Job as a Parable

Doug had mentioned that the book of Job could perhaps be a made up story due to its opening statement, "There once was..." (Job 1:1). I was intrigued to look further into this idea, specifically the book of Job as a parable.
I looked up a more formal definition for a parable than the one given to us in class. It is defined as, "a short, simple story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth by comparison with actual events." This would apply to the book of Job as his suffering draws comparisons to how followers of God should behave in light of difficult circumstances. The book of Job definitely conveys a principal.

But, what I found most interesting in my research of parables was this definition: "A parable is often an allegory in which each character represents an abstract concept—such as obedience or honesty—and is illustrated through real-life events". The characters that question Job and offer him advice each represent an "abstract concept" the definition talks about, as discussed in class. The fact that the characters are representative of different concepts could contribute to the idea of Job being a parable.