Was Job a Jew?

[Mgray82]

I’ve read in other quick searches via google, some sources say Job was not a Jew.

I’m currently reading Job. I’ve never heard this my whole life. Is this true?

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

That is an interesting.

There’s very little information about the guy, huh?

I tried looking up the time he likely lived, came up with different possibilities.

amazingbibletimeline.com/bible_questions/job-bible-timeline/

Was Job a Jew? How do you define a “Jew”? We talk-
ing pre-Abraham, post-Abraham, or post-Moses here?

He’s Abrahamic if nothing else.

 

[Polypore_Joe]

Hi,

I’m quite fascinated about this type of topic.

I know that the mystic Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) claimed to receive visions from the Old Testament (and New Testament, too).

In her book “Life of Jesus Christ” she states that Job lived approx. one generation after the time of the Tower of Babel dispersal. She claims in the book that Job was the great grandfather of Abraham’s mother. So according to Bl. ACE, he couldn’t have been a Jew. (I don’t think the chosen people were called Jews until after King David’s time), nor could he have been a Hebrew, which I believe is what folks called Abraham.

Anyways, regarding Bl. ACE’s vision, it’s all private revelation. We don’t have to believe it. There’s a chance it might be wrong (misinterpreted vision, faulty translation, etc.), but I find it to be quite interesting and my Spiritual Director encouraged me to read these types of things (knowing my spirituality). If you’re interested in it, you can google it, there’re online versions of the book for free, but I caution that it in no manner replaces the authenticity of the Bible.

God bless!

 

[Jon_S_1]

I’ve read in other quick searches via google, some sources say Job was not a Jew.

I’m currently reading Job. I’ve never heard this my whole life. Is this true?

Job is pre Abraham.

He is not a Jew as The Hebrew nation came about after Abraham.

He was a person like Noah who feared God and worshiped God, but I think the only label we could place on him is Middle Eastern Human of the land of Uz.

People get this confused because of where the book of Job is in the Bible, erroneously thinking the Bible is chronological as we read it.

If the Bible was chronological Job would be placed after the story of Noah in the book of Genesis.

 

[TimothyH]

Job is pre Abraham.

He is not a Jew as The Hebrew nation came about after Abraham.

He was a person like Noah who feared God and worshiped God, but I think the only label we could place on him is Middle Eastern Human of the land of Uz.

People get this confused because of where the book of Job is in the Bible, erroneously thinking the Bible is chronological as we read it.

If the Bible was chronological Job would be placed after the story of Noah in the book of Genesis.

This ^^^^ is a perfect explanation.

The Book of Job is supplemental to the Book of Genesis. Job supplements what we learn in Genesis. Both Genesis and Job are considered pre-history.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. (Job 1:1)

Job came from Uz which is not in Palestine. He was a “God fearer” which is a person who worships the Hebrew God but is not circumcised into God’s covenant family. God had not yet established his covenant with Israel when Abraham and Job walked the earth and so we cannot correctly call them Jewish as the Jewish religion Judaism had not yet been established.

Technically, the word Jew relates to those who come from the tribe of Judah, as opposed to Israel which were the other tribes. Jacob was the father of the tribes and so Abraham as Jacobs grandfather and Job from the land of Uz are not Jews in the strict sense of the word, nor are they Israelites.

-Tim-

 

[maklavan]

The issue of Job has interested scholars for a long time. Opinions range from; he did not exist; the story is an allegory written as a poem;he was an Egyptian pharaoh. The important thing is that it is the message that counts,not the medium

 

[chero23]

Job is pre Abraham.

He is not a Jew as The Hebrew nation came about after Abraham.

He was a person like Noah who feared God and worshiped God, but I think the only label we could place on him is Middle Eastern Human of the land of Uz.

People get this confused because of where the book of Job is in the Bible, erroneously thinking the Bible is chronological as we read it.

If the Bible was chronological Job would be placed after the story of Noah in the book of Genesis.

I never knew that Job happened probably after Noah, like you said, bc of were the his book is in the Bible I would of figured that he was alive during King David’s time.

 

[The_Serpent]

There are two Job’s in scripture. Jobab a son of Jectan, before Abraham. And Jobab a ruler in Bosra. I favor the earlier Jobab.

Read my case for Jobab here: carllebron.blogspot.com/search/label/Job

 

[steve53]

Job is the oldest book in OT by far.

Recent finds in Turkey suggest that civilization there goes back 11,000 years. This would make sense, as we know that Egypt’s civilized history goes back that far, and no reason why the fertile crescent shouldn’t be similar.

Jewish history goes back no more that 4000 years, though Josephus suggests 6000 years.

Moses borrowed from these cultures- ancient even to him- when he wrote his books.

A lot of OT “mysteries” like the Nephilem and Noah’s Ark have their origins there.

 

[bsroufek]

We should note, on this topic, that Job mentions “priests” at least once and I think more than once. Since Job was a man of God, what kind of “priests” was he thinking of, if not of Aaron?

