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Testament of Job

The Testament of Job is an ancient Jewish pseudepigraphal text that retells and expands the biblical story of Job, focusing on his extraordinary piety, endurance through severe trials inflicted by Satan, and his final exhortations to his children before death.^[1] Composed in Greek during the 1st century BCE or the 1st century CE, it portrays Job as a king from the East who gives away his wealth to the poor, withstands the loss of his possessions, the death of his ten children, and a debilitating illness, all while refusing to curse God.^[2]^[1] The narrative structure divides into Job's initial prosperity and charitable acts, the onslaught of calamities orchestrated by a more anthropomorphic Satan who disguises himself as a beggar to tempt humanity, and Job's 48-year vigil on a dung heap where he is visited by three royal friends who accuse him of hidden sins.^[3] His wife, Sitis (or Sitidos), plays a prominent role, selling her hair for bread to feed him during their poverty, and eventually dies peacefully after seeing visions of their children in heaven.^[2]^[4] God eventually restores Job's health and doubles his fortunes, granting him new children—seven sons and three daughters, with the daughters endowed with miraculous abilities, including the gift of heavenly knowledge through heavenly girdles (cords) that allow them to chant angelic hymns.^[3]^[4] The text concludes with Job's testament, narrated by his brother Nahor, emphasizing themes of unwavering faith, resistance to idolatry, and the soul's ascent to paradise.^[2] Surviving in Greek manuscripts from the 11th to 16th centuries, alongside earlier 5th-century Coptic fragments and 11th-century Slavonic versions, the work shows no clear evidence of Semitic origins and lacks extensive Christian interpolations, supporting its classification as a Jewish composition possibly linked to diaspora communities in Egypt or Palestine.^[1]^[3] Scholarly consensus views it as a homiletic expansion of the Septuagint's Book of Job, potentially influenced by therapeutic or ascetic groups like the Therapeutae, and serving as an encouragement for perseverance amid persecution.^[2] Its mystical elements, such as ecstatic hymns chanted by Job's daughters, highlight a blend of narrative and visionary traditions in Second Temple Judaism.^[2]

Introduction and Background

Historical Context

The Testament of Job was composed during the Second Temple period (c. 516 BCE–70 CE), a transitional era in Jewish history marked by the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and extending until its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. This period saw the flourishing of diverse Jewish literary traditions, including a wide array of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts that expanded upon scriptural narratives and explored theological themes. Among these were pseudepigraphal works, such as the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and Enochic literature, which attributed writings to ancient figures to lend authority and address contemporary concerns within Jewish communities.^[5] In the Jewish Diaspora, especially in Egypt, Hellenistic culture exerted profound influence on Jewish textual production following Alexander the Great's conquests in the late fourth century BCE. Alexandria emerged as a major center, where Greek became the dominant language for Jewish authors, leading to compositions like the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and philosophical reinterpretations of Mosaic law. This synthesis allowed Jewish writers to engage with Greco-Roman ideas while preserving core religious identities, resulting in a proliferation of Greek-language pseudepigrapha that adapted biblical stories for Hellenistic audiences.^[6] Apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts played a vital role in Second Temple Judaism by elaborating on canonical scriptures, filling perceived narrative gaps, and providing moral and eschatological guidance amid political instability. During the era of Roman occupation, which intensified after Pompey's conquest of Judea in 63 BCE, these works reflected heightened messianic expectations and explorations of suffering, divine justice, and communal resilience. The Testament of Job, building on the earlier Hebrew tradition of the canonical Book of Job, exemplifies this genre by expanding its themes in a testamentary framework.^[7] Scholars associate the Testament of Job with Jewish communities in the Diaspora, possibly in Egypt, facing cultural pressures and persecution. Its emphasis on piety, endogamy, and endurance against adversities reinforced group boundaries in hostile environments. Traditional scholarship classifies it as a Jewish composition, though recent studies debate this attribution, suggesting possible Christian origins or later emendations.^[8]^[9]

