"This celebrated Patriarch has been represented by some sacred
writers as imaginary, and his book as a fictitious dramatic
composition."--_Dr. Hales:_ _See_ D'Oyly and Mant's _Bible_.
But Hales goes on to prove from the sacred writings that Job was a
_real_ character, and that his history is entitled to credit. That such
a person as Job _was_ a real character, and that he lived about the time
asserted of him, I am about to give a very remarkable proof, quite
independent of Scripture testimony.
In Kæmpfer's _Amoenitates Exoticæ_, there is a plate describing two
processions, one after the other: of the first but little mention is
made; of the second, the place from which the procession set out is not
mentioned, but the place of its final destination is Persepolis. It is
separated, in Kæmpfer, from the interpretation thereof, by a few leaves;
but as I have not his _Exoticæ_ by me, I cannot give an exact reference
as to pages; it will, however, be easily found, since the inscription
contains twenty-four lines, and the plate, I think, precedes it. It is
called "Inscriptio Persepolitana," and is evidently among the _most
ancient_ of Cuneiform inscriptions. As neither the inscription, nor the
word I am about to point out, could probably be inserted in the "N. &
Q.," I must be content to describe the word in the clearest manner
possible.
The lines, if I mistake not, measure about 5-¾ inches in length, and at
about 1-¼ inches from the beginning of the _second_ line (beginning at
the left hand, and measuring towards the right) is a word compounded of
four letters (five wedges), and reading _a i u b_. Take a wedge and form
them thus,--_sharp_ point to the _right_, near the top of the group, is
_a_; sharp point _downwards_ is _i_; sharp point to the left is _u_; the
two under wedges _joined_, viz. sharp point to the blunt part of the
second, is _b_.
It is remarkable that the Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian-Cuneiform should
have precisely the same letters for the name of Job. It may lead to some
conclusion with which I shall not meddle. See again D'Oyly and Mant, and
the comment of Bishop Sanderson in ch. i. v. 3., "and not improbably he
was a _king_."
Refer again to the plate, and behold him in _two_ places, _i.e._ in both
processions, _crowned_. And now examine the word following, _Aiub_; it
is compounded of four letters, _easily_ distinguishable. The first is a
T, scil. the Coptic [Coptic: T], the mystic cross, as may be shown in
the Chinese language; the second is _a_, compounded of the horizontal
wedge and the following perpendicular one; the third, or perpendicular
line, is _i_; and the last two, one under the other, is _j_, or the
Persian [Persian: i] or [Persian: j], _j_; making altogether [Persian:
taij] _taij_, _being crowned_. These two words, therefore, represent the
patriarch as being a king, "Aiub taij," "Job crowned."