Prophet Job a flesh and blood reality

by Damien F. Mackey Introduction There is no doubt that the person of the prophet Job, as well as the Book of Job itself, its language, and its authorship, present huge challenges for the biblical commentator. Whilst there are available many useful commentaries to expound for us various of the intricacies of the Book of Job, sadly their usefulness does not carry over, I have found, to any satisfactory elucidation of the book’s historical locus – presuming that it is, indeed, of an historical nature. That this important aspect of the Book of Job still remains rather poorly understood can be gauged from the following statement about the book’s authorship, by F. Knight (Nile and Jordan, James Clarke and Co., Ltd., London, 1921, p. 379): The authorship, date, and place of composition of the Book of Job constitute some of the most keenly contested and most uncertain problems in Biblical Criticism. There is perhaps no book in the Canon of Scripture to which more diverse dates have been assigned. Every period of Jewish history, from BC 1400 to BC 150, has had its advocates as that to which this mysterious and magnificent poem must be relegated, and this criticism ranges over 1200 years of uncertainty. The problem of the historicity of the life of Job appears to be an age-old consideration; for we find that at least as far back as the C13th AD (by conventional reckoning) the question was being hotly debated in the Schools. St. Thomas Aquinas (In “Expositio super Job ad litteram”) was one who had insisted that Job, and those who engaged in debate with him, were genuine historical persons. In this he was opposing himself to the likes of Moses Maimonides (In “Guide of the Perplexed”, III. 22), who had expressed a contrary view. Aquinas had written in the Prologue to his “Expositio”: “Now there have been some men to whom it seemed that the Job in question was not something in the nature of things but that he was a kind of parable made up to serve as a theme for a debate over providence, the way men often invent hypothetical cases to debate over them”. Against such a view Aquinas, however, opposed the clear references to Job in the Old and New testaments, namely: Ezekiel 14:14, 20, in which God states that Jerusalem had at that time (just prior to the Babylonian Captivity) become so corrupt that even if such holy men as Noah, Daniel and Job had been living in it - though these three would have escaped with their lives - they would not have been able to have saved any others in the city from imminent destruction. James 5:11, in which the Apostle praises Job’s steadfastness. Thomas Aquinas had, in the course of his commentary, pointed to certain details of an historical nature in the text of Job itself that he believed to confirm this view; for example that very first verse of the Book of Job: “There was a man in the land of Uz by the name of Job ...” (1:1), in which Job is described with respect to his native land, and with respect to his name. These two items of information, he believed, had been provided to show that this story is not a parable but a real occurrence. (“Expositio”, Ch. 1). We encounter the same situation again later on in the Book of Job, where the young Elihu is introduced into the story as “Elihu, the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of the line of Ram” (Job 32:2). From this information we learn about the young man’s name, his origin, his native land, and his race. Elihu is in fact the only character in the Book of Job who is accorded a patronymic; for nowhere in this book are we supplied with the name of Job’s father, nor of the father(s) of his three friends. Thomas Aquinas, though his purposes were purely interpretative, had nevertheless listed the historical problems of the book as: “The time Job lived”, “his parentage” and “the authorship” of the book. As it happens, these are the very kinds of problems that concern us here. Language of the Book of Job With regard to the authorship of the Book of Job, one would need to include an explanation for what the following piece by Edward L. Greenstein has entitled: The Strange Language of the Book of Job https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-strange-language-of-the-book-of-job/ The ideas of the Book of Job have always been challenging. How can a just God not only permit but orchestrate the terrible suffering of a truly righteous person? It is hard to get one’s head around that question. But no less challenging is the language of the book. The grammar and vocabulary go far beyond what might be excused as poetic license. The language is strange — so strange that the earliest translators, into Aramaic and Greek, frequently stumbled over it, and the great medieval Bible commentator, Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, suggested that the book, which is basically Hebrew, must have been translated from another language. Some scholars in modern times too have proposed that the book’s difficulties must result from having been translated from another language, such as Edomite — a barely known Canaanite language akin to Hebrew — or an early dialect of Arabic. In fact, however, in spite of its occasional foreign elements, the Book of Job is essentially a Hebrew composition. The narrative in prose that frames the book is good biblical Hebrew, albeit of the later (post-Babylonian exile) variety; and the large majority of verses in the poetic core of the book, the dialogues, are entirely Hebrew. Its language is so difficult because the author of Job was a skilled poet who knew how to employ dialect, allusion, wordplay and more to lend sophistication and flavor to his work. …. A recent denial of the historicity of