Relation to Canonical Book of Job

The Testament of Job serves as a midrashic retelling and interpretive expansion of the canonical Book of Job, drawing on its core narrative while adapting it to emphasize themes of endurance and divine vindication within the testamentary genre of Second Temple Jewish literature. Unlike the biblical account, which presents Job as a pious everyman from the land of Uz whose righteousness is tested through unspecified divine permission, the Testament portrays Job explicitly as a wealthy king ruling over Edom and Uz, enhancing his status to underscore his exemplary piety and royal benevolence prior to his trials. This elevation aligns with Hellenistic Jewish tendencies to idealize biblical figures, transforming the ambiguous figure of the biblical Job into a more heroic protagonist who actively combats idolatry and aids the poor.^[10]^[11] Shared elements between the two texts include the fundamental structure of Job's afflictions inflicted by Satan, who requires divine approval to act, the loss of Job's wealth and children, his bodily suffering, visits from three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Sophar), and ultimate restoration of prosperity doubled by God. Both works highlight Job's exemplary patience, rendered in Greek as hypomone, portraying it as a model of steadfast faith amid undeserved suffering, though the Testament omits the biblical book's extended poetic dialogues on theodicy, replacing them with streamlined narrative expansions that resolve tensions more affirmatively. The biblical Job's confrontational speeches with God and his friends, which probe the mysteries of divine justice, are absent, allowing the Testament to focus on moral edification rather than philosophical debate.^[1]^[12]^[10] The Testament introduces significant interpretive expansions, particularly in Job's family backstory, where his wife, named Sitidos, receives a more prominent and sympathetic role as a defender of her husband during his trials, contrasting her brief, unnamed appearance in the biblical text where she urges him to curse God. It further elaborates on Job's daughters—Kemisha, Kezia, and Keren-Happuch—granting them a unique inheritance of divine cords that bestow heavenly knowledge and beauty, linking them narratively to Abraham's lineage through intermarriage prohibitions and emphasizing female spiritual agency in a patrilineal context. These additions fill perceived gaps in the canonical narrative, such as the daughters' unspecified inheritance in Job 42:15, and serve to connect Job's story to broader patriarchal traditions.^[13]^[10]^[2] As a work in the "testament" genre common to pseudepigraphal literature, the Testament of Job frames its narrative as Job's deathbed recounting of his life and trials to his heirs, imparting ethical instructions on piety, charity, and resistance to evil, much like the Testament of Abraham or Testament of Isaac. This structure shifts the focus from the biblical Job's introspective lament to a didactic legacy, positioning the text as an exhortatory supplement that resolves the canonical book's open-ended theodicy by affirming Satan's culpability and Job's foreknowledge of redemption. Scholars note that this adaptation avoids deep engagement with the problem of innocent suffering, instead promoting hypomone as triumphant endurance.^[1]^[14]^[10]

Manuscripts and Editions

Surviving Manuscripts

The earliest surviving witness to the Testament of Job is a set of Coptic fragments in Sahidic dialect, dated to the fifth century CE, discovered among the materials from the Monastery of Deir el-Bala'izah in Upper Egypt, and published in 2009.^[1] These fragments, cataloged as P. Köln inv. 3221, preserve portions of the narrative but are too incomplete to reconstruct the full text independently.^[1] The primary manuscript tradition is preserved in Greek, with four medieval manuscripts forming the core of the textual evidence. These include the eleventh-century Paris manuscript (ms. P, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 2658), a sixteenth-century copy of P (ms. P², Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, grec 938), the Vatican manuscript (ms. V, Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1238, dated to the thirteenth century), and the Sicilian manuscript (ms. S, Biblioteca Regionale Universitaria, Messina, San Salvatore 29, dated 1307–1308). Manuscripts S and V represent a recension influenced by later Slavonic transmissions, while P provides an earlier, more independent witness.^[1] In addition to the Greek tradition, the text survives in nine Slavonic manuscripts dating from the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, as surveyed by Haralambakis. These include notable examples such as the 1381 Belgrade manuscript (BP) and a fifteenth-century Moscow copy (MS), which exhibit a distinct recension that blends elements from Greek sources with local adaptations, including deliberate abbreviations and expansions. No Hebrew original of the Testament of Job survives, and scholarly consensus holds that the work was likely composed in Greek, though possible Aramaic influences have been noted in certain linguistic features. Textual variants across the traditions are evident, particularly in the endings; for instance, some Greek and Slavonic versions feature extended hymns attributed to Job's daughters or additional interactions with angels, while others conclude more abruptly after the restoration narrative.^[1]

