Central character of the Book of Job in the Old Testament , known for his faithfulness to God despite his many afflictions.
At the beginning, Job is a wealthy man with a large family. Satan challenges God to allow him to take away Job's blessings as a test of his faith. Soon Job is desolate, covered with boils, his wealth gone and his family dead. Three friends arrive to comfort him; he disputes with them, denying he has done anything to deserve this misery but maintaining his faith in God. At the end, in a confrontation with God, the power and mystery of the deity are memorably reasserted, but the problem of why the innocent suffer is left unresolved. The book dates from the 6th–4th century BC.