Job. [Heb. Iyyob, "where is (my) father?" The name occurs in the Amarna Letters as Ayyab, and in the Mari texts as Ayyabum. Gr. Ioµb.]

A pious believer in the true God who lived in the land of Uz; principal character in the book of Job (Job 1:9). Ezekiel (Eze. 14:14, 16, 20) and James (Jas 5:11) refer to him as an ideal example of patience and righteousness. Job doubtless lived in patriarchal times, as the social, historical, and cultural setting of the book suggests. The land of Uz has not been identified with any particular locality, but references in the book of Job and data provided by Josephus (Ant. i. 6. 4). and Ptolemy locate Uz east of Palestine proper on the borders of the Arabian Desert, certainly south of Damascus and probably in the vicinity of Edom (see Lam 4:21). The land of Uz may have taken its name from a son of Shem (1 Chr 1:17) who settled there in early times. A son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, bore the same name (Gen 22:21, RSV); the Hebrew word translated "Huz" is identical with that translated "Uz." The Chaldeans (Job 1:17) are known to have crossed the Arabian Desert and raided the region of Edom. The Sabeans were the people of Sheba (ch 1:15), far to the South of Edom (cf. Is 45:14). Teman (Job 2:11) was in the land of Edom. The land of Shuah (ch 2:11) was probably to the north of Edom and south-west of the Euphrates. Job was apparently a wealthy herdsman (see chs 1:3, 4; 42:12), a leader honoured and respected by his fellow townsmen for his wisdom and good counsel and who took a practical interest in the welfare of all who needed his help (ch 29:7-17). He lived in a "city" and was apparently one of its elders (v 7). From a human point of view, there was no reasonable explanation of why an upright man like Job should suffer the terrible calamities that came upon him (ch 1:13-21). He did not understand why tragedy had come, but nevertheless maintained his confidence in God (Job 23). Despite the mistaken admonition of his wife and his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu (chs 2:9, 11; 32:2), he maintained his "integrity." In the end, God sternly rebuked the misguided philosophy of Job's friends, that Job's calamities were a divine retribution for his misdeeds (ch 42:7). The turning point in Job's experience came when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave him "twice as much as he had before" (v 10) -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary.