Indicating in general terms the place of residence of Job, the postscript at the end of the book in the text LXX also determines the time of his life. According to her, he was the fifth from Abraham, i.e., he lived in the patriarchal period, but later than Abraham. The latter remark is proved by the fact that Job's two friends, Eliphaz and Bildad, are descended from Abraham, the former through Teman, the grandson of Esau, and the latter through Shebaiah, the son of Abraham, from Hetturah (see note to chapter 11, verse II). No less reliable is the general definition of the time of Job's life, in the patriarchal period. At least, the features of his life are quite reminiscent of patriarchal life. And above all, like the patriarchs, Job combines in his person the rights of the head of the family with the duties of a priest. In the absence of a class of priests, he himself offers sacrifices (I:5; cf. Gen VIII:20; XII:7; XXII:2; XXVI:25; XXVIII:18; XXXV:7). The characteristic of the pre-Mosaic patriarchal time fully corresponds to the peculiarity that the burnt offering offered by Job is a purifying sacrifice. Although according to the law of Moses, a similar meaning is given to every blood sacrifice, including burnt offerings (Lev I:4), but for the cleansing from sin there are established two special sacrifices, unknown to the Book of Job, for sin (Lev IV:29, 32-33) and guilt (Lev V:25; VII:1). The underdevelopment of the cult corresponds to the simplicity of social relations characteristic of antiquity. In the absence of a ruling authority in the form of kings or judges, the judgment is carried out by the people's elders (XXIX:7-25; cf. Gen XXIII:5-6). An indicator of great antiquity is further the method of writing, the carving of letters on stone (XIX:24), the use of the coin "kesita" attributed by the Pentateuch to patriarchal times (XLII:11; Gen XXXIII:19), the same as in the time of the patriarchs of musical instruments (XXI:12; XXX:31; Genesis IV:21; XXXI:27), Job's longevity, and, finally, the suppression of facts after the time of Moses in acquaintance with the events of the early time, such as the destruction of Sodom (XVIII:15), the flood (XXIV:18).

