Who wrote Job? Some sages argue that the author was Moses.1 However, the vocabulary and syntax of the Pentateuch (also attributed to Moses) differ from Job’s. Further, Moses describes God as the very source of faith and justice [Deut. 32:5]. Moses would not feel the need to discuss the theodicy issue.

Other sages,2 attribute Job to Jeremiah, who – as already pointed out – raised the theodicy issue [Jer. 12:1]. However, his query was not favoured with a reply and was not discussed by him any further. There can, of course, be no doubt about Jeremiah’s standing as a poet. All the same, Jeremiah’s main object was to deal with the issues of his era, namely, the corruption of Judah and the military superiority of Babylon. In addition, the dialectic approach of Job was alien to Judah of Jeremiah’s period (the sixth century BCE).

Greenstein,3 concludes that the text was composed by a Jew residing in Yehud and suggests that the author was more conversant with Aramaic than with Hebrew. However, a Jewish Diaspora established itself in Damascus ever since the destruction of Samaria in 722 BCE.4 Indeed, Diaspora Jews came to Jerusalem after hearing of the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians.5 It is, thus, possible that the author was a Diaspora Jew, whose liturgical Hebrew was sparkling even if Aramaic was the language he spoke in his everyday dealings.

Admittedly, an identification of the author is speculative; but some clues about his personality are given in Job. To start with, the author is a scholar familiar with the dialectic approach to the examination of issues of ethics. He was, at the same time, a staunch believer in God’s greatness and in His having created the universe.6 He describes God as “…mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him, and prospered?” [9:3-4].7 Thus, he believed that God’s wrath would impact transgressors. These words would not be uttered by a sceptic or a disbeliever. In reality, God’s Replies (caps. 38-42:1-6) do not militate against Job’s own creed.8

Another clue given to us is Job’s familiarity with the pyramids9 and his knowledge of the Egyptian wisdom writings and religion and his approach to the concept of She’ol, discussed earlier on.

Was the author a priest? Probably, a member of the class would not utter Job’s reproaches and negative statements respecting God’s justice.10 It seems more likely that the author was a member of a non-priestly patrician family. It is probable that he travelled throughout the Levant.11 Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BCE, was by no means the first voracious traveller. Ulysses of the Odyssey, who lived long before him, comes to mind. Sinuhe, the Egyptian, whose story was known as early as the 19th century BCE,12 escaped from Egypt and travelled to what is Lebanon today. Genesis narrates the travels of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. It is believed that, like these characters, the author was a traveller and that he had eyewitness knowledge of the Levant.

Greenstein13 concludes that he was a resident of Judah from Jerusalem. “Yehud” of the Persian period, covering the 5th and 4th centuries BCE was, however, underdeveloped.14 In contrast, there were sophisticated Jewish settlements in Damascus15 and – as demonstrated by the Book of Esther – in Shushan [Susa] and, of course, in Babylon.16

The author’s familiarity with astronomy – mentioned earlier on – suggests that he might have been a scion of the Jews exiled to Babylon with King Yehoyakhin in 597 BCE.17 Mesopotamia was renowned for its mastery of astrology. In contrast, astronomy and astrology were not practised in Judah or, later on, in Persian Yehud. 18

Support for the view that the author was a Diaspora Jew is derived from three arguments. First, Job is one of the very few books of the Old Testament that does not refer, directly or indirectly, to Judah or Jerusalem. Job and his three comrades come from other countries of the Near East and although Elihu’s lineage is Jewish, he is not stated to have lived in “Yehud” or Judah.

Secondly, Job’s patent bitterness and his fierce arguments respecting the theodicy issue are more likely to have been the fruit of an exile’s bitterness than the utterances of one who returned to or lived in Yehud. A member of this second group would have been far more likely to sing the praise of the Almighty, who induced Cyrus the Great to sanction the return from the Babylonian exile.

Thirdly, the author is highly sophisticated and well read. He would appear to have been familiar with the wisdom literature of the Levant19 as well as with weather conditions uncommon in Jehudah but prevailing in region such as Assyria.

Greenstein’s view20 that the book was, originally, meant for circulation amongst a limited circle of readers is supportable. This is especially so if the original version did not comprise Elihu’s speeches and God’s Replies from the Whirlwind. It is forcefully arguable that two separate members of this circle added these chapters. With their addition, Job did not militate against the creed of the day. When a council of sages, convened in Javneh in 90 CE, considered which books might have to be excluded from the MT, Job was not questioned.21

  1. Bava Batra, p.14b ↩︎

  2. Ibid., p. 15a. ↩︎

  3. Op. cit., at p. xxvii. ↩︎

  4. And note that the Book of Esther evidences the existence of a thriving Jewish Diaspora community during the 4th century b.c. And see Jer.: 40:11 and 41:4. ↩︎

  5. Jer.: 41:5-8. ↩︎

  6. See in particular 6:10, cited above. ↩︎

  7. And see 31:23. ↩︎

  8. And note that Job does not believe in resurrection: 7:8-9 and text related to nn. 75-77 supra. ↩︎

  9. See 3:13 which, literally translated, refers to ‘ruins’. Greenstein, op. cit., at p. 14 demonstrates that the Hebrew Haravot ought to be read as Haramot, derived from mr [pronounce ‘mer’] which refers to the pyramids in Mid-Egyptian. And see P. Dickson, Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, (California, 2006), at p. 164. ↩︎

  10. But note that Jeremiah [12: 1-3] raises the theodicy issue. ↩︎

  11. Job 6:18-19 confirm his familiarity with caravans and travelling in general. ↩︎

  12. For a neat exposition, see J.P. Allen, Middle Egyptian Literature, (Cambridge U.P., 2015), at pp. 55 et seq. ↩︎

  13. Op. cit., pp. xxvii-xxviii. He concludes that the author was a highly educated man familiar with earlier biblical writings. ↩︎

  14. See Finkelstein, op. cit, pp. 4 et seq. ↩︎

  15. Note that Ben Hadad granted King Ahab the privilege of “making streets for thyself in Damascus”: Kings I: 1:34. The Diaspora there would have grown following the fall of Samaria in 722 BCE. ↩︎

  16. The sophistication of this Diaspora is demonstrated by Ezekiel’s prophecies. ↩︎

  17. Kings II: 24:8-15. ↩︎

  18. Amos 5:8 also refers to heavenly constellations. But note that Amos prophesied mainly on the Northern Kingdom, which was not landlocked. ↩︎

  19. See Greenstein, article, op.cit. ↩︎

  20. Op. cit., at p. xxviii. ↩︎

  21. The canonization of the MT is outside the scope of this paper. See, generally, McDonald and Sanders (Eds.), The Canon Debate, (Michigan, 2019) and especially P.R. Davies, “The Jewish Scriptural Canon in Cultural Perspective” at pp. 36 et. seq. For the Javneh Council see J.P. Lewis, “Jamina Revisited” pp. 146 et. Seq. ↩︎