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Thanks Lemex. There is attested ugraritic text and stories similar to Job, so I see this as a Jewish adaptation of the story of Job. It would be during the time of their trying to retain their national identity and personal religious integrity in the face of Babylonian attempts at integration. as such the scribes would rework the original stories and make it their own. but curiously the book of Job does not have a lot of bling-type jewish identity stuff. He is not stubborn about any rituals, the sacrifice is general and non priestly. the foreign friends never ever suggest that he turn away to other gods, or challenge *his* god, they all seem to acknowledge they are talking about the same god. I would think these elements would have been mentioned if the story was meant to be strictly nationalistic. So my best personal hunch is that it 1) had to pass the scrutiny of the ruling Babylonians 2) was some sort of compensation for standard literature in Babylonian education 3) was reworked so as to fit with and not offend the jewish religion. Something like a home school alternate reading curricula.
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