Modern Editions and Translations

The first modern publication of the Testament of Job appeared in 1833, when Cardinal Angelo Mai provided a transcription of the Greek text from Vaticanus Graecus 1238.^[1] Subsequent scholarly editions focused on Greek witnesses, with Sebastian P. Brock producing a critical text in 1967 based on the primary Greek manuscript P (Paris BN gr. 2658, 11th century).^[1] Robert A. Kraft advanced this work in 1974 by editing an eclectic Greek text drawing from manuscripts S (Messina, San Salvatore 29, 1307–1308) and V (Vaticanus Graecus 1238, 13th century), providing a facing English translation.^[1] For the Slavonic tradition, Maria Haralambakis offered a comprehensive edition in 2012, collating multiple Slavonic manuscripts alongside an English translation to highlight textual variants.^[15] Key English translations have made the text accessible to broader audiences. Russell P. Spittler's version, published in 1983 within James H. Charlesworth's The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (vol. 1), remains a standard reference, with a revised edition appearing in 2002.^[16] In recent decades, the text has been integrated into digital resources, such as the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, which hosts searchable Greek editions derived from Brock and Kraft for comparative analysis. A 2023 study by Nicholas List utilized these modern editions to examine hybrid Jewish and Christian elements, arguing that apparent Christian interpolations likely stem from later scribal activity in the Greek recension.^[9] Scholars continue to face challenges in establishing a definitive critical text, particularly in reconciling discrepancies between the shorter Greek recension and the more expansive Slavonic versions, which preserve potentially original material absent in Greek witnesses.^[1]

Narrative Contents

Plot Summary

The Testament of Job is framed as a deathbed testament in which Job, surrounded by his seven sons and three daughters, recounts the story of his life and trials to instruct his children on piety and endurance.^[17] In his early years, Job—originally named Jobab—was a wealthy king ruling over the land of Ausitis, a descendant of Esau through his son Eliphaz. Devoutly worshiping the true God, he destroyed a temple to the idol Apollo after receiving a divine warning in a vision, thereby angering the local idolaters but earning God's favor. Job married Sitidos, daughter of a prosperous herdsman, and they had seven sons and three daughters, amassing great riches including 130,000 sheep, 7,000 camels, 200 herds of oxen, and 500 she-asses, which he used generously to aid the poor.^[17] Job's trials begin when Satan, jealous of his righteousness, seeks permission from God to test him and disguises himself as a beggar to infiltrate Job's household. Through successive deceptions, Satan orchestrates the loss of Job's wealth in a raid by charioteers and the collapse of his house, killing all ten children during a feast. Further afflicting Job, Satan touches his body with a loathsome plague, causing worms to emerge from his flesh, forcing him to sit on a dung heap outside the city for forty-eight years in abject poverty.^[17] Amid the suffering, Job's wife Sitidos endures extreme hardship, reduced to begging and eventually selling her beautiful hair for three loaves of bread to feed her husband. Despairing, she urges Job to blaspheme God and die, echoing Satan's temptation, but Job steadfastly refuses, rebuking her and clinging to his faith despite the agony.^[17] In a heavenly vision, the archangel Michael delivers to Job three multicolored cords, woven by the Lord on His throne, which Job wraps around his loins. These cords enable Job to understand and speak in angelic tongues, heal his body by extracting the worms and restoring his skin, and receive divine revelations about the chariots that will carry the righteous to heaven.^[17] God restores Job's fortunes doubly: his former wealth is returned through gifts from his relatives and friends. After Sitidos dies from grief, Job marries Dinah, Jacob's daughter and sister of his original wife, who bears him seven more sons and three daughters named Hemera, Kasia, and Keren, each endowed with supernatural beauty and the ability to see heavenly visions. The daughters inherit the divine cords, granting them the power to chant angelic hymns of praise to God.^[17] At the age of 240, Job distributes his possessions among his sons, giving the cords and equal shares to his daughters, and dies peacefully as angels carry his soul to paradise in a fiery chariot. His family and the poor mourn him deeply, composing hymns that exalt God's mercy and Job's exemplary patience.^[17]

