The Land of Uz, simply known as Uz, was the region located southeast of the Jordan River[1] near the lands of the Chaldeans and the Sabeans[2]. It was in fertile lands with ample crops and lifestock but bordered the desert[3] It is most notable for being Job's homeland[4].
Origin
Uz [Heb: עוץ -- to plan, take counsel] takes its name from its presumed founder, the grandson of Shem[5]. With a lifetime similar to his cousin Shelah, this son of Aram would have lived into the time of the Tower of Babel[6]. At the dispersion, the land west the Euphrates River would have been settled by descendants of Shem, including Uz. By the time Abraham left Ur, Aram and his descendants had settled the region west of the River.
History
Uz, like most ancient lands, took its name either from its founder or the characteristic of the land when discovered. Since the timeline fits neatly with a founding by the Semite Uz, son of Aram, the land by that name was founded within the lifetime of Peleg[7] when the people were dispersed from Babel. With its neighbor Ur, the city and then land of Uz flourished. Based on the dialog in the Book of Job the people there worshiped the true God.
Despite hostilities from neighboring Chaldeans and Sabeans, peaceful conditions seemed to have prevailed in Uz during the days of Job. Chaldean and Sabean raids would claim the property of Job[8]. During his lifetime, Job was the richest man[9] in the entire region of Uz and his daughters were known as the most beautiful in the land[10].
Centuries later, the region seems to have spread west across the desert into the land of Edom inhabited by Semitic descendants of Isaac and cousins to the Israelites. A "son of Seir" was named Uz some time around the days of rise of the nation of Israel[11]. By this time, the Edomites had begun to serve false gods. A line of kings ruled this region long before the rise of Saul[12].
As the nation of Judah was falling in the days of Jeremiah, the prophet writes warnings to all the allied nations that were attacking his nation. The prophecy told of the wrath of God to come on the kings of Uz and their neighbors[13]. But before that great day of judgment, these same nations would celebrate the fall of Jerusalem, including the "daughters of Edom" that lived in the land of Uz[14].
Verses
- ↑ Job 1:3 (Link)
- ↑ Job 1:14-17 (Link)
- ↑ Job 1:3-4, 19 (Link)
- ↑ Job 1:1 (Link)
- ↑ Genesis 10:23 (Link)
- ↑ Genesis 10:8-10, 23-24; 11:8-9. 12-18 (Link)
- ↑ 1Ch 1:19 (Link)
- ↑ Job 1:15,17 (Link)
- ↑ Job 1:3, 42:10,12 (Link)
- ↑ Job 42:15 (Link)
- ↑ 1 Chron. 1:39-42 (Link)
- ↑ 1 Chron. 1:43 (Link)
- ↑ Jeremiah 25:20 (Link)
- ↑ Lamentations 4:21 (Link)