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Seeking a Context for the Testament of Job

Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA 18104-5586, USA

It has been widely accepted that the Testament of Job is a retelling of the canonical book of Job. However, there is little agreement about where or when this pseudepigraphic work was produced and why the conflict between Job and Satan has been reframed. Instead of God offering Job to be tested by Satan, Job actively struggles against Satan, striking the first blow by destroying a pagan temple. 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 destruction within the broader phenomenon of religious violence of the southeast Mediterranean. This study argues that the Jewish Diaspora Revolt during the reign of Trajan may have inspired the composition of the first twenty-seven chapters of the Testament of Job.

Key Words: Egypt • Revolt • Temple • Testament of Job • Trajan • Pagan • Diaspora

Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 18, No. 3, 163-179 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0951820709103180


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