sent away "eastward to the land of the East," to which Job himself belonged. Here, then, we seem to have some sort of clue to the time and place of Job. Uz, again, is mentioned as a descendant of Shem in Gen. x. 23; and in xxii. 21, he is said to have been the son of Nahor, and brother of Chesed, possibly the father of the Chasdim or Chaldeans of Job i. 17. Job thus may be traced perhaps through Uz to Nahor the brother of Abraham; at all events, there is a similarity in the names found in both cases. Once more, Eliphaz was the son of Esau and father of Amalek (Gen. xxxvi. 10, 12), and Teman was the son of Eliphaz, so that Eliphaz the Temanite, the friend of Job, may probably either have been this man or a descendant of his. Tema, again (Job vi. 19), was a descendant of Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 15), so that these lines, however faint, all point to what we may call the age of the patriarchs between Abraham and Moses for the time at which Job flourished. It is plain also that a generation or two was enough to establish a tribe or family, for when Israel came out of Egypt, Amalek the grandson of Esau had become a powerful people, who were even regarded as ancient (Num. xxiv. 20). The only nearer guide we have to the precise age of Job is on the supposition that Eliphaz the Temanite was the son of Esau of that name (though it is strange he should be called after the name of his own son), in which case the children of Jacob would be contemporary with Job. Following out this supposition, the late Dr. Lee of Cambridge calculated that Job died forty-seven years before the Exodus (Book of Job, p. 34). Whether or not this is correct, there at least seems to be very good reason to believe that the age of Job fell between the entry of the Israelites into Egypt and the Exodus. If so, we then are able to arrive at some idea as to the

VI. Author of the Book of Job. There is nothing whatever to guide us on this point except the evidence of the book itself, coupled with any such considerations as have already been noticed. There is but one solitary fragment of tradition, which is that Job, like the Pentateuch, was the work of Moses. This may be worth nothing critically, but as a tradition it is simply the only one that exists. If, however, the age of Job was that of the patriarchs between Abraham and Moses, as there is every reason to believe, and if the book is authentic, as its place in the Canon would seem to imply, then there is no one so likely as Moses to whom it can be referred. If it was written before the Exodus, that would account for the silence of the book with reference to that and to all subsequent events of Jewish history; and while the influence of the Book of Job is traceable in the Psalms and prophets, it manifests various points of contact with the Book of Genesis, which alone of the books of Moses can have been in existence at that time. It is not improbable, but, on the contrary, highly probable, that Job himself may have thrown together the various speeches of himself and his friends-and manifestly no one would have been so fit to do this as himself; but we can hardly account for the acceptance of the book by the people of Israel, unless it had been specially commended to them by some one in the position of the great Law-giver; and who so likely as he to have supplied the historical framework of the book, and reduced it to its ultimate form? I venture to think that the Mosaic origin of the book is really more probable than the Solomonic or the Exile origin of it. Certain phrases in Job are peculiar to, or characteristic of. Moses: for instance, -'abhuddah rabbah (Job i. 3 and Gen. xxvi. 14); "the

