In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Job 1:1-3

The introduction of the story of Job begins more like a real incident than a parable. In a parable, names aren’t mentioned nor locations very specifically. This is begging the hearers to look it up if they don’t believe it.

In Job 3, the expressions change to more poetic, psalm-like approach. Then in Chapter 42 it reverts back to historical text. Which is it?

Just because the people speak more lyrically doesn’t discount it from being real. It may not seem natural, but it could more accurately reflect how people worked out their thoughts and difficulties.

David speaks in Psalms this way, expressing real emotions during real trials. It doesn’t make it unreal. Just different from the way we speak today.

Ezekiel speaks of Job, listing him with other people in the Bible, Noah and Daniel. Ezekiel wouldn’t put fictional characters in the same sentence with real.

While the author of Job is a mystery and the time frame difficult to pinpoint. Job must be looked at as a real incident that occurred and not a parable.