The book of Job gives us God’s dealings with him as an individual, and it does not refer to God’s promises to Abraham or His dealings with the nation of Israel as a result of these promises. It may have been the first book of the Bible to have been written by Moses, before He led the people out of Egypt. In the controversies of Job and his friends there is no mention of Israel or the law. They do not seem to know anything other than that God dealt with individuals in His governmental ways.
It is difficult to determine at what period of time Job lived, but certain things in the language of the book would seem to indicate he lived in the times of the patriarchs, after the flood. There is no mention of idolatry before the flood, but the earliest form of it is referred to by Job (ch. 31:26-28), that is, the worship of heavenly bodies which he condemns as a denial of the God who is above.
Another similarity we notice is that in Genesis the patriarchs acted as priests over their households and in Job we read of his offering burnt offerings for his children. We do not have sin offerings mentioned until after the law was given.
Job and his friends, when speaking of God, often use the patriarchal title, “the Almighty”; in fact, this title appears more often in this book than in any other book of Scripture.
There have been those who have denied this book a place in the Scriptures. It is said the Jews did not like it because they could not think of a man outside Israel whom God would regard so highly. But Job is referred to elsewhere in the Word of God. Ezekiel speaks of Job as an intercessor along with Noah and Daniel (Ezek. 14:14, 20). James refers to the patience of Job (ch. 5:11), and Paul quotes from the book (1 Cor. 3:19), using the same expression, “It is written,” as he does in quoting from the other Scriptures.
Messages of the Love of God, 1960