JOB
By W. Dennis Tucker, Jr.
IVP. 332 pages, £19.99
ISBN 978 1 783 599 684
This is a new entry in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series, replacing the much earlier one by Francis Andersen and much the same length.
Typically for the series, this volume has an Introduction, but much shorter than I would have expected, covering issues such as the place of Job in the canon, its structure, language and ancient near-eastern (ANE) context, its unity, genre and date. In respect of the latter, his conclusion is that Job is post-exilic, basing his conclusion on his dating of Jeremiah and ‘Deutero-Isaiah’ (his term) as exilic or early post-exilic, contra his predecessor, Andersen (his date is the reign of Solomon). Although the introductory pages are a relatively short section, they contain a prominent piece comparing Job with other ANE laments over undeserved suffering, which latter is, for our author, the “crucible which Job must endure” and thus test the nature of his God.
