Masonic Notes And Queries.

agree that it was a Jew who wrote it during the captivity in Babylon ( B . C . 606—536 ) , as the ideas contained in it concerning the devil , & c , were peculiar to the Persians . " All critics agree ? Nonsense ; the assertion is a manifest untruth , and the devil in it is not Persian .

Mr . Davidson says , — - "Nor is there any reason to suppose the Satanology of the Jews a thing of foreign import and not native growth . There is no resemblance here to the Persian Ahriman . " " An A . F ., " when poring over the " numerous blunders" (?) of Rosa Cruris , tumbles into far

greater errors himself . To a certain extent with Rosa Crucis , I have a feeling that it is possible Moses may have written the Book of Job . In the Magazine for Nov . 9 , 1 S 67 , page 371 , will be found some remarks of mine about Job . *

Many critics now consider that while Job himself lived in patriarchal times , the book , as now composed , was written loug after ; the author , collecting all that was known of the history of Job , worked it up into its present sublime form . The exact time when Job lived is uncertain .

Davidson says , — " We cannot across near 4 , 000 years cite Job ' s consciousness into our presence . " ^ The land of TJz probably lay eastwards from Palestine and north of Edom . * Many critics now agree in placing the era of the composition of Job in the "Davidic-Solomonic era . " The Books of Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Isaiah , t & c , are all indebted to Job , and copy from it .

Mr . Davidson says , — " Anterior therefore to all the Solomonic productions must our book be considered . We care little how early scholars elevate the book , provided they do not bring it down later . " J Some critics affirm that this book was written during the captivity ; but the grounds of said assertion are often shallow and false . The puff which

" An American Freemason " gives Renan , will not help that view much . Dr . Dentzsch , at page 42 of his Introduction to his Commentary on Job , gives his opinion of Renan , viz ., — " Aud Renan , who solel y determines his arrangement of the stichs by the Masoretic division of versesandmoreoverhaughtil

, , , y displays his scornful opposition to Christianity in the prefaratory etude . '" Much can be said in favour of Moses being the author ; Jewish tradition says so . The style of the book is sufficiently archaic , and there are resemblances between its language and that of the

Pentateuch . One thing a person may safely affirm , viz ., — that , as now known , the authorshi p lies either , in the Mosaic era or in the Davidic-Solomonic era—certainly not after Solomon . § I am astonished that " An American Freemason "

does not seem to know what Albert Barnes has said upon this subject , which is as follows : — " It seems to me , therefore , that by this train of remarks we are conducted to a conclusion , attended with as much certainty as can he hoped for in the nature of the case , that the work was composed by Job himself in

the period of rest and prosperity which succeeded his trials , and came to the knowledge of Moses during his residence in Arabia . " As generally taken the Flood happened B . C . 2348 , Noah died B . C . 199 S . Abram born B . C . 1997 , and , living 175 yearsdied B . C . 1 S 22 . Israelites went into

, Egypt B . C . 170 G , and 135 years afterwards , Moses was born in B . C . 1571 ; * and Shern , the son of Noah , did not die until B . C . 1846 , so that with the long lives of the patriarchs , the faith of Noah could reach to-Moses without passing through many hands . The foregoing remarks show how little truth there

is in the remark of "An American Freemason , " that "all critics agree . " As a work the Book of Job is one of the grandest in the Old Testament . " Neither the Hindoos , nor the Greeks and Romans have such a lofty and purely perfected poem to produce . " Davidson calls it " a life-historv . a life-drama . "

" The ruling number 3 is most visible in all its parts . ( 1 ) . The whole book falls into three sections : Prologue , f poem , epilogue . ( 2 ) . The poem strictly , also into three parts : Job and the Friends ; Elihu ; . God . ( 3 ) . The discussion between Job and the friends again into three cycles : First Cycle , ch . 4

to-14 ; second cycle , ch . 15 to 21 ; third cycle , ch . 22 to 31 . ( 4 ) . Each cycle falls into three pairs : Eliphaz . and Job ; Bildad and Job ; Zophar and Job ; only in the last cycle Zophar fails to appear , and Job speaks twice . ( 5 ) . Job sustains three temptations . ( 6 )^ Elihu makes three speeches ; ( 7 ) . and , finally , very

many of the speeches fall into three strophes . " The 25 th , 26 th , and 27 th verses of the 19 th chapter-I decidedly consider contain faith and the hope of a . glorious immortality or belief in a resurrection ; , further , independent of Job's Book , I consider Mosespossessed the hope of a glorious immortality .

Were a motto required for the first round of the-Masonic ladder , I consider no better could be got than the glorious words of Job , — " I know that my Redeemer liveth . " Faith there shines proudly forth from the surrounding darkness . It is is not—I consider , I think , or I would fain hope that He liveth ; . but "I know . " Job here takes hold of God

his-Redeemer , and feels that He takes hold of him ; and thus holding and being held he breaks out into the exulting cry , " I know that my Redeemer liveth . " ' Job is remarkable for his patience , but he is also noless remarkable for his faith . "An American Freemason" also says , —

"The-Book of Genesis , it is believed by critics , first came into the hands of the Jews about the same time , and this belief is supported by the same reason . Both Genesis and Job are evidently produced under similar conditions of education , aud these conditions did not obtain in either Egypt or Canaan at any time prior tothe return from captivity . " ( B . C 536 . ) Which re-