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sons of God" (Job i. 6 and Gen. vi. 2); the fire of God" (Job i. 16 and Gen. xix. 24); "his bone and his flesh (Job ii. 4 and Gen. ii. 23); "they lifted up their voice, and wept " (Job ii. 12 and Gen. xxi. 16, xxvii. 38, xxix. 11); "they scattered dust toward heaven" (Job ii. 12 and Exod. ix. 10); the "seven oxen and seven rams " of Job xlii. 8 and Num. xxiii. 1; the strange word (qěsitah), found only in Job xlii. 11, Gen. xxxiii. 19, and Josh. xxiv. 32; the “earring of gold" (Job xlii. 11 and Gen. xxiv. 22), used afterwards by Solomon (Prov. xi. 22, xxv. 12); their father gave them inheritance among their brethren" (Job xlii. 15; comp. Num. xxvii. 7). Bearing in mind that there are but three chapters in which to trace these similarities, they are even more numerous than we could expect to find them. Besides this we may mention, in the book generally the name of God, Shaddai, the Almighty, which is so frequent in Job, but, with the exception of the Pentateuch, is not found above twice in any other book, and only eight times in all the other books together; the notion of Divine communications conveyed in sleep, as in the case of Abraham, Jacob, &c.; wealth consisting in flocks and herds, and the like. There is no mention in Job of Tarshish, Hermon, or Lebanon; but, on the other hand, Jordan is mentioned. There is a possible allusion to the Fall (Job xxxi. 33) and to the Deluge (Job xxii. 16), though this is not certain in either case. The grosser forms of idolatry of a later age are not mentioned in Job, but only sun and moon worship (chap. xxxi. 26-28). The Rephaim of Gen. xiv. 5, Deut. ii. 11, 20, iii. 11, 13 are mentioned (Job xxvi. 5). The character given to Job (chap. i. 1) is like that ascribed to the patriarchs Jacob (Gen. xxv. 27) and Joseph (Gen. xlii. 18; comp. Gen. vi. 9 and xvii. 1). The feasting of Job's sons every one in his day is like the feast on Pharaoh's birthday in the history of Joseph. "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither" (chap. i. 21) is an echo of "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen. iii. 19). The deep sleep falling on men " (Job iv. 13, xxxiii. 15) is like the "deep sleep that fell on Adam and Abram (Gen. ii. 21, xv. 12); but the word here used occurs only three times elsewhere. There is a probable allusion to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha in Job xviii. 15; and the "side" in Job xviii. 12 may possibly mean the "wife," in allusion to Gen. ii. 22. The "harp" and the organ" of Job xxi. 12 and xxx. 31 are identical with Gen. iv. 21, but not found in juxtaposition elsewhere, nor at all except in Ps. cl. 3, 4. In Job xxxi. 32 there seems to be a reference to Gen. xix. 2. In Job xxxii. 8, xxxiii. 4, 6; comp. Gen. ii. 7 (799) -něshāmah-is used in all). In Job xxxiv. 12; comp. Gen. xviii. 25. In Job xxxiv. 20, 25 one might almost imagine an allusion to the death of the firstborn. In Job iii. 18 we, at all events, find the v-noghës— of the bondage; while in Job xxii. 30 there may possibly be an allusion to the intercession of Abraham for Sodom. At all events, these points of contact between Job and the Book of Genesis, which under the supposition of the Mosaic origin of the book could have been the only part of the Bible in existence when Job was written, and the early history of which must, at any rate, have been familiar to Moses, are at least strong enough and many enough to give support to the theory, if they do not establish it conclusively. It must be borne in mind that we have every reason to believe that the several books of the Bible were the work of well-known actors in the Bible history, and not of casual and insignificant authors. In the New

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Testament it is so with the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Hebrews, and it is probably so in every case in the Old Testament. It is not likely that there is in the Old Testament the work of any man who is not known to us from the history, whether in the case of Chronicles, Judges, Ruth, or Job. But if this is so, as seems most probable on every ground, and if we are right in maintaining the antiquity of Job, then there is no one so likely to have written it as Moses. Indeed, with the exception of Job himself (whose virtual authority for the book must be presupposed in any case, if it is a true history), there is no one else who can have written it. We find here that acquaintance with desert life, and with Egypt, for example, which were combined in Moses, but scarcely in any one else. The pyramids may perhaps be spoken of in Job iii. 14; while the familiarity with the crocodile and the ostrich, not to mention other points, sufficiently shows this.

In

VII. Doctrine of the Book of Job.-There is distinct knowledge of God as the Creator of man, and the Author of nature (chaps. ix., xxviii. 8, 9). "Thine hands have made me and fashioned me." "Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?" (chap. xiv. 15). "Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands" (chap. xxvi. 8, 10). The speeches of Elihu and of the Lord abundantly show that they identify the Author of nature with the moral Governor. Elihu's words, "the spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (chap. xxxiii. 4.), he not only recognises God as his Creator, but even does so in words which almost involve the knowledge of Gen. ii. 7, when they are compared together; while in declaring the righteousness of God as the ultimate Judge (chap. xxxiv. 12), he almost repeats the words of Abraham. It is hardly possible to read Job without reading into it a variety of allusions to other books, and discovering points which will largely tend to confirm our preconceived notions, whatever they may be; but these considerations must be borne in mind:-(1) Is the date of Job likely to be early or late? Formerly it was always regarded as one of the oldest books in existence; but though some have put it as low down as the Captivity, and of course thought they discovered reasons in the book itself for doing so, it seems to me beyond all question that, as the book undeniably describes a very early state of society, so it must belong to that early period. (2) If the traditional and apparent succession of the books of Scripture is in the main correct, then there can have been only one book of the whole which was in existence when Job was written, namely, the Book of Genesis; now, on the supposition that the records of this book were known, then it is not a little remarkable that the points of contact between the two are numerous and striking. And therefore, (3) so far as this is the case, the fact must be allowed to go some way in confirmation of this hypothesis as the right one. theocratic tone of Job is exactly that of Genesis. The history of Joseph (e.g.) in that book presents in its view of human life a marked resemblance to the teaching of the Book of Job, and to the development of the history of Job. God is regarded in Ĵob as Supreme and Independent, Holy and Incorruptible (chaps. xv. 15, xxii. 2-4), Immortal and Eternal (chap. x. 5), Spiritual and Invisible (chaps. ix. 11, xxvi. 13), the Hearer and Answerer of prayer (chap. xxxiii. 26), the King of kings (chap. xxxiv. 19), the Preserver