Unique Elements and Themes

The Testament of Job introduces several distinctive symbolic elements absent from the canonical Book of Job, notably the multicolored cords bestowed upon Job by divine messengers, which serve as emblems of spiritual empowerment and charismatic utterance. These cords, described as shimmering with fiery sparks akin to sun rays, enable the wearers to engage in glossolalia, or speaking in heavenly tongues, symbolizing a theophany or conferral of divine authority for prophetic praise.^[18] When Job ties them around his body, they heal his afflictions, underscoring their role as conduits of miraculous intervention and ecstatic worship. A particularly innovative feature is the portrayal of Job's daughters, who inherit the cords in place of material wealth given to their brothers, thereby linking them to the patriarchal lineage through spiritual rather than economic means. Named evocatively—Day (Hemera), Incense (Kasia), and Amalthea's Horn (Keren)—they don the cords and immediately prophesy in distinct angelic dialects: the tongue of angels, of authorities, and of cherubim, respectively, offering hymns of divine glory.^[1] This episode elevates the daughters as vessels of divine revelation, contrasting with the biblical account where they receive only beauty and inheritance portions.^[19] Satan's depiction expands into a more overtly demonic and duplicitous antagonist, disguising himself as a beggar to inflict a suppurating boil on Job's flesh, an act of vengeful malice tied to Job's prior destruction of an idolatrous temple.^[11] This portrayal heightens Satan's role as a deceptive tempter, operating under divine permission but with intensified malice, including magical elements like breath that causes affliction.^[1] Thematically, the text exalts hypomone (endurance or patience) as Job's defining virtue, framing his 48 years of suffering as a model of steadfast piety that culminates in apocalyptic reward and vindication.^[20] It critiques idolatry sharply, portraying Job's initial royal piety as a rejection of pagan worship, which provokes Satan's hostility and reinforces monotheistic fidelity.^[21] Job's status as a king of Ausis, ruling with vast wealth and dispensing justice to surrounding monarchs, underscores themes of royal theocracy and posthumous legacy, where his endurance ensures an enduring heavenly patrimony for his lineage.^[21] Liturgical elements further distinguish the narrative, incorporating hymns such as Job's praise psalm recited on a ten-stringed lyre to comfort the afflicted, blending musical worship with testamentary instruction as acts of devotion.^[22] These poetic insertions function as embedded prayers, emphasizing communal glorification amid trial.^[22]

Composition and Influences

Date and Place of Origin

The Testament of Job is generally dated to the first century BCE or the first century CE. This timeframe is supported by its composition in Koine Greek, a language prevalent in the Hellenistic and early Roman periods, and the absence of any references to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, which would likely have been mentioned if the text postdated that event.^[9] Scholars such as James H. Charlesworth place it specifically between the first century BCE and first century CE, noting its alignment with other pseudepigraphal works from that era. The text postdates the canonical Book of Job, composed between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, but precedes evident influences from the Christian New Testament.^[23] Linguistically, the work was originally composed in Koine Greek, as evidenced by its fluid narrative style and lack of translation artifacts, though it incorporates Semitic influences such as Hebrew names (e.g., Sitidos for Job's wife, echoing biblical forms) and echoes of Aramaic phrasing in dialogues.^[1] This blend suggests an author immersed in both Hellenistic and Jewish traditions, with the Greek serving as the primary vehicle for a story rooted in Semitic storytelling motifs.^[2] The place of origin is most commonly identified as Alexandria, Egypt, within a Hellenistic Jewish context, due to thematic and stylistic parallels with the works of Philo of Alexandria, including allegorical interpretations of suffering and divine chariots reminiscent of Merkabah traditions adapted for a diaspora audience.^[24] Russell P. Spittler argues for an Egyptian provenance, linking it to communities like the Therapeutae described by Philo, where women's roles in hymns and piety align with the text's portrayal of Job's daughters.^[25] An alternative proposal is Palestine, based on potential ties to Qumran-like Essene influences, though this is less favored given the text's Hellenistic features and avoidance of distinctly Palestinian post-exilic concerns.^[2]

