Authorship of Job

The book of Job names no author and gives no explicit date, so its composition has always been a matter of tradition and inference rather than record. It stands among the wisdom writings as an anonymous masterpiece exploring innocent suffering and the justice of God.

Ancient Jewish tradition (the Talmud, Baba Bathra) credited Moses with the book; others have proposed Job himself, his friend Elihu, Solomon, Hezekiah's men, or simply an unknown sage of Israel's wisdom tradition. None of these can be established, and the book's own silence about its author appears deliberate.