Job

[HappySkeptic]

Just like there was never any adam or eve, there was never a job..and that wasn't even a problem for the authors.  They weren't writing history.

Exactly this.

Job is a piece of moral philosophy.  It is written as such.  The idea that it was historical is ridiculous, although the story in some form could have been quite old.

There never was a Job.  Job is a stand-in for every good person who experiences bad stuff.  His friends are literary devices for considering the various answers to "why bad things happen to good people".

It is interesting that the author rejects all the standard explanations such as "It is for the best" or "You must have sinned".  The answer God gives at the end is "I'm frick'n God, and if I want to do shit, I"ll do it, so just shut up and take it".