What is the proof that Job is the first book of the Bible?

Answer 1

Job isn't the first book in The Bible. Genesis is. It starts with "in the begining".

Job is the eighteenth book in the Old Testament. You may be thinking about the fact that some scholars find Job to be the earliest book in terms of a detailed discussion of a person and a semi-historical narrative (understand that this refers to the fact that Job is also poetic and contains teaching about God and suffering, not that it is non factual). The historical setting of Job is thought to precede Abraham.

It has also been contended by some that Job was the first book written, thus pre-dating the writings of Moses, but this may result from confusion between the historical setting of the book, which is clearly pre-Israel and the date of its possible composition. If it was written at the time of its setting it probably does pre-date Moses writings but others believe it to have been composed as late as the post-exilic period. Thus there is a wide range of views from the patriarchal to the post-exilic in terms of the date of composition.

In terms of its subject matter, it is clearly not describing the first moments of time as Genesis does, although God does rebuke Job and says 'where were you when I....etc'

thus speaking of His almighty creative power versus Job's finiteness.

The key markers which suggest (not prove) that Job is early are:

1. The absence of any mention of the history of Israel or its laws.

2. Job's long life of over 100 years, characteristic of that earlier period.

3. The role that Job played as a priest for his family -forbidden at the later period.

4. The use of livestock as a measurement of Job's wealth.

One of the difficulties with a late (post-exilic) date for the writing of Job is that it doesn't adequately explain the above features.

According to Nelsons Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, Thomas Nelson, 1993. p169,(also the source for the above 4 points) the majority of scholars today place the book between the Solomonic and post-exilic period.

Answer 2

It depends on who you ask. Many Bible scholars do think the story is older than Moses (literally). It's also possible that the core of the story is older than the framing parts of the tale at the beginning and end.

Answer 3

No.

The Bible Book of Job was written by Moses in 1473 BC. It covered over 140 years of time ending in 1473.

Moses also wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy.

He began writing in Genesis in the year 1513 BC. He wrote Exodus & Leviticus after that.

The final three, Numbers, Deuteronomy & Job were written in his final year of life.

See attached "Table of the Books of the Bible" in attached link.

Answer 4

Some would consider Job to be far from the first book of the Bible. It seems to be a composite book, with some quite early passages conflated with post-exilic passages. Evidence for post-exilic completion of the book is the reference to Satan. Satan entered Judaism after the Babylonian Exile, as a 'son of God' or angel, whose role was to prove the righteousness of people by tempting them to do wrong.

Answer 5

The order in which those books were placed in the Bible, however, was not always based on their age. Older books are sandwiched between works that were written centuries later, and younger pieces may come before older books. Clearly, the Bible is not arranged in chronological order, but what would the Bible look like if it was? What would be at the end of the Good Book? In that chronological Bible, what would come first? What is the oldest book in the Bible?

The oldest book in the Bible is, unsurprisingly, found in the Old Testament. Most Christians would likely predict that Genesis was the oldest book in the Bible given that it details the creation of the world. If that was not accurate, then they would probably suggest Exodus or maybe theorize that Psalms or Proverbs were the first to go from an oral tradition to a written one. All of these predictions, however, would be incorrect. The oldest book in the Bible is smack in the middle of the Old Testament. It is the Book of Job.

The Book of Job is one of the lesser read books of the Bible, despite the fact that it is referenced repeatedly throughout Scripture. Unlike the rest of the Bible, Job is written not as prose or poetry but as a drama. In the book, an angel in God’s court, in some translations it is Satan, challenges God that Job is pious because he has a good, comfortable life. God declares that Job will not give up his faith and curse God despite terrible things befalling him. God accepts the bet, and Job suffers every manner of tragedy but still clings to his faith. God wins the wager, restores what Job lost and further blesses him.

The Book of Job is estimated to have been written in the time of the Patriarchs, between 1900 and 1700 B.C. The book deals with similar themes as the Babylonian work “Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi” and is sometimes considered to have been based on the Babylonian work, but similar themes are not enough to state that one work is a derivative of the other. People have been questioning why suffering occurs for almost as long as humanity has existed. As it is, Job and “Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi” have very different endings to the stories of their protagonists and are written in different styles. Job is a drama while “Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi” is a monologue. Truthfully, the theme found in the two works is common enough that “Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi” could be compared almost as closely to Ecclesiastes or Lamentations as Job. 

While the themes found in Job are common across the ancient world, the language is not. Job is written in a form of Hebrew that is even older than the ancient Hebrew that makes up most of the Old Testament. In fact, the language used in Job is not even usually referred to as ancient Hebrew. Instead, it is called “Paleo-Hebrew.” The book also contains Syriac and Arabic expressions which point to a period of time between 1900 and 1700 B.C. when the Shemitic tribes had not yet separated into speaking separate Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic dialects. Instead, they still shared a common language.

The language in which Job was written is not the only clue to its age. In addition to using a language that differs from the Hebrew used in other Old Testament manuscripts, Job also mentions several creatures and conditions that are unknown today. The phrases may refer to animals that have gone extinct or, more likely, were called by a different name in later books of the Bible. It is these currently unidentifiable and untranslatable names that have led some translators of Job to translate the animals as more traditionally mythical creatures such as unicorns. 

The age of the book of Job can also be found in what is noticeably missing from the book. There are no mentions of the covenant, the Law of Moses or the priesthood. There are not even any mentions of the Israelite people or the Promised Land. Instead, Job offers sacrifices himself for his sons without the use of a priesthood, temple or consecrated altar. His wealth is measured by the size of his herds and the amount of “qesiytah,” unique silver coins, he possesses. Both herds and silver were used as ancient systems of money between 1900 and 1700 B.C. The names of Job’s sons were also uncommon in later time periods but were common before and during the time of the patriarchs. 

Exactly when the book of Job was written remains something of a mystery, but there is no doubt it is the oldest book in the Bible. While the early chapters of Genesis cover events that happened before Job, the actual written accounts of those events were not recorded until after the book of Job had already been composed. In fact, Job is over 400 years older than Genesis. This means Job is not only the sole drama in the Bible but also the oldest book by far and all the more fascinating for it.