This topic was begun in “Job and the Land of Uz (1)”, and continued in “Job and the Land of Uz (2)”. In Part 1, the probable location of the land of Uz, where Job lived, was discussed. In Part 2, Job’s four visitors were identified. From both parts, the time period in which Job lived is being determined. Most of the material presented in (1) and (2) won’t be repeated here in the concluding Part 3.
Jb.1:1-3 Job dwelt in the land of Uz (Ausítis LXX), and was the greatest of the “men of the East”. Barnes Notes Jb.1:3 “East – The country which lies east of Palestine.” Old Testament (OT) scripture shows that the general area of the “East” wasn’t the lands of: Canáan, Egypt, the Philistines, Edom, the Midianites, the Amalekites. Egypt and Philistines were to the West; Edom and Midian to the South.
In the OT, the name Job (Strongs h347, Hebrew) appears only in the book of Job and in Ezk.14:14, 20. In no other verses. The name Jobáb (h3103) is a different name from Job (h347). Jobab is seen in Ge.10:29, 36:33-34, Jsh.11:1, 1Ch.1:23, 44-45, 8:9, 18. The name Iob (h3102) in Ge.46:13, also is a different name from Job (h347). This Iob is Jashúb in Nu.26:24 & 1Ch.7:1. (see Part 2 of this topic.)
The (supposed) Book of Jasher refers to the Jobab of Ge.10:29, and to the Iob of Ge.46:13. Jasher 45:5-7 “Jobab the son of Yoktan [Joktán, Ge.10:29] had two daughters…Adinah and Aridah….Issachár took Aridah and came to the land of Canaan…And Aridah bore unto Issachar four sons, Tolá, Puváh, Job [Iob or Jashub, Ge.46:13, Nu.26:24, 1Ch.7:1], and Shomrón.”
However, the Job in the book of Job had three daughters, Jb.1:2…not two. All Job’s children died, Jb.1:19. JFB Commentary Jb.1:19 “Including the daughters.” Later after his ordeal, Job had three more daughters, named: Jemimáh, Keziáh, Karenhappúch, Jb.42:13. The Jobab (h3103) of Ge.10:29, traditionally having only two daughters (as per Jasher), is a different man from the Job (h347) in Job.
The Iob/Jashub/Job of Ge.46:13 & Jasher lived in the land of Canaan and then in Egypt. That wasn’t the “East”. But the Job in the book of Job was the greatest of the men of the “East” (Jb.1:3). So Iob/Jashub (Nu.26:24 & 1Ch.7:1), the son of Issachar in Ge.46:13, isn’t the Job of the book of Job.
A postscript based on the Syriac version was added later to the Septúagint version of the book of Job. This postscript appears immediately after Jb.42:17 in our Septuagint/LXX book of Job. The postscript states that the Jobab (h3103) of Ge.36:33-34 was an Edomite and he was the Job (h347) of the book of Job. The postscript to the LXX Jb.42:17 follows (scripture references are inserted by me [in brackets]):
“It is written that he [Job] will rise with those whom the Lord resurrects. This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausitis, on the borders of Edom and Arabia. Previously his name was Jobab. He took an Arabian wife and begot a son named Ennon. But he [Job] himself was the son of his father Zare [LXX Ge.36:13, 17. Zara v.33 name differs], one of the sons [or grandsons] of Esau [Ge.36:10, 13], and of his mother Bosorra. Thus, he was the 5th son from Abraham. Now these were the kings who reigned in Edom, over which country he [Job] also ruled. First, there was Balak the son of Beor [Ge.36:32], and the name of his city was Dennaba. After Balak, there was Jobab, who is called Job [Ge.36:33]. After him, there was Asom [Ge.36:34], ruler out of the country of Teman. After him, there was Adad the son of Barad [Ge.36:35], who destroyed Midian in the plain of Moab; the name of his city was Gethaim. Now his [Job’s] friends who came to him were: Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Temanites [Ge.25:15]; Bildad, ruler of the Shuhites [Ge.25:2]; and Zophar [LXX Ge.36:15], king of the Mineans.” That concludes the postscript/appendix and our LXX book of Job.
