![]() ![]() We cannot say for sure when the Book of Job was composed, although the Dictionary of the Bible proffers a tentative date of 400 BC.Scholars who believe Job is fictitious have argued that the narrative sections of the book of Job (chapters 1–2 42) present a fictional story. Although ‘leviathan’ is usually interpreted as being a whale, Isaac Asimov points out in his Asimov’s Guide to the Bible: The Old Testament that the author of the Book of Job may well have been Egyptian, and that he may have had a Nile-dwelling animal, such as the crocodile, in mind. Which beast or animal this verse specifically refers to has been the subject of some debate, with perhaps the most likely candidate being the hippopotamus (Job 40:21-22 makes it clear that this large animal lives by water).Ĭonversely, ‘leviathan’, which is referred to in Job 41:1, is clearly a water-dwelling creature, since God asks Job (rhetorically) whether Job, a mere man, could draw leviathan with a hook (that is, out of the water). ![]() Job 40:14 sees God mention ‘behemoth’, which is simply the plural of the Hebrew word for ‘beast’. And later, in chapter 38, God refers to Arcturus again, when reminding Job of His might when compared with Job’s mere mortal powers.Īnd it’s also in this connection that the Book of Job makes reference to what are probably the two most famous monsters referred to in the Bible: Behemoth and Leviathan. For instance, Job 9:9 makes reference to several constellations and stars in the night sky: Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades. There are some noteworthy details mentioned in the Book of Job: details we don’t find in any other book from the Bible. And we cannot say that the book’s author (or rather, authors: the book was probably the work of several hands) entirely disagrees with this orthodoxy: there is much wisdom in their comments, and they are trying to help Job to understand why he might find himself in such a predicament. The book is about the universality, the unavoidableness, of human suffering.Īs the authors of Dictionary of the Bible point out, Job’s ‘comforters’ or friends are there to represent the orthodox theological views of the time. Job’s righteousness is relevant here, of course, but the dialogues are more wide-ranging than his individual situation. As the authors point out, the common interpretation of the meaning of the Book of Job is too narrow: rather than being a story about the suffering of the righteous, specifically, the book is about suffering in general: the setbacks and afflictions every human being must face at some point. He recovers his faith at the end of the book, following God’s reminder of his all-powerfulness, but before this point he doesn’t exactly have the patience of a saint.Īnother common misapprehension is highlighted by the Dictionary of the Bible. It’s understandable that he should start to doubt the goodness of God in such circumstances. He is, after all, only human, and he has undergone a great number of afflictions and losses. During the length dialogues and speeches which form the majority part of the book, Job is seen as impatient with his suffering, and far less pious and trusting in God than the general perception of him usually allows. For a start, Job wasn’t anywhere near as patient as he is commonly assumed to have been.
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