Job A friend of mine, who well knows of my interest in the historicity of the Scriptures, complained to me last year (7th October, 2024) that his parish priest had denied that Job was a real person, the priest claiming that his view on this would generally be supported by Jewish scholars. I took up the matter on my friend’s behalf even though I did not know this particular priest, not had I personally heard what he had said. Here is a modified version of what I wrote about this in a newsletter: “My friend came to me with sadness in his eyes. Told me that he wanted help before his [faith expires]”. (Bangladesh, George Harrison, modified) Dear Father, You don’t know me and I don’t know you. I am writing this on behalf of a distressed person, a believer that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, who had the misfortune to hear two homilies from you in which you allegedly (I was not there) stated that the prophet Job did not exist as an historical entity, and that the multiplication of the loaves was likely symbolic. Apparently you claim to have been educated by Jesuits. …. Apparently you claimed to be right in step with the majority of Rabbis in your view that Job was not historical. The Jewish Encyclopedia tells me otherwise: https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8692-job “Apart from these utterances all of the rabbis took it for granted that Job existed …”. Wise men have noted that the fact that young Elihu in the Book of Job has been provided with biographical details, patronymic, geography and race (Job 32:2): “… Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram …”, is an indication that he was a real person. …. The Book of Job clearly sets the narrative in the Chaldean era, which followed the neo- Assyrian era. The marauders were militarily organised. ‘The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them’ (Job 1:17). …. I think that those Jesuits educators may have left you up the creek without a paddle. You not only have to cast doubt on the Old Testament by denying Job, but you must also contend with the New Testament, with Jesus’s loyal servant the Apostle James (5:11): “As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy”. According to your minimalising view there can be no “what the Lord finally brought about” resolution for the long-suffering prophet Job, because Job did not exist. Everything that Jesus Christ said and did had great meaning, often lost upon we Western schooled thinkers. With the loaves, I do not want to go into the details of how the 12 basketsful correspond to the 12 baskets of loaves that the Pharisees traditionally brought to an ordination ceremony, nor the 7 baskets of loaves that the even more strict Scribes (= Essenes) brought. It suffices to say that, even apart from the miraculous element - which you appear to question - something quite out of the ordinary was involved here. Where, Father, will your diminishing of the Scriptures end? It is a very slippery slope. Will it turn out to be like the US Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, re-writing the Bible by erasing supernatural or miraculous bits in the hope of making Jesus Christ more reasonable, but, thereby, completely losing the power of His story? …. Even after having scrutinised the Book of Job, one will end up with virtually nothing by way of biographical details for the holy man. Chaldean Era One possible clue may come early, in Job 1:17, where the Chaldeans are mentioned: “While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans set up three companies and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you’.” Although the Chaldeans were an ancient people, this incident, “three companies”, sheloshah rashim (שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁים). may perhaps bespeak of a time when the Chaldeans were militarily organised. While that is admittedly very thin evidence, (i) it, coupled with (ii) the fact that the Book of Job probably most of all resembles the Book of Jeremiah, of the Chaldean era, and also, as some have suggested (iii) young Elihu’s likenesses to the prophet Ezekiel, also of the Chaldean era, may point us to - for the later phase of Job’s life - the Chaldean kingdom following that of the neo-Assyrians. Fortunately for us the prophet Job appears in the Bible under four different names (guises), the first of which will – as we are now going to find – greatly enrich our understanding about who Job was; who were his parents and ancestors; when did he live; and where did he live? Here follows the full story of the prophet Job Outline history of Job (i) As Tobias, son of Tobit Forget about Job’s being some Arabian sheikh, or Edomite king – e.g., the Jobab of Genesis 36:13. No, Job was not a Gentile, but was an Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali. He was Tobias, the son of Tobit and Anna (Tobit 1:1-9). Apparently born in Naphtali, the young Tobias was taken into captivity with his parents, to Nineveh in Assyria (cf. v. 10) – taken captive there by Shalmaneser (v. 2). A note: Here, biographically, we have the very origins of the fictitious composite Mohammed, supposedly of the C7th AD, whose various associations with the city of Nineveh, which disappeared in c. 612 BC (conventional dating), are horribly anachronistic. Mohammed is clearly based upon the holy Tobias inasmuch as the names of his parents closely equate to the names of the parents of Tobias, TOBIT and ANNA. Tobit and Tobias are actually the same Hebrew name (variously spelled to avoid confusion), Obadiah (עֹבַדְיָה), with the Hebrew ayin (ע) rendered in the Greek with a Tau (𝜏). This common Hebrew name means “Servant of the Lord”. Now, Mohammed’s parents are said to have been