This topic was begun in “Job and the Land of Uz (1)”. This Part 2 is a continuation. Most of the material that was presented in (1) to identify the land of Uz won’t be repeated here in (2).
Let’s now look to identify the ancestry of Job’s four visitors, and associate the time period when Job lived. The lineages of the four visitors differ, although it seems their common ancestor is Térah, father of Abraham. All four are gentiles, descending from: Nahór, Abraham/Keturáh, Ishmaél, probably Esau.
Jb.2:11 LXX “When Job’s three friends heard of all the evil that had befallen him, they came each one from his own country: Elipház king of the Temanítes, Bildád king of the Shuhítes, Sophár king of the Mináeans.” The LXX refers to these three friends as kings of their respective peoples.
Yet Job was the “greatest of the men of the East” (Jb.1:3), greater than his kingly friends. Job had more wealth, power, authority and influence. He said in Jb.29:25, “I dwelt as a king among his troops”.
After the three kings had conversed or argued with Job, Job’s fourth friend speaks up. He is Elihú, Job’s younger countryman. We’ll identify Elihu first.
Jb.32:2 LXX “Elihu the son of Baráchiel, the Buzite [Strongs h940 Hebrew], of the kindred of Ram [Arám?], of the land of Ausítis [Uz].” In the Greek LXX, Uz is called Ausitis. Job too was from Ausitis/Uz. Jb.1:1 LXX “There was a man in the land of Ausitis [Uz] whose name was Job.” Job, in the land of Uz/Ausitis, was one of the “men of the East”. His fellow Uzite Elihu was too.
The Buzites probably descended from Buz, the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor (Nahor was discussed in Part 1). Ge.22:20-23 “Milcáh has born children to your [Abraham’s] brother Nahor, Uz [h5780] his firstborn and Buz [h938] his brother, and Kemuél the father of Aram…and Bethuél.” Ellicott Commentary Ge.22:21 “Buz – probably he was the ancestor of Elihu (Job 32:2).” Benson Commentary Jb.32:2 “[Elihu] of the posterity of Buz, Nahor’s son.” Book of Jasher 22:21 “The sons of Buz [Nahor’s son] were Barachiel….” Elihu is descended from a Barachiel (Jb.32:2). Pulpit Commentary Jb.32:2 “By ‘Ram’ we are probably to understand ‘Aram’, the son of Kemuel, a brother of Uz and Buz.” In 2Chr.22:5, Araméans/Syrians are “Ram-mée (h7421 Ramites). So Job and Elihu, dwelling in Uz/Ausitis, were probably Arameans geographically. Both may descend from Abraham’s nephew Uz. Nahor, the father of Uz, had dwelt in Arám-naharáim/Mesopotámia (Ge.24:10).
Job’s friend Bildad was king of the Shuhites (h7747, Jb.2:11). Ellicott Commentary Jb.2:11 “Bildad the Shuhite probably derived his origin from Shúah, the son of Abraham by Keturáh.” Shuah was one of the six sons had by Abraham and his concubine wife Keturah. Ge.25:1-2 “Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. She bore to him Zimrán, Jokshán, Medán, Midián, Ishbák and Shuah [h7744].” (Moses’ wife Zipporáh descended from Midian.) JFB Commentary Ge.25:2 “From Shuah, Bildad seems to be descended, Job 2:11.”
So Bildad too descended from Terah and Terah’s son Abraham. Jasher 25:5 “The sons of Shuach [son of Abraham] were Bildad….” Barnes Notes Jb.2:11 “The country of the Shuhites,’ says Gesenius, ‘eastward of Batanea.” Batanea was the ancient land of Bashán, which lay NE of the Jordan River.
Job’s friend Sophar/Zophar was king of the Minaeans or Naamathites (Jb.2:11). The Minaean region was in Arabia; they did extensive spice trade. TimeMaps: History of Arabia “There is evidence for Minaean trading activity as far north as Gaza (in Palestine), and indeed as far afield as Egypt, and even Greece.” The boundaries of the territory ruled by Sophar are uncertain.