The time of writing the book. Job and its author. The usual data for deciding the time of writing and the author of this or that sacred book are its own testimony and the testimony of other sacred writers. But the book of Job itself does not contain strictly defined indications of the time of its compilation, and from extraneous evidence we know only the testimony of the prophet Ezekiel about it. His words: "Noah, Daniel, and Job... would have saved neither sons nor daughters from the four grievous plagues: the sword, famine, grievous beasts, and pestilence" (Ezekiel XIV:14-21) represent an almost literal repetition of the words of Eliphaz (V:20, 22) and thus indicate the existence of Book of Eliphaz by his time. Job. Thanks to such conditions, the question of the time of its writing and the author has evoked and continues to evoke a variety of answers in exegetical literature. In the space of time from Moses to the prophet Ezekiel and later, there is not a single period and epoch to which it would not be possible to date the writing of our book. And above all, according to the Talmud (Jar. Sola V, 8, 6. Bathra 15a), shared by Origen, bl. By Jerome, Polychronius, and expressed in modern times by Karpzovius, Eichhorn, Jan, Berthold, and Ebrard, the book of Job was written in the age of Moses. In support of this view, they point out not only its unfamiliarity with the law, prophets, history, and religious terminology of Israel, but also its similarity to the Pentateuch in language. Some Hebrew words and whole phrases are used only in these two books and nowhere else. Such are "semez" – "rumor", "rumor" (Job IV:12; Exodus XXXII:25); "maschasch" — "to feel" (V:14; Deuteronomy XXVIII:29), "Kesita" (Gen. XXXIII:19; Job XLII:11), "until... His breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils" (XXVII:3; Genesis II:7), "Job died,... full of days" (XLII:17; cf. Gen XV:15; XXV:8; XXXV:29). According to another view, the defenders of which include Rabbi Nathan, the Church Fathers Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and orthodox Protestant as well as Catholic exegetes Gefernik, Hahn, Keil, Delitzsch, Kalmet, Corneille, Vigouroux, Knabenbauer, and others, the book of Job was written in the heyday of Jewish literature and poetry, in the age of Solomon. It corresponds to it in character, content, form and language. Didactic in spirit, it is most suitable for the teaching direction that is expressed in the Psalms, Parables, and Ecclesiastes, and it also copes with them in certain points of doctrine. Such is the teaching about divine wisdom, its transcendence, participation in the creation of the world (Job XXVIII; Proverbs I-IX, especially VIII), and about the afterlife of man. On the question of him, Prince. Job expresses the same views as the psalms of the time of David and Solomon. In them, the author turns out to be a son of the epoch to which Heman, the compiler of Psalm LXXXVII belonged (Job XIV:13; Psalm LXXXVII:6; Job XIV:12; Psalm LXXXVII:11; Job XIV:21; Psalm LXXXVII:13, etc.). Job is similar to Psalm LXXXVII in calling the inhabitants of Sheol "Rephaim" (XXVI:5; Psalm LXXXVII:11); of the underworld, "abaddon" (XXVI:6; Psalm LXXXVII:12) and Psalm LXXXVIII in the name of the angels as "saints" (V:1; (XV:15; Psalm LXXXVIII:8). Common to all three are also separate thoughts and expressions (cf. Job VII:7; Psalm LXXXVIII:48; XIV:14; Psalm LXXXVIII:49; XVI:19; Psalm LXXXVIII:38; XIX:8, 13–14, 17; Psalm LXXXVII:9; XXVI:12; Psalm LXXXVIII:10). In the same way, in the disclosure of a similar doctrine, the same phrases are used in Job XIV:2 and in Psalm XXXVI:2; Job XV:35 and in Psalm VII:15; Job XVII:9 and Psalm LV:2-7; LXII:8–9; LXXII:26–28; XCIII:16–19; Job XV:25-26 and in Psalm LXXII:3-9; LXXIV:5–6; Job XXII:11 and Psalm XVII:17; Job XXII:13 and in Psalm LXXII:11; Job XXXVI:16 and in Psalm XVII:20; Job V:3 and Proverbs XXIV:30; Job V:17 and Proverbs III:11; Job XVIII:5; XXI:17 and Proverbs XIII:9; XX:20; XXIV:29; Finally, some Hebrew expressions, such as "alas" — "to be merry" (Job XX:18; Proverbs XII:18), "tahbullot" — "intentions" (Job XXXVII:12; Proverbs I:5), are found only in Book II. Job and the works of Solomon. As written in the age of Solomon, the book of Job was known, say the defenders of this view, to subsequent biblical writers who borrowed certain expressions from it. Thus, the words of Amos V:8, "Who made the seven stars and Orion," are taken from Job IX:9; the words of Isaiah XL:2: "the time of his struggle is over" in Job VII:1; XLIV:24–25: "The Lord alone has stretched out the heavens" in Job IX:8; XIX:5: "The waters of the sea shall be exhausted, and the river shall dry up and dry up" in Job XIV:11; XIX 11: "The princes of Iran have gone mad, the counsel of Pharaoh's wise counsellors has become senseless" in Job XII:24 (cf. also Job X:16 and Isaiah XXXVIII:13; Job XXXVIII:17 and Isaiah XXXVIII:10, etc.). If Amos and Isaiah are familiar with the book of Job, then it appeared no later than Solomon and his century, since from the death of Solomon to Jeroboam II, a contemporary of Amos, the Old Testament books did not appear, and there was no one to write them.

While the coincidences of the Book of Kings. Job with psalms, parables, bk. The prophets Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah (Job III, Ep XX) give the above-mentioned exegetes the right to consider it written in the age of Solomon, in the hands of other scholars these data turn into proofs of its later origin. It was not Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah who were acquainted with Book II. Job, and, on the contrary, the author of the latter — with their works. It is written later than them, written after Hezekiah, as Rigm argues, or at least in the age of Isaiah, as Strick asserts. Of the other exegetes, Ewald and Renan include the compilation of the Book of Kings. Job to the time of Manasseh; Hirzel to the time of Jochaz's captivity, since its author reveals an acquaintance with Egypt; Schrader, Noldeke, Reis — to the era of the Assyrian captivity, as indicated by XII:14–24 bk. Job. The most recent date of the compilation of the Book of Job is considered by scholars of the negative trend (Grotius, Cleric, Schrader, Dielman) to be the period after the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to this time allegedly because it bears in the language a strong Aramaic coloring, characteristic only of the post-exilic biblical writers; in grammatical forms and phrases it has a parallel in Psalm 136, in Daniel and the Targums, and, finally, in some points of doctrine (on Satan, guardian angels, — Job I-II; V:1; XXXIII:23) is similar to Book II. Daniel (IV:10, 14) and Zechariah (III:1–3).

