More on the subject of Elihu and Job from the Book of Job. The Link is at the bottom of the page. Major Theme or Purpose Although we accept the idea that Job was an actual ancient prophet, that does not answer the authorship question. Did Job write the book himself in third person point of view, as John did in the New Testament, or did a later prophet or scribe abridge his works? The book’s date of origin could give clues about its authorship, but scholars don’t agree on the dating either. Some scholars believe that the events come from the patriarchal age. Others date the book as late as the fourth and third century B.C. Others date Job in Solomon’s era. 5 If the Elihu referred to in Doctrine and Covenants 84:9 [D&C 84:9] is the same Elihu in Job 32, the date for the book of Job would be approximately the second century prior to Moses (about 1600 B.C.). If this assumption and date are accurate, it is possible that the book was a record Moses brought from Midian, the homeland of his father-in-law Jethro. Ancient Jewish tradition claims that the book of Job was written by Moses. The Talmud Sota V. 8 and Baba Bathra 14b and 15a say he wrote it before writing the Pentateuch (five books of Moses). 6 When the Talmud states that a given man “wrote” a certain book, however, it could just as likely mean that he merely copied or abridged it. For example, Baba Bathra 15a states, “Hezekiah and his company wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.” Wrote is used in the sense of edited or compiled. Thus, the Talmud postulates, Moses may have copied or abridged the writings of Job. Some writers have suggested that Job was a contemporary of Amram and Jochebed, parents of Moses. Eusebius, one of the most learned fathers of the early church, about A.D. 300, believed that Job lived about 1800 B.C. If these dates for Job and Elihu are correct (and we can’t be certain they are), they would suggest that the book of Job originated one or more centuries prior to the time of Moses, or in other words some time during the four generations between the days of Abraham and the days of Moses. https://lds.org/ensign/1982/03/job-the-man-and-his-message?lang=eng&query=Elihu
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 05:01:52 +0000
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