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The ''Testament of Job'' (also referred to as ''Divrei Lyov'', literally meaning "''Words of Job''") is a book written in the 1st century BC or the 1st century AD. Some
Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; or ''midrashot' ...
ic parallels in the work indicate that it was a production of the pre-Christian era, and belongs to the Jewish apocrypha. Christian scholars refer to such writings as belonging to " intertestamental literature". The text is not directly dependent on the canonical
Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...
, and presents many differences from it.


Manuscripts

The earliest surviving manuscript is in Coptic, of the 5th century; other early surviving manuscripts are in Greek and
Old Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic subgroup of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European ...
. In 1967, Sebastian Brock published an edition of the Testament using the Greek ms P as his base. Then a bilingual Greek and English edition, edited by Robert A. Kraft, was issued in New York by the Society of Biblical Literature in 1974 with . It used the Greek mss S-V as the base. Maria Haralambakis (2012) surveyed as many as nine Slavonic manuscripts, some of which are now lost. The date of these manuscripts is between the 14th and 18th centuries. Also she covers the ongoing publication of the Coptic text, which is unfortunately rather fragmentary. The Slavonic tradition is not believed to be derived from the two main Greek textual traditions. It seems to be separate from them, and contains the readings characteristic of both of them.


Contents

In folktale manner in the style of Jewish
aggada Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorpora ...
, it elaborates upon the
Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...
making Job a king. Like many other ''Testament of ...'' works in the Old Testament apocrypha, it gives the narrative a framing-tale of Job's last illness, in which he calls together his sons and daughters to give them his final instructions and exhortations. The ''Testament of Job'' contains all the characters familiar in the ''Book of Job'', with a more prominent role for
Job's wife Job's wife is an unnamed biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Job. Biblical narrative Job's wife appears only in chapter 2, when Job is afflicted with sores. She says to him in verse 9, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God an ...
, given the name ''Sitidos'', and many parallels to Christian beliefs that Christian readers find, such as intercession with God and forgiveness. In this text, Job's first wife dies and the seven sons and three daughters that he had in the epilogue of the book of Job were from his second wife, whom he married after his trials ended. According to the ''Testament of Job'', his second wife is
Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only named daughter of Leah and Jacob. The episode of her rape by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent revenge of her brothers Simeon and Levi, commonly ...
, the daughter of
Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
. This would mean that not only was Job joined to the
house of Israel A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, but also that Job lived between the death of
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
and the birth of
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
. Unlike the Biblical Book of Job,
Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
's vindictiveness towards Job is described in the Testament as being due to Job destroying a non-Jewish temple. Indeed, Satan is described in a far more villainous light, rather than simply being a ''prosecuting counsel''. Job is equally portrayed differently; Satan is shown to directly attack Job, but fails each time due to Job's willingness to be patient, unlike the Biblical narrative where Job falls victim but retains faith. The latter section of the work, dedicated like the Biblical text to Job's comforters, deviates even further from the Biblical narrative. Rather than complaining or challenging God, Job consistently asserts his faith despite the laments of his comforters. While one of the comforters gives up, and the others try to get him medical treatment, Job insists his faith is true, and eventually the voice of God tells the comforters to stop their behaviour. When most of the comforters choose to listen to God's voice, they decide to taunt the one remaining individual who still laments Job's fate. Unlike many ''Testament of ....'' works, there is little concentration on ethical discourses, instead the text concentrates on delivering narrative, as well as embedding a noticeably large number of
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
s. One passage concerns ''multicoloured cords'' for women to put around their
breasts The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...
to enable them to sing in the ''language of the angels''. Some scholars have suggested that this text also shows an interest in
glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...
(speaking in tongues). Indeed, this is an early example of such a phenomenon, although the precedent for this is also found within Judaism and late antique Christianity.


Composition

There has been a general consensus in scholarship that the Testament of Job comes from the Jewish origins because it lacks any clear Christian features. Yet some possibly Christian features have also been noted in the text, such as the use of the Greek compound word ἀπροσωπόληπτός ("impartiality"). After analysing such features in the Testament of Job, Nicholas List concludes that they may be explained as the work of a later Christian scribe or editor. Although in early scholarship the suggestions were made that the original text was written in Hebrew or Aramaic, there has been a more recent scholarly consensus that the original language of composition of the Testament of Job was Greek.