The opinions of Western biblical scholars just enumerated found a place in the Russian book dedicated to Book II. Job, literature. Thus, Metropolitan Philaret (Book Job in Russian translation with brief explanations), His Grace Agafangel (St. Job the Much-Suffering) and Arch. F. Bukharev. (St. Job the Long-suffering) refer to it as one of the most ancient works of biblical writing. "By conjecture," says the first, "to the time of the patriarchs belongs to Prince S. Job." "This," remarks the latter, "took place before the Mosaic legislation" (p. 4). Bishop Irenaeus (Horde) considers the book of Job to have been written during the reign of Hezekiah (A Guide to the Sequential Reading of the Teaching Books of the Old Testament); Metropolitan Arsenius of Kiev (Introduction to the Holy Book of the Old Testament, Works of Kiev, D. Ak. 1873, II) and Prof. Yungerov (General Historical and Critical Introduction to the Holy Book of the Old Testament, p. 25, The Origin of the Book of Job, Pravosl. Sobesednik, 1906, March, p. 334) — before the Babylonian captivity; Mr. Pisarev (On the Origin of Prince Job. 1865. May) and Afanasyev (Teaching Books of the Old Testament) — in the age of Solomon, and Rev. Philaret, Bishop. Riga (The Origin of the Book of Job), based on its similarity to all the canonical books, presents it as the most recent work of biblical writing. The Book of Job is one of the earliest and latest works of the Old Testament canonical writing, such are the two extreme opinions about the time of its origin. But as to the former, it admits the impossible and improbable fact of the appearance at the beginning of writing of a work which is in content the height of religious reflection, and in form one of the greatest poetic works of the whole world, a poem most perfect in plan and majestic in execution. The period of legislation is not characterized by abstract theoretical reasoning, especially those that we encounter in Book II. Job. In particular, the works of Moses are imbued with faith in Divine Justice and the strict correspondence of piety to earthly well-being, and the book of Job not only expresses doubt about this, but also goes so far as to directly deny the truth in the matter of divine world government (see Chapters IX, X, XII). According to the teaching of Moses, the happiness of the righteous, the reward for godliness, consists in the use of earthly goods (Deuteronomy XXVIII). Just as Job did not rejoice in much of his riches and the acquisition of his hand (XXXI:25), so he did not fall into despondency when he lost them (I:21). For him, a pious man, earthly goods do not constitute the highest reward; such is God Himself (XXII:25), and the highest good is the consciousness of devotion to Him (VI:10). In a word, in the matter of the development of religious and moral consciousness, Prince. Job represents an undoubted step forward in comparison with the Pentateuch. Their appearance in one century is impossible. Nor can a second opinion be admitted. The pre-exilic origin of the Book of Job is evidenced by the above-quoted words of the prophet Ezekiel. Repeating verses 20-22 of Chapter V. Job, they assume its existence. As for the signs of its post-exilic origin noted by exegetes (the doctrine of Satan and guardian angels), they have no such significance. The doctrine of good spirits, in particular of guardian angels, is found already in Book II. Genesis (XXVIII:12–22; XXXII:1–2; XLVIII:16) and is revealed in Psalm XC, and Book II. Kings speak of an evil, deceitful spirit (1 Samuel XVI:14-15, 23; 1 Kings XXII:19-23). In view of this, there are no sufficient grounds to consider the same exact teaching of Book II. Borrowed from the Persians in the post-exilic period.

The book of Job was composed between Moses and the Babylonian captivity, most likely in the age of Solomon.