Scholarly Debates on Authorship

The Testament of Job is an anonymous work, pseudepigraphically attributed to Job himself as a deathbed testament to his children, a common literary device in ancient Jewish and early Christian literature to lend authority to the narrative.^[9] No historical author is named in the text or surviving manuscripts, and scholarly consensus holds that it originated within a Hellenistic Jewish context, likely composed by a single author or a closely knit group familiar with the Septuagint version of the canonical Book of Job.^[26] This core narrative is viewed as a product of diaspora Judaism, possibly from an Egyptian Jewish community such as the Therapeutae, a contemplative sect described by Philo of Alexandria, given thematic resonances with ascetic practices and communal hymnody in the text. However, connections to the Therapeutae remain speculative and have been challenged by comparisons showing divergences in ritual and numerical symbolism.^[27] Debates intensify over potential Christian influences, particularly in light of terms like ἀπροσωπόληπτός (impartiality) in Testament of Job 4:8 and προσωπολήπτης in 43:13, which echo New Testament language (e.g., Acts 10:34) and appear exclusively in Christian sources such as the Apostolic Fathers.^[9] Scholars like James R. Davila have argued for a Christian provenance, proposing the text as an early fifth-century composition based on manuscript evidence and these linguistic markers, potentially originating in a Christian monastic setting.^[28] In contrast, the prevailing view, advanced by Robert A. Kugler and others, maintains a pre-Christian Jewish core with later Christian scribal emendations, such as nomina sacra in manuscripts, rather than wholesale redaction.^[9] Parallels to Qumran texts, including angelic fellowship motifs in the Hodayot (1QH 6:30), further bolster the Jewish origin theory by linking the work to Second Temple sectarian traditions of divine communion and perseverance amid suffering.^[9] Additional theories highlight multi-stage composition, with Russell P. Spittler suggesting that chapters 46–53, featuring glossolalia and ecstatic speech, may reflect second-century Montanist interpolations, a prophetic Christian movement emphasizing spiritual gifts, though this risks anachronism given the text's earlier dating.^[2] Recent scholarship, notably Nicholas List's 2023 analysis, identifies "hybrid" Jewish-Christian signature features—such as Job's portrayal as an ideal proselyte alongside subtle impartiality motifs—without necessitating full Christian redaction, positing instead a fluid transmission in mixed religious environments.^[9] Ergo Naab supports this layered model, noting probable Christian reworking for eschatological and demonological emphases that align with early church utility, while affirming the foundational narrative's Jewish integrity from the first century BCE to CE.^[26] These debates underscore the text's pseudepigraphic nature, where authorship reflects communal rather than individual creativity in antiquity.

Theological Significance

Jewish Perspectives

The Testament of Job, as a Jewish pseudepigraphon from the Second Temple period, expands the biblical figure of Job into a paragon of righteousness, emphasizing his unwavering piety and moral integrity in the face of affliction. It portrays Job as an anti-idolatry hero who resists Satanic temptations to worship foreign gods, thereby upholding monotheistic devotion akin to patriarchal ideals. This enhancement links Job genealogically to the Abrahamic line, positioning him as a contemporary of the patriarchs in the land of Uz (Ausis), preserving the "holy seed" through endogamous practices that echo themes in Jubilees.^[29] Theologically, the text underscores divine justice amid human trials, presenting Job's suffering as a test of fidelity that ultimately affirms God's impartial benevolence and restorative power. A distinctive motif is the empowerment of Job's daughters through their inheritance, which includes not only material portions alongside their brothers—uncommon in ancient Jewish inheritance laws—but also mystical girdles granting visionary and linguistic gifts, symbolizing spiritual authority rare for women in contemporaneous traditions.^[19] Though absent from the rabbinic canon, the Testament of Job finds echoes in midrashic literature, such as discussions of Job's Edomite origins and historical placement in Baba Batra 15a, which debate his era among the patriarchs and affirm his existence as a righteous gentile. Its narrative may have circulated in Diaspora synagogues, serving as edifying material for communities navigating persecution and identity. Overall, the work reinforces covenantal themes of faithfulness to God without prophetic mediation, modeling Job as an exemplar of covenantal loyalty through endurance, charity, and rejection of idolatry, thereby enriching Jewish reflections on piety in exile.^[29]

