- Whoever wrote it had to receive a special revelation from God concerning the scenes and conversations in heaven in Job 1-2.
- The author was especially inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21) to record the events and conversations between Job and his friends; or, if someone besides Job, he had records of all that was said in the various speeches, from someone who may have been present to listen.
- The book was no doubt written by an Israelite like all the other books of the Old Testament, for through Israel came the revelation of God (Romans 3:2).
- It was written before the law of Moses, for there is not the slightest reference to the law or any of its institutions.
- Job lived 140 years after the experience of calamities (Job 42:16), which would bring him into the period of the life of Moses.
- The art of making books was known at this time, as proved within the book itself (Job 19:23-24; Job 31:35). See note, Exodus 17:14.
- Job’s 140 years of leisure after his trial provided him with more than enough time to work on a record of his experiences, even leaving out the idea of divine influence and help in recording the many details of the conversations. How much more could we conceive of Job or Moses writing the book by divine inspiration!
- Moses received a revelation concerning the creation and many other things which form a part of his writings; so, if this book was not written by Job, then it could have been written by Moses, in part or in its entirety.
- No doubt Job and Moses lived at the same time in the vast wilderness section of the country from Arabia-Petra to the Persian Gulf (note, Job 1:1). For 40 years Moses was in this part of the world herding the flocks of Jethro, priest of Midian; these men could have spent much time together. The book could have been produced by either one of them or by both men together, before Moses returned to Egypt. This much is certain: Moses accepted the book as part of the divine revelation of God entrusted to the Hebrew people, and thus transmitted it to future generations.
- The style of the poetry does not seem to be that of Moses, but that in itself would not exclude him as having written part of the book, at least the last part-the history recording the end of Job’s life.
- Tradition says that the book was written by Moses; and this could well have been the case through inspiration. He could have also been given a record of the poetical section (Job 3:1-42:6), and could have added the historical parts of the beginning and the end. We can at least say that regardless of who wrote the book it is definitely inspired by God.
Job 1:1
Job 1:1 (NKJV) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
This is a statement of historical fact, not a myth. So it is with the statements in Luke 16:19-20, “There was a certain rich man … and there was a certain beggar.” The word certain further confirms the historicity of these men. All three men lived and had the experiences stated of them by Jesus Christ and the author of Job who was inspired by God. Their stories are not myths, parables, or allegories, any more than any other historical part of the Bible.
The land of Uz was south of Edom and west of Arabia, extending to the borders of Chaldea. In those days it could have comprised even Arabia-Petra itself (Jeremiah 49:7,20; Lament. 4:21; Ezekiel 25:13; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah 1:8-9).
Job, afflicted. He was the third son of Issachar, the son of Jacob (Genesis 46:13; Ezekiel 14:14,20; James 5:11). He is mentioned 56 times in the book that bears his name.
That man, emphasizing a particular man who actually lived at one time.
Finis J. Dake, Dake Topical Index, WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “Job, Authorship of”.