If the time of writing the book. Job can be determined more or less plausibly, the identity of its author remains completely unknown. Of course, it was not Moses, and there are as many reasons to consider Solomon as the author, as Gregory the Theologian and partly John Chrysostom assume, as there are any wise men of his time. Keil supposes, for example, that Emann was the author. An unknown Jew author, however, owns only the modern redaction of Book II. Job; it is thought to be based on a record not of Jewish, but of Arabic-Idumaean origin: "The origin of Prince. in Arabia is confirmed, says Prof. Yungerov, by the close acquaintance with the life of the peoples who inhabited Arabia has been discovered in it; e.g., a detailed description of gold mining in Arabia (XXVIII:1–11); understandable to the Lord's listeners with descriptions of Arabian horses (XXXIX:19-25), ostrich, onager, unicorn, peacock (XXXIX:1-18). Biblical Hebrew writers do not find anything of the kind, since in densely populated Palestine there could not be these animals that love the Arabian steppe desert expanse. Job's wealth consisted, among other things, of camels (I:3), and they are recognized as the property of the inhabitants of the deserts (Isaiah XXX:6), the steppes, the nomads, and the nomads (Judges VI:5; 1 Samuel V:21; Jeremiah XLIX:29). In none of the biblical books is there a description of crocodiles, or leviathans, as in the Lord's speech (XL-XLI). This may be explained by the assumption that a Jew who had not seen anything like it in his Jordan might not have understood such a description, but that the Arabs who had been to Egypt with their caravans (Gen. XXXVII:25-28, 36) and had seen these animals in the waters of the Nile might have understood it. In general, the foreign, non-Jewish, origin of the book is evident from the silence of the writer and the persons he describes about the Jews, the Jewish Old Testament law, the events of Jewish history, etc." (Orthodox interlocutor, 1906, March, pp. 336-337). If, in spite of his non-Jewish origin, the Book of Bishops. Job expounds a purely biblical teaching about God, the creation of the world, Sheol, good and evil spirits, and coincides in language with other Old Testament books, this is explained by the fact that the original record of the history of Job's sufferings and beliefs (XIX:24-27) became known to some inspired Jewish writer familiar with the Arabic language. He translated it into Hebrew, made perhaps certain alterations, brought it closer to the biblical views of the Old Testament, and, with the participation of Divine inspiration, compiled a canonical book (Ibid., p. 339). Traces of such processing are indicated, among other things, in a symmetrical calculation of Job's children and property: 7 sons and three daughters, 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels; 500 oxen and 500 donkeys; - in the timing of disasters to one day, as well as in a strictly executed plan, gradualness in the course of thoughts, constant parallelism of members, etc.

Composition and Main Idea of the Book of Job. The book of Job, consisting of 42 chapters, is divided into five parts: the prologue — chapters I–II; Job's conversations with friends — III–XXXI; Elihu's speeches — XXXII–XXXVII; the Lord's discourses — XXXVIII–XLII:6; Epilogue — XLII:7–36. Of these, the prologue contains, as in any drama, the beginning of the action, the three-time renewed dispute between Job and his friends. Not leading to the resolution of the cause of his sufferings, since the disputants remained in their views, it is nearing its end, thanks to the speeches of Elihu's younger friend: they caused the intervention of the Lord, accompanied by the denouement of the action in the epilogue. In such a framework is inserted the content of the book. Job, revealing the main idea that the sufferings of the righteous, constituting a manifestation of the struggle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (prologue), are at the same time indicators of its results, the final triumph of truth, the victory of good over evil. Stricken by Satan's slander with all kinds of disasters, Job remains faithful to God in the face of material deprivations (I:21-22; II:10), does not betray Him even when he is subjected to temptations of a spiritual nature. They consist in the possibility of losing faith in God as a just being, in renouncing Him. And indeed, Job is close to a similar state. In moments of the greatest excitement, the highest despair, he presents God as an arbitrary being, destroying the equally right and the guilty (IX:22-24), supporting the evildoers and the wicked (XII:6-10; XXI:1–16). The Almighty, Who does not tolerate and does not accept objections, the Lord (IX:4-12) violates the truth in relation to individuals and entire nations. The divine wisdom that governs their destinies is manifested and manifested in various kinds of catastrophes that lead to the destruction of entire nations (XII:16-25). For Job, such a view of the divine rule of the world is tantamount to a rejection of the previous religious worldview, one of the main points of which was the idea of God as a just being (XXIX:1-5). But it is impossible to renounce what the soul has become related to, what made up its life, its cherished convictions, without a struggle. The mind and heart of the sufferer do not reconcile themselves to the new idea of God, which has been formed under the influence of suffering and especially conversations with friends. The latter longs to see in God a merciful, just Judge (XIV:13-15; XXIII:3–7); reason comes to his aid, inventing a whole series of considerations with the help of which Job tries to justify God's attitude towards him, to present Him as a just being (X:2-12). As a result of such a struggle, faith overcomes doubt (XVI:19; XIX:25–27). Job justifies his own words that "the righteous will hold fast to his way, and the pure with his hands will be strengthened more and more" (XVII:9). By virtue of the age-old struggle between good and evil, the sufferings of the righteous, the representatives of truth, are inevitable. As a fact of their personal, subjective life, they find justification, reparation in their results, in the strengthening of the righteous in goodness: "I would be strengthened in my merciless sickness, for I have not rejected the sayings of the Holy One" (VI:10).

