Testament of Job

By Scriptural Research Institute

In the early Christian era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other major testaments were grouped together as the Testaments of the Twelve, which included the Testaments of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. The Testament of Adam was used by the Sethians and later Sethian Gnostics. While the Testament of Job was used by the Christian Montanist sect, and the Gnostic Valentinian sect in the 2nd century. The Testament of Job appears to have never been accepted by orthodox Christians, however, a synopsis of the testament was included in orthodox translations of the Septuagint's Book of Job since the 3rd century, where it was described as being in the Syriac Bible of the time.

The Testament of Job also includes the Song of Eliphaz, which refers to the 'Northern One' as a dragon, which appears to be a reference to Thuban (Alpha Draconis), which was the North Star between the 4th and 2nd millenniums BC. This implies that the Song of Eliphaz may date back to the 2nd millennium BC, which is when Job lived according to the Torah. Several references within the testaments point to an origin in the Seleucid Empire, including mentions of Greek gods, and Zoroastrian terminology. The testament also includes Satan as an individual instead of a descriptive term, which is consistent with the Book of Job, the likely source is the Tobian Jews (Τουβιανοὺς Ιουδαίους) mentioned in 2nd Maccabees, who lived in Seleucid controlled regions. It is unclear where the Tobian Jews lived, however, according to Eusebius, writing circa 300 AD, in local lore Job lived in the Arabian town of Karnaia. The location of Karnaia is unknown today, however, is believed to have once been in what is modern southern Syria, and would have been in the Seleucid Empire when the testaments were likely written. The original work appears to be an anti-Levitical text, which dismissed the Levitical priesthood and pointed to an alternative priesthood, which is consistent with the division between the priesthood of Ezra and Tobiah referred to in the Septuagint's 1st Ezra.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scriptural Research Institute
• Release date: Jan 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781989604922

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Copyright

WHILE EVERY PRECAUTION has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

TESTAMENT OF JOB

First edition. January 6, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Scriptural Research Institute.

ISBN: 978-1-989604-92-2

The Testament of Job was likely composed in Aramaic between 550 and 50 BC.

The Testament of Job was translated into Greek and Syriac by 150 AD.

The Testament of Job was translated into Coptic by 400 AD.

This English translation was created by the Scriptural Research Institute in 2020.

The image used for the cover is ‘Job and His Friends’ by Ilya Repin, painted in 1869.

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IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other major testaments were grouped together as the Testaments of the Twelve, which included the Testaments of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. The Testament of Adam was used by the Sethians and later Sethian Gnostics. While the Testament of Job was used by the Christian Montanist sect, and the Gnostic Valentinian sect in the 2nd century.

These testaments were widely accepted by the early Christian churches, and some continue to form part of the Armenian Bible. The books were popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages when they were generally considered authentic ancient Jewish texts. Critical analysis in the 16th century changed the view of Protestants and Catholics, as scholars at the time came to the belief that the texts were written in the early Christian era, likely in Greek. Subsequently, the texts fell out of favor in most parts of Europe. However, Hebrew and Aramaic fragments of some of the Testaments were discovered in the 20th century among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating back to between 135 BC and 44 AD, proving the texts were pre-Christian. The current academic view is that there was a simpler Hebrew Jewish version that was then updated in the early Christian era by Greek speakers that added the Christian prophesies.

The Testament of Job appears to have never been accepted by orthodox Christians, however, a synopsis of a book like the testament was included in orthodox translations of the Septuagint's Book of Job since the BC era, where it was described as being in the ‘Syriac book’ of Job. This Syriac book was not the Peshitta, however may have been in older Syriac Bible by the 5th-century. It is generally accepted that the Peshitta was translated directly from Aramaic and Hebrew source texts, however, Assyrian scholars have historically rejected this idea, instead claiming the ancient Jewish texts were first written in Syriac, and later translated into Hebrew and Aramaic. Either way, the source text for the Testament of Job must have been a Semitic language. The synopsis from the subscription in the Septuagint is:

"This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Aysitidi, on the borders of Edom and Arabia. His name was previously Jobab, and he had an Arabian wife. He fathered a son whose name was Ennon. He himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and