Testament of Job

The Testament of Job is a book written in the 1st century BC or the 1st century AD (thus part of a tradition often called "intertestamental literature" by Christian scholars). The earliest surviving manuscript is in Coptic, of the 5th century; other early surviving manuscripts are in Greek and Old Slavonic.

In folktale manner in the style of Jewish aggada [1], it elaborates upon the Book of Job making Job a king in Egypt. 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, given the name Sitidos, and many parallels to Christian beliefs that Christian readers find, such as intercession with God and forgiveness.

Unlike the Biblical Book of Job, Satan'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, than simply being a prosecuting counsel. Job is equally portrayed differently; Satan is shown to directly attack Job, but fail 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 hymns. It is also noticeably less misogynist than many other early apocryphal texts. It has consequently been suggested that the work originates amongst an Egyptian sect of Judaism known as the Therapeutae, that took an ascetic outlook and had a theology heavily involving mysticism.

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