ABDULLAH and AMNA, the former being basically the Arabic equivalent of Obadiah, with the latter, Amna, being almost identical to Anna. The long life of Tobias, 99 years according to one version (Douay-Rheims), 117 years according to another (NRSV), would have spanned the latter part of the reign of Shalmaneser; the full reign of Sennacherib; the reign of Esarhaddon; and right down until the Medo-Persian era, because, as the Book of Tobit concludes (14:15): Before [Tobias] died he saw and heard of the destruction of Nineveh, and he saw its prisoners being led into Media, those whom King Cyaxares of Media had taken captive. Tobias blessed God for all he had done to the people of Nineveh and Assyria; before he died he rejoiced over Nineveh, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen. This takes us right past the Chaldean era, for which we suspect we might have found some hints in the Book of Job. In conventional historical terms, the life of Tobias, long as it might have been, would impossibly have had to have spanned about two centuries. But my revised chronology greatly shortens this historical period, getting rid of duplicates of kings, thereby enabling for Tobias to have lived during the latter neo-Assyrian period; the entire Chaldean period; and on into the Medo-Persian period. (ii) As Job If Tobias grew from childhood to marriage from the reign of Shalmaneser (who is also Tiglath-pileser) to the reign of Sennacherib (who is also Sargon II), both Assyrian kings, then his later life (his worst trials, at least) could indeed have coincided with the long reign of the Chaldean king, Esarhaddon (who is also my Nebuchednezzar, amongst others). It is not impossible, then, that Elihu the Buzite who counselled Job was none other than the prophet Ezekiel son of Buzi (the Buzite?) (Ezekiel 1:3) of the Chaldean era. That would explain why the young Elihu was so far wiser than Job’s three friends. It would also make sense for Ezekiel twice to refer to Job (Ezekiel 14:14, 20), as already noted. He well knew Job. Hence, I think, the prophet Ezekiel may be a potential author of the Book of Job. Their Transjordanian location might also explain why the language of the Book of Job, while being Hebrew, is somewhat challenging (recall the “Shibboleth” factor: Judges 12:6). There are many parallels between Job and Tobias, not least the commonality of having seven sons, rare in the Bible. I have discussed these fascinating parallels in my article: Job’s Life and Times https://www.academia.edu/123131569/Job_s_Life_and_Times If Job was Tobias, son of Tobit, as I firmly believe him to have been, then we are now faced with three different ages for him at death: 99 and 117 from two versions of Tobit, and 140 from the Book of Job (42:18). Without wanting to be definitive here, I would simply estimate the historical span covered for him in the Book of Tobit, from birth to death, to be about 80 years. (iii) As Habakkuk Apart from Jeremiah, Job is often likened to the prophet Habakkuk. To give just one excellent example of this: https://www.amazon.com.au/Prophet-Sage-Intertextual-Connections-Habakkuk/dp/1666765813 The Prophet and the Sage: Intertextual Connections between Habakkuk and Job Paperback – 29 March 2023 by Brian M. Koning (Author) ________________________________________ …. Job and Habakkuk represent the Bible’s most focused interlocutors on the concepts of justice and theodicy. Both works center upon men chosen by God who see and suffer evil (Job 1:8, cf. Hab 1:1). Both books record the cries of these men as they wrestled to make sense of the world in which they lived (Job 3, cf. Hab 1:2–4). While they have a passing similarity, what if there is something more fundamental to their connection? What if these books are not merely two unconnected discourses on suffering, but linked in a significant way? By examining the texts themselves, this study explores the possibility that a textual relationship exists between portions of Habakkuk and Job and how the underlying transformation of Job’s theodicy shapes Habakkuk’s dialogue with God. [End of quote] Habakkuk is, I believe, simply another version of Job. The peculiar name, “Habakkuk”, is likely not Hebrew, but Akkadian: https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/391/Habakkuk.pdf “The name may be rooted in the Akkadian hambakuku (a type of plant) …”. Now, where would Job have picked up an Akkadian name? In Assyrian Nineveh, of course, where he had lived the major part of his life. Just as Daniel and his three young friends had been given foreign names, so, presumably, would Tobias-Job have been in Nineveh. In the Book of Daniel (14:33-36), Habakkuk is miraculously transported by an angel to Babylon to feed Daniel in the den of lions. Was it the same angel, Raphael, who had once guided young Tobias to Ecbatana (Bashan), a place he did not know, who now carried him by the hair to Babylon, a place he did not know? And, to complete the trifecta, was the angel Raphael who accompanied Tobias, who air-lifted Habakkuk (?), the same being as Job’s ‘advocate’ in heaven (Job 16:19)?: ‘Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high’. The angel Raphael may be as a golden thread linking the three manifestations of Job. (iv) As Haggai Our prophet, who, we found, lived to see the dawn of the Medo-Persian era, would also live to see the building of the second Temple, about which his father Tobit had testified (Tobit ch. 13). As the prophet Haggai, he would, in the 2nd year of Darius the Persian, urge on the Jews to complete the work (Haggai 1:1). No doubt the Jews, who loved to use (hypocoristicon) nick-names, would have sought to shorten the awkward foreign name of Habakkuk to, just, Ha..kku (Haggai).