Land of Uz
The Land of Uz is a place mentioned in the Old Testament, most prominently in the Book of Job, which begins, "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job."[1]
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[edit] Name
The name Uz is mentioned several times in the Bible. In Genesis 10:23, Uz is the son of Aram, a direct descendant of Shem. [2]
The word may also be related etymologically to the word oz, meaning 'east'.[citation needed] In the Book of Job (1:3), Job is described as "the greatest of all the people of the East."
[edit] Location
Uz is sometimes identified with the kingdom of Edom, roughly in the area of modern-day southwestern Jordan and southern Israel.[3] Lamentations 4:21 reads: "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz".
Other locations proposed for Uz include more southern Arabia, especially Dhofar, said to be the home of the original Arabs;[4] Bashan in modern-day southern Syria/western Jordan; Arabia east of Petra, Jordan;[5] and even modern-day Uzbekistan.[6]
According to the Dead Sea document, The War Scroll, the land of Uz is mentioned as existing somewhere beyond the Euphrates possibly in relation to Aram. In Column 2 verse 11, it is noted, "they shall fight against the rest of the sons of Aramea: Uz, Hul, Togar, and Mesha, who are beyond the Euphrates."
[edit] Modern Israeli usage
The Israeli author and translator Yemima Avidar-Tchernovitz, the first to translate Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" to Hebrew, used "Land of Uz" as the Hebrew translation of Baum's "Land of Oz".
[edit] References
- ^ Job 1:1
- ^ Gen. 36:28; Gen. 22:21; Gen. 10:23
- ^ "The Land of Uz" WebBible Encyclopedia
- ^ G. Wyman Bury. The land of Uz. (1911 (original), 1998 reprint)
- ^ "Where Was Uz?" by Wayne Blank, Daily Bible Study
- ^ "Uzbekistan Is Book of Job Land of Uz Where Ice Age Climate Explains the Environment Described" by James I. Nienhuis, Dancing from Genesis