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of men (chaps. xxxiii. 28, xii. 10), the Giver of wisdom (chap. xxxv. 11, &c.), the Ruler of nations (chap. xii. 23, &c.). In the words of Job x. 9, he almost declares his knowledge of what God had said to Adam (Gen. iii. 18), and so far as this is the case he accepts that record as a true revelation of God.

There is evidence in Job of acquaintance with, and the study of, astronomy, in which considerable advancement must have been made (chaps. ix. 9, xxxviii. 31, 32, &c.). The description of the war-horse in chap. xxxix. is one of the most famous in Job, and this points to a knowledge of Egypt, in which horses were abundant (Gen. xlvii. 17, xlix. 17; Exod. ix. 3, xiv. 9, 23, xv. 1, 21). Mining operations and the achievements of early engineering were familiar to the writer of Job (chap. xxviii.), as were the riches and the solitudes of the desert. In fact, the range of observation, experience, and reflection is probably larger in Job not only than that of any other book of the Bible, but also of any other book whatever of the same extent. While, however, there is no trace in Job of a knowledge of any other composition than that of Genesis, it is significant to observe the manifest

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VIII. Effect of this Book on other Books of Scripture. The evidences of this are so numerous that they can only be touched upon here. Foremost comes the famous instance of Jeremiah's complaint unto God (chap. xx.), in which he curses the day of his birth, like Job. It is plain that one of these pre-supposes the other, and no one of any critical discernment can doubt which is the original. (See Renan xxxiv.) Next, there is Ps. viii. 4, which almost repeats Job vii. 17at least, in its idea. Comp. Ps. xi. 6, Job xv. 34, xxii. 20; Lam. iii. 7, Job i. 10; Eccles. v. 15, Job i. 21; Ps. lviii. 8, Job iii. 16; Prov. ii. 4, Job iii. 21; Isa. XXXV. 3, "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees; " Job iv. 4, "Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees; comp. Heb. xii. 12; comp. also Ezek. vii. 17, and xxi. 7, and Isa. xiii. 7. With Ps. xxxvii. 25, "I have been young, and now am old," &c., comp. Job iv. 8. With Ps. xc. 7, "In the morning it is green," &c., comp. Job iv. 20 and viii. 12. Indeed, the language of Psalms, Proverbs, and the prophets abounds with traces of the influence of Job; in fact, so manifest is this that it has been made the basis of a theory that Job was written in the age of David and Solomon. But, as before said, its ancient existence and authority, which will equally account for this knowledge, is inherently more probable. It is in the substantial teaching of the book, no less than in the reproduction of its language, that we can discern traces of its influence. For instance, in the teaching of Job xiii. 16 ("He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him") there is the germ not only of all the stern morality of the prophets, but also that of the grace and sweetness of the Gospel itself. And so completely was it felt that faith was the lesson of Job, that his patience, which was manifested in the deep undercurrent of resignation and confi lence (chap. xiii. 15) rather than in the outward repression of complaint, has passed into a proverb (James v. 11). He was patient, however, because of his intense faith; and to the exhibition of this character of faith as seen in Job how much may we not ascribe of the trust, resignation, and confidence of the Psalms? With the exception, however, of Job and the Psalms, no book of the Bible so honours and inculcates faith as the Book

of Genesis (e.g., in chap. xv. 6), which, we have seen, the writer of Job must have known.