Parallels in Qumran literature

Some scholars have noted that the Testament of Job shares some thematic and ideological similarities with the
Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...
community. For example, James H. Charlesworth has called attention to the numerous parallels between the Testament of Job and some of the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...
. In particular he commented upon a “striking resemblance to the Qumran concept of the fellowship of the just with the angels” as found in the Testament. This refers especially to the ability of Job’s daughters to have access to the language of the angels. Also, according to Charlesworth, “The whole of the hymn against Elihu (TJob 43:4-17), in fact, is replete with Qumran affinities.”


Montanists

The assertion has been made that the ''ecstatic speech'' of the
Montanists Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an early Christian movement of the mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theo ...
(a later Christian sect), was another example of ''speaking in tongues''. This has led some scholars, such as Spittler, to suggest that the Montanists may have edited parts of the Testament of Job, adding sections such as these. But Spittler also suggested that this could have been the Therapeutae who were responsible. The letter ends with a reference to life after death; "It is written that he will rise up with those whom the Lord will reawaken. To our Lord by glory. Amen."


Therapeutae

It has been suggested that the work originated from the
Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...
.Taylor, Joan E., "Virgin Mothers: Philo on the Women Therapeutae," Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 12.1(2001): 37-63. doi:10.1177/095182070101200102 However,
speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...
has not been recorded as a practice of the Therapeutae.


Apocrypha categorisation

At the end of the 5th century, the ''Testament of Job'' was relegated to the
apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
by the
Gelasian Decree The Gelasian Decree () is a Latin text traditionally thought to be a decretal of the prolific Pope Gelasius I (492-496). The work reached its final form in a five-chapter text written by an anonymous scholar between 519 and 553. The second chapt ...
, concerning canonical and noncanonical books. Subsequently, the ''Testament of Job'' was ignored by Roman Catholic writers until it was published in 1833 in the series edited by
Angelo Mai Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discov ...
(''Scriptorum Veterum Nova Collectio'' Vol. vii, pp. 180–191). Mai's manuscript had a double title: ''Testament of Job the Blameless, the Conqueror in Many Contests, the Sainted'' (which seems to be the older title) and ''The Book of Job Called Jobab, and His Life, and the Transcript of His Testament''.


See also

*
Book of Job in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts There are fourteen known Byzantine manuscripts of the Book of Job dating from the 9th to 14th centuries, as well as a post-Byzantine codex illuminated with cycle of miniatures. The quantity of Job illustrations survived in the fifteen manuscrip ...


References


Further reading

* Maria Haralambakis 2012
The Testament of Job: Text, Narrative and reception History.
Bloomsbury T&T Clark *R. P. Spittler, ''Outside the Old Testament,'' *Robert A. Kraft (ed.), ''Testament of Job''. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press for the Society of Biblical Literature, 1974 (Texts and Translations 5: Pseudepigrapha Series 3). *R. P. Spittler, "Testament of Job", in: J. H. Charlesworth, editor, ''Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', volume I Garden City, New York etc.: Doubleday, 1983. *Raymond F. Surburg, ''Introduction to the Intertestamental Period,'' *Jan Dochhorn, "Das Testament Hiobs als Produkt narrativer Exegese. Eine Studie zur Wirkungsgeschichte des griechischen und hebräischen Hiobbuchs," in Wolfgang Kraus & Martin Karrer in collaboration with Martin Meiser (ed.), ''Die Septuaginta - Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse. 2. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 23.-27. Juli 2008'' (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010) (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament (WUNT I), 252).


External links

* Ed Gallagher 2025
''The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha'':
Testament of Job in Greek
''Wesley Center Online''
Testament of Job in English
''Jewish Encyclopedia''
Testament of Job Summary

Notes on Testament of Job {{Authority control Old Testament pseudepigrapha Job (biblical figure) Satan Jewish apocrypha