ISBE: Naamathite “A dweller in Naaman’; ho M(e)inaion basileus.” The king of Naaman/Minaean. Smith’s Bible Dictionary: Naamathite “Probably the Naamah where he lived was on the Arabian borders of Syria.” (Also, a Naamah was a town in the land which later was allotted to the tribe of Judah, Josh.15:41, “toward the coast of Edom southward”.) Zophar’s territory & ancestry isn’t certain.
Some sources tie Zophar to Esau’s grandson Zephó. Ge.36:15-16 “The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Temán, chief Omár, chief Zepho (Sophar LXX)….chief Amalék. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom.” Wesley’s Notes Jb.2:11 “Zophar is thought to be the same with Zepho (Ge.36:11), a descendant of Esau.” W.H. Bennett Genesis “Zepho is Zephí in Chronicles [1Ch.1:36], or according to the LXX, Zophar, which is probably the original form, cf. Zophar in Job.”
Ge.36:11-12 “The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho [LXX Sophar], Gatám, Kenáz…and Amalek” An Eliphaz was a son of Esau (Jacob’s twin brother). A Sophar/Zepho was Esau’s grandson. Job’s friend Zophar was perhaps this individual, the grandson of Esau.
If King Zophar of Jb.2:11 was the Zepho of Ge.36:11, then most likely the King Eliphaz of Jb.2:11 wasn’t the Eliphaz of Ge.36:11. It would be unusual for a father and his son Zophar (of Ge.36:11) to be ruling two different kingdoms simultaneously.
Jasher 64:6, 25 “Zepho reigned over all the children of Chíttim [Italy or Cyprus]….Zepho the son of Eliphaz [Ge.36:11] the son of Esau king of Chittim, and Hadád the son of Bedád king of Edom [Ge.36:35], encamped together.” This traditional book says Zepho (Zophar Ge.36 LXX) was a king and son of Eliphaz. But it doesn’t indicate that his father Eliphaz (Esau’s son) reigned over any peoples.
Was Job’s friend Eliphaz, king of the Temanites (Jb.2:11)…a descendant of Esau, or Ishmael? There’s no Eliphaz in Genesis before Ge.36:4 (a son of Esau). But Temá occurs earlier in Genesis:
Tema h8485 “desert”; of foreign derivation. 5 usages: Ge.25:15, 1Ch.1:30, Jb.6:19, Is.21:14, Je.25:23. Strongs Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary “Tema, a son of Ishmael, and the region settled by him.”
Tema h8487 “south”. 11 usages: Ge.36:11, 15, 42, 1Ch.1:36, 53, Je.49:7, 20, Ezk.25:13, Am.1:12, Ob.1:9, Hab.3:3. These verses relate to Esau/Edom.
Temanite h8489 “south to the right”. 8 usages: Ge.36:34, 1Ch.1:45, Jb.2:11, 4:1, 15:1, 22:1, 42:7-9.
“Tema” first appears in Ge.25:13-16, “The names of the sons of Ishmael are Nebaióth [the Nábateans], Kedár…Tema [h8485].” Ishmael (son of Abraham & Hagar) had 12 sons, one of whom was Tema. The tribe of the Temanites descended from this Tema, the son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham.
Jb.6:19a “The caravans of Tema [h8485] looked for them [streams].” Ishmael fathered Tema. JFB Commentary Jb.6:19 “N of Arabia Déserta, near the Syrian desert, called from Tema son of Ishmael (Gen.25:15).” Barnes Notes Jb.6:19 “This was the country of Eliphaz, and the image would be well understood by him. The caravans from Tema, journeying through the desert, looking for those streams.”
Is.21:11-17 is the oracles concerning Edom, Arabia, the caravans of Dedanítes (Ge.25:3), the land of Tema (Ge.25:15), and Kedar (Ge.25:13). These were 5 different tribes of peoples, all descended from Abraham. e.g. Edomites weren’t Temanites originally. Je.25:23-24 “Dedán, Tema, Buz.” These are 3 different tribes. Eliphaz was a Temanite (Elihu was a Buzite, Jb.32:2).
