Job
Job means "hated" or "persecuted". He is the son of Issachar and he might have lived from 2232 FC to 2442 FC (1736 BC – 1526 BC | 210 yrs). Issachar might have been 52 yrs old when Job was born.
According to Job 1:1, Job "is in the land of Uz" and that "he is the greatest of all the men of the east" (verse 3). But according to Genesis 46:13, he is the son of Issachar and is one of those who went to the land of Egypt and his decendants are among those that were numbered on (Numbers 26:23-25), Jashub is Job.
Assuming that he was indeed the son of Issachar, it could be that he fled from Egypt when he was young because of some sin (Job 13:23) and settled on the east. He repented there and lived righteously (Job 2:3). Then he was tested by God, and ended up being twice as blessed than before (Job 42:12).
He probably is aware of God's promise to them, like Joseph was (Genesis 50:24-25) so he wanted to return to Egypt so he can have his bones be carried by his brethren too. Being righteous as he is, he probably also wanted his daughters marry his kindred, like what Abraham's desire (Genesis 24:4).
When he returned and met his fellow Israelites again, he was probably renamed to "Jashub", which means "he will return", since he was no longer Job the "persecuted". This help explain why his decendants are called Jashubites and not Jobites.
Why we chose that time?
Job is actually one of the oldest books of the Bible, if not the oldest. Think about it; when you’ve read Job, did you see any references to “the greatness of God who led Israel out of Egypt”, such as there are in virtually every other book of the Bible? In all of God’s boasting in Job 38-40, it isn’t mentioned at all. This suggests that it hadn’t happened yet.
Also, Job’s three friends can help us to date the book to a general period in history; Eliphaz the Temanite; Bildad the Shuhite (the shortest man in the Bible... he was only a Shu-hite...); and Zophar the Naamathite. Eliphaz and Teman were son and grandson of Esau, respectively. So Job’s friend was a descendant of Teman (a Temanite), who was named after Teman’s father Eliphaz. This Eliphaz was probably not too many generations removed from Esau, since Teman is still the tribal name. Let’s say, for fun, about 100 years after Esau’s death, or around 1,600 BC.
Bildad’s tribal name, the Shuhite, was named for Shuah, son of Keturah, the second wife of Abraham. Shuah would have been born around 1,880 BC, and let’s speculate that he died around 1,780 and Bildad was born, again, maybe 100 years later – that puts the timeframe around 1,680 BC. The third friend, Zophar, was from a place, Naamah, which is not known, so he’s no help.
Finally, and most importantly, Job himself appears as one of the children of Israel who went down into Egypt in Genesis 46:13. As son of Issachar, grandson of Jacob, we can make an educated guess as to when he lived. Given the order of Jacob’s sons, Issachar was probably born when Jacob was about 7580.
Issachar probably had his first son about 35, based on the other patriarchs listed in Genesis 11. So let’s say Job was born when Issachar was about 50. That means he was born about 1,736 BC; 5 years before the entry into Egypt.
He had to have been born before 1,731, because he was on the list of people who went into Egypt then! And he wasn’t the youngest son of Issachar to go to Egypt, so it had to be at least a year or two before then; so 1,736 is a reasonable date.
But how old was Job when the events in the book of Job happened? Well, old enough to have ten grown-up children, by only one wife, who were living in their own houses, and to have amassed great wealth (Job 1:1-4). Remember, they went into Egypt with very little; to have grown this great, even with the blessing of God, takes time.
So let’s say he was 35 when he had his first child; had a child every year or two; then his children grew up and moved away from home at 20-25. It’s a fair assumption to say he was about 70 when the book opens. But there’s another very good reason to believe that number!
In Job 42, after Job passed his test, God blessed him – with what? Verse 10. How long did Job live after his trial? Verse 16. So if he lived 140 years AFTER his trial, and if God was rewarding him with twice what he had before, it stands to reason that he had lived 70 years BEFORE his trial! Plus, 70 is a round number God uses a lot in the Bible.
That tells us the events in the book of Job took place approximately 1,666 BC. And remember that our guesstimates of the ages of Job’s friends put them living in the 1600’s BC as well; this is a nice tie-in.
It also means Job was still alive in the time of Moses, and died about 15 years before the Exodus; however, he lived “in the east” (Job 1:3), apparently not in Egypt with the rest of the Israelites, so it is probable Job was not involved with Egyptian politics in his old age and did not know Moses.
None of this matters much in the larger scheme of things, but it shows you the sort of information that can be pieced together in the Bible if you work at it. Job was clearly wise, and it may be that family trait which led to the sons of Issachar (Job’s cousins and descendants) being put in charge of the calendar of Israel (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Verses that mention "Issachar"
Genesis 46:13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Job 1:8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Job 2:3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
Job 3:1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Job 3:2 And Job spake, and said,
Job 6:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 9:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 12:1 And Job answered and said,
Job 16:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 19:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 21:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 23:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 29:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 31:40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Job 32:1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Job 32:2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Job 32:3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
Job 32:12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
Job 33:1 Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.
Job 33:31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.
Job 34:5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Job 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Job 34:35 Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
Job 34:36 My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
Job 35:16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
Job 37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:1 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said,
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
Job 40:6 Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 42:1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
Job 42:10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 42:12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
Job 42:15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
Job 42:16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
Job 42:17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