There are problems with this additional paragraph to the LXX book of Job…it ignores or contradicts other verses of the OT. For example, in Ge.36:33 & 1Ch.1:44, Zara from Bozrah (LXX Bosorrha) was Jobab’s father. Bozrah/Buzrah was east of Bashan near the Hauran and edge of the Syrian desert, 60-80 miles S of Damascus (People’s Dictionary of the Bible). Another Bozrah became the capital city of Edom (ca 1000 BC?). But in the LXX postscript to Jb.42:17, Bosorrha is Job’s mother, not a place!
Barry Setterfield Job and Jobab: “About the ending of the Book of Job in the Septuagint…we note that the LXX ends with chapter 42 verses 16 and 17 where we are given Job’s age. This is part of the Alexándrian Septuagint. However, there is a rather lengthy paragraph which is NOT numbered that appears separately after the close of verse 17. This is an addition, and we are plainly told where this addition came from. The opening of this additional paragraph reads ‘This man [Job] is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Aúsis on the borders of Iduméa and Arabia…’ This, and all that follows, is clearly an editorial comment about the Syriac version of Job.”
Setterfield continues: “The first Syriac version of the Old Testament originated about 180 AD, which is well after the Council of Jamnia in 100 AD where the Masoretic Text originated. It therefore has nothing to do with the Alexandrian Septuagint Text which originated about 280 BC or over 450 years earlier. This inclusion therefore originates with the later Septuagints. This term Septuagint has come to mean any Hebrew to Greek translation. That is why we specify the Alexandrian LXX which was the most ancient. The time of 180 AD was about the time of Origen when he produced a number of Greek versions that conformed to the Masoretic Text of 100 AD.”
Setterfield indicates that the postscript to Jb.42:17 LXX is an insertion based on what the 180 AD Syriac version contained about Job. The postscript wasn’t in the previous old Greek version (or Alexandrian) of the OT. It was added over 400 years later to the Septuagint.
The Jobab of Ge.36:33 wasn’t the Job of the book of Job (neither was the Jobab of Ge.10:29). This understanding also can be ascertained from internal evidence of the actual text.
In the text of LXX Ge.36:13, 17, the name of Esau’s grandson is Zare. But in the LXX Ge.36:33 the name of Jobab’s father is Zara…not Zare. Similarly, LXX 1Ch.1:37 Zare vs LXX 1Ch.1:44 Zara shows the same discrepancy. Zare and Zara were two different individuals! The LXX postscript addition to Jb.42:17 confuses the names found in the actual LXX text.
In the Book of Jasher: Jasher 36:23 “The sons of Eliphaz the son of Esau were Teman, Omar, Zepho…and the sons of Reuel [son of Esau] were Nachath, Zerach.” Jasher 58:29 “Jobab the son of Zarach died.” In Jasher, the name of Esau’s grandson is Zerach, but the name of Jobab’s father is Zarach…not Zerach. Again, Zerach/Zera and Zarach/Zara were two different individuals.
Ellicott Commentary Ge.36:33 “Jobab – The LXX identifies him with Job, but on no probable grounds.” Gill Exposition Ge.36:33 “Jobab…this king some have thought to be the same with Job, but neither their names, nor age, nor country agree.” Pulpit Commentary Ge.36:33 “Jobab – identified with Job, an opinion which Michaelis declares to be insinis error.”
Catholic Encyclopedia: Characters of the Poem “The appendix to the book of Job in the Septuagint identifies Job with King Jobab of Edom (Gen.36:33). Nothing in the book shows that Job was ruler of Edom; in Hebrew the two names have nothing in common.” King Jobab wasn’t Esau’s grandson.
The postscript which was added to the LXX Job has errors. Gerard Gertoux The Book of Job, p.10 “This late comment (c. 160-150 AD) has many errors….Jobab died many years before Job’s death.”
And 1,000 years later, Ezekiel still referred to Job as Job, h347 (Ezk.14:14, 20)…not as Jobab, h3103.
Jasher 58:26-29 “The children of Esau took a man from the people of the east; Jobab the son of Zarach from the land of Botzrah. Jobab reigned in Edom over all the children of Esau ten years. At the end of ten years, Jobab died.” The King Jobab from Bozrah (Ge.36:33) died. That was circa 1767 BC.
{Sidelight: Here’s a brief chronology of the (foreign) kings of Edom from Ge.36:31-39 and the Book of Jasher: Bela ruled ca 1807–1777 BC (Jash.57:41-45). Jobab ruled ten years, ca 1777–1767 BC (Jash.58:26-28). Hushám/Chushám ruled ca 1767–1747 BC (Jash.58:29). Hadád the son of Bedád ruled ca 1747–1712 BC (Jash.62:3). Samláh ruled ca 1712–1690 BC (Jash.66:1-2). Shaúl ruled ca 1690–1640’s BC (Jash.69:1-3). BáalHanán ruled ca 1640’s–1614 BC (Jash.74:1-2). Hadár/Hadad (an Edomite) ruled ca 1614–1567 BC (Jash.78:1-3, 90:6-9). Moses sent messengers to this Hadar in the 40th year after the exodus, Nu.20:14-21; Moses died during his rule (ca 1572 BC). Joshua allotted the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel ca 1567 BC. Dates are approximate. also ref my topics “Chronology: Abraham to the Exodus” and “Chronology: the Exodus to Samuel.”}
Annette Yoshiko Reed Job As Jobab “In one of his letters, Jerome states that, in contrast to the Christians, the Jews of his time denied that Job was “of the descendants of Esau” (Letter 73; ca 398 CE). Arguing explicitly against the LXX Job appendix, Jerome then asserts that Job’s lineage should be traced through Uz, the son of Abraham’s brother Nahór (Quaest. In Gen. ad Ge.22:20-22) – apparently following a rabbinic tradition about Job’s identity (see Gen. Rab. 57:4).” See Part 1 for Nahor detail.
Time elapsed after the death of the Jobab of Ge.36:33-34 & Jash.58:26-28. Later in Jasher 66:15, Job is a counsellor to Pharoah. “Job, from Mesopotámia, in the land of Uz.” This was ca 1702 BC, or 65 years after the death of Jobab king of Edom. Then Jasher 67:24 “The king [pharaoh] sent and called his two counsellors, Reuél the Midianite and Job the Uzite.” That was ca the 1690s BC.
This Job the Uzite from Mesopotamia, summoned by Pharaoh, isn’t the Jobab who’d ruled in Edom and died 70 years earlier! (The man Reuel/Jethró later became Moses’ father-in-law, cf. Jasher 67:41.)
Approximately 1,000 years later, Jeremiah wrote of the “kings of the land of Uz” in Je.25:20 (not in LXX). Also Lam.4:21 (not in LXX), “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, who dwells in the land of Uz”. Cambridge Bible Jb.1:1 “These words do not imply that Uz is identical with Edom, but they imply that Edomites had possession of Uz….” Jeremiah indicated that Edomites, Esau’s descendants, dwelt in the land of Uz ca 600 BC.
Again, Jasher 66:15, the land of Uz in Mesopotamia was Job’s home. Mesopotamia was in the East. “Men of the East” dwelt there. Jb.1:3 Job was in the “East”. But Edom wasn’t in Mesopotamia nor part of the “East”. Jasher 67:24 Job is called a Uzite. see Part 1 about Mesopotamia.
ISBE: Uz “A kingdom of some importance somewhere in Southern Syria and not far from Judea.” Ancient Syria/Arám was in upper Mesopotamia.
Cambridge Bible Ge.22:21 “Uz as a locality in the Syrian region. It may denote a branch of an Aramean tribe. It appears as the birthplace of Job.” Catholic Encyclopedia: op. cit. “Job seems to have been an Araméan.” Pulpit Commentary Jb.1:1 “Arabian tradition regards the region of the Hauran, northeast of Palestine, as Job’s country.” The plain of ancient Hauran, towards SW Syria.
