Bible Facts: Job’s Ancient Truth

Job’s Timeline (~2000–1800 BC)

Job: A Gentile Faithful to YHWH

Job lived in Uz, likely Edom or northern Arabia (Job 1:1), around 2000–1800 BC, before Moses (~1446 BC). As a Gentile, outside Israel’s covenant (post-Jacob, ~1800 BC), he revered YHWH (Job 1:21: “YHWH gave, and YHWH has taken away”). His sacrifices (Job 1:5) were patriarchal, not Levitical, showing faith without priests. His wealth (7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, Job 1:3) and 140-year lifespan post-trials (Job 42:16) match patriarchs like Abraham (Gen. 25:7). Job’s repentance (Job 42:6: “I repent in dust and ashes”) earned YHWH’s favor, not blood.

His friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Job 2:11) from non-Israelite regions confirm his Gentile status. Job’s story, set before the Torah, shows YHWH’s unchanging nature, accepting direct faith.

Historical Evidence for Job’s Era

The Hebrew Bible places Job ~2000–1800 BC (Job 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 42:16). No scrolls from this period survive due to decay, but scribes’ texts from other regions support the timeline:

• Mari Tablets (~1800 BC): Syrian cuneiform texts describe nomadic tribes with livestock, like Job’s wealth (Job 1:3).
• Epic of Gilgamesh (~2100–1800 BC): Mesopotamian tablets on suffering parallel Job’s dialogues (Job 3–41).
• Tale of Sinuhe (~1875 BC): Egyptian story of a Levantine nomad mirrors Job’s Uz setting (Job 1:1).
• Dead Sea Scrolls (~200 BC): Job fragments (4QJob) confirm the story’s pre-Hellenistic Hebrew origin.

Read Job’s Hebrew text at Sefaria.