Christian Interpretations

In the early Christian church, the Testament of Job was classified among the apocryphal writings, as evidenced by its explicit listing as a non-canonical text in the Decretum Gelasianum, a late fifth-century document attributed to Pope Gelasius I (c. 492–496 CE), which distinguished between approved scriptures and those to be rejected.^[30] This categorization reflected broader ecclesiastical efforts to define the biblical canon amid diverse pseudepigraphal literature. Despite this status, the text found limited reception in certain heterodox groups, notably among the Montanists in the second century CE, who appear to have adapted or emphasized its depictions of ecstatic prophecy—particularly the scenes of Job's daughters speaking in heavenly tongues—to support their practices of prophetic inspiration and glossolalia.^[31] Patristic interpreters, while primarily engaging the canonical Book of Job, occasionally alluded to expanded Joban traditions that align with elements in the Testament, such as themes of endurance amid suffering. For instance, Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–254 CE) referenced extra-biblical lore about Job's life and trials in his homilies, interpreting them as exemplars of divine pedagogy through affliction, though he did not directly quote the Testament. This interpretive tradition culminated in the New Testament's own endorsement of Job's patience in James 5:11, where the epistle cites Job as a model of steadfastness ("You have heard of the endurance of Job"), a virtue amplified in the Testament's narrative of unyielding piety despite demonic torments and familial loss.^[32] The Testament's portrayal of liturgical and charismatic elements, including Job's daughters receiving cords from heaven that enable them to compose hymns and utter angelic speech (ch. 46–50), has been viewed by some scholars as prefiguring the Pentecostal outpouring in Acts 2, where the Holy Spirit empowers believers with diverse tongues.^[18] This connection underscores early Christian appropriations of the text's ecstatic motifs as typological foreshadows of the church's charismatic experiences, though such readings were marginal given the work's apocryphal status. Recent scholarship identifies subtle "Christian signature features" in the Testament, such as its emphasis on divine impartiality—a concept articulated through phrasing reminiscent of New Testament ethical ideals (e.g., T. Job 9:1–2)—suggesting a receptive Christian overlay on an originally Jewish core.^[9] Nicholas List argues that while the text retains strong Jewish elements, these interpolations indicate second-century Christian engagement, facilitating its use in communities exploring themes of universal salvation and endurance.^[9]

Reception History

In Ancient and Medieval Traditions

The Testament of Job circulated in antiquity primarily through Greek and Coptic manuscripts, with the earliest surviving evidence being a fragmentary Coptic papyrus from the 5th century CE.^[1] These versions reflect its use among early Christian communities, where it served as an edifying narrative promoting endurance, philanthropy, and monotheism, aligning with ascetic ideals of moral and spiritual formation.^[26] The text was excluded from the Jewish Tanakh as a non-canonical pseudepigraphon and similarly rejected in Christian traditions.^[21] Despite its marginal status, the Testament of Job was preserved in non-canonical collections, including monastic libraries, even after 5th-century ecclesiastical decrees relegated it to the apocrypha, as seen in the Gelasian Decree's explicit condemnation of it as an uncanonical work.^[33] In ascetic or therapeutic communities, such as those echoing the practices of the Therapeutae described by Philo, the text functioned as a model for righteous suffering and communal edification, emphasizing themes of patience and divine reward suitable for devotional reading.^[34] During the medieval period, the Testament of Job appeared in Slavonic translations within Eastern Orthodox contexts, with manuscripts reflecting Church Slavonic features alongside vernacular influences from regions like medieval Serbia, indicating its adaptation for liturgical or devotional use in Slavic Christian settings.^[35] These versions contributed to its indirect influence on Byzantine hagiography, where motifs of saintly endurance and demonic trials paralleled narratives of holy lives, enhancing its role as inspirational literature for the faithful.^[26] The text's transmission faded after the medieval era until its modern rediscovery in 1833, when Angelo Mai published the first edition from a Greek manuscript in the Scriptorum Veterum Nova Collectio.^[21]