Pulpit Commentary Jb.2:11 “There was an Eliphaz, the son of Esau, who had a son Teman (Ge.36:4; 1Ch.1:35-36); but it is not supposed that this can be the person here intended [Job’s friend Eliphaz].” Fathers precede their sons. In Ge.36:11, Eliphaz was the father, Teman his son (not vice versa). To refer to King Eliphaz as a Temanite, carrying his son’s name, isn’t patrilogical. That’s backwards. Whereas, the son Teman might be called an ‘Eliphazite’ or ‘Eliphazian’, after his father.
Christopher Schwinger Origin of the Book of Job “Eliphaz the Temanite is obviously not Eliphaz the father of Teman in Gen 36’s Edomite genealogy [Ge.36:11], unless the father is living in the city of Teman which his son established.” But in Jb.2:11 LXX, Eliphaz was king of his “own country”.
Nave’s Topical Bible: Tema “A people of Arabia, probably descendants from Tema, Ishmael’s son.” Easton Bible Dictionary: Tema “South; desert, one of the sons of Ishmael and father of a tribe so-called (Ge.25:15), some 250 miles SE of Edom in the N part of the Arabian peninsula, toward the Syrian desert; the modern Teymá.” Wikipedia: Tayma “Tayma or Tema, located in NW Saudi Arabia, about 400 miles N of Medina. The Biblical eponym is apparently Tema, one of the sons of Ishmael.”
Ge.36:34b circa 1767 BC, Hushám from the land of the Temanites became king of Edom (for 20 years, Jasher 58:29). He was from the land of Tema, the son of Ishmael (Ge.25:15). Wikipedia: Land of Tema “The place where descendants of Ishmael’s son Tema dwelt. The Land of Tema was most likely in N Saudi Arabia, and has been identified with the modern Teima, an oasis. Noted people associated: Husham, Eliphaz the Temanite.” They were both from the land of Tema, the son of Ishmael.
So Job’s friend Eliphaz probably was a Temanite descended from Ishmael, not an Edomite descended from Esau. Jash.57:9 whereas Eliphaz the son of Esau as military leader was killed ca 1810 BC at age 83 in Rameses, Egypt. That Eliphaz, an Edomite from Esau, wasn’t a Temanite.
Another people in the book of Job are the Sabéans. Jb.6:19b “Travelers from Shebá [Sabeans LXX] search for them [streams].” Joseph Jacobs Sabeans “In Job 6:19 the Sabeans are mentioned in close association with the Temeans, an Ishmaelitish stock (Gen.25:15) that dwelt in Arabia (Isa.21:14, cf. Jer.25:23-24). Sheba must be carefully distinguished from the Cushite or African Seba (Gen.10:7).”
Sheba, from whom the Sabeans are thought to have descended, was a son of Jokshan and a grandson of Abraham by his concubine wife Keturah (Ge.25:1-6). JFB Commentary Jb.1:15 “Sabeans, descending from Sheba, grandson of Abraham and Keturah.” Sheba’s brother Dedan was a grandson. Shuah, from whom the Shuhites (Bildad) seem to be descended, was a son of Abraham & Keturah. So was Midian.
The Sabeans (from Sheba) and Minaeans were Arabian peoples. Joseph Jacobs op. cit. “Sabeans territory was situated between those of the Mineans and Cattabanes [of Arabia].” Catholic Encyclopedia, Arabia, p.665 “The two most important kingdoms of ancient Arabia are that of the Minaens and that of the Sabeans, whence the Queen of Saba [Sheba] came to King Solomon.”
To recap…The above sources indicate that Job’s four visitors most likely descended from: Nahor (Elihu), Abraham/Keturah (Bildad), Esau (Zophar/Zepho), Ishmael (Eliphaz). And all are from Terah.
Let’s now turn our attention to dating the time period in which Job lived. Job lived for 140 years or so after his ordeal (Jb.42:16). The Lord blessed Job double afterwards (cf. Jb.1:3 & 42:12). So God extended Job’s lifespan to perhaps 200 years (indicative of a patriarch). Also, Job’s wealth was measured in livestock…reflective of the patriarchal age (see Part 1). Jb.42:11 the qeesetáw (Hebrew) piece/weight of money is ancient…the term occurs elsewhere in scripture only in Ge.33:19 & Jsh.24:32.
