Time: Apparently around 1500 B.C.
Job is the first poetic book of the Old Testament. It relates the
anguish of a righteous man as he and his friends struggle to explain
the affliction which has befallen Job and has stripped him of his
wealth, his family, and his health. The dialogue continues between
Job and his friends as each presents his opinion on the reasons
behind such troubles.
The purpose of the book of Job is to grapple with the question of
why good people sometimes suffer. God promises that he will bless
the faithful. Job agonises over the apparent exceptions. The book
concludes that ultimately the reason behind much suffering is known
only to God.
Key verses :
"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice . . . as
long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,
my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit."
Job, his family, his friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu)