(b.) Discussion between Job and his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu; Job asserting his innocence, and consequent inability to see the justice of his afflictions; his friends contending that he has sinned, and has been justly punished; Elihu attempts to justify Job’s sufferings, on the plea that they are merely a reminder sent by God that Job has sinned, and must seek reconciliation with God, who is All-wise, All-good, and All-powerful; God addresses Job, and shows him man’s inability to comprehend the Divine power and wisdom in the creation and in the ruling of the universe; whereupon Job repents. (c.) Conclusion.—God rebukes the friends of Job, that they have not spoken rightly like His servant Job (xlii. 7), and richly compensates Job for his sufferings and losses. The book has no heading, and therefore we do not know by whom or when it was written. There is, however, a tradition, mentioned in the Talmud (Baba Bathra, p. 14b), that Moses wrote the Book of Job. Even about Job himself it is impossible to ascertain at what time he lived. But the description of his riches and the length of his life leads us to think of the time of the patriarchs. His name is mentioned only in one other book of the Bible. The prophet Ezekiel names him together with Noah and Daniel as a righteous man who would, by his piety, save himself in the time of general calamity, though he would not be able to save his generation (Ezek. xiv. 14). There is also an opinion that Job never existed at all. ‏איוב לא היה ולא נברא אלא משל היה‎ “Job never lived; nor has he had any existence; the story is all only an allegory” (Babyl. Talm. Baba Bathra, 15a). This dictum can only refer to the detailed account of the manner in which the misfortune came upon Job, and the poetical discussion of Job and his friends. But it is undeniable that a pious man of the name of Job lived, and escaped from a calamity to which others succumbed; since it is clear that Ezekiel refers to real and not to imaginary personages. Job and his friends were not Israelites. The patriarch lived in the land of Uz in Arabia; the friends came from Teman, Shuah, Naamah, and Buz, in the south, east, west, and north of Uz. Like the Book of Jonah, this book conveys the lesson, ‏חסידי אומות העולם יש להם חלק לעולם הבא‎ “The pious of all nations have a portion in the world to come” (Maim., Mishneh-torah I. Hilchoth Teshubah, iii. 5). God rewards the righteous of all nations, punishes those among them who deserve punishment, and pardons the penitent. The introduction and conclusion are written in prose, but the principal part of the book is poetical, and consequently parallelism is a predominant feature of the book. The following are a few sentences from the book:— “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (ii. 10). “The small and great are there (in the grave), and the servant is free from his master” (iii. 19).