Job lived in the land of Uz long after the Noachian Flood. Cambridge Bible Jb.22:16 “The reference is probably to the Deluge.” Job fathered 20 children (Jb.1:2, 42:13), in two families. He was a patriarch.
Uz & Buz, and Ishmael were all three of the same generation. From Dr. Martin Anstey’s chart in The Romance of Bible Chronology, p.8, Ishmael lived from 2031–1894 BC. (see the topic “Chronology: Abraham to the Exodus”.) Ishmael’s son Tema, progenitor of the Temanites, would’ve been alive in the 1900s BC. So would Nahor’s son Buz, progenitor of the Buzites. The Temanite (Jb.2:11) and Buzite (Jb.32:2) clans grew in the 1800s BC. They had become peoples by the time Job lived. So Job’s trials wouldn’t have been prior to the 1800s BC (before the Temanites & Buzites emerged as tribes).
Hyksos, Kings of Egypt and the Land of Edom: “Job speaks of ‘the troops of Tema’ (Jb.6:l9). Assuming that Tema is one of the tribes descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:l5), we would then have positive proof that Job also lived after the time of Ishmael. At the same time Job speaks also of ‘the companies of Sheba’ [Jb.6:19] who would be descendants of Sheba, a half-brother to Ishmael. The orthodox view has been that the Book of Job belongs to the era before the Exodus.” So Job lived sometime between the time of Ishmael (died 1894 BC) and Israel’s exodus from Egypt (ca 1612 BC).
In the Old Testament, the name “Job” (h347) appears only in the book of Job and in Ezk.14:14, 20.
Ge.10:23 the first Uz was a son of an earlier Aram. Ge.10:26-29 & 1Ch.1:19-23: Jobáb (h3103) and a Sheba were 2 of the 13 sons of Joktan. Jobab was a name similar to Job. Joktan and Peleg were the two sons of Eber (the first “Hebrew”). Joktan is considered the ancestor of many southern Arabian tribes. This Jobab was the same generation as Peleg’s son Reu. (Jobab and Reu were 1st cousins.) Reu was great-great-grandfather to Abrám. That would place Reu and Jobab four generations before Abraham!
But since there were no Buzite, Ishmaelite, or Temanite tribes until at least a few generations after Abraham… it’s highly unlikely that the early Jobab (h3103) of Ge.10:29 is the man in the book of Job.
There may have been a Iob who was an Israelite, a grandson of Jacob. Ge.46:13 lists the sons of Issachár (born ca 1870 BC) who went to Egypt with Jacob (ca 1827 BC), “Tolá, Puváh, Iob [h3102, Asum in LXX], Shimrón”. Cambridge Bible Ge.46:13 “Observe that Iob is a different name than Job in Jb.1:1.” And in Nu.26:24 & 1Ch.7:1, Issachar’s 3rd son is named “Jashúb”, not Iob. In Ge.46:13, “Iob” may be a transcription error (according to Strongs). Whatever this man’s correct name, he could have been alive in the 1700s BC.
But Iob/Jashub the son of Issachar, having gone to Egypt with Jacob ca 1827 BC, would’ve died in Egypt prior to the exodus of ca 1612 BC. Even if he was an infant in 1827 BC, and lived for 200 years, he wouldn’t have lived much past 1627 BC. That’s before the exodus. Also, Job was the “greatest of the men of the East”. Job probably lived many years in “the East” to attain such status. The tribe of Issachar (later) was allotted territory west of the Jordan River in the land of Canáan (Israel/Palestine). They weren’t “men of the East”. The land of Canaan itself wasn’t “the East” from the land of Canaan.
Catholic Encyclopedia: The Characters of the Poem “Job evidently didn’t belong to the chosen people [Israel]. He lived, indeed, outside of Palestine. Job belonged to the ‘people of the East’. Job seems to have been an Aramean.” (see Part 1 for Aramean detail.)
So it’s unlikely that the book of Job is about an Israelite, a descendant of Jacob/Israel.
Next, a postscript which was added to the Septúagint version of the book of Job will be considered, as well as names & chronologies from the (supposed) Book of Jasher.
This topic is concluded in “Job and the Land of Uz (3).
Bible Topic Exposition 