Book of Job
book of the Bible
The Book of Job (Biblical Hebrew: אִיּוֹב, romanized: ʾĪyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ('Writings') section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.
The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonian Hebrew and Aramaic influences, indicates it was composed during the Persian period (540–330 BCE), with the poet using Hebrew in a learned, literary manner. It addresses the problem of evil, providing a theodicy through the experiences of the eponymous protagonist. It is structured with a prose prologue and epilogue framing poetic dialogues and monologues, including three cycles of debates between Job and his friends, Job's lamentations, the Poem to Wisdom, Elihu's speeches, and God's two speeches from a whirlwind.
Job is a wealthy God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God discusses Job's piety with a character called the adversary (הַשָּׂטָן, ha-sāṭān, lit. 'the adversary'; i.e. "the satan"). The adversary rebukes God, stating that Job would turn away from God if he were to lose everything within his possession. God decides to test that theory by allowing the adversary to inflict pain on Job. Job is tested through extreme suffering, including the loss of his wealth, children, and health, yet he maintains his piety while challenging the justice of God.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4577. VIAF identifies the subject as 186698577. The Library of Congress control number is n79045430. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Book of Job” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.