Is Job the oldest book in the Bible?

Answer 1

There is uncertainty about the date of the Book of Job, but it is not considered, in its final form, the oldest book in the Old Testament.

A date in the Persian period (fifth or fourth century BCE) is most favoured, but such estimates are always made with hesitation. The chief reasons usually given for a post-exilic date are the speculative nature of the book's theology, especially compared with the older parts of the Book of Proverbs, and the acquaintance of the author with other Old Testament writings such as Isaiah 40-55. The presence of Satan as a member of God's heavenly court is also usually taken to be an indication that at least in its present form the story is post-exilic, since the only other references to Satan in the Old Testament (Zechariah 3:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1) are certainly post-exilic.

Some scholars do see parts of Job as much more ancient, whether derived from older written or oral sources. The fragments of a creation story in chapters 38-41 are clearly very ancient. Possible references in chapter 37 to Yahweh as a storm God seem ancient. Some say chapters 1-6 were written in more or less its present form long before the book was completed.