David B. wrote:Dear Bill.
I have my own copy of the Septuagint.
I notice at the end of the book of Job in the Septuagint there is a note on Job where it gives his name as “Jobad.” It says that he was the son Zare one of the sons of Esau. Can you comment on this.
Love you.
David.
Here is my answer:
Dear David,
It is esteemed that Job is a very old book. There is no mention in it at all of tribes or places such as Israel, Edom, Tyre, or any of the historical places or figures which we may expect from such a book if it were written after the time of Jacob. The peoples who are mentioned in Job, such as the Sabaeans, are evidently very early peoples (meaning that they were already extant prior to the time of Abraham) who are barely known or even unknown from the historical period, and that is consistent with the perceived antiquity of the book. I would hold that since "Sabaeans" is only "spoilers" in the Septuagint version of Job 1:15, that a Hellenistic translator not being familiar with the term may well have made such a decision as to paraphrase, and lost some of the meaning. Many of the older place names and tribal names in the Septuagint were updated by the Hellenistic translators, which has caused confusion.
However although Israel and Edom are not mentioned in Job, Job's friends may be perceived to have been Edomites. This is because their names are Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. But even though Teman was the name of one of Esau's sons, the word only means "south" and this particular Temanite is not necessarily a descendant of Esau. The later city Teman was actually east of Edom. This Temanite may just as well have been merely "Eliphaz the Southerner". The word Shuhite apparently comes from the Hebrew Shua, which means "wealth", and the Naamathite may have beeen named for a city later taken by Israel (Joshua 15:41), where Canaanites had long dwelt. That name, Naamah, first appears in Scripture in Genesis chapter 4. Therefore, none of these men were necessarily Edomites.
The Septuagint Appendix to the Book of Job is hardly original. The Greek contains the phrase "This man is described in the Syriak book..." and the word Syriac is no older than the 5th or 6th centuries BC. The word is a Greek invention. Both "Tyre" (Greek Turos) and "Syria" (Greek Suros) were derived by the Greeks from the Hebrew word Tsor, the real name of ancient Tyre.
The Greek also contains the use of the word "Arabia" as a definite geographical entity, a use found nowhere in Scripture except in translations, which cannot predate the Greek Classical period. The Hebrew behind the word "Arabia" on the few occasions upon which it appears in the King James Version is from a word that means "mixed", and it refers to people rather than to a land area. Ostensibly, the land only later became known as "Arabia" because mongrel peoples had inhabited the desert interior. The Greek form of "Arab" is clearly a word borrowed from Hebrews.
Therefore, I am of the opinion that this Appendix to Job found in the Septuagint represents the marginal notes of a Greek translator, who was making a passing observation in reference to the suppositions of a certain Aramaic scribe concerning the identity of Job. But the remarks are by no means canonical, and they are certainly not correct.
I hope this helps. Or even makes sense, LOL
May Yahweh bless you!
Bill
Here is the Appendix itself:
Brenton's Septuagint wrote:This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job, and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad son of the Sauchaeans, Sophar king of the Minaeans.
There is much more that could have been said about this Appendix, but I think I will leave it here for now.
