab, and Ammon to get to Job. Egypt’s army would have been Israel’s protector and considered an invasion into Egypt.

·       By the time Egypt ruled Gold and silver was desired.

·       Job was of the east not Egypt