Introduction
Over the last several centuries, many have attempted to fictionalize the Bible. Atheists vigorously attack the Genesis account of Creation, calling it nothing more than a fictitious story that should be placed alongside myths such as the Babylonian creation account known as the Enuma Elish. Sceptics scoff at the biblical account of the worldwide Flood, calling it an altered copy of the uninspired Epic of Gilgamesh. At the appropriate time, we shall look into these claims on this blog.
For the meantime, this article seeks to look at the reality of the Biblical character, Job’s existence. Some believe the book of Job is little more than a fine piece of non-inspired literature. Others contend it is inspired by God, but still a fictional story just as Genesis and Jonah. They believe that he simply was fabricated to teach a lesson about human suffering. Perhaps, they say, he is to be valued like such parabolic figures as the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), or the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21), but not like those who actually lived and died upon the Earth
What do the facts reveal? Are there good reasons to believe that this story is a real, unembellished account of events that occurred long ago?
I am going to respond to these questions based on arguments for Job’s existence on four variables: his humanity, his decent, name and other scriptural references.
- Job’s Humanity
Unlike the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the rich fool, and other parabolic figures, the suffering patriarch of the Old Testament, whose story is recorded was given a name – Job. The book begins: “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job” (1:1, emp. added). He wasn’t just an obscure man in a far-away land but a real, “mortal” man of whom his Creator said: “There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (1:8). He “was the greatest of all the people of the East” (1:3).
In the book of Job, the patriarch’s wealth is catalogued, his homeland is identified – UZ – a real place (cf. Jeremiah 25:20; Lamentations 4:21). Gen 10:22-23… Uz had emanated from the descendant of Shem.
His father is referenced (Job 15:9-10), his children are numbered, his wife is quoted, his friends are named, his speeches are recorded, and his suffering is described in detail. Job spoke of his birth, and even his conception (3:3), and longed for death in order to escape his severe distress (6:8-10).
