Job is the Book of Persecution. The Hebrew root for Job’s name is the word for persecution. The Book has an Arabian setting, and the Arabic root for Job’s name is the Arabic word for repentance. Both ways, & either way, the name of the main character communicates the subject of the Book. Genesis answers much of humanity’s primary question: why are we here, and how did we get here? Job answers perhaps humanity’s second most important question: why do the righteous suffer?
Job is named after the book’s central character.
The author is not known, and much speculation has occurred since the earliest of times. Jewish traditions are greatly divided, but if Job himself is not the author, then Moses is often considered the most likely alternative. If so, then it is likely that he learned the story of Job during his Midianite exile (Ex. 2:15-4:20). Elihu (Job 32-37) also receives a number of considerations for authorship.