Modern Scholarship and Cultural Impact

Modern scholarship on the Testament of Job has significantly advanced since the mid-20th century, with key contributions emphasizing its place within early Jewish literature and its interpretive layers. James H. Charlesworth's inclusion of the text in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Vol. 1, 1983) marked a pivotal moment, establishing it as a core pseudepigraphon and facilitating broader access through critical editions that highlight its narrative expansions on the biblical Book of Job. More recent analyses, such as Nicholas List's 2023 study, examine "signature features" distinguishing Jewish and Christian elements, arguing that motifs like the intermarriage prohibition (T. Job 45:3) reflect Second Temple Jewish diaspora concerns for endogamy, while rare Greek terms like ἀπροσωπόληπτός (T. Job 4:8) suggest later Christian scribal emendations rather than original hybridity.^[9] List concludes that these support a primarily Jewish origin (ca. 100 B.C.E.–200 C.E.), with Christian influences as secondary, filling gaps in debates over the text's provenance.^[9] Interpretive approaches in contemporary studies have diversified, incorporating feminist and psychological lenses to explore the text's unique portrayals. Feminist readings highlight the empowered roles of Job's daughters—named Day, Wine-press, and Eye-liner (T. Job 48–52)—who receive divine cords granting them prophetic abilities and equal inheritance, challenging patriarchal norms and offering insights into ancient Jewish women's agency.^[19] One analysis frames this as a testament to female spiritual authority, drawing implications for Jewish women's history by portraying the daughters as inheritors of divine wisdom beyond economic rights.^[19] Psychological interpretations focus on Job's emotional responses to suffering, such as suppressed anger, grief, and shame, as mechanisms for resilience; these elements underscore the text's depiction of endurance through authentic confrontation with loss, rather than passive acceptance.^[36] The Testament of Job's cultural impact extends modestly into modern literature and arts, often through echoes of its theodicy themes in broader Joban retellings. It influences contemporary narratives on innocent suffering, as seen in Archibald MacLeish's 1958 play J.B., where Job's trials parallel the text's emphasis on demonic temptation and divine vindication, though without direct citation; such works revive interest in resilience amid unexplained adversity.^[37] Artistic depictions remain minor, with limited visual adaptations focusing on the daughters' prophetic roles or Job's chariot visions, appearing sporadically in illustrative pseudepigrapha projects rather than mainstream iconography. Post-2020 digital initiatives, like the Online Critical Pseudepigrapha, have enhanced accessibility through open-source editions and manuscript indices, bridging scholarly gaps, with ongoing engagement in 2025 scholarship, including reevaluations of the text as rewritten scripture and its narrative characterization.^[1]^[38]^[39] This revival supports interfaith dialogue on theodicy, as the text's Jewish-Christian hybrid elements—per List—foster discussions on shared motifs of divine justice across traditions.^[9]

