Job is the oldest book in the Bible

The Book of Job is placed next to the poetic books of Psalms and Proverbs, but it is actually the oldest book in the Bible. Although the Book of Genesis describes the creation of the universe, yet Genesis and the four successive books following were penned by the prophet Moses who lived a long time after Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

Job lived after the Flood (Job 22: 15 – 16), for he dwelt in the land of Uz that was founded by one of Noah’s descendants through Shem (Genesis 10: 22 – 23, 32). Job also speaks of rain, ice, and snow which did not exist in the antediluvian world. The Book of Job makes no mention of Israel, of the Israelites, the Law of Moses, or the priesthood. Instead, Job is seen offering sacrifices for himself and his sons without using a priesthood, or going to a temple, or offering on a consecrated altar (Job 1: 5).

Job 42: 16: After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations. Job’s longevity would imply that he lived around the time of the patriarchs, and his age when he died exceeded 200 years, being that he lived an extra 140 years after God restored him. Prior to his restoration, Job was already a mature man, called the greatest man of the East (Job 1: 3), with ten grown-up children who had their own houses (Job 1: 2,4,13).