Publisher's Synopsis
The Septuagint was the original Old Testament used by Christians in the first few centuries but was later replaced in western Bibles by the Masoretic Texts. As a result, most early Christian writings are confusing, especially when discussing the chronology of the world. Septuagint: Job is a 21st-century English translation that is easy to understand, using common English versions of Hebrew names instead of transliterated Greek names that are generally found in translations of the Septuagint. When ancient place names are known, such as Uruk, the modern term is used instead of the Greek (Orech) or Hebrew (Erech) translations. Unlike the later Masoretic Texts, the Septuagint was not a monotheistic work, but rather a Hedonistic text, which recognized the existence of many gods, but was dedicated to the worship of one above the others: Iaw, later transliterated as Jehovah or Yahweh. The book of Job is likely the most complex book to translate in the Septuagint, other than the book of Genesis, as it contains many unique concepts and many references to the ancient Canaanite religion. It has significantly influenced the Messianic Jewish sects of the Second Temple era and the subsequent formation of Christianity and Islam.At some point before the Book of Job was standardized, probably during the Persian era, parts were either lost or intentionally redacted, including the end of the devil's story-line, the Leviathan's story, and the Behemoth's story, as well as the answer to the question: why does suffering exist? The question is raised but never answered. It was probably answered in the ending of the devil's story-line, and possibly tied into the stories of the Leviathan and Behemoth, who Iaw was preparing to destroy before Job suddenly 'won the lottery' and the story ended. The statements that the devil had originally risen about Job turned out to be correct, as he did not continue to worship Iaw but complained bitterly about everything he'd lost. The closest he came to worshiping Iaw, was when he referred to himself as dirt before the swirling storm-god floating in front of him, although that appears to be more an act of fear than worship. Much must have been removed from the story for some reason, as in addition to Iaw losing his bet and thinking he won, the Leviathan's story was never ended, and the Behemoth was introduced but the story was not told. Additionally, Iaw never answered Job's questions, which should have followed the strange description of the steam-powered bronze-covered Leviathan, which itself seems more like a description of a submarine from a Jules Verne novel than a living being.In the early Christian era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, In the early Christian era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the Testament of Job was used by the Christian Montanist sect. The Testament of Job appears to have never been accepted by orthodox Christians, however, a synopsis of a book like the Testament of Job was included in orthodox translations of the Septuagint's Book of Job since the BC era, where it was described as being in the 'Syriac book' of Job. Several references within the testaments point to an origin in the Seleucid Empire, including mentions of Greek gods, and Zoroastrian terminology. The testament also includes Satan as an individual instead of a descriptive term, which is not consistent with the Book of Job, where the Hebrew version maintains the term satan in its original context as 'contender' or 'accuser.' The fact that the Testament also uses the name Satan, as opposed to the term devil which the Septuagint uses, also points to a Semitic source, as the Greeks at the time would not have commonly encountered the Hebrew and Aramaic term.
