The land of Uz ( – ''ʾereṣ-ʿŪṣ'') is a location mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' 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 ...

, which begins, "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

". The name "Uz" is used most often to refer to Uz, son of Aram, presumably the region's namesake. He is mentioned repeatedly in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, in the books of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

and

1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...

. It is most often theorized that the Land of Uz is located in either Aram,

Edom Edom (; Edomite language, Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian language, Akkadian: , ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomi ...

, or both.

Location

It has been long debated if Uz is in either Aram or

. In the Bible, Genesis 10:23, Genesis 22:21 and 1 Chronicles 1:42 mention Aram, son of

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

, whose firstborn son is named Uz. Thus,

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

places Uz in Aram. According to the '' War Scroll'' (one 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 ...

) the land of Uz existed beyond the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

, possibly in relation to Aram. In column 2 verse 11, the War Scroll says, : "they shall fight against the rest of the sons of Aramea: Uz, Hul, Togar, and Mesha, who are beyond the Euphrates."

Assyrologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...

K.L. Younger has suggested that a possible extrabiblical attestation of Uz might occur in a copy of Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty discovered at Tell Tayinat, which reconstructs as referring to ''"the city and land of ˹Usî"'' in modern-day

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Edom was roughly in the area of modern-day southwestern

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and southern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Lamentations 4:21 reads: : "Rejoice and be glad, Oh daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz." According to 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 ...

lived ''"in the land of Uz"''.

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

25 lists nations including Uz and Edom but not Aram, supporting the identification of Uz with Aram. Job has often been identified as the Jobab mentioned in

36:33, king of Edom and great-grandson of

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

. It is also possible that there were two distinct locations, both known as the ''"Land of Uz"'' – one in Edom and another in Aram.

Other interpretations

Some scholars hold that Uz is a fictional place, invented to serve as a setting for the story of Job, rather than a physical land. The word ''Uz'' in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

means "counsel" or "advice", which here suggests that this story takes place in the ''"Land of Counsel"''. This fits the story, as the remainder of the book is a story about a man named Job who wrestles with his suffering, and is counseled by several men, and ultimately God. A similar conjecture is that if Uz was a physical place, it may have been chosen as the setting for the story due to the meaning of its name.

References

{{reflist Hebrew Bible regions