IX. Canonicity.-Job belongs to the third section of the Hebrew writings, being classed with the Psalms, Proverbs, &c. And this for obvious reasons, because it was not a book of the Law, and it could not be classed with the prophets. But its canonicity has never been doubted. Its very place, however, in the Canon must be owing to its connection with some great writer of authority; and this is the more obvious because of its being in no sense an Israelitish book. When, however, we bear in mind the fact of its position among the sacred writings of Israel, the sublimity, purity, and simplicity of its teaching and aim, we must not only confess that it is in many respects the

most marvellous book in existence, but that it towers far above all other books in the grandeur of its poetry, the nobility of its sentiments, and the splendour of its diction. And in the contemplation of these features, we are led by a species of induction to the acknowledgment of its true

X. Inspiration, for no judgment of the Book of Job can be adequate or just which does not recognise in the facts about it sufficiently clear indications of an origin not of the unaided speculations of man, but the product, if we will only accept it, of an authorised and inspired communication on the part of God. If things happened as the Book of Job says they did, then we must have in that record of them a veritable revelation of the Most High.

CHAPTER I.-(1) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. (2) And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. (3) His 'substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. (5) And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and 'cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

(6) Now there was a day when the sons

(1) There was a man in the land of Uz.The first mention of this name is in Gen. x. 23, where Uz is said to have been one of the sons of Aram, who was one of the sons of Shem. (Comp. 1 Chron. i. 17.) Another Uz (in the Authorised Version spelt Huz) is mentioned in Gen xxii. 21 as the firstborn of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. A third form of this name is mentioned in Gen. xxxvi. 28 among "the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land" of Edom. (Comp. 1 Chron.i.42.) It is probable that each of these is to be associated with a different district: the first perhaps with that of the Lebanon-a district near Damascus is still called El-Ghutha; the second with that of Mesopotamia or Chaldea; and the third with the Edomite district south of Palestine. From the mention of "the land of Uz" (Lam. iv. 21) and "the kings of the land of Uz" (Jer. xxv. 20), where in each case the association seems to be with Edom, it is probable that the land of Job is to be identified rather with the district south and southeast of Palestine.

Whose name was Job.-The name is really Iyyov, and is carefully to be distinguished from the Job (You) who was the son of Issachar (Gen. xlvi. 13), and from the Jobab (Yovav) who was one of the kings of Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 33), with both of which it has been confounded. The form of the name may suggest the signification of the assaulted one,' as the root from which it appears to be derived means was an enemy."

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Perfect and upright

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-Noah in like manner

is said to have been "perfect" (Gen. vi. 9). Abram was required to be so (Gen. xvii. 1), and Israel generally (Deut. xviii. 13), though the adjective in these places is not quite the same as that used here; and our Lord required the same high standard of His disciples (Matt. v. 48), while He also, through the gift of the Spirit, made it possible. The character here given to Job is that in which wisdom is declared to consist. (Comp. chap. xxviii. 28.) It has the twofold aspect of refusing the evil and choosing the good, of aiming at a lofty ideal of excellence and of shunning that which is fatal or opposed to it.

(2) Seven sons and three daughters.-The like number was restored to him after his probation (chap. xlii. 13).

(3) The men of the east.-This term is indefinite with regard to the three districts above mentioned, and might include them all. The Arabs still call the Hauran, or the district east of Jordan, the land of Job. It is said to be a lovely and fertile region, fulfilling the conditions of the poem.

(4) Every one his day.-i.e., probably his birthday. (Comp. Gen. xl. 20, xxi. 8; and in the New Testament Matt. xiv. 6, Mark vi. 21.)

-The

(5) Job sent and sanctified them earliest records of society exhibit the father of the family acting as the priest. This is one of the passages that show Job was outside the pale and influence of the Mosaic law, whether this was owing to his age or his country. His life in this respect corresponds with that of the patriarchs in Genesis more nearly than any other in Scripture.

Cursed God.-The word used here and in verse 11 and chap. ii. 5, 9, and also in 1 Kings xxi. 10, 13, of Naboth, is literally blessed; that in chap. iii. 1, e.g., &c., being quite different. The contrast in chaps. i. 22 and ii. 10 shows the Authorised Version to be substantially right, however this contradictory sense is obtained. Many languages have words which are used in opposite senses. (Comp. e.g., our cleave to" and "cleave.") The use of bless in the sense of curse may be a euphemism, or it may arise from giving to it the meaning of saluting or bidding farewell to, and so dismissing. This use is not elsewhere found than in the passages cited above.

(6) Sons of God.-Comp. chap. xxxviii. 7, Gen. vi. 2, 4; and for the sense comp. 1 Kings xxii. 19. The phrase probably means the angels; or at all events an incident in the unseen spiritual world is referred to simultaneous with a corresponding one on earth. (Comp. 1 Cor. xi. 10.) In the latter sense, a solemn thought is suggested by it to those who join in the public worship of God.

Satan.-The word appears in the Old Testament as the name of a specific person only here and in Zech.