Lending credence to Job being a real and historical person, we have Ezekiel 14:14, where God says, “even if these three men–Noah, Daniel and Job–were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

My Biblical commentary (New American) says Job was not a Jew, but I reject much of my Bible’s commentary as faithless (discounts miracles, etc) or inaccurate anyway.

I’m aware of Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich’s statements (not approved by popes) about Job being Abraham’s ancestor, but I find a lot of her statements contradict those of St. Mary of Agreda in her “Mystical City of God” (Life of Mary) which has been approved by several popes. So, I’m skeptical of Emmerich’s comments.

 

[The_Serpent]

Another interesting indirect support for Jobab being Job, born before Abraham. The following recent article mentions the Mohenjo Daro city, an interesting archaeological site. According to the article it was built by people called the Asurs. There is an Asermoth, a son of Jectan; also a brother to … Jobab. Is it possible the descendants of Asermoth, the Asurs built this early city after the flood and dispersion from the tower of babel?

theepochtimes.com/n3/293640-technically-advanced-ancient-tribe-built-indus-valley-civilization/?photo=1

 

[Jon_S_1]

We should note, on this topic, that Job mentions “priests” at least once and I think more than once. Since Job was a man of God, what kind of “priests” was he thinking of, if not of Aaron?

Lending credence to Job being a real and historical person, we have Ezekiel 14:14, where God says, “even if these three men–Noah, Daniel and Job–were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

My Biblical commentary (New American) says Job was not a Jew, but I reject much of my Bible’s commentary as faithless (discounts miracles, etc) or inaccurate anyway.

I’m aware of Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich’s statements (not approved by popes) about Job being Abraham’s ancestor, but I find a lot of her statements contradict those of St. Mary of Agreda in her “Mystical City of God” (Life of Mary) which has been approved by several popes. So, I’m skeptical of Emmerich’s comments.

There were plenty of priests before Abraham at least in the pagan world.

We know that Caan and Abel and Noah built altars with burnt offerings so we can know that they had at least some idea of how to worship God.

The priests in Job are definitely not Hebrew priests.

 

[Cyberseeker]

The Book of Job is supplemental to the Book of Genesis. Job supplements what we learn in Genesis. Both Genesis and Job are considered pre-history.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. (Job 1:1)

Job came from Uz which is not in Palestine. He was a “God fearer” which is a person who worships the Hebrew God but is not circumcised into God’s covenant family. God had not yet established his covenant with Israel when Abraham and Job walked the earth and so we cannot correctly call them Jewish as the Jewish religion Judaism had not yet been established.

Technically, the word Jew relates to those who come from the tribe of Judah, as opposed to Israel which were the other tribes. Jacob was the father of the tribes and so Abraham as Jacobs grandfather and Job from the land of Uz are not Jews in the strict sense of the word, nor are they Israelites.

Yes, agreed. Uz was one of the sons of Aram who founded Damascus. This and other descriptions suggest that he lived quite a bit earlier than Abraham, and probably in the hill country of modern day northern Jordan.

 

[Publisher]

If Job is one of the oldest OT books…it is doubful he is Jewish. He is Hebrew or Semetic. There were no 'Jews" until after the return of Judah from exile to the promised land.

 

[Ora_et_Labora_1]

The Syriac version of The Book of Job mentions him as the grandson of Essau.

 

[aragonjohn1]

Job is the oldest book in OT by far.

Recent finds in Turkey suggest that civilization there goes back 11,000 years. This would make sense, as we know that Egypt’s civilized history goes back that far, and no reason why the fertile crescent shouldn’t be similar.

Jewish history goes back no more that 4000 years, though Josephus suggests 6000 years.

Moses borrowed from these cultures- ancient even to him- when he wrote his books.

A lot of OT “mysteries” like the Nephilem and Noah’s Ark have their origins there.

the weird thing is the Egyptians and many other groups exaggerated their own history for prosperity and social standing so one has to trust historians and scholars ( such as fr. Spitzer, venerable bede, sir isaac Newton, Hillaire Belloc, G.K. Chesterton etc… ) for their glimpse of the full truth they study.

- THE
CHRONOLOGY
OF
ANCIENT KINGDOMS
AMENDED. By Sir ISAAC NEWTON.
the good thing is that Jewish history is largely still accurate in the sense of that time.

God bless

 

[TimothyH]

Whether Job is historically accurate and where Job actually comes from completely misses the point. Scripture was not written for the sake of historical accuracy but for the sake of salvation.

…Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. (Dei Verbum,

11)

Discussions about where Job came from or if his society actually existed are interesting, but at the end of the day such things only matter if they help us better understand God’s plan of salvation for us; how it points to the Christ who was to come (alegorical sense), how it helps us lead moral lives (moral sense), and how it teaches us about our own ultimate end (anagogical sense).

Job is supplemental to Genesis. It is intended to be read and understood in light of Genesis and in the context of Genesis.

The Syriac version of The Book of Job mentions him as the grandson of Essau.

The obvious solution is that the Syriacs are wrong and I are correct.

-Tim-