How long did Job go through his trial?

Answer 1

The book of Job itself mentions "days" and "months" of suffering, implying that the sickness extended at least several months' time.

Job 7:3 So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope.

Job 9:25 Now  my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

Job 30:16 And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.

Job 30:27 My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me.

The various symptoms in Job's body, if the disease were following a natural course, would have taken at least weeks or months to develop. No one knows what the disease was, though guesses include smallpox and elephantiasis.

Jewish and rabbinical tradition attempts to answer the question more specifically. The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

"Job's sufferings lasted twelve months ('Eduy. ii. 10; comp. Testament of Job, v. 9, where the number of years is given as seven); then God, yielding to the prayer of the angels, healed him and restored to him twofold what he had before (Ab. R. N. l.c.)."(http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=330&letter=J#ixzz0SWVuWDI2; Hirsch, Emil G., Seligsohn, M., Schechter, Solomon, Siegried, Carl. "Job.")

Note: the "Testament of Job," cited above and stating that Job's suffering lasted 7 years, is an apocryphal book written in the 1st century BC or 1st century AD.

Jewish tradition also says that his latter years were twice his former years, and thus he was about 70 when the affliction began. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1:751). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Answer 2

NIV states the following: Job 7:3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me

KJ Job 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

I think its safe to say Jobs trial lasted months.

Answer 3

The Bible says Job lived 140 years after his ordeal. By doing some reasoning, one can arrive at an approximate answer. Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters. A safe assumption would be that Job had his first child when he was twenty years of age. If you grant that he had a child every year for the next ten years then you arrive at the age of thirty. Remember, unlike other men of the bible he had only one wife. So this means it took between ten to fifteen years for his wife to bear him all ten children. So Job was at least thirty or thirty-five when his whole suffering thing came about, if not older. Add the 140 years to that and you get 170 years old. But it doesn't end there. Near the end of Job's tale it says that he had yet another 7 sons and 3 daughters. So you tack on another ten to fifteen years and you arrive at the ripe old age of 180, 185 years of age when he died.

Answer 4

No. This is why Job is so highly regarded in terms of his godly character.

Answer 5

The Bible does not tell us how long Job suffered. The important thing was that he kept his integrity. He was faithful even though he did not know why he was suffering.

Answer 6

Actual tradition, not conjecture, states that Job died at the age of 210 years.

Answer 7

Job went through his trial for an extended period, possibly lasting several months or even a year. The book of Job does not specify an exact duration for his ordeal.

Answer 8

70 years

Answer 9

54