References

[1]
Testament of Job - The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha
The Testament of Job was composed some time prior to the 5th century CE, when the earliest surviving fragments were copied.Current State of the OCP Text · Manuscripts · Bibliography<|control11|><|separator|>
[2]
Testament of Job - Early Jewish Writings
In any case, the TJob is an essentially Jewish work composed in Greek close to the times of Jesus and Paul, Philo and Josephus. James Charlesworth writes: "Some ...
[3]
Testament of Job Summary - The Wesley Center Online
This book recounts the calamities Job endured as described in the Old Testament, including his loss of wealth, the deaths of his children, and his own illness.Missing: ancient | Show results with:ancient
[4]
Second Temple Judaism
### Summary of Second Temple Judaism Period and Diverse Writings
[5]
Hellenistic Jewish Literature
Hellenistic describes the literature of the period from the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE) until Rome's predominance in the Mediterranean (c. 30 BCE).<|separator|>
[6]
The Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism
Nov 7, 2021 · The Testament of Job is an embellishment of the biblical book of Job in which Job imparts wisdom to his progeny prior to his impending death ...
[7]
Seeking a Context for the Testament of Job - Sage Journals
This article aims to place the Testament of Job within Roman Egypt in the early to mid-second century. Specifically, it contextualizes the episode of temple ...
[8]
Jewish and Christian “signature features” in the Testament of Job
Sep 8, 2023 · The conclusions drawn from this study support the position that the Testament of Job is a Jewish diaspora text and that the instances of ...
[9]
None
### Summary of Historical Context of the Testament of Job
[10]
The Testament of Job as an Adaptation of LXX Job - Academia.edu
This paper examines the Testament of Job as an adaptation of the Septuagint version of the Book of Job (LXX Job).
[11]
https://www.academia.edu/4294610/The_Testament_of_Job_as_an_Adaptation_of_LXX_Job
[12]
Job's Wives in the "Testament of Job" - jstor
21 Peter Machinist argues that the treatment of female inheritance in the Testament of Job is designed to "satisfy the dominant Biblical rule for male ...
[13]
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25610107
[14]
[PDF] The Testament of Job
The four Greek manuscripts of the Testament of Job are well known and are mentioned in all the introductions to this work: 1.1 P – Paris, Bibliothèque ...<|separator|>
[15]
Testamentum Iobi / Apocalypsis Baruchi Graece (1967 ... - 4 Enoch
Sep 22, 2025 · Greek text of the Testament of Job (by Sebastian P. Brock) and 3 Baruch (by Jean-Claude Picard). Editions. Published in Leiden: Brill, 1967 ...
[16]
The Testament of Job, According to the SV Text - Google Books
The Testament of Job, According to the SV Text. Front Cover. Robert A. Kraft. Society of Biblical Literature, 1974 - Religion - 87 pages. From inside the book ...
[17]
(PDF) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Apocalyptic Literature ...
Charleswort Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Second Century B.C.) 775- Testament of Job (First Century B.C.-First Century A.D.) 829 -Testaments of the Three ...
[18]
Testament Of Job - The Wesley Center Online
Testament of Job the blameless, the sacrifice, the conqueror in many contests. Book of Job, called Jobab, his life and the transcript of his Testament.
[19]
[PDF] TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF "SPEAKING IN TONGUES"
But the most interesting document which Currie quotes is the Testament of Job 45-50. The daughters of. Job receive the ability to speak in angelic voices ...
[20]
[PDF] Emotional Responses to Suffering in the Testament of Job
Job's suffering leads to emotions like shame, grief, disgust, and pity, and also anger, which he suppresses to endure.
[21]
(PDF) The Daughters of Job' - Academia.edu
The Daughters of Job is an analysis that centers on the Testament of Job and its implications for Jewish women's history, particularly from a feminist ...Missing: glossolalia | Show results with:glossolalia
[22]
The Testament of Job as an Example of Profeminine Patience ...
The first- century pseudepigraphic text Testament of Job offers evidence for this revaluation of suffering, but Shaw goes on to discover “feminized rhetoric” in ...
[23]
JOB, TESTAMENT OF - JewishEncyclopedia.com
In Mai's version it has a double title: "Testament of Job the Blameless, the Conqueror in Many Contests, the Sainted" (which seems to be the older title) ...
[24]
[PDF] MUSIC IN THE TESTAMENT OF JOB David Halperin,Tel Aviv
MUSIC IN THE TESTAMENT OF JOB. David Halperin,Tel Aviv. "The TestamentofJob ... psalm. Harfe. 14.1 tenstringed lyre. Zither mit zehn Saiten. 14.2/52.2 lyre.
[25]
https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/pdf/10.18647/1155/JJS-1984
[26]
Studies on the Testament of Job
3 - P. Köln Inv. Nr. 3221: Das Testament des Hiob in koptischer Sprache. Ein Vorbericht. pp 33-45 · By Cornelia Römer, Institut für Altertumskunde der ...
[27]
https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9780567064981_A23694637/preview-9780567064981_A23694637.pdf
[28]
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27638412
[29]
The Provenance of the Pseudepigrapha - jstor
In my view, just as a Jewish proselyte should be viewed as a Jewish author, a syn cretistic Jew should be seen as a Jewish author. As for Jewish-Christians, ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[30]
https://www.tertullian.org/decretum_eng.htm
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Tertullian : Decretum Gelasianum (English translation)
1. THIS IS THE ORDER OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis, one book. Exodus, one book · 2. LIKEWISE THE ORDER OF THE PROPHETS: Isaiah, one book. Jeremiah, one book · 3.
[32]
What is the “Testament of Job”? - Reading Acts
Jun 26, 2017 · The Testament of Job was most likely written in Greek during either the first century B.C. or A.D. Spittler considered it likely to have come ...Missing: origin | Show results with:origin
[33]
http://www.ntcanon.org/Decretum_Gelasianum.shtml
[34]
The Decretum Gelasianum
Book about the giant Ogias, of whom the heretics assert that after the flood he fought with the dragon, apocryphal ; Book which is called The Testament of Job ...
[35]
Asceticism? Jewish Narratives and the Decentering of the Self - jstor
Oct 11, 2006 · Testament of Job (and compare the first half of Testament of Joseph). ... ascetic communities such as the Essenes and Therapeutae/Therapeu-.<|control11|><|separator|>
[36]
https://repository.yu.edu/bitstreams/5ca21ae0-c175-45d5-96fc-b3bade8dd0c3/download
[37]
J. B. by Archibald MacLeish | Research Starters - EBSCO
"J.B." is a dramatic work by Archibald MacLeish, inspired by the biblical story of Job, a figure who endures immense suffering without losing faith in God.Missing: adaptations | Show results with:adaptations