Authenticity of the Book of Job. Biblical isagogic literature does not know an example of denying the authenticity of the entire book of Job. Only certain parts are questioned: the prologue (I, II), the epilogue (XLII:7-17), Job's discourse on divine wisdom with a preceding discourse on the punishment of the wicked (XXVII:7 and d. XXVIII), the description of the hippopotamus and the leviathan (XL:10-XLI), and, finally, the discourses of Elihu (XXXII-XXVII).

The authenticity of the prologue and epilogue are rejected primarily on the main ground that, unlike the rest of the book, they are written in prose. But if, as Keil justly remarked, the middle of the book without a historical introduction and conclusion would be a torso without head and legs, then, on the other hand, the prologue and epilogue written in prose have an unmistakably poetic character. This is vouched for by the proportionality in the calculation of animals (I:3), the description of the heavenly council (I:6), and the poetic parallelism in Job's speech (I:21). Another given for the negation of the prologue and epilogue is the supposed contradiction of their idea to the book. While she expresses her own special, profound view of suffering, the author of the introduction, especially the conclusion, adheres to the usual Old Testament (Moses) theory of retribution. But as for the prologue, the teaching contained in it about the mysteriousness of Job's sufferings (the heavenly council is unknown to him and his friends) is an indisputable indication that when compiling it, the author took into account the views of the book on this subject. The epilogue, indeed, carries out the Mosaic theory of retribution and applies it to Job. But this is explained by the fact that Job's verbal justification alone without the return of earthly well-being is not able to satisfy the Old Testament man. Finally, as signs of the inauthenticity of the prologue and epilogue, the use of the divine name Jehovah in them is pointed out, which is not found in the poetic part, but is replaced by the names Elohim, Shaddai, the contradiction between I:18-19 and XIX:17, and the doctrine of Satan, a product of Persian influence. The first objection is based on a simple misunderstanding. The name Jehovah occurs twice in the poetic section (XII:9; XXVIII:28) and at least five times in the Lord's utterances (XXXVIII:1; XL:1, 3, 6; XIII:1). The more frequent use of the names Elohim and Shaddai in the speeches of Job and his friends is explained by the author's desire to convey to the whole action the flavor of the patriarchal, pre-Mosaic period, in view of which he avoids the name of the God of the covenant — Jehovah (cf. Exodus VI:3. I vol., p. 291). For the second objection, see the explanation of XIX:17 and the third, the end of the section of the Introduction, "On the time of the writing of Book II. Job."

The reason for denying the authenticity of XXVII:7 and so on and XXVIII is the apparent contradiction of their teaching with Job's basic views. In XXVII:7, etc., the sufferer himself expounds the very theory of retribution, the punishment of sinners, which he strenuously and persistently refutes in many speeches (see, e.g., XXI:7, etc.; XXIV). Ch. With the depiction of divine wisdom, incomprehensible to man, he seeks to arouse a feeling of humility before God, which does not correspond to Job's proud confidence in his rightness and the resulting unwillingness to repent (see, e.g., IX:21). But by acknowledging in XXVII:7 &c the fact of the divine punishment of sinners, Job wants to correct his former one-sided view, which amounts to the denial of Divine justice (see also the interpretation of these verses). It cannot be completely rejected, and at the same time it is impossible to deny the cases of impunity of sinners (XXI:7, etc.). In order to emphasize this idea, Job describes in Chapter XXVIII the divine wisdom that is incomprehensible to man: its activity in the distribution of happiness and misfortune in people's lives presents many mysterious things.

As interpolations, chapters XL:10 and d. and XLI constitute, according to Ewald, Meyer, Dielmann, and Fürst, the work of a sixth-century Jew who visited Egypt and described the two Nile animals. The following considerations serve as the basis for considering them a later insertion. (1) The meaning and purpose of Jehovah's utterances do not permit a description of animals in this passage. The visual through his depiction of divine omnipotence is appropriate in the first discourse, but not in the second, which reveals the idea of Divine Justice. 2) The very method of proving divine omnipotence does not achieve its goal. If all animals, including the hippopotamus and the crocodile, are subject to man (Genesis I:26), is it any wonder that they obey God? Secondly, the hippopotamus and the crocodile are Egyptian animals, unknown to the inhabitants of Palestine, and therefore the description of their power cannot produce a special impression, necessary in this case. (3) A lengthy description of animals is quite superfluous for the purposes of the second discourse, which is fully completed in XL:1-9. Conversely, XLI:26 does not constitute a conclusion, does not contain an indication of what Job must now answer (XLII:1&c).