R.N. Coleman The Poem of Job “Josephus identifies the land of Uz with the territory of Damascus [Syria] and Trachonitis. The habitual residence of Job was in some portion of ancient Bashán.”
The book of Job refers to the Jordan River! Jb.40:23 “The Jordan rushes to his mouth.” So the land of Uz probably wasn’t all that far from the Jordan. Ancient Bashan was NE of the Jordan River.
Og was an Amorite king of Bashan after the time of Job. Moses recounted in De.3:13-14, “The rest of Gileád, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasséh. Jaír the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argób as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites”. Gill Exposition De.3:13 “The region of Trachonitis, in Bashan.” Pulpit Commentary De.3:14 “Geshuri and Maachathi were small Syrian tribes located to the east of [Mount] Hermon.”
It was ca 1572 BC when Moses/Israel conquered Og king of Bashan. Job was probably dead by then. R.N. Coleman op. cit. “The patriarch Job resided in Bashan, having been the predecessor of Og.”
In Job, there’s no mention of the nation of Israel dwelling in Canaan. Jewish Encyclopedia: Job “Jose b. Ḥalafta said that Job was born when Jacob and his children entered Egypt and that he died when the Israelites left that country.” Jacob and his descendants went down to Egypt ca 1827 BC. The exodus was 215 years later ca 1612 BC. Chuck Swindoll: Job “Though we cannot be certain, Job may have lived during the time of Jacob or shortly thereafter.” Jb.42:16 Job’s lifespan was 200 years or so.
The book of Job refers to the Temanites, Shuhites (Jb.2:11), Buzites (Jb.32:2), Sabeans (Jb.6:19b LXX). Temá was a son of Ishmaél (Ge.25:13-16), son of Abraham. Shúah was the son of Abraham by his concubine wife Keturáh (Ge.25:1-2). Uz & Buz were sons of Abraham’s brother Nahor (Ge.22:20-22). Shebá, from whom the Sabeans probably descended, was a grandson of Abraham & Keturah (Ge.25:3).
From Dr. Martin Anstey’s The Romance of Bible Chronology, p.8, Ishmael lived from 2031–1894 BC. Uz & Buz, Shuah, and Ishmael were all four of the same generation. These four would’ve been alive in the 1900s BC. Tema and Sheba were of the next generation (as was Jacob & Esau). Ishmael’s son Tema, progenitor of the Temanites, would’ve been alive in the 1900s BC. So would Abraham’s grandson Sheba, progenitor of the Sabeans. The Temanite and Sabean tribes also 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 Temanite, Shuhite, Buzite, and Sabean clans 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 the patriarch Job lived sometime between the time of Ishmael (died ca 1894 BC) and Israel’s exodus from Egypt (ca 1612 BC).
Stephen Vicchio Job in the Modern World, p 202 “Mugir el-Hambeli says, ‘Job came from the Damascan province of Batanea.’ [Batanea was the ancient land of Bashan, which lay NE of the Jordan River.] Moslem tradition suggests that after the death of his father, Job journeyed to Egypt to marry Rahme, the daughter of Ephráim [or Manasseh?], who had inherited from her grandfather Joseph his beautiful robe. Later, Job brought her back to his native Hauran.”
Joseph’s sons Ephraim & Manasseh were born in Egypt ca 1833 BC (cf. Jash.50:15). Their children would’ve been born in the (early) 1700s BC. Jasher recorded that Job spent time in Egypt as counselor to Pharaoh as late as the 1690s BC (Jash.66:15, 67:24). So Job and the daughter of Ephraim (or Manasseh) feasibly could’ve met in Egypt during the 1700s BC, and married.
Conclusion: Considering the several sources…they indicate that Job lived from approximately 1800–1600 BC. His land of Uz was most likely located NE of the Jordan River in Bashan, towards the Hauran of Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert.
Bible Topic Exposition 